Think about this

[habilis]

Even if you could travel so fast that you could reach the speed of light, which is around 186,000 miles per second, it would take you 100,000 years to go from one end of the Milky Way to the other. That's just our little spiral home galaxy. And that's at the speed of light, which causes a lot of physical problems, and most people don't believe it's possible.

And, did you know that on a cold night,when you look up at the sky and you can see faint stars, some of those are actually distant galaxies, and you're actually looking millions of years back in time. The light that you see from some stars and galaxies took millions of light years to reach Earth, so what you're seeing actually took place a million or so years ago and the star you're looking at might no longer exist.

 

[Arden]

I knew all that already...

 

[Trip]

If god is like one of us, and he has a father, and his father has a father, and he has a father, and his father has a father, and he has a father, and his father has a father, and he has a father, and his father has a father, and he has a father, and his father has a father, and he has a father, and his father has a father, and he has a father, and his father has a father, and he has a father, and his father has a father, and he has a father, and his father has a father, and he has a father, and his father has a father, and he has a father, and his father has a father, and he has a father, and his father has a father, and he has a father, and his father has a father, and he has a father, and his father has a father, and he has a father... who's his fathers father?

 

[Arden]

If god is like one of us, and he has a father, and his father has a father, and he has a father, and his father has a father, and he has a father, and his father has a father, and he has a father, and his father has a father, and he has a father, and his father has a father, and he has a father, and his father has a father, and he has a father, and his father has a father, and he has a father, and his father has a father, and he has a father, and his father has a father, and he has a father, and his father has a father, and he has a father, and his father has a father, and he has a father, and his father has a father, and he has a father, and his father has a father, and he has a father, and his father has a father, and he has a father... who's his fathers father?

 

[Randman]

Right on Arden. Dudes, turn off the Pink Floyd, blow out the incense candles, have a brownie (or 6) and come on in.

 

[nb3004]

my head hurts, where am i?

 

[habilis]

If a supreme being made the universe, Why did it make such vast uncrossable distances between solar systems? That wasn't very considerate...

 

[Satcomer]

If a supreme being made the universe, Why did it make such vast uncrossable distances between solar systems? That wasn't very considerate...

I think you maybe forgetting the planet and solar systems gravity affects. Plus, what if a supernova happens in one solar systems so close to another?

 

[MBHockey]

I think you maybe forgetting the planet and solar systems gravity affects. Plus, what if a supernova happens in one solar systems so close to another?

lol gravity wouldn't make them spread apart, if anything it would pull them together...

as for the vast distances, it's because of the big bang, everything is still expanding

 

[bobw]

yea, vast distances and high gas prices, really pisses me off

 

[pds]

I have a little trouble with your terminology, but then that is always the problem in this kind of discussion, even Trips redundancy is part of the problem of describing pre-time, pre-space with words that are(time) in and of(space) themselves time and space.

But how can the original being be god-like? I would say that original being, or original cause can't be anything-like, it is the source of all the likenesses.

The interdependence and consistency of the physical world certainly lends itself to the conclusion that there is consistency in the design. It should not be neglected that many (by no means all) of those who have sought to understand the why-fors of that consistency have come to personal experiences of a cognizant reality that they have named many different things that collectively we call god.

Still, I voted for the first, I must be true to my own experience.

 

[Trip]

You know what I think? I think we're in a video game and the person who's playing (I think it's player 2 right now) we call "god". It's his initials...you know? Like mine are TCC and yours are probably along the lines of SCH and his are just GOD, he's probably named Geoffry Odium Dril or some stupid name and he's a nerd or something and he's on round like 3000 but in a few years he'll have to take a bathroom break or die or something and the game will turn off and we'll all be put to sleep until somebody decides to turn us back on.

Yea. Get out of the closet.

 

[octane]

You know what I think? I think we're in a video game and the person who's playing (I think it's player 2 right now) we call "god". It's his initials...you know? Like mine are TCC and yours are probably along the lines of SCH and his are just GOD, he's probably named Geoffry Odium Dril or some stupid name and he's a nerd or something and he's on round like 3000 but in a few years he'll have to take a bathroom break or die or something and the game will turn off and we'll all be put to sleep until somebody decides to turn us back on.

Yea. Get out of the closet.

I'm moved by that. No, really!

That makes me feel as though my life has merit and purpose.

If GOD shoots me, does he get an extra life or the swirly orb things like in Nemesis?

 

[nb3004]

You know what I think? I think we're in a video game and the person who's playing (I think it's player 2 right now) we call "god". It's his initials...you know? Like mine are TCC and yours are probably along the lines of SCH and his are just GOD, he's probably named Geoffry Odium Dril or some stupid name and he's a nerd or something and he's on round like 3000 but in a few years he'll have to take a bathroom break or die or something and the game will turn off and we'll all be put to sleep until somebody decides to turn us back on.

sounds like inspiration for The Sims if you ask me, and all the unending expansion packs ::ha::

 

[Trip]

Life is not the sims. Life is where you pop a little bubble and the dice inside of it tell you how far to move.

 

[octane]

This is all getting to profound for me.

Theologians will study this thread and from within unravel the mysteries of life, the universe and my overdraft...

 

[chemistry_geek]

Hmmm....that's a tough question....I used to ask my mother and father those kinds of questions when I was 4 years old. When I was old enough to read, my mother bought me a book titled "Tell Me Why". That book explained everything, almost, it didn't explain the origin of the universe. But getting back on topic, I think the poll should have included "By design", meaning that an "intelligence" or "order" created the universe. I recall reading a recent physics article, gosh, I can't think of the name of it, but it involves some heavy players in physics. Any way, the article mentions that if some of the constants in the universe were just a little different, everything would be drastically different. This is what I mean by "by design". It doesn't imply a god-like supreme intelligence created the universe, but it basically says that "it is the way it is because things work that way, the only way". Personally, I do believe in God, and that He created the universe, but I also believe that it is by design in the terms that I describe.

There are a few astronomy programs out there, one in particular lets you cruise around the solar system and the local universe. Even moving at the speed of light, the stars don't move like you see in Star Trek. For that, you have to be traveling several hundred to several thousand times the speed of light. This gives you an idea of the immense distances in the universe. When you look at the images from Mars sent from Spirit and Oportunity, the images from the Voyager and Pioneer spacecraft, think about this: Earth is the only planet where the environment is just right to foster life. Temperatures, atmospheric pressure, the variety of all of the elements, the amount of water to sustain life and drive the air currents, the atmosphere protecting us just enough from ultraviolet radiation. THAT is something to ponder. And after you've ponder THAT, ponder about your own consciousness, how you came to think about the universe after reading this thread. Ponder about your thinking processes, and how they're geared to mesh well contemplating the universe.

 

[Giaguara]

Everything is only reflection or mirage .. so I'd opt for "don't care".

 

[speedfreak]

The land is large when we walk.
The ocean is large when we swim.
Fly? Are you kidding? Only birds can do that (oh and the crazy guy flapping his wings).
Who actually walks great distances anymore? Forest Gump? First we walked, then we rode animals and used animals to pull carts and wagons, and then we discovered steam locomotion. Each discovery increased our speed of mobility and our range. Our event horizon was expanded. The possibility of learning new things also expanded.
Funny. Now I can "see" things from all over the world in a few seconds. I can communicate with people all over the planet. Share ideas instantly. Get instant feedback. Gain insight to solve problems and share insight to help others solve problems. Meet people I would likely never meet walking, swimming, driving, or flying. Strange thing is I'm not moving. I'm not physically going anywhere yet I am gaining knowledge from the other side of the planet.

The universe is large and always will be if we think the only way to get there is on a rocket or in a straight line. Will I live to see the new discovery that "shrinks" the universe? Probably not, but it is possible.

To answer the original question. Supreme being I call God (because of my geographic location and family affiliation) but known to others by other given or learned names.

 

[JohnnyV]

How can "A natural event unaided by any intelligence" occur if there is no nature to speak of? Before the beginning there was nothing, can something come from nothing? Is it possible that God has a God? Where did God come from? As a supreme being has he always existed?