tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8005473794963219887.post8767451588585894469..comments2024-03-14T18:56:31.716-05:00Comments on Two Catholic Men and a Blog: A Cabin from NothingJoehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13632007696351816323noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8005473794963219887.post-36495326905980286902014-05-01T13:30:17.892-05:002014-05-01T13:30:17.892-05:00Let me take a stab. I would try to clarify "...Let me take a stab. I would try to clarify "the universe is natural, while the cabin is not" as "the universe is not man-made, while the cabin is" What's interesting is that things that are not man-made are less complex than those that are. The universe is full of thing-making factories. Organisms are amazing in that they can reproduce, making little copies of themselves. Tell me, is there more or less complexity in a blender, or a machine that MAKES blenders? When one looks at a cabin or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watchmaker_analogy" rel="nofollow">Paley's watch</a>, they compare it to a tree or dirt and say, this is made. Why? Is it because they know what the cabin and watch is for? Doesn't that simply highlight that they don't know what the tree and dirt is for? Not knowing is not equivalent to knowing a negative.<br /><br />In a similar vein, I have been asked what the universe would look like without God. It is followed by the assertion that it would look the same, that God makes no impact on it. I then ask, how do you know this? We have never seen a universe without God with which to compare ours. If someone signed their name, you would not know if it was theirs or not unless you had a signature not signed by them to compare it to. Again, not knowing the impact made is not equivalent to knowing there is none.Joehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13632007696351816323noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8005473794963219887.post-32606235200948469232014-04-30T11:31:10.821-05:002014-04-30T11:31:10.821-05:00Hi Pair,
I would disagree that "the universe ...Hi Pair,<br />I would disagree that "the universe is natural, while the cabin is not". Both contain matter, both are subject to the same physical laws , both are part of physical reality and both show finely tuned order. One difference is that we can observe other cabins being made. We cannot observe the universe being made, but the logic about a designer remains for both. God bless. Benhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11953563578914140396noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8005473794963219887.post-76308007979676023492014-04-30T03:31:12.600-05:002014-04-30T03:31:12.600-05:00Before I returned to the Church I don't think ...Before I returned to the Church I don't think that this argument ever convinced me--I think I thought it was biased. Even now I'm not sure how convincing I find the argument, though I agree with the conclusion: there is a difference between the cabin and the universe, and I'm sure nonbelievers will pounce on it, so allow me to say it here before one does. The universe is natural, while the cabin is not. The matter that makes up the cabin is natural, but in nature cabins do not appear, but not only does the universe appear in nature, the two are equivalent--that's the definition.<br /><br />If I've made a mistake with the argument, can you please show me where?<br /><br />Also, this is not how I understood the teleological argument of Saint Thomas Aquinas's--I thought it meant that creatures act towards certain intelligent ends but lack the intelligence necessary to do so, and so they must be being guided by an external Intelligence.<br /><br />I did like the end of this article, though, because it is the cosmological argument (a combination of the argument from cause and the argument from contingency) that convinced me at last that there is a God, and began my spiritual journey back to Mother Church.<br /><br />God bless!Michael E.https://www.blogger.com/profile/03388855678756001137noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8005473794963219887.post-23820465728377864912014-04-11T10:50:56.061-05:002014-04-11T10:50:56.061-05:00Thanks Bob! Especially appreciated coming from sci...Thanks Bob! Especially appreciated coming from scientist like yourself!Benhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11953563578914140396noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8005473794963219887.post-1405732485423920982014-04-11T09:30:56.341-05:002014-04-11T09:30:56.341-05:00what a fine article--my highest compliment: "...what a fine article--my highest compliment: "I wish I had written that".duhemhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08742949750689428697noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8005473794963219887.post-23626073156925641902014-04-11T04:38:48.062-05:002014-04-11T04:38:48.062-05:00In a world where reason has been jettisoned no amo...In a world where reason has been jettisoned no amount of evidence or proofs will suffice. As said in the story of Lazarus and the Rich Man:<br /><br />Luke 16:<br />30 “‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’<br /><br />31 “He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”Bobbynoreply@blogger.com