Answers needed

[Louis Chérubin]

Thank you, I'm glad you liked it

Sure, I get what you are saying. You are welcome to borrow my dice anytime! I understand how our lack of complete understanding leaves holes of uncertainty.

However, in the example you just used, we know all about dice. We know from experience that when one is sitting on the table, there is a hidden side. So even if we can't see the die, if it's showing one number upwards, we know it's also showing one downwards.

However, we have no such experience with "realities". We have no other ones to look at or to compare to. We just have this one. As it happens, that is the problem with the argument from design; we have no non-designed universe to compare to.

I think what you're describing is your mind being unsatisified with the lack of answers science has yet given us, and yearning to fill in the gaps. Sure, there are many, many things we don't understand, and maybe we will never understand them. You could I suppose label the group of things we will never understand "Supernatural". It's an elastic word, it means whatever you want.

I view "the supernatural" (if it exists) as another layer of reality superimposed on our reality. It can act upon our reality, but nothing in this reality can act upon it. Kind of like a block of flats where if you leave the tap on, the water will go through the floor and into the flat below, but can't float upwards into the one above. Maybe there are several layers of different supernature in this way.

Now, I have absolutely no idea if anything I just described actually exists. If you've read my webpage you'll know why; it's because we can't test it! We only see the effects of the supernatural through the natural, as you said before. We can't possibly distinguish between a natural cause we don't yet understand, and a supernatural cause. So if something happens beyond our comprehension, the best we can say is we don't yet understand the cause. It may have some supernatural causation involved, it may not. We can't possibly tell. And if there is some such causation, we can't learn anything about it. All we can gain from it is the "messages" we receive through its interaction. Since they are written in "natural language" we can't ever be certain the author was ever anything other than natural.

When something mind blowing does happen, or appears to happen, we can say "I don't know what the cause of that is. It could be natural, or supernatural. Let's investigate to see if I can find any natural causes." Time and again, this approach has found natural causes for seemingly impossible events.

Or we can say, "It was caused by the supernatural!" However, we can't possibly know that this is true. Even if it is true, we have no way to possibly investigate this supernatural cause or learn anything about it. And being satisfied with this conclusion can lead you to stop searching for answers which may be just around the corner in the natural world. The phrase "I don't know" is one many people feel very uncomfortable with when it comes to the big questions of life, but it's the only honest one. It should be seen as an opportunity to learn, rather than something to be scared of. We don't know, but let's see if we can find out It's easy to fall into the trap of saying, "This is just too freaky and amazing, it just can't have a natural explanation!" Us not knowing about a possible natural explanation, or being unable to imagine one, doesn't stop there potentially being one. Jumping to a supernatural conclusion is, for this reason, always premature!

Wow. Thank you so much for your detailed response.

I understand what you’re saying. There’s something apparently antithetical between the concepts of nature and the supernatural.

However, I still don’t follow how your logic leads to the conclusion that the supernatural is not an available explanation for the origin of the universe. From my perspective, it seems you are dismissing supernatural causation simply because all you can see is the natural world. To put it in a potentially offensive way, you don’t want to believe in a god, so you try to rely solely on naturalistic explanations. Your post #151 really tempts me to accept this inference.

Please don’t be offended. I just personally believe that the existence of a supernatural realm allows for a much more intuitive understanding of the natural world. 

May I disagree with your final paragraph? While it may be true of some theists, it definitely does not apply to a great many others. I personally know several PhD holders sharing my own worldview who have made (and are making) meaningful contributions to, and are respected in, their respective scientific fields. One, believe it or not, has actually made contributions to a standard university-level biology textbook.

To reassure you, we do not believe that every “freaky” thing “can’t have a natural explanation." We believe that God created the world in an orderly, predictable, and knowable manner. This actually pushes us even more to investigate the natural world. Every scientific discovery allows us to know a little bit more of our God's greatness.

Again, I don’t mean to offend you. I understand you think I have a wacky perspective on life, and I respect the conclusions you’ve made.

I did take a brief look at your nicely designed website. Honestly, I appreciated your keyboard videos the most! Keep up the good work. I happen to be an avid classical pianist myself.