Comment by RS-232
4 days ago
Not many people these days like to hear this (I myself was one of them), but the answer to this is in Genesis.
There's a reason some of the most famous mathematicians, scientists, engineers, and philosophers of all time believe(d) in God.
The Hebrew name of God, YHWH, literally means "He Who Is." In other words, the Self-Existent One. The father and originator of all things that were, are, and will be, who exists outside of spacetime.
I understand that many people yearn for a religious explanation to answer the question of what caused the universe to exist. I myself am content with the "it just happened" explanation, as any information prior to the big bang, if it even exists, is unknowable.
There are countless other religions that believe in a deity who created the universe. These deities either created themselves, or had always existed outside of space and time. To that end, any one of those deities would be on equal footing with YHWH. I don't think that it is appropriate to axiomatically claim that a certain deity exists because only that deity could have caused the universe to exist.
Yet you call yourself a fool in your own username. Why be so sure you're not wrong about any or all of those statements?
It would be a nice argument for deism - but to jump from that into anything more, seems way too extreme of a leap.
Why Christianity then, over Hinduism? Why any human religion at all?
The Christian answer may be "God showed the 12, martyred, codified by church fathers [無]" but I haven't asked any Hindus, or anything nonhuman.
[無] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinitarianism_in_the_Church_F...
This is not an answer that satisfies just begs more questions.
Who Created God? No one? Why does the universe need a creator if God does not?
Where does free will and evil come from if God is "originator of all things that were, are, and will be". For true free will to exist it must have a source of entropy which denotes something outside of Gods control and design otherwise everything is deterministic as set forth by God.
>There's a reason some of the most famous mathematicians, scientists, engineers, and philosophers of all time believe(d) in God.
That reason being that for much of Western history if you didn't believe in God the Church would burn your research in a big fire and probably you on top of it.
That explains nothing.
Neither does the precursor to the Big Bang. It's the same exact thing.
They are not the same thing. Religion and science may try to answer the same questions, but they are entirely different endeavors.
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The trouble is we can strive to understand the physical circumstances we find ourselves in. Once we decide that the circumstances simply 'just are' because He Who Is, we no longer have an objective basis for discovering why things are as they are. There's no need, no purpose.
"An equation means nothing to me unless it expresses a thought of God." — Ramanujan
I like to think he was referring to computation. There's a reality to the constant pi, its computation, and ourselves and the representation being part of that same universe.
I think they mostly "believed" because they would be ostracized and maybe even killed for not believing in God and saying as much. Many who were famous in their lifetimes would have had enemies who would have loved to destroy them via that avenue.
Yes, not many people these days like to hear senseless drivel, hence the failing churches.
Have you visited a church lately? You might like it. I for sure, do!
I too like to read fiction, and play role playing games, occasionally. I just don't make real-world decisions based on the DM's chosen lore.
You're in Athens, son.