Does this mean that there is no such thing we might refer to as god-like existing…of course not, there may very well be a god-like entity that is simply undiscovered.

It could be like a Master DNA..from which all things are constructed, organized, and maintained.

It could be that the Universe itself is a god-like entity, intelligent and aware, but has either no concern or very little concern for individualism.

Diogenes ( not me ) once said that:

All things are differentiations of the same thing, and are the same thing. And this is obvious; for, if the things which are now in this world - earth, water, air, and fire, and the things we see existing in this world -
if any one of these things, I say, were different, that is, by having a substance peculiar to itself; and if it were not the same thing that is often changed and differentiated, then,
things could not in any way mix with one another, nor could they do one another good or harm.
Neither could a plant grow out of the Earth, nor any animal nor anything else come into being unless things were so composed as to be the same.
But all these things arise from the same thing; they are differentiated and take different forms at different times, and return again to the same thing.

Essentially, Diogenes ( not me ) believed that only one thing exists, and every thing that exists is produced from that one thing…is essentially parts of the whole.

That what we see is essentially just differentiations of the one thing…the various forms it produces from itself. From this one thing comes the many variations of it.

Does this support the concept of ‘ design ‘…as in something ‘ aware ‘ and creates with knowledgeable purpose…no. It could in fact be completely unaware.

Just something for you to contemplate.

Which could be updated to ‘ May I have the ability to understand what can be known at this time, the rationale to understand that there are many things I cannot know at this time, and the wisdom to know the difference between them. ‘

We are still babes…barely out of our diapers…

I am confident in saying that the amount of ‘ knowledge ‘ we possess is like a single grain of sand out of all the sand on every beach on the planet.

God, death, afterlife, predestination, other worlds, aliens, etc etc etc are not things we can dismiss as impossibilities, they are simply things we are not equipped yet to know one way or another…and maybe we never will be equipped to ever understand them…

so to say there is no such thing as a god ( of any type ) , or aliens, etc, is to lack the understanding to know that there are things we presently cannot know…

all we can do, at this point,

is base our understanding upon what we do know…

and what we do know, as rational people, that ‘ if ‘ there is a god it would not suffer from the frail human condition which is prevalent in most god-based belief systems…

it is not that we reject the possibility of a god, we merely reject any god that behaves in an irrational manner …if god exists, it’s first and foremost character would be rationality.

If a god, of any type or form, exists…it would be rational and behave in a rational manner.

because both literally mean you must think to exist…therefore a rock does not exist…neither does the air we breathe…etc…

it’ like the saying ‘ if a tree falls in the woods and there is no one around to hear it fall does it make a sound? ‘

all three statements insist that man must exist or nothing else can exist around him, and that he must be there to participate in it or it does not exist at all.

Center of the Universe thinking…’ I think, therefore I am ‘, and therefore everything else is..without my thinking nothing could exist.

The statement is neither wise nor profound…and rightfully belongs where it came from…the past.

it’s human nature.

Humans are like fish, we are attracted to those things that are the most agreeable to us, like a nice shiny lure…and we are repelled by that which is the most offensive.

And it can differ greatly from one person to the next.

It’s the reason why two people will walk into a store to buy a stereo and be attracted to two completely different units.

So the very concept of thinking that an unbiased media could exist shows a lack of understanding of the human condition.

Objectivity is not the state of being without prejudice, objectivity is the state of being able to see the other side, or all sides, in spite of your prejudice.

And, as Nono said:

Objectivity is often either encouraged or discouraged from the top down.

They should be put in a cell of their own, with a clean bed, toilet, a desk, get 3 square meals a day in their cell, access to books, no contact at all with other prisoners ( except from one cell to the next ), private yard/shower time, to work out, clean up, exercise outside their cell…

and little if anything else.

Most of the problems in prison are as a result of allowing the population to mix…in the yard, during meals, showers, etc…by not allowing them to mix you effectively reduce the problems, especially the safety risks to inmates and guards, by a substantial amount.

Simple fact…you can’t stab someone, rape someone, assault someone, etc if you are denied access to them. You can’t revolt, overpower guards, etc…easily…if it’s just you. And it would greatly reduce the drug, and disease problem.

I’m not talking isolation…just inaccessibility.

Prisons, if we must have them…should be ‘ safe ‘ environments…and the inmates should be ‘ well taken care of ‘…but they should not have TV’s, Radios, or any luxuries of any kind.

Necessities only.

Do you think putting a person into a 6×8 box for several years, to live among people who are considered the worst society has to offer, being told when to get up, when to go to bed, when to eat…etc…is humane?

OK, for the next three years I want you to move into the most violent neighborhood you can find…preferably in a neighborhood with a high rate of the worst kinds of crime, and gangs and drug dealers and pimps on every corner…and you must spend a few hours a day outside for exercise…but you may not, under any circumstances ever leave the neighborhood until your term is served.

Sound like something humane? Go for it, just give it a go and then report back in 3 years.

Women have been trying to reform men for centuries without much luck…prison does not reform anyone…the vast majority of inmates are repeat offenders.

I say kill em’ n’ let their own god sort it out…far more humane…just ask an animal shelter when they destroy an animal…that can no longer be kept because of it’s temperament…we don’t cage a dog for years and years…that would be cruel…so we kill them to avoid being cruel and inhumane.

We should do the same to people…if they are no longer fit to live among society then put them down…it’s the humane thing to do.

1. someone commits a crime
2. we lock them up
3. they stand trial
4. if convicted we lock them up again for a determined time
5. once they have completed that time we let them go
6. until they re-offended and we lock em’ up again

and we’ve been doing this since the first person was held against their will for committing an unsavory act upon another.

We have not, in all the centuries that have passed, found a better way to deal with those who are deemed unfit to live among the rest of us.

Prisons should be abolished entirely…anyone who commits a crime should either:

1. be killed
2. dealt with in alternative ways to prison

if someone is so heinous, so threatening, so predatorial, to society that he/she cannot be dealt with through means other than prison, we should just kill them…like a rabid dog…

and be done with it.

The prisons are full of people that shouldn’t even be there…the vast majority of them don’t even pose a significant threat to society…there should be valid solutions beyond what we presently have to deal with offenders.

Those who do pose a significant threat should ( IMO ) just be killed…but for the bleeding-hearts out there who want to keep them alive, at the very least locked away for good without any hope of ever getting back out.

Prison, if it must exist…again, if it must exist ( and personally I don’t think it does ) …should be reserved for only those who pose a significant risk to society…significant enough that it would be irresponsible to ever let them go.

Most people aren’t cowards…they’re passive…

that’s why 100 people will walk by someone getting the crap beat out of them in an alley and one person might stop and help the guy…

people generally, don’t want to get involved…they’re passive…

this is why we admire heroes…because they are the exception rather than the rule.

Most people do not join the military thinking they will ever go to war and have to kill or be killed…they join for other reasons such as a paid education, to get out of an economic crisis, etc…

sure some do join because they want to go kill something…but again, they’re the exception rather than the rule.

The vast majority of people are passive…they’re not heroes, and they’re not gung ho killers…

only about 1% of the population are aggressive, that’s the reason why bikers ( Hell Angels, Satan’s Choice, etc… ) wear the 1% on their jackets…because they belong to the 1% that will get in your face.

Are people cowards? No, not at all, but 99% of the population is passive.

Technically that statement is correct…and I’ve expressed this point a few times over several threads…

the planet is not going through a period of increased warmth…

we are going through a period of over-sustained warmth.

Meaning we are staying warm too long.

Ice cores show that the planet goes through cycles that last approx. every 150,000 years…where we peak at both ends…the peak/valleys last approx. 5000-7500 years…not long enough to cause any damage…

right now we at at a peak that could last as long as 25000-30000 years…which could cause considerable damage.

Take a ice cube out of the freezer for a few minutes then put it back…it may melt a little but not much…now…take it out for an hour and see if it’s still there.

This is what’s happening…it is NOT warming…it is ‘ sustained ‘ warmth.

Ice cores do NOT show our temperature any higher than at any other peak in history…it is NOT higher…it is NOT warming…we have already peaked.

………………..

Now…CO2 ‘ is ‘ at an all-time high…in fact it is off the charts…this could be the reason we are not cooling…and won’t be for some time.

Global Warming is a catch phrase…that does not give the right message. It is really Sustained Global Warmth…not as catchy is it…doesn’t quite have the same ‘ zing ‘ to it.

Yes, Jack is absolutely right…it works both ways.

But I would even take it one step further and say that ‘ creator ‘ in this sense can mean anything but a personal interactive god or gods.

Yes, it is possible some form of creation took place…yes, it is possible that some form of an entity we might refer to one day as godly or god-like was that catalyst or instrumental in it…yes, it is possible some kind of god-like thing exists in some form, and perhaps in a form we least expect it…

but the likelihood of a personal interactive god-being, although possible, is about as likely as saying/believing we are all the imaginary creations in someone’s elaborate dream world.

…………………..

The evidence is not only visible, comprehensible, and available…it is also abundant.

God loves us
God is our Father
God has our best interests at heart
God does not punish the innocent
The children are dear to God
etc etc etc

As a Father I love my children
as a Father i have the best interests of my children at heart
as a Father i do not punish them for being innocent
my children are dear to me
etc etc etc

God is all-powerful
God is omniscient

I am not all-powerful
I am not omniscient

If I was all-powerful and omniscient I would help that child starving in India, I would help that child about to be raped…
because…
As a Father I love my children
as a Father i have the best interests of my children at heart
as a Father i do not punish them for being innocent
my children are dear to me
etc etc etc

but I am not all-powerful
I am not omniscient

God loves us
God is our Father
God has our best interests at heart
God does not punish the innocent
The children are dear to God
etc etc etc

but God does nothing…

therefore…I am more God than God…because I do care and would act if I could…

God does nothing…

why does God do nothing…

it is not because God doesn’t care…
it is not because God punishes the innocent…
it is not because God would not step in…

it is because …

there is no God.

Do you understand now…or do you need more proof?

If this personal interactive god exists it completely lacks the parental qualities we have assigned to it…including and especially the love of it’s children.

It behaves in a very non-parental manner be-fitting an entity that does not have parental instincts or mannerisms…including the expression of love.