Try me! I want to know the Truth Logos even if I am wrong.
Then do it in private.
The irony is that Young Earth Creationism grew out of scientific materialism – that’s where the tenet that to be true, a thing must be 100% scientifically accurate comes from. There’s no such idea in the scriptures or the Fathers or tradition; the source is scientific materialism.
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On a panel discussion I’ve watched a couple of times Kraus got cornered by another panelist for doing metaphysics because he was assuming the existence of quantum space before there was space.
Of course cosmology has gone in some interesting directions since then, so that whole panel discussion is missing some huge items!
This is a weakness I’ve pointed out about Dawkins frequently: in one debate he mocked the idea of an eternal being, but that’s just silly because unless you claim that the universe sprang from nothing without a cause, then there must be at least one eternal entity, i.e. an eternal being. There are problems with claiming an eternal universe or chain of universes or even set of universes, and in face of those at the moment at least positing an eternal thinking being is actually the simpler option,
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Gleiser definitely deserved that Templeton!
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My older brother the mathematician used to say: imagine an n-dimensional universe that is in one-to-one correspondence point by point with our universe (then some math terms I’m not certain of); next define said universe as consisting of one point (sounds contradictory to me, but I got lost at “n-dimensional”); that point is thus in one-to-one correspondence with every point in our universe; God is that point, hence God is omnipresent.
Somehow “n-dimensional” is needed to include all of space and time and any other dimensions there may be; this makes God also omniscient since He is directly in contact with every point in our universe.
He managed to derive omnipotence from this as well…
Jesus doesn’t have to defeat thugs like Putin, the lowest angel in heaven can handle that!
A couple of days ago I asked chatGPT about the grammar of Genesis 1:1-3 just to see if it knew something I didn’t!
It is SOOO nice to see a proper translation of that! I went 'round and 'round with someone last week on a different board trying to explain how “God is a spirit” is not a sound translation.
Per the polemical argument in the first Genesis Creation account, those other elohim were created by YHWH-Elohim.
And that’s enough replies packed into one…
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No, it’s not an argument from any gap, it’s an argument from elegance. That’s what convinced the former atheists and agnostics of our informal intelligent design club that there was a Designer – as a computer science major put it, evolution itself is the most elegant example of programming ever because it starts with just a few basic rules and results in astounding diversity and durability.
I thought I included that… guess I wasn’t clear about every point in time as well.
And that can do some interesting things to theology…
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At first glance, it puts an intriguing spin on open theism
Having given this one more thought, there is a logical or conceptual problem with an infinite number of universes, past events, or even objects in space.
The simpler option is not the only option though. A cause that is not yet aware of its action has a certain appeal to it, and can be easier to understand as a purer form of philosophy. Wretched theology, but wonderful philosophy.
- Only in the minds of those who suffer from apeirophobia; you may want to consult a doctor if it disturbs your sleeping habits.
- Interestingly, Pythagoras is said to have had “ο φόβος των παράλογων αριθμών”, a fear of irrational numbers. Historical trivia tells us that: “The discovery of irrational numbers is usually attributed to Pythagoras, more specifically to the Pythagorean Hippasus of Metapontum, who produced a (most likely geometrical) proof of the irrationality of the square root of 2. The story goes that Hippasus discovered irrational numbers when trying to represent the square root of 2 as a fraction (proof below). However Pythagoras believed in the absoluteness of numbers, and could not accept the existence of irrational numbers. He could not disprove their existence through logic, but his beliefs would not accept the existence of irrational numbers and so he sentenced Hippasus to death by drowning.”
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Very nice!
(and during the day, I cower at the thought of married bachelors)
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Ehhh… an irrational fear 
I’ve had people tell me they can imagine an infinite number of objects… it doesn’t keep me up at night as much as it used to 
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Apeirophobics scare me.
It has nothing to do with fear, it has to do with reality. Of course there are an infinite number of geometrical points* conceptually between, say, zero and one on a graph. But do you remember how big a point is?
We are talking about the reality of actual things. The infinite number you are imagining is real is in the future, and you will never get there. (Not that this is necessarily relevant, but I have a degree in mathematics… not at all that I consider myself a mathematician – I don’t, otherwise I might have a graduate degree. ; - )
*ETA: Geometrical points themselves are only conceptual and not physical reality. It’s not like you could take one and do something with it physically.
I was considering that events off our timeline aren’t attached to the order of events in our timeline. As an example, if the afterlife is a separate universe, all the moments at which people die in this universe could be the same single moment in that universe, in which case there is no longer any need for conjecture about where the dead are now because our “now” is not relevant to them/us because all the dead would arrive there at the same instant.
From there, when Jesus went and preached to the spirits “in prison”, it was/is/will be all of us that heard/hear/will hear Him speak.
And “it is appointed for a man once to die, and then comes the judgment” would make more sense because we all arrive at the judgment the moment after we die – no waiting around in some kind of limbo.
Are you going back to the Gnostic Demiurge that created the universe but practically as an accident?
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If I ever get around to it, this book has looked like an interesting read or listen,
It comes in various disguises, but one in particular can be particularly unnerving.
I had an atheist literally jump at the thought of a cause that is unaware of its action, but went radio silent, when the question followed, “Are you aware of your action?”
As the book has long intrigued me, I decided to give it a look,
“That God himself would descend in the incarnate Son to take on human flesh and all that entails, including not only dying but remaining dead, in order to redeem us from the curse of sin, is at the heart of the good news.”
“He Descended to the Dead”: An Evangelical Theology of Holy Saturday by Matthew Y. Emerson
That is what Jesus said in effect to repentant thief on the cross.
"…today you will be with me in paradise.” Luke 23:43