(November 5, 2014 at 10:30 am)vorlon13 Wrote: I wonder how many Christian denominations are possible before they start repeating ??I expect there are repeats already (to a reasonable resolution) but who is going to check? It's like snowflakes. Lots of variation but how can you say for sure that no two are alike.
(I'm not really good at the maths, but would it be the factorial of 40,000 ??)
Schism leading to variation between denominations serves the exact same function as mutation leading to variation in biological systems. They live where they can and die where they can't. Variability gives them the opportunities to grow into niches which were previously denied to them and natural selection among these kills off the unfit. Example: a new non-falsifiable apologetic purporting to answer one of the unanswerable paradoxes of the omni-god will allow the colonization of new receptive minds leading to discord within the group (heresy) and a young, aggressive cleric splits some followers into a new denomination (species). The old time religion persists with those left behind. If the new denomination can't find enough followers, it dies. If it can, it persists.
Religions are large non-self aware organisms which eat brains. Kind of giant zombie slime molds.
So how, exactly, does God know that She's NOT a brain in a vat? 
