How To Think About God's Existence | Episode 701 | Closer To Truth
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- Опубліковано 19 чер 2024
- God exists? God does not exist? I find flaws and fallacies in both sides. So I step away from "arguments" about God and ask how to approach God's existence. What's the process? Featuring interviews with Philip Clayton, Victor Stenger, Robert Russell, Michael Shermer, David Shatz, and Peter van Inwagen.
Season 7, Episode 1 - #CloserToTruth
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Closer To Truth host Robert Lawrence Kuhn takes viewers on an intriguing global journey into cutting-edge labs, magnificent libraries, hidden gardens, and revered sanctuaries in order to discover state-of-the-art ideas and make them real and relevant.
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Closer to Truth presents the world’s greatest thinkers exploring humanity’s deepest questions. Discover fundamental issues of existence. Engage new and diverse ways of thinking. Appreciate intense debates. Share your own opinions. Seek your own answers.
#God #Theology
This show is so addicting.
Why doesn’t he debate with a Muslim?
Islam has is answers
@@UmbroKhan nah it is an abomination
So addicting!
@@UmbroKhan He could but God is one for all abrahamic
This show is pathetic ...
1. It doesn’t answer anything..
2. It implies the existence of something “Special” about humans ... even thou humans are Not special..
3. It implies the God....when No Evidence exists...
4. Scarcity; Evolution”; Climate Change; Global Pollution/Environmental Damage; Geo-Political Conflicts; Overpopulation; etc...
...all demonstrate that humans are just animals from “Savage-Evolution” ....
... there is No magic or divine spark nor God....
Pursuing Gods existance is something I cannot not do. That is exactly my experience.
I respect that. I would be interested, for my own growth, what factor or factors lead you to discard the idea of wondering whether there is a God? Than you for considering my question.
@Mitch Raemsch Thats one way of speculating about it. But here is a question for you. Though there is a mathmatical equation for gravity, that only seems to be an expression of its regularity, not what created it. Wouldn't you agree? We have mathmatical equations for the laws of nature and the relationship between energy and matter, but that does not tell us what sustains those regularities. What do you think?
@Mitch Raemsch Math, I don't think is a "thing". It is a construction that enables us to quantify the regularities we experience. But math does demonstrate to us the stability self-consistency and precision of the realities we observe. I could be wrong about this, but it seems to me that humans have created language and math as a way to organize our conception of realities and to communicate them back and forth to one another. They also serve as methods for continuing our curiosity about the reality in which we find ourselves.
@Mitch Raemsch I think that the struggle between evil forces and God is the cause of the regularities we see. How about you?
Over the millennia, connotations of the word "God" have become so deteriorated. The terms Consciousness / Mind / Intelligence seem more relevant for these types of discussions. It seems that the concept of God is not experimentally testable. However, evidence for the effects of Consciousness / Mind / Intelligence are scientifically demonstrable.
*_“… Every one who is seriously engaged in the pursuit of science becomes convinced that the laws of nature manifest the existence of a spirit vastly superior to that of men, and one in the face of which we with our modest powers must feel humble.”_* Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955), founder of modern physics (Theory of Relativity inter alia) and 1921 Nobel prize winner
Laws of the Universe exist Independent of anyone's personal beliefs in the existence of the Laws of the Universe. Just as man-made laws govern society globally, Universal Laws govern the entire Universe. Un-directed random material natural processes have never been observed or experimentally demonstrated to be capable of producing any form of laws. As scientifically confirmed, non-material laws are the product of only Mind / Consciousness / Intelligence.
This is so much better than listening to an atheist and a theist debate each other.
Kudos for not having so many commercial interruptions.
An add blocker will free you from adds forever. I have not seen an add on youtube since the invention of of stone tools.
@@Ploskkky not on mobile unfortunately
I have been teaching Philosophy to University of the Third Age for 30 years - since retirement from school teaching. Closer to Truth is the most comprehensive and authoritative resource available with leading thinkers interviewed skilfully and respectfully by Laurence Krauss, on the most relevant and current questions of universal importance.
My own reply. A typo error. Not Laurence Krauss, Lawrence Kuhn.
Dawn Heffernan.
Krauss and Kuhn. Two very different minds and bodies but very similar souls. A good example of Duality and Nonduality.
Krauss is a phoney. "University of the Third Age"? Ok.....😅
This guy is very professional and ambitious. He's walking on a road of big answers.
What an absolute joy this episode was. Absolutely blown away. Thank you.
Yes!!
R.i.p buddy.
“Help! I need a sceptic.”
Put that on a shirt.
God does exist. Robert God can be seen. It had taken me 14 yrs to search for and find Original God. Basic knowledge facilitates seeing God...if we meet I will describe the exact technique or method to show how to see God who lives in separate Quantum Universe
Last statement is so well put and beautifully said. A struggle we all have.
“Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent.
Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent.
Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil?
Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?”
- Epicurus (341 - 270 BCE)
We have this heart within us, our deepest feelings about life, and that is something we can not betray. To betray it would be like putting your hand into hot water, and then saying, this is not hot. So, either God lives in your heart, or there is no God living there in your heart. And that seems to be, the closest to the truth, and the end of the story - more thought does not resolve this or change this for us. It has been said, that faith is a divine grace, something given to you, and either you have it, or you do not, and there is nothing you or anyone can do about that.
We want a closed loop in logic with a model for creativity ,complexity and consciousness ,all inclusive .
"I maintain that cosmic religious feeling is the strongest and noblest incitement to scientific research. Only those who realize the immense efforts and, above all, the devotion which pioneer work in theoretical science demands, can grasp the strength of the emotion out of which alone such work, remote as it is from the immediate realities of life, can issue.
Those whose acquaintance with scientific research is derived chiefly from its practical results easily develop a completely false notion of the mentality of the men who, surrounded by a skeptical world, have shown the way to those like-minded with themselves, scattered through the earth and the centuries... A contemporary has said, not unjustly, that it is this materialistic age of ours the serious scientific workers are the only profoundly religious people." --Albert Einstein, The World As I See It. New York: Philosophical Library; 1949
This was an excellent episode of this series... possibly _the_ best, for tying all the arguments and justifiable bases relating to belief in God into a coherent summary.
I am with Kuhn in every way, both in my unwillingness to dismiss the question he is asking as “unanswerable” and therefore not worth asking, or as unresolvable through processes of human cognition, in the context of “epistemic distance” (which I find a very useful concept).
I was also able to resolve through this episode my curiosity whether Kuhn is Jewish, which I have often wondered. There is something about the style and nature of his intellectual curiosity that struck me as characteristically Jewish, yet I had nothing more to base this on than weak, circumstantial evidence.
When he showed the two pictures of himself at a young age at the very beginning of this episode, I stopped the video and backed up to look at them again, to see if there was any evidence I might be missing, but found none, so I moved on. But then, at the end, he showed the same pictures again, but indicated they were from his Bar Mitzvah, I finally had the clear evidence I was looking for. This question could have been answered in other ways, had I undertaken the effort, but I was happy to have come across it in the way that i did.
My screen name on UA-cam, MendTheWorld, is adapted from the Jewish concept of Tikkun Olam, a dictate I constantly strive to fulfill, and part of the way I have done this is through the pursuit of science and scientific understanding, which I have long regarded as having a religious dimension. (and NOT in the disparaging way that science deniers describe what they incorrectly perceive as unwarranted belief as “religion”. They understand nothing about science _or_ religion.)
I also appreciated the reference to abductive reasoning (referred to here not by that term, but as “inference to the best explanation”. This is essentially the _only_ form of reasoning used in geology, which is the branch of science in which I was educated, but I’ve concluded (as others have as well), that abduction is the _only_ form of logical reasoning that is actually available to us. As a form of inference (perhaps better described as a concatenation of inferences), it is subject to all the inherent limitations of inference in general, as described definitively by David Hume, yet remains our only option for acquiring what we perceive to be “knowledge”.
It never occurred to me that abductive reasoning might be used as a means of inferring God’s existence. I’m not sure i’m sold on that conclusion, but that’s why a good geologist uses both arms when looking for answers. (On the _one_ hand it could be.... But on the _other_ hand...).
Thank you, Dr. Kuhn, for sharing your peripatetic quest for understanding.
"It is the glory of kings to search out a matter,, it is the glory of God to conceal a matter." - Solomon
That's epistemic distance.
THANK U SO MUCH FOR SHARING THIS
Honesty is the ultimate truth.
Wow, amazing Lawrence... You appear to have the honesty, integrity and enthusiasm of the prophets in persuit of the truth... Keep going, good man... You're a sterling example of how best to approach the God issue, I think... GOD BLESS.
This is a wonderful analysis, checking the temperature on the larger discourse on the existence or non-existence of God. My only concern with this show is how americentristic its presuppositions are. The idea of God is taken to be "the bearded man in the sky", "He" who has a will and a plan for all of his children. There are countless other notions of entities that would like to compete for the definition of "God". How can this issue not be addressed, not even en passant? "The God question", as presented here, is only entertaining to the minority of people across the world who ascribe to a belief in the Abrahamic God-narrative. If one truly desires to establish wether or not there is a god, one must take great care to pose the question correctly. Otherwise the entire enterprise is pointless, due to a flawed research question.
The spectre of death immediately raises questions about meaning.
Found this channel made me cry with joy🎉
Thank you for this video as it is a question I’ve struggled with all of my life. I accept now it is better to live in faith of God than to think that I can understand.
It is better to know as many truths as we can....does faith lead to truth?
God can never be understood with the brain. Feelings are the language of the soul. You can only understand through the heart.
@@garychartrand7378 Nonsense, you think and feel with your brain. The heart is a muscle.
@@paulbolton4929 Nonsense yourself. Firstly in talking about the heart it is a metaphorical way of expressing where feelings reside - the actual place being the soul. Secondly the brain can be your best friend and your worst enemy. It is so powerful that it makes the illusion of this reality seem quite real. And it is capable of creating counterfeit feelings constructed from past experiences that have nothing to do with present moment realities.
@@garychartrand7378 Prove you have a soul.
I agree with Michael Shermer's position.
🙏♥️💪Always the BEST among the bests you are Mr Khun
And to learn how to deeply love others.
Should I think about God's existence in a way that is different from the way that I think about mine? I wouldn't necessarily think so. But then in what way should I be thinking about my existence?
Exactly, what and how we question our existence, should help shape how we define what god could be.
That of which I can't create, is it therefore a creation of something higher then me? But if I think that way then, that is putting limitations on humans to say that WHATEVER humans can't create period, is somehow a creation of god. And I disagree with that logic.
You should be asking the same existential questions for both. Where does God come from? Where did I come from? What is his purpose ... why should he exist? What is my purpose ... why should I exist? I think you'll find the answers to these questions are the same. If you have a hard time answering it for you, then no problem: it's the same answer as it is for God. Or vice versa ... you can get to know God better by answering these questions for yourself. There's a very literal reason why God is called your heavenly Father.
The only alternative to believing that God is exclusively good is believing that God isn't, which is just a slippery slope to believing that God is exclusively evil. We can't disprove the existence of an omnipotent being that's exclusively evil any more than we can prove the existence of an omnipotent being that's exclusively good.
Just a thought.
@@somethingyousaid5059 We're all free to take our own lives, but 99.8% of people choose not to because they feel life is worth living, despite all the evil around them. So it seems like if God is exclusively evil (or even a little bit evil) then he's failing miserably. And if he fails that much then he's not much of a god.
@@davidaustin6962
You made the point for me. If God exists God certainly _is_ failing miserably.
And as far as people feeling that life is worth living goes, one can feel that life _isn't_ worth living and still choose not to take their own life. It wouldn't surprise me if it's a high percentage of the world's population who unconsciously feel that their lives aren't worth living.
Would be really interesting if he interviewed Chris Langan, author of the CTMU (Cognitive Theoretical Model of the Universe).
Why?
That guy is a nut job.
Enjoyable series, but I think the discussion can do with more exploration of Eastern spirituality and conceptions of "God".
Excellent presentation. Thank you.
Here is a question to all religious people. First a note about myself. I have schizophrenia, it means I cannot use faith to determine my course of action. When I do, I often harm myself or others. I had to come up with mental training I learned from epistemology to help me. Here comes the question. After reading many religious books, asking many people, I have never found a way to be sure of anything. The question is, if god is real, loves me, knows what I'm going through, knows what I have to do just to make a simple decision ( I dont work, I can't) then how do I get guidance from god that I can truly separate from a normal schizophrenic episode. Second, why would god risk me never knowing him if he loved me. I want to know god, and I want to show appreciation in a way god would be happy with. But, one day moment im philosophical, next I'm a sex addict, then I'm homicidal, these arnt just moods, whole beliefs systems are adjusted. Typically only the philosophical and scientific mind sets are aware of the depths of the changes. That's why they are so dangerous. They deeply impact what I might do to myself or someone else. So I have to keep my self mostly isolated.
Why do I even have to beg to know....I would never do that to those that love and that love me and I know of. I do all that I can to protect and educate the people that do bother to have me in their life.
I don't know if this is helpful, but your questions are one's we all ask, the even if we don't suffer from the same maladies.
(1) How do I know if an answer to a prayer is from God? Answer: God's answers will always follow certain criteria, the most important being that God is love, so he will not ask you to do anything that will hurt you or another person. Secondly, God is not the author of confusion, so if your presumed "answer" is not in keeping with his word then again, it is not of God. For example, you need rent $, and you can steal it from a wicked person who has too much $, this violate the 2nd criteria of contradicting Gods word (thou shall not steal), so it is not of God.
(2) If God loves me then why is it hard to get to know Him? Answer: Because you keep getting in the way. He's only as far from you as your knees are from the ground. Kneel down, pour out your heart, and he will answer you (see #1, comfort you, and strengthen you). Don't let contrary believe systems get in the way of that process. Pray always ... unceasingly with a prayer always in your heart. Pray in your comings and goings, when you have inner thought whatever they are turn them to God. Address Him rather than yourself. Then you'll develop a relationship with Him that will be as constant as you are constant. Now, how to stay constant? If there is medication that you need, take it. If your are addicted to things, apply the 12 steps continually, go to the meetings, both online and in person. Know those steps and don't give up. Millions who are just as challenged as you have done it, the program works. Follow it. Make sure you have each step covered.
@@davidaustin6962 I cant hear god....because I'm in the way....have you ever thought about those words you just said to me. You just told me, I'm sonpoweful , I can block the voice of god out. That doesnt sound like god.
@@thegoodlistenerslistenwell2646 read the rest of that paragraph. Unless of course, you're just looking for an excuse to be angry at God.
@@davidaustin6962 also god in the bible made all the disease on earth. He made all of existence. So the Arthur of my schizophrenia is god. I literally have a disease that causes confusion. So try again.
"So is my intuitive sense of god justified or just rationalized?" I like that statement. Is there a similar fundamental feeling when a person supports the concept of "no god"?
Stop believing in god, in my case, was a shocking experience, it wasn't easy to admit that I had no good reason for my christian belief. I think that my intuitive sense of god was the hardest part to overcome.
@@luisferNoMyths Thanks for sharing. Maybe Robert is going through a similar journey as you did. If I may ask, were you raised in Christian belief ?
@@johnbrzykcy3076 Yes, I was. Reading the bible critically, but specially, reading about the bible made me doubt about the dogma I was raised on. In my case, as fan of science, there were no conflict for me between science and religion, so, evolution and modern cosmology were no issues to my faith but the house of cards went down when I realized that all that I had learnt at the church about the bible wasn't true. Additionally, I had never really thought seriously about the problem of evil, an all-loving god is incompatible with what we see in the world.
@@luisferNoMyths I was raised christian, always thought I truly believed, now I am not sure if I ever did or was just indoctrinated.
@@andrebrown8969 Well, I think I truly believed, the difference, maybe, I haven't been exposed to all the information that leaded me in the path of non-believing.
Incredible episode
My father had a wonderful, pragmatic approach when people wanted to debate this. He said if you believe and you’re wrong…no harm no foul…and you benefitted greatly. If you don’t believe and are wrong, the consequences could be great and eternal. Forced choice indeed.
Who's forcing you to make that choice?
If you are wrong there are still consequences , you submit to certain rules, some of them are good, some may be waste of time, other may be put you in difficult situations like not willing to act and just pray for the good.
Another problem is in my opinion you can’t believe something is true if you don’t understand it is true but sure you can follow the rules just in case.
Pascals' wager. If you believe in Christian god and the real one is the Islamic one, the consequences could also be great and eternal. Maybe lord Shiva is the real one and the consequences for both, Christians and Muslims, could also be great and eternal. Not a good approach.
Not all old people are wise...
WONderful series of interviews! Simply Superb - thank you! No dogmatism or Trumpy evangelical hysteria - cogent, brilliantly clear expression of both sides of the most crucial question we face as sentient beings. 💖🤩👏👏👏
This is one of my favorite pieces on UA-cam. I find it amazing how far we’ve come as a species in terms of technology, but how little we actually understand.
When I heard the third speaker, I was disappointed how narrow his view on god was. I don’t think it’s logical to think of god as some bearded man or as a blue four armed man. We as humans inherently need to assign a definition to something in order to “understand it”. Just like when you write code, you have to define your variables in order to call them. But how to you call something that is undefined by current understanding?
I think of god as something that cannot be understood by our current level of consciousness. I think of god as the fabric that connects all of us. People who report their experiences after psilocybin all seem to have one common theme : that we are all one and that we form one collective consciousness. I feel like that’s more likely to be “god” than a character from a book or epic.
As a side note: If you subscribe to the multiverse theory, you’re left with the same question times n^∞. Who or what is creating the precursor to those? Anyway, if you’ve read my brain chatter, I hope it was of interest.
If you allow yourself the opportunity to know our Creator, than you can ,but it takes a desire to grasp the truth.just ask in a sincere desire of wanting the absolute truth.
Our conscious experiance of existence,
Is the energy of creation,
Of the creator.
It is the conscious energy that became,
Aware,
Of its own existence.
That, 'awareness', is,
The conscious experiance of existence.
The energy of consciousness, experianced its own evolutionary growth,
An experiance that resulted in a realisation and understanding,
' how can i continue,
To evolve, and grow.
This realisation,
This understanding,
Was the begining of intelligence.
How can i continue to become,
More than i am.
The universe and our world is to perfectly arranged that to think of anything but intelligent design is ludicrous. All that we know and see just did not happen by accident, it's impossible.
@@garypowell4565 I never mentioned, anything! about the universe and the world of our existence?
Thou ,it is mostly of intellectual design!!
The second speaker was also very close minded. Comparing God to the Big Foot or the Lockness Monster is nonsense. You can only make a comparison like that if you imagine God as a bearded guy in the sky.
Bob Russell is SPOT ON!!
Begging the question.
... what?
Thinking leads you away from silly notions of god.
Thinking leads you away from silly notions that God doesn’t exist.
See how easy that is?
Absolutely true. I was raised in a Christian family. One day, I started to read the bible seriously and to THINK. Then, I saw how stupid it was to believe in a God that was obviously created in the image of humans by humans.
It is incorrect to say the scientist is afraid of error! The scientific method provides that the scientist devises a theory [to solve a problem] and the scientific community spends the next 10 or 20 or 100 years trying to disprove that theory. Again, observe the history of science!
Scientists on individual scale are often not able to criticize their own theories.
@@jD-je3ry yes, and the scientist themselves know that. That the WHOLE POINT of peer reviewed papers. A REAL scientist BEGS, others to disprove their work. Bias is the very well known enemy of science. That's why we do not use faith if at all possible. But, you can google the 3 assumptions science must make. That might interest you.
Modern Quantum Physics has shown that reality is based on probability:
A statistical impossibility is defined as “a probability that is so low as to not be worthy of mentioning. Sometimes it is quoted as 1/10^50 although the cutoff is inherently arbitrary. Although not truly impossible the probability is low enough so as to not bear mention in a Rational, Reasonable argument." The probability of finding one particular atom out of all of the atoms in the universe has been estimated to be 1/10^80. The probability of just one (1) functional 150 amino acid protein chain forming by chance is 1/10^164. It has been calculated that the probability of DNA forming by chance is 1/10^119,000. The probability of random chance protein-protein linkages in a cell is 1/10^79,000,000,000. Based on just these three cellular components, it would be far more Rational and Reasonable to conclude that the cell was not formed by un-directed random natural processes. Note: Abiogenesis Hypothesis posits that un-directed random natural processes, i.e. random chance formation, of molecules led to living organisms. Natural selection has no effect on individual atoms and molecules on the micro scale in a prebiotic environment. (*For reference, peptides/proteins can vary in size from 3 amino acid chains to 34,000 amino acid chains. Some scientists consider 300-400 amino acid protein chains to be the average size. There are 42,000,000 protein molecules in just one (1) simple cell, each protein requiring precise assembly. There are approx. 30,000,000,000,000 cells in the human body.)
Of all the physical laws and constants, just the Cosmological Constant alone is tuned to a level of 1/10^120; not to mention the fine-tuning of the Mass-Energy distribution of early universe which is 1/10^10^123. Therefore, in the fine-tuning argument, it would be more Rational and Reasonable to conclude that the multi-verse is not the correct answer. On the other hand, it has been scientifically proven numerous times that Consciousness does indeed collapse the wave function to cause information waves of probability/potentiality to become particle/matter with 1/1 probability. A rational and reasonable person could therefore conclude that the answer is consciousness.
A "Miracle" is considered to be an event with a probability of occurrence of 1/10^6. Abiogenesis, RNA World Hypothesis, and Multiverse would all far, far, far exceed any "Miracle". Yet, these extremely irrational and unreasonable hypotheses are what some of the world’s top scientists ‘must’ believe in because of a prior commitment to a strictly arbitrary, subjective, biased, narrow, limiting, materialistic ideology / worldview.
Every idea, number, concept, thought, theory, mathematical equation, abstraction, qualia, etc. existing within and expressed by anyone is "Immaterial" or "Non-material". The very idea or concept of "Materialism" is an immaterial entity and by it's own definition does not exist. Modern science seems to be stuck in archaic, subjective, biased, incomplete ideologies that have inadequately attempted to define the "nature of reality" or the "reality of nature" for millennia. A Paradigm Shift in ‘Science’ is needed for humanity to advance. A major part of this Science Paradigm Shift would be the formal acknowledgment by the scientific community of the existence of "Immaterial" or "Non-material" entities as verified and confirmed by observation of the universe and discoveries in Quantum Physics.)
*_“All matter originates and exists only by virtue of a force which brings the particle of an atom to vibration and holds this most minute solar system of the atom together. We must assume behind this force the existence of a conscious and intelligent mind (i.e. Observer). This mind is the matrix of all matter.”_* Max Plank (the Father of Quantum Physics) ...
Information doesn't create the cosmos. Information waves are the fabric of the cosmos. And, as demonstrated with the famous double slit experiment, a conscious observer converts those information waves of potentiality / probability into "particle", "matter", or "cosmos". The Prime Observer creates the Cosmos.
*Matter cannot exist without physical laws and constants first existing. Physical laws and constants cannot exist without mind / consciousness / intelligence first existing. Mind / consciousness / intelligence is Prime. Consciousness / Intelligence Exists Before Matter. Mind Over Matter.*
*_"An especially unusual version of the observer effect occurs in quantum mechanics, as best demonstrated by the double-slit experiment. Physicists have found that even passive observation of quantum phenomena (by changing the test apparatus and passively "ruling out" all but one possibility) can actually change the measured result. Despite the "observer" in this experiment being an electronic detector-possibly due to the assumption that the word "observer" implies a person-its results have led to the popular belief that a conscious mind can directly affect reality.[3] The need for the "observer" to be conscious is not supported by scientific research, and has been pointed out as a misconception rooted in a poor understanding of the quantum wave function ψ and the quantum measurement process, apparently being the generation of information at its most basic level that produces the effect."_* (Wikipedia: Observer Effect)
*An electronic detector is a tool created by and for a conscious observer. Without a conscious observer, the electronic detector, its parameter settings, and its measurements do not exist. The electronic detector becomes an extension of the conscious observer. In the same way, a telescope and microscope are merely extensions of the conscious observer. However, it is the the Conscious Observer that is fundamental.*
Laws of the Universe exist Independent of anyone's personal beliefs in the existence of the Laws of the Universe. Just as man-made laws govern society globally, Universal Laws govern the entire Universe. Un-directed random material natural processes have never been observed or experimentally demonstrated to be capable of producing any form of laws. As scientifically confirmed, non-material laws are the product of only Mind / Consciousness / Intelligence.
thank you.
Those Jewish guys should get hats that fit properly.
Lmao I died here 11:23 Tuesday, October, 6
Hey Cosmik... I'm just wondering if a worldview needs to "fit properly" just like a hat does?
@@johnbrzykcy3076 I know those words are real....but in that order they make no sense.
@@thegoodlistenerslistenwell2646 Oh well... at least I tried. Hope you are doing okay today.
@@johnbrzykcy3076 in many ways yes, and no.
PS As Carl Jung said, I don’t believe I know.
Thx so much amazing work
I'm sure it is true that no one will prove or disprove God. It seems to me that we start with our presuppositions. So the greater question to me is how is it that we come to have our presuppositions? Do we like the contributing factors that led us to have a belief for or against the existence of God? There are clearly reasonable arguments on both sides. For myself, I was raised in a Christian culture, where the belief was assumed. It never occurred to me that there would not be a God until I met people who questioned this assumption. After having officially adopted the belief as a young adult, I began having doubts and wrote down in a notebook all the reasons it may not be true. I'm still making lists and asking and seeking. So I'm a believer who is questioning my belief, yet still assured in what I have chosen to believe. I use the word "assured", rather than certain. There is no certainty. There will only be belief for the theist or the athiest. For me the needle tips to believing. For others the needle tips in the other direction. Programs like this help me grow and question and continue the journey. Thank you for providing this venue!!!
An hour with the late Christopher Hitchens and, like me, you'd be in no doubt.
Christopher Hitchens? ... you mean the journalist?
The late Christopher Hitchens, was also, a Trotskyist at one time.
@@joykeebler2890 so what? He still was right on the god question
I’ve often wondered if there is a god why does this entity need humans to speak for it?
well many people (preachers) reckon god has spoken to and through them. not my personal belief.
@Zeal! Why don’t you just call it the Universe then?
Thank you for the video.
I agree with Bob. Imagine an omniPRESENT God, here "in person", who is nonstop noisy, giving direct orders and answering questions like "am I drinking too much" or "should I marry this girl". What would be left of "me"? We'd be an inert bunch of skygazers nonstop awaiting orders for even as simple issues as what to have for breakfast. If there is a God, I fully understand his hiddenness.
Religion has actually convinced people that there's an invisible man living in the sky who watches everything you do, every minute of every day. And the invisible man has a special list of ten things he does not want you to do. And if you do any of these ten things, he has a special place, full of fire and smoke and burning and torture and anguish, where he will send you to live and suffer and burn and choke and scream and cry forever and ever 'til the end of time!
But He loves you. He loves you, and He needs money! He always needs money! He's all-powerful, all-perfect, all-knowing, and all-wise, somehow just can't handle money!
George Carlin RIP s
Our existence came into being, when the energy of consciousness, came to the realisation, and understanding,
That to just exist, was no longer enough.
What we call call god, is us.
All existence is conscious energy.
Can you demonstrate your claims?
Can you demonstrate your claims?
I can say that consciusness, became aware of it"s existence.
That 'Awareness'.
Is the conscious experiance of existence.
And that conscious energy evolved, through, i'ts experiance.
Had realisations and understandings, that gave it the concept of evolutionary growth, and in the search to see how , it could continue to grow, intelligence came into being. An intelligence that created a system where it could contiue to evolve and grow.
It all makes sense to me.
Its like, 1+1=2.,
You are closer to truth than most legalists that I know. The purest form of energy is conscious and nothing in reality is not prescribed. But I also believe humans are separated from the Singular Conscious Origin by the existence of this universe, a form of prescribed barrier between humans and God. Why? I think it's simply relationship. Relationship that exist through a necessary barrier of the senses. Proving God while alive on earth will only nullify this relationship. I don't think relationship with the Origin of everything is that cheap.
Don't you think that when all thinking and searching is done, we live within a profound unknowingness and uncertainly? This is a very uncomfortable place to be... a full, ultimate meaning/purpose and hope beyond our grasp.
I find your program so amazing and thought provoking. I just wonder if you will ever come to a conclusion. I doubt you and I ever will.
Infinite mystery light and consciousness
1:05 flaws and fallacies on both sides he says. I wager that Bob intelligence is better suited to be a religious man rather than attempting to split atoms.
@Tauhida Khan using the same argument Iron man, Santa claus, Zeus may exist too.
Science undergo peer review therefore the knowledge were used in technologies such as mobile phones. Do prayers work as well as mobile phones? This is the time to ask gods to call off covid 19.
Why is it suited to be religious?
Don't waste time on "gods" unless you're an anthropologist
To be fair is a pretty interesting topic from an antropologic perspective though
Incredible…and, sincere.
A better question is which god or gods?
God used to be in the trees, then we went to the trees and said he was in the mountains. Then we went to the mountains, and said he was in the sky.
Now people want to co opt a Tesla quote and call it god.
Ok
"How To Think About God's Existence"
And how to think about the existence of smurfs.
Or The corpses of your beloved ones.
@@Graewulfe Maybe because those 'We' (You) that are not 'Me' don't give a fck about knowing the Truth ...
@@Graewulfe It all started with dwarfs.
If you leave faith behind. The gods just disappear. Like they never really exsited in the first place.
Knowledge cuts thru the smoke and mirrors that is faith.
The history of religion proves how gullible we are when it comes too the ideas of gods. Over the generations we have believed anything that has a religious stamp on it. No matter how stupid it sounds. Or how little it relates too reality.
@@smlanka4u
Oh, please !!!
I was born into an atheist family and still remain one. I often envied others faith and blind acceptance of the meaning of life because I had no “god” to guide me through my life. I finally decided to take it on faith that there is no god until proven wrong but it is no longer a conundrum to me.
So you're brain came up with that? How so if we're just made up of mindless matter?
Reminds me a bit about Feyerabend’s argument contra methodology.
Who cares if God exists or not, the point is that we don't want anything to do with him even if he exists, and our animosity towards God is definitely not our fault!!! He screwed it up from the very beginning, so we must conclude that he is either evil or incompetent. If he is evil he is Satan, if he is incompetent he isn't God....Make your choice...
We screwed up not God.
@@adeelio83 If death existed before the fall, then what was the fall? ua-cam.com/video/yc8GbCsFU80/v-deo.html St. Augustine, when treating of the question of death is mainly concerned with refuting the errors of Pelagius, who said that Adam incurred death only for himself, dedicates most of his writing on the topic to human death alone, which he of course says is a result of sin. I found an interesting passage from City of God Book XIII.6 in which he reflects that death afflicts the good and the evil alike, but that even for the good the experience of death is never good: Wherefore, as regards bodily death, that is, the separation of the soul from the body, it is good unto none while it is being endured by those whom we say are in the article of death. For the very violence with which body and soul are wrenched asunder, which in the living had been conjoined and closely intertwined, brings with it a harsh experience, jarring horridly on nature so long as it continues, till there comes a total loss of sensation, which arose from the very interpenetration of spirit and flesh. And all this anguish is sometimes forestalled by one stroke of the body or sudden flitting of the soul, the swiftness of which prevents it from being felt. While I assume he is talking about human death, since he mentions the soul and later on talks about the sin of Adam later in the chapter, he makes an interesting point here: death is "good unto none." The experience of dying is "harsh" and jars the nature of a thing horribly. If it is never good, or "good unto none," then would it make sense to say that God, who created all things "good" and "very good", willed as part of His creation that anything should of its own nature be subject to an experience which is so harsh and jarring upon that nature? Feel free to watch my video (click the link above) and care to answer the question : What was the fall if animals had devoured each other even before Adam and Eve sinned.
@@odiupickusclone-1526 I don't come from a Christian viewpoint but an Islamic one. We believe similarly as the Christians but with a few important differences. Firstly, painful separation of the soul from the body only happens to people who disbelieved or caused mischief in life. God fearing people have pleasant separation during death according to the Quran. In regards to the fall, both Adam and Eve were responsible for the sin but later repented as they realised they were deceived by satan. Thier sin is not passed onto the rest of humanity. Everyone is responsible for thier own souls.
@@odiupickusclone-1526 What are you saying, Adam and Eve wont be resurrected?
@@xspotbox4400 I am not sure about Adam and Eve, but three litltle pigs will be resurrected for sure!
There isn't any god! Never was never will be!! It's jst us humans who created god and devil to control the stupid masses of humans with fear of hell and a reward of heaven.CONTROL is the name of the god game!!
Right, and life just happens from nothing. Keep dreaming.
Ignorant
It makes sense that those who do not know what "Reason" is about, lend themselves to sit down and talk with those who appeal to the existence of a God without having evidence. If there is something that characterizes Reason, it is "evidence", and until today there is no evidence that God exists. Reason and Faith belong to different universes. In fact, they are incompatible. It is not clear to me if the interviewer wants to play an idiot or is.
5:46 In the scientific mindset, before the question of evidence comes the question of delineation of claim. 'What does it mean?,' comes before, 'Is it true?'
The audio is great
As an atheist I think the problem of evil is a very weak argument. Here are some possible answers that allows for gods and evil.
Our narrow human minds fails to see the greater picture.
God is not nice, don’t care, or has decided to not intervene.
God can’t do anything about it.
The worst counter argument is ramblings about free will which always falls flat on their face and chew dirt.
You do not have free Will. The past, the present and the future exist All at once. Which means that your future has already happened, and is decided. And there is nothing you can do to change it. 😁
Speed at which consciousness travel is counter productive to its ultimate adventure. Good luck.
How to think about God’s existence? I think of it as non.
13:25 - Apparently Bob has been studying the works of the _Ramchal_ (Rabbi Moshe Chayim Luzzatto).
How can this channel upload new videos so often? I don't understand it. I have thought about it a long time but I decided to ask now.
These are older videos from a tv show I assume around the early 2000's.
@@chadatchison145 some of them look recent
I think art, is our deepest connection to God and Reality. Everything else is in a Traditional Box. Which can easily be picked apart.
You should try to think a little harder about that.
One of the better episodes
Awareness is known by awareness alone...
"Awareness is known by awareness alone," is the sole irreducible axiom of reality.
Read Leo Tolstoy's A Confession.
Repeatative topic in one form or another.
Sir, if we can truly know about our existences, for that matter existence of any creations in the universe just by passionately observing the nature and it's manifestations through it's different creations in the universe, we will know how to think about GOD. This is simply through
self realization. There is no other path to realize GOD's existence. No matter what different shopisticated mathematical models and equations try to explain it, there will always be remaining a burning and most fundamental question in humanity about existence / non existence of GOD.
Given a chance, i can explain it in more detail with latest theory of quantum mechanics and general relativity, even when the general theory of relativity and quantum gravity are married together to produce the theory of everything! 🕊😊🙏
Just curious anybody know the story behind that waterfall structure that appears at 17.40. Seems a bit odd and pointless at first look.
public art project: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_City_Waterfalls
The first mistake people make is not defining who or what God is from their perspective. Opinions differ even between people of the same faith. How then can we argue for or against?
What is a spirit ?
If i see image of you, is your essence contained in a light coming to my eyes?
God is not a thing, to be or not to be, God is process, as in harmonizing diversity into ever greater complexities. When we acknowledge God as creator, we reflect on the emergence of the periodic table of elements and the evolution of life, including ourselves. This harmonizing process is The Agenda, which calls for each of us to get woke, lean in, and participate, as we are of the Whole-of-it-all. Doing so is why we are here, what we need to be about, all on our journey to the stars, even as we leave our aging solar system behind.
could existence communicate with physical nature as God?
Good show. Keep it up.
exactly before decision?
And non-existence! Let's get over ourselves. We age, sicken and die. Life is the gift of nature, so appreciate it. Okay. It is a huge lie of arrogance and even hubris to claim, without evidence or logic, one is connected to divinity.
"Every time you here a non-atheist say 'God' just replace it in your mind with the word 'ego' and that will explain just about everything about them." - Bertrand Russell.
@I Smash Back You can be assured our place is existentially insignificant. Other than that, yes, I agree.
Most appreciative of Mr. Kuhn's interest in a subject of such profound relevance, and his quest for answers. Speaking from the Christian perspective, it's my fervent wish that Mr. Kuhn finds the answers he seeks in a relationship with Jesus Christ, for there is no other way. The transformative process of sanctification is exhilarating, soothing, fulfilling and transcendent, though it enriches life here beyond any capacity I have to describe it. As one learns to love, and becomes rooted, grounded and inspired by its essence, which is the nature of God, relationships and the most mundane encounters with fellow humans become shared experiences with God. It's really all about love, Mr. Kuhn, and you will encounter that love in relationship with the Triune God. If you happen to read this, thanks again for your work and for including us in it.
I wish you would’ve interview Christopher Hitchens on this one and hear what he had to say
A piece from an amazing new (not for the fainthearted) autobiography titled: Saved by the Light of the Buddha Within - what a mind-blowing and thought-provoking story it is...
Myoho-Renge-Kyo represents the identity of what some scientists are now referring to as the unified field of consciousnesses. In other words, it’s the essence of all existence and non-existence - the ultimate creative force behind planets, stars, nebulae, people, animals, trees, fish, birds, and all phenomena, manifest or latent. All matter and intelligence are simply waves or ripples manifesting to and from this core source. Consciousness (enlightenment) is itself the actual creator of everything that exists now, ever existed in the past, or will exist in the future - right down to the minutest particles of dust - each being an individual ripple or wave. The big difference between chanting Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo and most other conventional prayers is that instead of depending on a ‘middleman’ to connect us to our state of inner enlightenment, we’re able to do it ourselves. That’s because chanting Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo allows us to tap directly into our enlightened state by way of this self-produced sound vibration. ‘Who or What Is God?’ If we compare the concept of God being a separate entity that is forever watching down on us, to the teachings of Nichiren, it makes more sense to me that the true omnipotence, omniscience and omnipresence of what most people perceive to be God, is the fantastic state of enlightenment that exists within each of us. Some say that God is an entity that’s beyond physical matter - I think that the vast amount of information continuously being conveyed via electromagnetic waves in today’s world gives us proof of how an invisible state of God could indeed exist. For example, it’s now widely known that specific data relayed by way of electromagnetic waves has the potential to help bring about extraordinary and powerful effects - including an instant global awareness of something or a mass emotional reaction. It’s also common knowledge that these invisible waves can easily be used to detonate a bomb or to enable NASA to control the movements of a robot as far away as the Moon or Mars - none of which is possible without a receiver to decode the information that’s being transmitted. Without the receiver, the data would remain impotent. In a very similar way, we need to have our own ‘receiver’ switched on so that we can activate a clear and precise understanding of our own life, all other life and what everything else in existence is. Chanting Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo each day helps us to achieve this because it allows us to reach into the core of our enlightenment and keep it switched on. That’s because Myoho-Renge-Kyo represents the identity of what scientists now refer to as the unified field of consciousnesses. To break it down - Myoho represents the Law of manifestation and latency (Nature) and consists of two alternating states. For example, the state of Myo is where everything in life that’s not obvious to us exists - including our stored memories when we’re not thinking about them - our hidden potential and inner emotions whenever they’re dormant - our desires, our fears, our wisdom, happiness, karma - and more importantly, our enlightenment. The other state, ho, is where everything in Life exists whenever it becomes evident to us, such as when a thought pops up from within our memory - whenever we experience or express our emotions - or whenever a good or bad cause manifests as an effect from our karma. When anything becomes apparent, it merely means that it’s come out of the state of Myo (dormancy/latency) and into a state of ho (manifestation). It’s the difference between consciousness and unconsciousness, being awake or asleep, or knowing and not knowing. The second law - Renge - Ren meaning cause and ge meaning effect, governs and controls the functions of Myoho - these two laws of Myoho and Renge, not only function together simultaneously but also underlie all spiritual and physical existence. The final and third part of the tri-combination - Kyo, is the Law which allows Myoho to integrate with Renge - or vice verse. It’s the great, invisible thread of energy that fuses and connects all Life and matter - as well as the past, present and future. It’s also sometimes termed the Universal Law of Communication - perhaps it could even be compared with the string theory that many scientists now suspect exists. Just as the cells in our body, our thoughts, feelings and everything else is continually fluctuating within us - all that exists in the world around us and beyond is also in a constant state of flux - constantly controlled by these three fundamental laws. In fact, more things are going back and forth between the two states of Myo and ho in a single moment of time than it would ever be possible to calculate or describe. And it doesn’t matter how big or small, famous or trivial anything or anyone may appear to be, everything that’s ever existed in the past, exists now or will exist in the future, exists only because of the workings of the Laws ‘Myoho-Renge-Kyo’ - the basis of the four fundamental forces, and if they didn’t function, neither we nor anything else could go on existing. That’s because all forms of existence, including the seasons, day, night, birth, death and so on, are moving forward in an ongoing flow of continuation - rhythmically reverting back and forth between the two fundamental states of Myo and ho in absolute accordance with Renge - and by way of Kyo. Even stars are dying and being reborn under the workings of what the combination ‘Myoho-Renge-Kyo’ represents. Nam, or Namu - which mean the same thing, are vibrational passwords or keys that allow us to reach deep into our life and fuse with or become one with ‘Myoho-Renge-Kyo’. On a more personal level, nothing ever happens by chance or coincidence, it’s the causes that we’ve made in our past, or are presently making, that determine how these laws function uniquely in each of our lives - as well as the environment from moment to moment. By facing east, in harmony with the direction that the Earth is spinning, and chanting Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo for a minimum of, let’s say, ten minutes daily to start with, any of us can experience actual proof of its positive effects in our lives - even if it only makes us feel good on the inside, there will be a definite positive effect. That’s because we’re able to pierce through the thickest layers of our karma and activate our inherent Buddha Nature (our enlightened state). By so doing, we’re then able to bring forth the wisdom and good fortune that we need to challenge, overcome and change our adverse circumstances - turn them into positive ones - or manifest and gain even greater fulfilment in our daily lives from our accumulated good karma. This also allows us to bring forth the wisdom that can free us from the ignorance and stupidity that’s preventing us from accepting and being proud of the person that we indeed are - regardless of our race, colour, gender or sexuality. We’re also able to see and understand our circumstances and the environment far more clearly, as well as attract and connect with any needed external beneficial forces and situations. As I’ve already mentioned, everything is subject to the law of Cause and Effect - the ‘actual-proof-strength’ resulting from chanting Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo always depends on our determination, sincerity and dedication. For example, the levels of difference could be compared to between making a sound on a piano, creating a melody, or producing a great song, and so on. Something else that’s very important to always to respect and acknowledge is that the Law (or if you prefer God) is in everyone and everything. NB: There are frightening and disturbing sounds, and there are tranquil and relaxing sounds. It’s the emotional result from any noise or sound that can trigger off a mood or even instantly change one. When chanting Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo each day, we are producing a sound vibration that’s the password to our true inner-self - this soon becomes apparent when you start reassessing your views on various things - such as your fears and desires etc. The best way to get the desired result when chanting is not to view things in a conventional way - rather than reaching out to an external source, we need to reach into our own lives and bring our needs and desires to fruition from within - including the good fortune and strength to achieve any help that we may need. Chanting Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo also reaches out externally and draws us towards, or draws towards us, what we need to make us happy from our environment. For example, it helps us to be in the right place at the right time - to make better choices and decisions and so forth. We need to think of it as a seed within us that we’re watering and bringing sunshine to for it to grow, blossom and bring forth fruit or flowers. It’s also important to understand that everything we need in life - including the answer to every question and the potential to achieve every dream - already exists within us. ua-cam.com/video/NR5DdqjMxgA/v-deo.html
Psuedo science.
TLDR
@@meaningoftheunicorn ??????
@@robertlight5227 Really? If that's your assessment of the piece, either you didn't read it, or you didn't understand it because most of it is simply common sense.
@@tyamada21 It is shallow egoism. His contentions are without logic and evidence. What logic and/or evidence would you possibly have for a deity?
It all boils down to faith, we as human beings use and rely on faith due to the limited understanding we have of the universe.
Both believing or not believing in something doesn't make it true or not true.
A person saying God doesn't exist is based on personal belief and faith that God doesn't exist.
But not seeing, knowing or believing in something doesn't make it non existent.
Likewise saying or believing in God exists doesn't prove God, because for something to be true it has to be factually proven and comformed to reality by having evidence to back it up.
There is far more accumulated evidences that point us to God and would support belief in God than not believing.
In the universe as we know it, we can observe there is purpose, order and evident intelligence that can be seen in every life form.
These things simply are and will remain true irrespective of our thinking or human opinion.
Since both points of view come down to faith, everyone must choose for themselves how to live their life.
But whether we believe in God or not, we should strive to live a honest, decent and respectable life amongst ourselves and nature as we know it.
In light of our finite nature and evident mortality, it is safer and more beneficial to believe in God than not to believe.
Since believing you've got everything to gain but if we don't believe we've got everything to lose.
Ask yourself, does how I live my life matter ?
If so why does it matter?
It all goes back to God.
If God is not, nothing matters, suffering, evil, the good things we experience it's all relative and meaningless as ultimately there isn't any ultimate purpose to life and existence.
But if God is, it all matters because of God.
I believe in God's existence because simple existential experience points to the fact that God exists, we possess reason, morality by which we judge what is good or bad for ourselves and things around us, as simple life experience teaches you there's things that are good and things which are not good.
Each one by their own actions and behaviour is actively contributing to either supporting and contributing to life or destroying it, either themselves or things around them.
As nothing within nature exists alone, we are all interconnected and apart of the whole, at the molecular level, we are all made of light or energy that is expressed in different forms and apart of the whole.
Also consciousness, our own awareness of our own existence and state of being doesn't originate or exist in the physical realm but rather the immaterial and invisible realm of the mind which I believe all minds originate within the whole or absolute mind of the universe from which all comes from which in our own understanding and language is what we call God.
All these intelligent and good people with a variety of different thoughts why couldn't they all be right.
There's only one God!!= Creator Thats why? Based on how this entire universe was created There's a dark force that has the run of the world, in which the leaders pander too, so as the captain of a ship guides it ,thats where it goes,same as when these elites share the lies for truth n we have chaos,from deception, in where we for lack of knowledge are in tribulation!! Until we accept that Christ is the absolute truth of all!!
Foe satan needed many different gods, n corruption to create this level of wickedness in our society,
The best way to think about God's existence is the same as saying, we don't have an answer yet so let's beleive in God instead.
So if god made himself so obvious we would have 'no choice' but to believe in him ,so what?
It wouldn't change the kind of person you are ,only your beliefs,
surely a god would know if you are only being a 'better'person because you know he's around,
that never thought that was as good an argument as christians seem to think it is
(believing something with weak evidence is better then believing with strong evidence)
Who decides what is good and evil ???
"What used to pass as proving God has proven wrong."
Perhaps the question is not whether God exists or not but, rather, does he care?
feeling to follow something other than human being(s)?
does intelligence and rationality of universe confirm existence of God?
The question is incorrect? It should be... what kind of a 'god' I want? God concept serves as a model for each human being... choice of a god defines our path in life... any further query... leave a comment here pl
The question I get stuck on, if I for a moment accept that maybe there is a god, is which religion to choose and even within individual religions the many different ideas about god people have. Or gods even, why assume only one? I happen to have been raised Christian, but that's no reason to reject Islam, Hinduism, or even the many other variations of Christianity, or Judaism, etc, etc.
Accepting that there is a god doesn't get me anywhere. It tells me nothing about the nature of god(s), nothing about what religious practices make sense. It's a road to a billion other roads and no clear reason to choose any one over another. It doesn't solve anything or actually answer any questions. I just see a myriad of religious people all convinced they know the answer, and all completely disagreeing with each other what it is, all saying the other religions are deluded, and none of them with any convincing reasons why I should agree with them and not someone else. It really doesn't look much like a path to truth to me.
guy with a beard? where did he get this image of god from?
I believe as long as we are trying to find God the path does not matter, it can be religious, spiritual, science, or any other way. One thing we should not do is create a God with our little minds of ignorance!!!
Bob is saying, I think, this universe we exist in has bad things happen to us as a way for humans to mature, to appreciate "good" by having the total experience including "bad" things. I have a hard time buying into that reasoning to explain why we have sufering. Why not have that maturity already built into us by God?
Because ''forced maturity'' is just really another way of saying why not have God force us to be perfect, which of course, would make us less human with no real opportunity for
choice and free will, choice requires free will, but free will is not really free if, your forced into God's divine nature and existence without some grasp or concept of ''evil''
This is the greater lesson to be learned for mankind as we contemplate the fall of Lucifer and ''first creation'' which were also perfect beings we call Angels and they had a forced
spiritual maturity on there creation and look what happened there,