Sunday, January 7, 2007
Faith and the Scientist
Science. Religion. Mutually exclusive? Not if you're a philosopher. I believe in G-d. This seems incredibly ignorant to some people. I believe in evolution and that the universe is 14 billion years old. Not sure if it was created, or not. This does not rule out the existence of G-d. So G-d didn't make everything. So what? What if G-d is just a force that keeps things in balance? What if G-d is human conciousness? What if G-d is our soul? Science does not account for love, for kindness, for why people cut themselves, or how we find inner strength. Maybe the best of human nature is what G-d is. What we all aspire to be. Maybe G-d is hope. Science proves why things are created, and so rule out the role of G-d the Creator. Atheists love to call people like me ignorant for believing in G-d. I don't call them ignorant for refusing to accept the possibility G-d exists. Right now I accept G-d's existence and only debate the nature of G-d. Some days I doubt G-d's existence, but then again I doubt my own existence sometimes. Perhaps the issues for people is thinking of of G-d as an entity, a big man in the sky, when perhaps G-d is a force. There is something that physicists call the "God particle", a Higgs boson particle which gives other particles mass. Without it, we wouldn't exist, and the cosmos would look radically different. So is this G-d? A particle? perhaps. I wouldn't mind. Who even knows what G-d is, so how can you prove G-d doesn't exist? Even if G-d doesn't exist, I would still be Jewish. I will always hold my faith in morality.
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6 comments:
Hi Kai,
You might not have seen these messages (for whatever reason)
--quote--
Jon Stuart isn't the only one in your list (and what happened last week is history too). Besides, what kind of status is he supposed to enjoy in public discourse? Is he (or other "jews") some authority that you want to quote to justify what you like and hate?
"Hey I'm a human being (homo sapien)! let me list all the human beings that have done some great things for humanity and justify my mindless views" - how does that sound? Einstein or JS don't represent you. Speak for yourself.
What's my videos or my nationality got to do with any of my opinions? That's what I've been criticizing. Try to detach yourself (and others) from these meaningless identities. You are part Indian? What is that even supposed to mean? What is Indian? A man/woman with brown skin? Because that's how much "Indian" there can be in you. And in my case - brown skin, English with an accent, ability to speak 4 Indian languages etc. But these things don't control my socio-political views. And I don't want your etcetras to control yours. You're just used to talking to anti-semitic idiots and you're trying to use that rhetoric on me. Sorry, wrong number.
Ignore the nature of the message as we are in much friendlier terms now. (I just wanted to make sure that you had gotten them.)
About your venture: I understand, from what you had said in the comments in my profile, that you want to try "jewishness." While there seems to be no harm in trying it, you are entering an experiment whose results is not unequivocally comprehendable. If your prayers are not "answered" people question your sincerity. If what you pray for happens by coincidence, people say you are rewarded. So the nature of the experiment is dubious in itself. The consequences are irrelevant.
Besides, you had something like "I KNOW God is nothing like this" in your comment. Some one like you - just starting to try this idea - should not sound so sure about something you are yet to confirm for yourself.
When people like you - relatively critical and liberal - make such statements, you indirectly vouch for those who don't understand the cosmos or evolution or anything. Before you know, you reinforce their ignorant thoughts. So, you need to be careful with the way you carry yourself.
If provide confidence to morons who say "I believe in evolution but I don't think humans evolved from apes". Wtf is that? Now which part of evolution does he believe? Irrationality's primary encouragment is number. The number of people who get together and chant "hail Hitler" or "God bless America".
So, you need to realize what you stand for (regardless of what you think you stand for).
There are two blog-posts that I would request you to run through.
http://englishtamil.blogspot.com/2006/12/god-lifes-purpose-and-unpredictability.html
(btw with, the most accepted model of the functioning of this (and other universes) is M-theory according to which there are 11 dimensions).
And this post (especially for someone like you),
http://englishtamil.blogspot.com/2006/12/screw-moderation.html
* close quotes after "sorry, wrong number"
Haha! I guess next time I should finish my astrophysics book before posting anything. I was on the string theory section and just now got to M-theory.
I mentioned being Indian because I was hoping to find some common ground with you- not because it makes you a better or worse person. I thought I was being unjustly attacked earlier.
I'm sorry if my comments give a green light for ignorance- I try to word myself so carefully, that other comment I whipped out and I was in a sarcastic mood. However, I do know that heaven/God/ whatever is not like a copy of the Office- c'mon.
I know nothing can prove prayer works- it's a matter of philosophy and faith. Bascially I'm looking for something that I feel comfortable in, and I was born Jewish, so..
I don't condone the anti-evolution comments. I wish they could have the same kind of revelation I did. In fact, I took a class solely on evolution. Pretty radical. After that class, you'd have to be really stubborn to not believe in evolution- and the textbook is stunning and an enjoyable read years afterward. I can understand why people don't believe though- it's comforting to. But I find enough mystery and wonder in science to not delude myself into refusing to believe.
I am going to check out your posts now, just replying to your comment.
Kai,
Deconstruction is my passion (I wasn't referring to you as ignorant in YT comments) and I deconstruct all embedded assumptions even in a simple statement.
I know you were trying to be friendly but I think that's what need to get out of. No, I don't mean the attempt to be friendly, but the reasons we find to put us in a common ground. I think, being humans and our ability to speak English is common enough (add to that the relatively reasonable mutual respect we share). As I often argue with my own country men, Indians are Indians because of some fluid identities (like brown skin and geographic boundaries). They don't make a lot of sense when you go closer. I don't and I cannot represent India. The same goes to you when you say "I was a born a jew".
No Kai, you were born a male human being. That's all you were when you were born. You were not a communist, you were not a philosopher, you were not a scientist and you, certainly, were not a jew (and in my case, I wasn't a Hindu).
If a child is born as a Hindu, Jew, Muslim or a Christian, can anyone look at a 1 month old baby and say "from the looks of it, he/she seems to be a Catholic"? I don't think so.
You see, now you're being slightly more critical, you have rephrased it - "I do know that heaven/God/ whatever is not like". Knowing what something is not like is not know what it is like. Or is it?
Comfort should not be the sole criterion for our beliefs. Because, when comforts based on false beliefs get exposed, they'll cause the most discomfort. As you say yourself, Christians are having to act like idiots and look like fools trying to defend their religion. By doing so they think they are just comforting themselves, but I'm sure it torments them everyday. Because of the fear that accepting evolution or the Big-Bang would make a mockery of their past 20-25 years, they prolong the period of potential mockery even further. It's inherently dangerous in all levels.
I see that the links don't appear quite well, I'll try to hyperlink them this time,
Link 1
Link 2
My, you are the tough one. You seem like a hard friend to have. (Wow that sounds really insulting, I just mean if I were looking for sympathy or support, you might not be the one to give it.) A good debate, sure. You've convinced me I need to be absolutely on top of my mental game with you, and completely sober (unfortunately I am lacking in both areas right now, pity for me, more for you to deconstruct). So, about being Jewish- I am born Jewish. Really. It's the only religion that's also an ethnicity, in a way. If your mom is Jewish you're Jewish. Whether you like it or not. Some people think Hitler was Jewish, and he... well... it would be unfortunate if he was because it means he turned against his own people, but it's nothing he would've chosen. It's just the same as being Indian, Polish, whatever. And you laugh at my attempt to be friendly- seriously, I was desperate. I get so fucking tired of being attacked constantly, and I'm trying not to resent you for it. I understand the expansion of knowledge and exposing ignorance, but I figure things out on my own and sometimes you make me overly defensive. It's like a siege, and I have no opportunity to counter-attack. I'm going to be very honest here- if there's one thing that annoys me about fellow intellectuals it's their tendency to nitpick and miss my point. I hope it doesn't become that, please, and it's sometimes why my hackles may get raised around you. (I have no hackles....) So, I would just wish this to be more give and take. And I know "Indian" has no real meaning. I know that am from people from certain geographical areas who identify as Indian, as Japanese, as German, and as Swiss. I know that it only affects my skin color and facial characteristics. I know that being human is enough. But it's those smaller common areas that make interesting talking points, right? So far I've noticed we share an interest in cosmology/astrophysics. That's cool. We're both critical and intellectual. That's cool as well. I of course try to reach out to all people, but it's our commonalities which determine the length of our conversation. Could be stuff like personality and intelligence. But anyway.
If this offends you or gives you way too much to work with, I'm sorry, I knew I should have waited until the morning..
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