Tell me what you think about the "God of the Gaps"
Didn't you know....that is it, God has not told you, so you don't know. In some circles, it's called God of the Gaps, the unexplainable. Must be God's work. Apparently, God doesn't want us moving too fast, so he leaves Gaps of unknown knowledge, so imagination can run rampant.
Here is an example, jerami:
Isaac Newton’s law of gravity is calculated with equations that predict the planets will ultimately collapse and fall into the sun’s gravity.
He couldn’t figure out why they weren’t collapsing. The equation showed that they should, but they don’t. Newton finally solved the problem by saying god was intervening to keep the planets in orbit.
A century later, a mathematician named Pierre-Simon de Laplace solved Newton’s little math problem. He showed how and why the planets remain in stable orbit, without crashing into the sun, and without god’s guiding hand.
Newton couldn’t understand the entire equation. So, he solved his mystery by saying that the parts he couldn’t figure out are the parts controlled by god.
God gap.
The point is, why couldn't Newton say, "Just haven't figured it out yet?"
Absolutely!
There is no limit to the questions.
There are some people who are content to know that we haven't solved the equation yet. There are others who insist that equations must be solved by filling the "gaps" with god.
Some people leave the gaps empty, others fill them up.
This is the only sort of god there is. Just look at how many charlatans there are here on HP claiming to have some esoteric knowledge. Invariably they are selling something or pushing a church or whatever.
People are - on the whole - scared, and will swallow some crap about living forever if they just hand over some money/go on a ministry/join this church/whatever.
Simple really - after all - we are just animals that can think a little. We cannot even use more than 10% of our brains.
Clever monkeys.
But - just clever enough to get us into trouble and a lot of powerful people have a vested interest in keeping the bulk of us at that level. Otherwise education would be our top priority instead of "exploiting resources for financial gain," which is what seems to be our genuine priority - no matter what the Government Inc tells us.
I do not need ti fill my gaps and am happy saying "I don't know." People like Dent and the other religionists point at that accusingly as though there is something wrong with it. "It is not written in stone therefore it is a weak foundation," they will say.
Their egos need an answer - and they need it so bad; they are so scared; they will accept the nonsense that they have accepted because it is soooo easy.
You do not need to understand anything - or try and use your brain in any way to say, "I get my morals from God."
And they have to convince themselves that the obvious paradoxes and conflicts are just god "hiding knowledge from us, and we will understand when we die."
Talk about a gamble.
How would I get any research grants if I said that to a prospective donor?
The latest from science is exciting and may produce answers in as little as two years.
My weekend project is related to this...
Anyone care to throw in some thoughts?I leave them open. And slowly fill with observations and musings
I get a lot of mileage out of this graph, it essentially tracks the progression of the gap thing. I'm not sure who originally made it, but this version is my appropriation of one that makes the rounds in anthropological circles.
The God of the Gaps?
I was always under the impression most religious folk figure God created everything, so to me that would include everything in the Gaps of unexplained territory humankind has been able to figure out.
It's pathetic attempt to apply nothing to something. As in no god, which is nothing, to gaps which contain something, just presently unknown.
As I said early, I've always had followers of God tell me, his everything and in everything.
So, there isn't anything God hasn't created or thought of, including the direction for which people live their life. This one got me the most?
What's up Jen?
It's freezing rain outside and I'm making a big ol' pot of chili.
I want to wrap a few things up tonight - I've got three half-written articles.
This forum will help me out with one of them
What's up with you? Having fun?Cool on wrapping things up. It's always nice to complete a hub. I've been working on my two Valentine's Day hubs, plus writing odd pieces into 2 others.
I've complete Hub #1 of the Valentine's Day hubs and almost finished with the #2. So, that's good. Plus the other two I'm working are bigger projects and have no timetable.
The chili sounds great, especially on day like you have. It's chilly here, but no snow or rain in the forecast, at least not for the next few days.
I'm going to stir it up a bit. It's nice to have something simmering away when the weather is bad.
So, let's have a race to see who can finish up their work fastest.
Check back later!That's not fair. I'm unable to publish 2 out of my 4 hubs under construction. You can publish all 3 without a problem. Two of mine are slated for a publication date.
So, YOU WIN!
That's called forward progression.
Not bad for at least the next few days.
It was a little chilly today, but sunny.
How fun? Tons of snowing coming? Sorry, don't pay attention to national weather. If it's not close, I'm not interested, got other things to deal with. i hear ya. . im planning on sleigh riding tomorrow. .
got my moon boots readySnow? Isn't that the white wet cold stuff?
I'm chowing down, it's frickin' tasty chili. I won't have enough leftovers for Sunday
So. Before you understood exactly where I was going, and after you figured it out, your answer didn't change. In concept.
"Maybe I'm not catching your drift quite right still, but I'm not certain that it's fair for us today to try and relate the way we think to the way ancient people thought. I can't even relate the way I think now to the way I thought ten years ago, or worse 15 years ago."
Yes! this hits the nail on the head.
Of course the ancient people had different thinking. They did not have hundreds of generations of knowledge to search through when they had a problem to solve.
I remember in the 90's, people were saying that things they learned in college were being taught to their kindergartners.
Final question, then:
If the ancient's best way to explain a thunderstorm was to invent a god, why do we still account for god when we know exactly what a thunderstorm is? And what causes it? And every other tiny detail...
Why doesn't god go away when the gap is filled with actual knowledge?
Good night Jen, sleep well and be safe.
Italy is well advanced in some ways, Australia is very advanced and although a "christian" nation with a prayer before the opening of parliament the rest of the country pretty much ignores religion in reality. We hit well above our weight in medical science for one example.
Hi Pandora
Some interesting thoughts here. What interests me as well as what you've said is why have European christians been able to accept scientific explanations of creation etc and keep their faith, whereas a high proportion of American christians seem to need to cling onto their belief that the whole bible is absolute fact (and even make up science to fit)?
To me it's about all or nothing (black and white) thinking - either everything is the bible is 100% true or it's 100% not true. I don't think this kind of thinking is very mature - maybe it's something to do with educational levels or as you say the beliefs of the founding fathers in conjunction with wars?
The kind of approach many christian Europeans have is: I believe in the teaching of Jesus and try to live my life like that. Some of the bible is historically correct but much of the bible is clearly metaphorical and that's ok. It was written when people didn't know very much so we accept that ignorance is a big part of the bible and is very much a commentary on their society at the time.
What they seem to do is balance out different aspects of the bible and evaluate them in terms of new learning. It's not static.
Personally I'm not christian and I love to "not know". Not knowing leaves room to learn and experience all of those precious aha moments! It's nice to know not all americans are religious nuts
Oh so well said. Weekly now we are getting closer to shutting down this madness altogether. It will not matter to some they will believe in holy mud or some other fantasy, but it will provide final proof for the still sane!
PB:
I put this forum up hoping that people would go on a ramble love it.
I also like a big ol' fight. That didn't happen and I'm kinda disappointed. I didn't get to hear the religious viewpoint which is a bummer. Then again, silence speaks volumes.
The project I'm doing is actually for a different site. I'll do a hub when I'm done with the other. HubPages has the most savvy seculars I've ever met, so this is where I look for opinions & debate.
3/4 of what you said (and more) is exactly on point. You zeroed in on it and then ran with it.
I think YOU should write a hub. Shoot, you've got enough in this forum to do it. You've got a lot of depth here. It will be a few weeks I'm sure before I could get to it myself. I've got too many on-deck that are partially finished.
wordscribe: "His little hidey holes are getting few and far between." nicely done
hidey holesThanks, wyanjen and Pandora's Box. I've very much enjoyed reading your posts as well.
- ad infinitum...
The scientific method which we have built our modern world on adheres to these principals of discovery.
1. consistent (internally and externally)
2. parsimonious (sparing in proposed entities or explanations)
3. useful (describing and explaining observed phenomena)
4. empirically testable and falsifiable
5. based upon controlled, repeatable experiments
6. correctable and dynamic (changing to fit with newly discovered data)
7. progressive (achieving all that previous theories have and more)
8. tentative (admitting that it might not be correct rather than asserting certainty)
This is why your computer does not suddenly wash the dishes.Why your car works etc.
The madness of unsupportable belief can only be explained by deep seated fear. So deep seated the truth, reality, fact, science, and what we see or don't is all thrown away so as to support a no-show fairy that kills and hates.
This really is intellectually dishonest and pathetic in my view.
As religion has no proof of itself other than from itself, it cannot be examined, thus making it absolute bunk!
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