talking of religion, that programme on Ch.4....

[goldenballs]

...last night, all about how the earth was formed. very good programme i thought, educational for the kids and all.
what do religious types make of a programme like that?
kind of throws the whole God/Bible theory out the window dunnit?

[jj]

Not really: I think most scientists and epistemologists would argue that the existence of God is not a question science can meaningfully address.
And not a few physicists say that if they do find the Grand Unified Theory (or whatever it's called this week) it could either be viewed as the underpinning basis of of a mechanistic Universe, or the elucidation of the Master Plan of a Deity- for which, see above..........
Great prog last night, though, if a little too gimmicky.

[steve56]

wasnt that a clip from the cliff richard story?lol.

[Pervert]

Something caused the universe, sure, but the notion that it is some all-seeing, all-knowing deity who occasionally allows millions to starve in famines, or war, because he's too worried about Cliff Richard's pop career or Jonathan Edwards's form in the triple jump is a bit too much to believe.

[jj]

Bimmercat wrote:

> I think you can still believe in a surpeme being, but believe
> in evolution as well. I am not a church-going religious person
> at all, but I believe in God. I also believe in the evolution
> of the earth and species.
This is dangerously muddy thinking- Evolution is not a BELIEF, it's a demonstrable FACT. If you choose not to believe in it, it will still carry on at the rate of so many Darwins* per day, regardless. Whereas a religion depends upon having believers, otherwise, like Mitrhaism or worship of the Great Almighty Bastard Crocodile God Uggy Poo, it dies out (or becomes extinct, heh heh.....). It's this false characterisation of Evolution as a 'belief' that allows the Fundamentalist Xians to challenge its teaching in schools.
Most on the right would deem me un-Christian for my views
This is the same lot that want to ban its teaching- how would they feel were the situation reversed?

[* a hypothetical unit of rate of evolutionary change, half-jokingly coined by someone or other at UCL, I think: John Maynard Smith?]

[jj]

..........people have believed in FAR stranger things, Carac: like the Great Almighty Bastard Crocodile God Uggy Poo, for example.
Not many, it's true, and mostly very very insane people, but there you go, funny old world, eh? It's what you make it......
There's a Xian subset (and others) that believes that God is too, well, godly, to be messing about worrying about all the people who are dying and/or suffering horribly as a direct result of the chaos He's created, well, because that's what Gods DO............

[Pervert]

It's not the uncaring or indifferent god that bothers me so much as one with judgment so flawed that he's want to hang around Cliff or Jonathan.

[jj]

In an Infinite Universe, anything is possible.
Even Pop Idol, and Rice Krispies.........

[Pervert]

Maybe, but not a universe where a supreme being thinks it's cool to hang around with born-again Christians