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Fine Tuning proves a Creator?

1/30/2016

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Those  Theist who argue, that because  the universe is so fine tuned to support life, citing 122 Antrophic arguments, there has to be a creator, not only use this  Naturalistic  fallacy (a reasoning chain that makes an unwarranted extrapolation as in the case of sheer quantity metrics based on the premise "more is better") as their argument but also really prove the opposite instead..
Let’s mention some of these "antropic" points as quoted by their defenders; 1-Oxygin level. 2- Atmospheric transparency,  3-moon gravity-earth interaction, 4- carbon dioxide level, 5- Jupiter’s influence and so on and on. These facts are correct and are not in dispute. It is the conclusion that they draw. The old saw, used over the centuries,  “God did it”  was many times revised when new discoveries were made.
The universe is so big that we hardly can comprehend the size of it, and we probably  have observed only a small part of it. The conditions that will have to come together (fine tuning) looks nearly improbable, that’s the truth.  We also can see that 99.99999% of the universe is hostile to life. Since the vastness and variety of circumstances in the observable universe, is so great that somewhere these combination might support life in a few of the “gazillions” of galaxies and the “gazillion” solar systems in a Galaxy. This favorable combination did happen a few times, by shear chance, at least once  for sure, since we are here! (Odds are too great? Winning a lottery with odds of 5 million to one does not need 5 million draws to be won. It could be won tomorrow.). The shear weight of  pure Chance is therefor overwhelming if compared to an unwarranted conclusion which is just made up.
The other question is, why would a Creator design an enormous universe, 99.9999999% hostile to life, if he/she could have done it with a flat plate, with a dome with lights over it,  just like our ancient forefathers envisioned it.
Conclusion: The size and complexity of the universe, even if we don’t understand yet, whether it had a beginning or is eternal, why the nature’s laws are what they are, whether the big bang is a beginning or a phase, or whether there is a multiverse, point to the development of life being created by chance as we observe it. To jump to the “God did it “conclusion . that has been many times disproven in the past, is a fallacy.

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BIBLE TRANSLATIONS

1/28/2016

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To those who believe that the bible is God’s word and cannot be questioned, one should ask which translation is the correct one. There are over 40 different English translation (see: biblegateway.com). I research the concept of “hell” and found out that actually the common concept of Hell is totally misunderstood. There is no reference to this concept in the OT. The old text refer either to “sheol” meaning grave which is “hades” in the Greek versions means a place of forgetfulness.  Sometimes there are references to the "Valley of Hinnon", A place outside Jerusalem were trash was burned. Many translations use “hell” so that it seems that our modern concept of hell applies. Not so, according to the Greek or Hebrew versions. In the NT the older versions refer to “Gehenna” also translated as “Hell” in many versions Gehenna is similar to the “Valley of Hinnon” mentioned in the OT. It is a place where in the OT children were sacrificed and dead people burned. This valley is recognized as a burning trash heap in the NT. (biblegate.com , look into the Expanded Bible version, EXB). There is also no mention of the Gehenna fire to be eternal, but indicates the total destruction of the body. The eternal fire concept was added to the early church to  persuade their followers not to leave the church but to encourage them to stay and convince others to fear God and join. A very successful move if you look at the results today. 
Conclusion: The word “Hell” is a wrong translation for the original “Sheol” or “Hades” meaning “grave” and “forgetfulness” and “Gehenna” an actual existing burning trash heap outside Jerusalem, which burned dead bodies for total destruction, not an eternal fire.
 


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Are Dogs Atheists?

1/18/2016

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Are Dogs Atheists? A friend of mine declared that dog are Atheists intimating that all animals are atheists because they do not believe in a God.  I answered him “you are wrong, you are your dog’s God. Although it was said in jest, it did start a train of thought about  the idea that many animals, especially those who live in herds, have a few leaders but mostly followers and that the herd instinct, an inclination in humans and animals to think or behave like the majority, is a common phenomenon. The establishment of leadership might be a genetic trait. In a wild dog pack there is an Alpha dog which established his leadership by dominating the rest of the herd. A dog owned by a human, if properly trained, regards his owner as the Alpha dog or God. Whether  it is treated good or bad, the dog stays loyal. Humans establish their leaders in a similar matter, indicating that the herd instinct is an inherited trait. It would mean that excepting a strong leader with unquestionable  power is a logical development in human herds as well. The emperors of the past were indeed regarded as gods which were still in power after they died and thus we have different Gods in different tribes. I think it safe to assume that un-elected religious leaders using these ‘gods’ as a powerful method to control their subjects by convincing their followers that they are speaking for the ‘god’ and must therefor  be obeyed. This herd instinct is not only visible in religious groups but also in the political arena. Powerful “alpha dogs” can be living gods themselves such as we have seen in Hitler, Mao and Stalin. That would mean that a truly democratic society will be not easily be obtained since it tries to defy the herd instinct to rely on a almighty  real or imaginary leader with unlimited power,
Summing up, the herd instinct that is an powerful inherited trait, requires a strong almighty leader, who requires utmost loyalty, and who’s decisions, even when not understood can not be questioned.
1-God, represented by their human avatars
2-Emperors, kings, who were considered God themselves
3- Dictators
The powerful herd instinct also makes people want to think  and behave like the majority of the group. The enemy of this powerful inherited inclination are educators, free thinkers, skeptics and non-conformists and they are viewed as the enemy of the herd by the masses and have been ruthlessly eliminated in the past and still are by not only some religious leaders but by dictators as well.
Just an idea that I want to develop further, perhaps it’s way of base but I love your input on the matter since it could explain why religious leaders and Dictators seem to be more powerful than elected ones, who often are strongly influenced by religious or political ideologies.

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    Ben Vande       
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