Re: virus: RE: Future of Man

James T. Martin (martinj@theriver.com)
Thu, 28 Mar 1996 21:25:03 -0700


At 11:27 PM 3/27/96 -0600, you wrote:
>JD wrote:
>
>>
>> Science will probably never prove or disprove the theory of a god,
>besides
>> what god are you talking about. All is opinion and personal perception.
>>
>
>When I speak of "god" I am speaking of what is eternal; the immuttable
>postulate upon which the physical world is based, if such a postulate
>exists. The term "god" brings to mind an image of an omnipresent,
>anthropomorphic entity, but that image is false. It seems logical to me
>that "god" is a force; not a man on a cloud with a flowing white beard
>that manipulates humans in some ethereal game of chess. I suppose this
>belief would categorize me as an atheist, but I don't use the term
>because it has become such a loaded word. I would like to know how some
>fellow C of V members define what it means to be an "atheist".
>
>
>
I've been an atheist for quite some time. Used to be a little militant about
it too. Now I'm live and let live - I understand why most people can't shake
the notion and now I will never engage a conversion attempt.
A "true" atheist is a person who has been fully enlightened. We have no
inkling of any organizing force in the universe other than what can be found
in chemistry and the various physical forces. The Unified Forces if you
will. Was this condition of the universe always static? No, a through
reading of the current theory of the 'big bang' will indicate the
evolutionary nature of these conditions of matter and energy.
Assume you were totally adamant about the idea of a parallel universe, could
not even conceive of how this could be. That is similar to the atheists
grasp of a god. We recognize the beginning of how the concept got started in
prehistoric times. Spirits everywhere, animating the forces of nature
(animism). With the idea evolving to montheism in historic times. Your
beliefs could be termed "deist" - similar to many of our founding fathers
(US). You realize that the anthropomorphic god imagined by most is
ridiculous but can't rid your mind of some spiritual entity at work. I
believe science now has a very good idea of how the universe operates -
although many details elude us. If you want a philosophy that is ancient,
yet, quaint - check out the Tao (Tao te Ching) by Lao Tzu. The answers are
there!
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