Monkeying Around in the Garden of Eden

[Jehanne]

We are.

But, being humans, we can see ourselves and each other.

Ah, so that's why we haven't discovered any extraterrestrials. They were created in the image of other deities, so they can't see us, and we can't see them.

A better explanation is that if ET exists, they would have to be emitting a very powerful radio wave via a directional antenna that was aimed directly at the Earth before we could detect them; problem, of course, is that we are a moving target, and so, ET would need to lead us by a small, but significant, fraction of a light year, but that would take knowing our exact position in space with respect to the Galaxy and where we were going.

[energizer bunny]

I don't care much for the religious meanings. I just find the idea of monkeying around in a garden of eden to be a pretty neat experience.

[Gemini]

A better explanation is that if ET exists, they would have to be emitting a very powerful radio wave via a directional antenna that was aimed directly at the Earth before we could detect them; problem, of course, is that we are a moving target, and so, ET would need to lead us by a small, but significant, fraction of a light year, but that would take knowing our exact position in space with respect to the Galaxy and where we were going.

You know, I've been interested in SETI since I read Sagan's books ages ago, and I didn't know that. So much for Fermi's paradox!

[Jehanne]

A better explanation is that if ET exists, they would have to be emitting a very powerful radio wave via a directional antenna that was aimed directly at the Earth before we could detect them; problem, of course, is that we are a moving target, and so, ET would need to lead us by a small, but significant, fraction of a light year, but that would take knowing our exact position in space with respect to the Galaxy and where we were going.

You know, I've been interested in SETI since I read Sagan's books ages ago, and I didn't know that. So much for Fermi's paradox!

If modern physics is largely complete (General Relativity and Quantum Field Theory), then interstellar space travel is physically impossible for any sentient being with a decent sized body, which would be needed to build a spaceship anyways.  Think about how much water, food, and heat would be needed for a 50,000+ year journey through interstellar space and how much lift capacity it would take to get that amount of material into Earth orbit.  Every human being alive today (at least in the West) uses nearly 100 gallons of water per day:

http://water.usgs.gov/edu/qa-home-percapita.html

Even if it would be possible to recycle and use all of that with 100% efficiency, and more importantly, without any loss of water, think about the amount of energy it would take to keep that water liquid and all of the energy needed to recycle and cleanse it for its daily use.  And, then, there's the food that we eat, a minimum of 2,000 food calories per day.

Cryogenics is a pipe-dream, as there is no way to freeze a living brain for years on end without the cells in it dying, and so, interstellar space travel is probably impossible, which explains why the Earth has not been visited by aliens and likely never will be.

[Lek]

If God created man in His own image, then He is a naked ape.

The above was considered a blasphemy by Ray Comfort which is a comfort.

What a deep comment! Why only go back to the ape. Maybe you should say that God is actually the force that created the first element that evolved through the ages into the ape and then into a man. When the bible speaks of being made in the "image of God" it's speaking of our spiritual image. God took on our physical image as Jesus.

[Fake Messiah]

What a deep comment!  Why only go back to the ape.  Maybe you should say that God is actually the force that created the first element that evolved through the ages into the ape and then into a man.  When the bible speaks of being made in the "image of God" it's speaking of our spiritual image.  God took on our physical image as Jesus.

Well it may not be deep but it's defeneatly smarter then yours. Why would an omnipotent and loving God who directed evolution would lead it into so many dead ends? After all, over 99 percent of the species that ever lived went extinct without leaving descendants. The cruelty of natural selection, which involves endless wastage and pain, also demands explanation. Wouldn’t a loving and all-powerful God simply have produced all existing species, as described in Genesis?

And, of course, if God gets the credit for the adaptive mutations that led to humans, then what about mutations that cause cancers, genetic diseases, and deformed children? If mutation were a process designed by God, there’s no reason why the vast majority of mutations should be harmful—though that’s exactly what you’d expect if the process were purely a naturalistic one involving random errors.

[madog]

If God created man in His own image, then He is a naked ape.

The above was considered a blasphemy by Ray Comfort which is a comfort.

   When the bible speaks of being made in the "image of God" it's speaking of our spiritual image.   

If there was a God a god that made humanity in the "image of God" he must have thought "oh fuck am I really like that?" 

[Exian]

My youngest nephew(6) was wondering out loud "Who was the first ever man?" and my oldest nephew(8) answered with the confidence of a know-it-all "Adam Sandler".

[Lek]

Well it may not be deep but it's defeneatly smarter then yours. Why would an omnipotent and loving God who directed evolution would lead it into so many dead ends?

If his purpose in creating those creatures was to evolve into a higher creature then maybe it wouldn't be smart, but these creatures had a reason to live. Millions of species that were not dead ends also went extinct.

The cruelty of natural selection, which involves endless wastage and pain, also demands explanation. Wouldn’t a loving and all-powerful God simply have produced all existing species, as described in Genesis?

And, of course, if God gets the credit for the adaptive mutations that led to humans, then what about mutations that cause cancers, genetic diseases, and deformed children? If mutation were a process designed by God, there’s no reason why the vast majority of mutations should be harmful—though that’s exactly what you’d expect if the process were purely a naturalistic one involving random errors.

If suffering is bad then it might mean that God is not loving. Jesus suffered and it was good.

[madog]

 

 

If suffering is bad then it might mean that God is not loving.  Jesus suffered and it was good.

Are you saying Jesus was a public relations job for a hateful god? If I believed in a god I would have to agree with you, but Jesus although an improvement was a shit also ...