Originally posted by 80sU2isBest:
But that's a theory. There's always been the theory that God doesn't exist. There is no evidence anywhere that God doesn't exist. Such evidence cannot exist. It's like trying to prove that love does not exist. it can't be done.
First, let me say that I am not arguing that Guth's theory proves that God doesn't exist. Ergo, everything else you said is really not relevant to what I wrote. In your first message, you said that there was no scientific evidence that the universe was created without some creative force behind it. Guth's theory, which is based on evidence, does argue that the universe could have come from nothing, which was my original point. Perhaps God created that nothing. I don't know, and as someone else said, it is a difficult point to prove or disprove, which was not my goal. I simply wanted to refute the statement that their had to be a creative force behind the universe. And in response to Anthony's remark that good theories "fit" the evidence...well, if it didn't fit the evidence, it wouldn't be a good theory, now would it?
Now that I've got the article with me, perhaps I can shed some light on the obscure explanation I tried to give, in response to several replies to what I wrote.
Guth's theory
is based on scientific evidence. I do not claim to be a particle physicist, but it does take some knowledge of the field to understand his theory, and to explain the entire thing here would be far too cumbersome. I will quote a bit from the article, though.
"This...is more than a theory. Observations are consistent with the idea, and calculations totaling up all the matter and all the gravity in the observable universe indicate that the two values seem to precisely counterbalance. All matter plus all gravity equals zero. So the universe could come from nothing because it is, fundamentally, nothing."
The article goes on the describe specific tests and data that validate Guth's theory, including an explanation of vacuum fluctuation which is important, but hard to explain. I can understand everyone's aversion to such a theory, especially Christians. Even Guth himself says, "It is rather fantastic to realize that the laws of physics can describe how everything was created in a random quantum fluctuation out of nothing..." "Most people really want to know where we came from. I like to strongly push the scientific answer. We have evidence. We no longer have to rely on stories we were told when we were young."
As a sidenote, I find in incredibly interesting that many people think science and religion, or science and God, are mutually exclusive. Getting into the nitty-gritty of the workings of our universe, to my mind, only offers a greater chance for worship and reverence. Scientists, including Einstein, have said the same thing. I read about a geneticist who says that his study of biology brings him closer to God and the wonders of His creations. I encourage others to consider whether or not their beliefs can be reconciled with science. Asking myself that question, I was surprised by the answer.
As for my Catholic-Buddhism, all I can say is that it works for me. I was raised in the Roman Catholic Church, and I hold most of its tenets to be true, excluding such things as birth control and homosexuality as a sin. I have also been trying to learn about other religions and have found many of the Buddhist tenets to be very true and enlightening in my own quest for truth, aka my life. I have found Catholicism and Buddhism to go hand in hand so many times. For example, whether I meditate by saying the Rosary or by chanting, I feel peace. I think in the end, we're all worshipping the same God, just in different ways, and we often get bogged down by the details. But that's just my opinion, and I care not how people will judge me for it. I never try to convert others to my belief system or be judgmental by saying "These people are going to hell and these people aren't." I take care of my own business, and if I change people by presenting different viewpoints, or simply by example, that's alright with me.
And I am in agreement with joyfulgirl. It is wonderful to see so many people sharing their differing points of view so that we can all gain a greater understanding of each other.
Whoa, sorry for the rambling!
Back to grading exams!
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U2 @ The Blooming Heart
[This message has been edited by HeartlandGirl (edited 04-09-2002).]