Suppose we discover what happened prior to the Big Bang and it was purely chemical processes.

[More Than A Feeling]

What would that do to your faith/spirituality/worldview/"ideas concerning religion"? Do you rely on the idea of a supernatural entity (that created existence) enough that such a discovery would cause you to lose faith, or would you assert that those chemical processes were in turn created by a supernatural entity? Suppose you could never find an ultimate reason why everything has happened, that there is no "uncaused cause", no "alpha and omega", would that have any effect on your ideas concerning religion at all?

[DCKit]

1. Pop Rocks and Coca Cola?

The one thing that just slays me is their determination to stick to the whole 6,000 year thing in the face of biological, geological, astronomical, etc... evidence. They can't reconcile science and God at any cost.

[More Than A Feeling]

3. I suspect that they are listed in "The Colonel's Secret Recipe"

Why else would they keep it a secret? It's just fried chicken after all. The secrets of the universe MUST be there!

[terisan]

2. Ah, why Being and not Nothingness..or if our minds cound not conceive of Nothingness

would we understand more ?

[More Than A Feeling]

4. Well, given that I don't understand what you just said, my mind might not be the best candidate.

Nevertheless, would you mind explaining?

[patrice]

5. I think that whole struggle is much more about language than it is about

anything else. It assumes language, not just semantics which would deal only with the definitions of things such as "supernatural", can do something I don't think it can do.

Have you ever read "Waiting for Godot"?

I prefer to step away from this particular struggle some and direct my attention toward experiencing life more and let whatever is speak for itself.

[The River]

6. Just Prior to the Big Bang

came the sound of laughter
as Consciousness tranformed Itself
back into matter, and began another game of Evolution.
When the game is over, it will all begin again,
just as it always has.

[Evoman]

7. I'll save everyone some time.

Person 1: Yeah, but what caused that chemical reaction...what led to their creation. You can't get something for nothing..I call that reaction God.

Person 2: Yeah, but thats not saying anything. Where did god come from?

Person 1: God was always there...he is eternal and universal.

Person 2: If everything was created, god also need a creator right?

Person 1: no, god is the creator.

Person 2: Yeah, but where did he come from?

Person 1: Well, where do you think the chemical reactions came from?

Person 2: I don't know

Person 1: how could something be created from nothing?

Person 2: how could god be created from nothing.

Person 1: your close minded

Person 2: Your delusional.

The END

[More Than A Feeling]

8. You're telling me that you don't think anyone here is going to claim

a non-creator god?

[cyborg_jim]

12. Well a few people here have said such a concept is ridiculous

[JerseygirlCT]

14. I THINK gnostics separate the creator and God

Although I could be remembering incorrectly.

[Dorian Gray]

11. This made me chuckle...

cause it's so true.... :)

[mudesi]

9. Of course, there is no "before" the Big Bang

Time itself did not begin until the Big Bang. Many of you would do well to read Stephen Hawking's "A Brief History Of Time".

[trotsky]

10. Hawking has the best analogy in that book.

Trying to ask what came "before" the big bang is like asking what lies just north of the North Pole.

[More Than A Feeling]

16. I went back and looked at what he said, (at least in the first hundred pages)

I don't think he said there was no "before" what he said was that all the laws of reality break down and anything that might have gone on before has absolutely no effect on what came after. It's not quite the same thing as saying there is no before, but since if it doesn't have any perceivable effects, there is no reason to believe that it exists, I acknowledge the point.

[JerseygirlCT]

13. Wouldn't effect my beliefs in the least

Although it sure would be interesting!

[moobu2]

15. I would imagine

That they would just alter their theology to conform to the new information. That’s what they’ve always done. Anytime you hear the term “allegorical”, that’s what they’re doing.

[struggle4progress]

17. Do you understand what a nonsensical question you are asking?

The Big Bang is a singularity: there's some problem with our measures of space-time there.

So "prior to the Big Bang" is just empty words.

And in the best modern theories there's nothing like what we would call "chemistry" near the Big Bang.

What can we possibly learn from a nonsensical question?

<edit:> Shoulda read da tread afore postin, as ah sees the fust pint is alreddy done bin raised

[More Than A Feeling]

18. *shrug* I'm not embarassed in the least.

As a result of my nonsensical question, I've now read part of A Brief History of Time, thus reducing slightly the chance of asking ignorant questions in the future.

Hidden ignorance is enduring ignorance.

[struggle4progress]

19. Cool! eom