Evolution took a long time (Introduction)

by David Turell , Thursday, February 02, 2017, 18:18 (2632 days ago) @ dhw
edited by David Turell, Thursday, February 02, 2017, 18:28

dhw: So the human population matters to him, but later you say “We really don't know if He cares about individuals.” What is the human race if it’s not a collection of individuals? Frankly, if he doesn’t care about individuals, he may as well be a spectator or not there at all, but please tell us exactly what you think “matters” to him about humans.

I don't know what 'matters' to Him. That is the whole point of my approach. I can only interpret Him from what history shows us, without Bible interpretation. All I know is humans are here. I think God guided evolution. Therefore He wanted to achieve the appearance of a human population. The rest, His 'feelings' ( a humanizing attempt) are beyond me. I see his purpose, nothing more. I follow Adler who also did not know if He cared about individual prayer! You are muddled by religious thought.

dhw: How can you discuss God’s intentions without humanizing him? Your God is a tough love parent, who expects us to solve problems like you taught your kids to budget – but this is not “humanizing” him? As for a God who you regard as being in total control but who “had to allow” tradeoffs, what forced him? Do you think he was incapable of inventing life and evolution without inflicting disease and untold suffering? Tough love parenting isn’t much help to a dead child. You view God as a “serious operative”. Why shouldn’t he be “serious” about relieving his boredom?

You are listing my guesses about God. These are just guesses. God is a personality like no other personality, and cannot be compared in any way to human thought or action. Again I am paraphrasing Adler. You need to read his book to understand my approach. Adler was a world famous philosopher, far more knowledgeable than I am, so without training in his area of expertise, I follow him.

DAVID: I can turn it around on you: if we have consciousness we can communicate with Him. I can ask you why did He give us consciousness if not to communicate?

By all means turn it around, but why don’t you answer my question first? You constantly inform me that you are the one looking for purpose, and so I ask you what you think is your God’s purpose in seeking a relationship with us (by which apparently you do not mean individuals but the whole human race). And may I ask what communication you have with your God? You keep telling us he is hidden, and you don’t know if he has thoughts and feelings like ours. Do you nevertheless talk to him and get a response?

I pray in my own strange way. I feel my life is guided for a purpose my whole life. Opportunities and directional guidance appeared all through my life. You appeared in my life, and look what has happened! I understand this idea in retrospect. It is unquestionable to me.

dhw: In answer to your own question, what could provide greater variety of entertainment than an organism so advanced in its consciousness that it has almost unlimited potential powers of creation and destruction?

God is all purposeful. Only humans need entertainment. God is NOT human in thought. Stop humanizing Him.

DAVID: I work backward: humans are here, for no good requirement I can see when looking at the challenges to life in general. I accept that point as a given starting point to try to explain humans. The rest of my reasoning follows from that. I'm sorry it seems so strange to you.

dhw: I am simply pointing out that invaders disturbing the “balance of nature” have nothing to do with your God designing and destroying countless species in order to produce humans.

How does evolution proceed without loss of earlier species?