RE: Answers needed
June 26, 2015 at 9:04 am
(This post was last modified: June 26, 2015 at 9:09 am by Tonus.)
(June 25, 2015 at 9:59 pm)Louis Chérubin Wrote: 1. Does God exist?
2. Where did the universe come from?
3. Does my life have a purpose?
4. Why do people suffer?
5. Is there life after death?
6. Can I distinguish right from wrong?
7. Can people know truth?
1. No.
2. The origins of the universe are not completely understood, and may never be. So I can't answer that question.
3. Yes.
4. Due to their circumstances (sorry, but such a vague question merits a vague answer).
5. No.
6. Yes.
7. Yes.
Louis Chérubin Wrote:Two follow-up questions:
1. Since the universe started with the big-bang, where did cellular life (evidence of design) come from?
2. Your answer to question 6 implies that there is such a thing as right and wrong. Where do you think these concepts come from? You've probably heard the argument that "right" and "wrong" implicitly refer to a higher standard. What's your response to that?
1. The origins of life are also not completely understood, though it seems we might get close to one or more answers, involving chemistry. However, cellular life is not "evidence of design." You'll have to demonstrate that before you can slip it into a question.
2. Our determination of right and wrong have developed over time as our communities and societies formed and grew. They continue to do so today. The notion of an objective standard of right and wrong tends to go to pieces under any sort of examination, even if we allow for an all-powerful lawgiver. If right and wrong are truly objective, then most gods are guilty of wrongdoing. If a god is considered to be above notions of right and wrong, then those cannot be held objectively.
"Well, evolution is a theory. It is also a fact. And facts and theories are different things, not rungs in a hierarchy of increasing certainty. Facts are the world's data. Theories are structures of ideas that explain and interpret facts. Facts don't go away when scientists debate rival theories to explain them. Einstein's theory of gravitation replaced Newton's in this century, but apples didn't suspend themselves in midair, pending the outcome. And humans evolved from ape- like ancestors whether they did so by Darwin's proposed mechanism or by some other yet to be discovered."
-Stephen Jay Gould
-Stephen Jay Gould