Philosophy

[barrowaj]

Mother nature is both the rules, and the enforcer of said rules.
She is the system by which we all live. Everything that is belongs to Mother Nature...if that's not God, what is?

I have entertained this viewpoint for a while. From what I understand this is the "pantheism" that Einstein beleived in.

But the question that I have is that do you beleive that "mother nature" is an intelligent, conscious working system? I don't really think so, in that I think that the universe is more akin to a computer, really a deterministic system that works on its own. Through physics, we have managed to crudely model some of the functioning of it, but we have a lot to learn, if it is actually possible to figure out through experimentation.

In my mind, what I have described really is atheism, although I am hesitant to admit it to others for fear of persecution or being an outcast, so I really use the term "agnostic" to describe my views. But suprisingly I've found that in medical school there are a lot of people that have this same perspective.

[Bill]

"But the question that I have is that do you beleive that "mother nature" is an intelligent, conscious working system?"

I have no idea if it's conscious, but it works, and it evolves as needed at it's own pace, and of it's own volition.

Beyond that, i don't make assumptions about anything related to Mother Nature aka God.

Since we have no real idea what mother nature aka God is, we wouldn't even be able to ask the right questions to get the answers we'd need, even if given a chance.

[Broken]

From what I understand this is the "pantheism" that Einstein beleived in.

Einstein was a deist, if not an atheist. When he got stuck at a mental fork in the road, he would ask himself, "What would the maker do?". Evidently worked quite well for him.

But the question that I have is that do you beleive that "mother nature" is an intelligent, conscious working system? I don't really think so, in that I think that the universe is more akin to a computer, really a deterministic system that works on its own.

I was an true atheist, in the way Dale describes. As you put it, the real world needed no God to explain it or run it. The Universe, in some form, has existed forever, just chugging along. But that leads to the thought: if the universe has been here forever, eventually it would evolve somebody capable of making Universes of their own.

[Broken]

I don't really think so, in that I think that the universe is more akin to a computer.

One of these two guys would agree with you:

(Clarence L. Thomas IV) writes:

The earthquake in Los Angeles, California, the flood in Europe, the seemingly unstoppable war in the former Yugoslavia, the devastating fires in Australia, the flood in the Midwest of the United States of America, the devastating fires near Los Angeles, California, the rapid and appalling increase in violence in cities, towns, villages all over the world, the famines, the diseases, the rapid decline of the family unit, and the destructive earthquake in India (in 1993) are signs that this world's history is coming to a climax. The human race has trampled on God's Constitution, as given in Exodus 20:1-17 (King James Version Bible), and Jesus is coming to set things right. These rapidly accelerating signs are an indication that Jesus is coming soon (Matthew 24).

Which compiler are you using?


God's Holy Spirit is gradually withdrawing its protection from the earth and the devastating events you see are demonstrations of Satan's power. All those who are not guarded by God are in danger of forever losing eternal life.

Have you tried compiling with -Wsatan? That should warn you about all demonstrations of Satan's power in your code. There is a software product Divinity (tm) which will find Satanic leaks in your code. I highly recommend this product. It costs only $666.

If you want to know what's about to happen, please study the books of Daniel and Revelation which are located in God's Word, the Bible. They are not sealed or closed books. They can and must be understood by all. Every word in the Bible from Genesis to Revelation is true. The Bible and the Bible only must be your guide.

Oh yeah? Where in the Bible does it say that i = i++ is a bad idea? Huh? HUH? Does it talk about Quicksort? DOES IT? Where does it discuss the evils of goto and unstructred code? When you get a bus error don't come crying to me buddy!

When God's Law (the Constitution for the Universe) is consistently ignored, disregarded, changed, and questioned, He permits certain events to occur to wake us up. I would urge all, wherever you are and regardless of the circumstances, to directly call on Jesus and ask Him to intervene in your life. Jesus who created this planet and every living creature in it and on it, died on the cross, was raised from the dead by God the Father, and is now in Heaven interceding for you. Jesus is the only One who can rescue us from the slavery, misery, and death Satan is causing us.


For those of you who have to think in computer terms:
Satan - Microsoft
Jesus - The FSF
God - A committee of Richard Stallman, Donald Knuth, Brian Kernighan, and Dennis Ritchie
Old Testament - K&R Classic
New Testament - K&R ANSI
Penance - Installing emacs

In the other direction....

gcc - becoming a Christian
gcc -Wall - becoming a Christian *and* a Moslem (just to be sure)
gcc -Wall -Wprototypes - ... and a Jew. You can't be too careful
gdb - Reading the bible
sdb - Reading it in Hebrew
adb - Reading it in Klingon


For reference I'm including God's Constitution as given in the King James Version Bible. Please note that when God says the seventh day, he means Sabbath (the 7th day of the week) not Sunday (1st day of the week).


How about I just not hack on weekends at all? Is that cool?

Commandment #1: Exodus 20:1-3 (KJV) And God spake all these words, saying, I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

K&R #1 Thou shalt have no C Bible before me.

Commandment #2: Exodus 20:4-6 (KJV) Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

K&R #2 Thou shalt not use Pascal, it being only a pale shadow of C

Commandment #3: Exodus 20:7 (KJV) Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

K&R #3 Thou shalt always prototype your functions or else the C compiler will extract vengence.

Commandment #4: Exodus 20:8-11 (KJV) Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

K&R #4 Only hack on Sundays^H^H^H^H^H^H^HSaturdays if you *really* want to.

Commandment #5: Exodus 20:12 (KJV) Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

K&R #5 Hold pre-ansi C in high esteem as it was the parent of True C. Honor C++ while you are at it. You can hate COBOL if you like.

Commandment #6: Exodus 20:13 (KJV) Thou shalt not kill.

K&R #6 Don't dereference NULL.

[Bill]

"I was an true atheist, in the way Dale describes. As you put it, the real world needed no God to explain it or run it. The Universe, in some form, has existed forever, just chugging along. But that leads to the thought: if the universe has been here forever, eventually it would evolve somebody capable of making Universes of their own."

The problem with that line of logic is that it's all based on a totally unprovable assumption. That's the problem with any 'what is god' questions.

Nobody knows, and anyone who does isn't talking(cause they're quite dead).

[Broken]

"I was an true atheist, in the way Dale describes. As you put it, the real world needed no God to explain it or run it. The Universe, in some form, has existed forever, just chugging along. But that leads to the thought: if the universe has been here forever, eventually it would evolve somebody capable of making Universes of their own."

The problem with that line of logic is that it's all based on a totally unprovable assumption. That's the problem with any 'what is god' questions.

Nobody knows, and anyone who does isn't talking(cause they're quite dead).

Certainly true. My point was to show a plausible argument could be made. If it is possible for a "universe" to reproduce, one could call that a "Creation". Is it likely that the Universe can spawn others? No good answer for that one.

[Bill]

Well lemme know if you ever figure it out bro. ;)

[Broken]

Well lemme know if you ever figure it out bro. ;)

Thanks, but designing other universes is not exactly my area of expertise. ;)

I would venture that we will all be worm food long before anybody has clue one.

[Bill]

"I would venture that we will all be worm food long before anybody has clue one."

Agreed.