Plan B Forum

You chickens!

There is no problem with it per se, lo. It is just that christianity seems to claim that a lot of the stuff in their bible is fact when it was actually borrowed from other, far older religions. For example, if it can be demonstrated that, say, 5 key points about Christ's life (eg born in humble sur...

There is a simple reason why 9999999999999999999999999 or even 999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999 millennia can not be approximated to infinite time. The fact that we can ennumerate it means that it is incomparable to infinity. But of course the real point is not that a "probable" thing ...

This summarizes the agnostic problem - an outright refusal to stand on any ground at all other than scepticism. Yes AGD you have made a claim. You claim that in inifinite time not all possible things may happen. You did not simply ask "what is your argument? - you first said that it was not correct ...

I think this thread is one size of infinity.

Claiming that in an infinite span of time all events which have even the smallest probability of happening must necessarily happen is a bizarre misunderstanding of nature and frankly just wrong. The chance that all of the water molecules in lake tahoe will at some point vibrate in exactly the same ...

Let's hope not!

Sean If that is the case, then it is equally not an absolute certainty that he will roll a 5. Or a 4, Or a 3. Or a 2. Or a 1. Which leaves us uncertain as to whether the die will ever stop rolling? Put another way. You are saying that in infinite time it is certain he will roll 5 numbers but not cer...

Andrew Well done - seized on the word "could" which is no doubt an error. Thestoat meant "will". The rationale is this: Given sufficient time (and hardware), the hypothetical monkeys WILL type randomly every possible combination of letters that exists. One of those combinations is "The God Illusion"...

That's hilarious! My only complaint is that we didn't get any of Chapter Sixty Nine which has the really dirty stuff!

There's a wrong thing right there. Re Joshua; not it’s not a “wrong thing” – it’s poetic description of a seemingly endless day of battle. A common device in ancient writings and through to today. Eye for an eye versus turn the other cheek . Not understanding is not the same as contradiction. Eye f...

Good stuff If men can be wrong (and maybe have written wrong things in the bible) then how do you know when you read it whether you are reading your god's word, or yet another misinterpretation? Men can be wrong but “wrong things” are not written in the Bible. What is written is not interpretation b...

Obviously the Bible itself cannot change – it am what it be. Jefferson’s “no miracles” gospel rather missed the entire point of Christianity. One can readily imagine the derision of atheists (and any thinking Christian) if say, an ecumenical council agreed to rewrite the book of Daniel to remove all...

Actually, this is one of the few areas where Meade is sort of right (at least the closest Meade gets). Obviously Meade is wrong that the atheist must argue the universe has infinitely existed, but in a system that contains infinite time, everything that can happen will have happened. Of course, the...

Did David Ben Ariel drop in for a visit when no one was looking? Contrary to extremist Afrikaaner propaganda, South Africa is not hugely more violent now than it was under apartheid. Violence was just easier to contain (and whites were more insulated from it) when poor, desperate people were largel...

To presumtiously answer for Meade you're talking about the wrong question. Or at least different questions. You: How. Meade: Why. Only the insecure have issues with man understanding the how of things and put themselves at odds with those who use science to it's proposed ends. (we'll leave the "sci...

You may find the passive/aggressive, Mickey the Dunce routine entertaining to engage in. I find no further use in bothering to respond to it. YOU, of all people, accusing others of engaging in dishonest distortion of what others have said. As Jim would say, render unto me a break. Scooter, I have n...

I thought you might be gobsmacked by an interview the leader of the ANY Youth League (the very much not youth at 30 years of age, Julius Malemo). The head of the kindergarten was asked what his favourite possessions are. He said he didn't have any. In fact, he wasn't at all tied to material things. ...

Hi Sue It's just a matter of which presupposition one cares to choose. You start by believing that man made gods (which is of course true with the small 'g') and I start with God making man. The fact that the presupposition of God makes more sense of all things than the opposite view is a point in i...

I don't see what hate crimes legislation has to with this at all. It was a straw man introduced by Meade to avoid addressing what I had actually said, which he knows to be the truth. Hate crimes legislation is about how to punish criminals, not about protecting human rights. I have cancelled what I...