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- Feb 28, 2001
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This particular atheist does not believe in anything that could ever be anthropomorphized or intelligent. Nature (as in Mother Nature) is not in the picture either, though nature as a collection of overlapping, mathematically definite rules in physics, chemistry, and biology is OK. I say "definite rules" but don't actually presume that we know the rules completely, only that these rules exist.
Saying that I believe in "a force of life" is too strong. Semantically, THAT statement bothers me too. Part of the problem is that English is a complete language, which according to Goedel means that it is an incorrect language. A "force of life" makes it sound like one of those laws guarantees the existence of life. I understand you might have been trying to concisely make a statement, but in this case, concise statements mask the various caveats required to explain the position fully.
I am not 100% convinced but maybe 99.999...99% convinced that abiogenesis occurred as the result of an accident. That is, we are here because we are here. (Yes, Zen rears its head...) I do not look for purpose externally imposed. My life is what I make of it. Showing love to my family; teaching others about what I know; earning an honest and decent living; passing along some of the positive experience I've had in my life - these are my purposes.
The folks who have to look to God to provide purpose always confuse me. If our only purpose is to stroke the ego of a narcissistic being (i.e. "to glorify God"), why is that being worth our effort? And just how perfect is a narcissistic being, really? (Don't ask the narcissist, though... you'll always get a self-serving answer.)
Saying that I believe in "a force of life" is too strong. Semantically, THAT statement bothers me too. Part of the problem is that English is a complete language, which according to Goedel means that it is an incorrect language. A "force of life" makes it sound like one of those laws guarantees the existence of life. I understand you might have been trying to concisely make a statement, but in this case, concise statements mask the various caveats required to explain the position fully.
I am not 100% convinced but maybe 99.999...99% convinced that abiogenesis occurred as the result of an accident. That is, we are here because we are here. (Yes, Zen rears its head...) I do not look for purpose externally imposed. My life is what I make of it. Showing love to my family; teaching others about what I know; earning an honest and decent living; passing along some of the positive experience I've had in my life - these are my purposes.
The folks who have to look to God to provide purpose always confuse me. If our only purpose is to stroke the ego of a narcissistic being (i.e. "to glorify God"), why is that being worth our effort? And just how perfect is a narcissistic being, really? (Don't ask the narcissist, though... you'll always get a self-serving answer.)