"The universe can and will create itself from nothing."

It’s a whiff

I, too, like to point out how all those simpletons around me are too arrogant to even type basic obvious facts of reality into a chatbot. It helps motivate them to engage with me in such an intellectually stimulating way that we type back and forth to each other using words written by a chatbot.

If only I could comprehend what you have so easily graced us with in this thread could such a possibility be realized. I am glad that discussions with your philosophy of religion professor dexterously solved future mysteries of high-energy physics and early universe cosmology, with no data required! Just requires a little thinking from those blessed with bigger brains and access to chatbots.

Ah, there I go again, I’ve said five more things that can laughably be dismissed. What a whiff!

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Good stuff. Thanks. No need to find the exact reference, unless it’s just to satisfy your own curiosity.

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Actually, this one feels like a substantial comment, albeit sarcastic. Saying a subject like this is above your pay grade, is a whiff. Coming back later to comment on the subject, that eternal inflation is a possibility, confirms the pay grade comment was a genuine whiff.

Small brains providentially given to an odd set of circumstances can do it too, which happened in 2005, well before language models were an available tool.

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Seems to me you’re conflating a few things. The “pay grade” comment was in response to a specific question you asked about the possibility of an infinite number of universes in the multiverse. Matthew came back later because I asked a bunch of specific questions about the Big Bang and this universe, not a hypothetical infinite number of universes. I didn’t ask about eternal inflation. You introduced that phrase in the discussion.

Maybe you misunderstood what I was asking. My point was that something caused the cosmic inflation before the Big Bang, therefore the universe (in some form or fashion) preceded the period of inflation. Since we presumably can’t know what the universe was like prior to the inflationary event, we also can’t say for sure how long it existed in that state before something triggered the cosmic inflation. So, perhaps Einstein was right that the universe has always existed? Matthew was answering that specific question when he said it was possible. Neither of us was commenting on eternal inflation. I didn’t read the Wiki so I’m not even sure what you mean by it. (No need to explain it. Just sayin.)

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That’s a real swing, but a miss :wink:

You didn’t have to:

Then you’ll have to explain what you mean by eternal inflation, because I wasn’t implying at all that the inflationary period was of eternal duration.

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ChatGPT analyzed the comment :grin: and says: The message is not specifically asking about eternal inflation, but it does touch upon the topic indirectly. The message suggests that the Big Bang was caused by prior natural causes and that the rapid inflationary period was also caused by prior natural causes. This idea is consistent with the concept of eternal inflation, which proposes that the universe is constantly expanding and new universes are being created all the time through a process of inflation.

So your ChatGPT friend agrees with what I just said. I didn’t ask about eternal inflation. I asked Matthew a specific question about rapid inflation before the Big Bang in this universe. He’d already said this:

Please note that “some models of inflation predict a multiverse.” I wasn’t asking about those models. Try not to put words in my mouth.

Unless I am mistaken that is not empirically apparent

You could’ve raised that objection 20 posts ago. I’ll be glad to answer it tomorrow if I have time and energy, but at the moment it’s a deflection.

Meanwhile, do you have anything to say about putting words into my mouth? I think I laid out that case pretty clearly. (I’ll let @pevaquark speak for himself.)

Would be so interested in hearing how this will impact the Christian theology and view. I’m curiosly excited for all the possible thoughts about this. Multiple Jesuses?(ie Jesus beign sacrificed over and over again. One Jesus sacrificed for all?God revealing himself differently ? And so on. Countless possibilities. A very much interesting topic indeed.

That is if something like that is proven and not speculated

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It’s not a deflection it’s what I read into your view about the possibility of an eternally old universe

Through a hall of mirrors dimly? It’s not something I take seriously when the scientists theorizing about this can’t understand there cannot be an infinite number of universes.

Life on other planets is a possibility, and I look forward to learning about how that one plays out in history. I’m open to all kinds of surprises. Something to consider on this planet, is how remarkable God given religion is. For example you may want to see this explanation given for what I think is one of the most important verses in the Bible:

It sure isn’t about “accumulating points to have a better afterlife” or “winning the afterlife lottery” as some mockers have it!

I like how ChatGPT summarizes this concept James Smith often talks about:

James K.A. Smith uses the Room of Desires in the film Stalker as an illustration of how our deepest desires are often hidden or veiled from us. He argues that, like the characters in the film, we are on a journey to discover our true desires and to learn how to properly order them.

Smith suggests that the liturgy plays a crucial role in helping us to uncover our true desires and to orient them towards God. Just as the Room of Desires in the film is only accessible to those who are pure of heart and truly worthy, so too must our desires be purified and properly ordered in order to lead us towards the ultimate end of our spiritual journey, which is communion with God.

Overall, Smith uses the Room of Desires in the film as a way to illustrate how our desires are often hidden from us and how the liturgy can help us to uncover and properly order them, leading us towards a deeper relationship with God.

Exactly. You read that into my view and acted as if it was what I actually said. Maybe you should try asking a question instead of just assuming the worst and arguing against your own imagined straw men.