(March 7, 2012 at 11:48 pm)ChadWooters Wrote: Because my water-pik is calling I only have time for a short reply. You are essentially correct. You could say that everything comes out am abyss of infinite possibility, pregnant void, or similar idea without calling it god. The key concept is not what you call that condition, but how well it fits with reality as we live it on a day to day basis. For me the scientific method is very effective for understanding the physical universe. But strictly limiting inquiry to empirical verification of falsifiable hypothesis excludes from considerations all forms of subjective experience, our thoughts, feeling, sensations, how and why we assign meaning and significance to things, etc. In short, positing the existence of the divine expands the definition of reality beyond what is only physical. This allows room for phenomena that cannot be reduced to an algorithm. Sure it's a long tentative slog to go from Cause to "personal Lord and Savior" , but you have to start somewhere.
Ah so your deism/agnosticism, if that is how you classify yourself, is based more on a explanation for what you see as non-physical phenomenon? I agree that while the origin of a thought is physical the thought itself is an abstract idea. As in what particles make up a thought per say? Sure neuroelectricity/chemicals may be involved but the product that they create is not a physical entity in of itself.
However again I freely admit that there may be a metaphysical presence or metaphysical things such as ideas. What I do not see though is how this makes the idea of deity any more likely then something else. Do I think that science understands these phenomenons yet? No I do not and it may never breach that part of our existence. However not being able to explain it does not default it to a divine/deity explanation that also cannot be measured/explained anyway. It isn't that it is impossible for such a thing as deity to be involved it is just that you can't prove it or at least I haven't seen anyone who can yet.