Dennis Paull wrote:
>
> Hi Brad,
>
> Since I am not a religionist, I find your continued references
> to God rather off the wall and hard to understand. Still your
> comments suggest that you maybe either aren't a believer or are
> rather critical of conventional beliefs. Can you help out here?
Sure. I try "thought experiments". I say: let's assume
what the believers believe in is true, and then let's
wee what the consequences may be. There seems to me
little question that Job would have been better off
in a Godless world. I think that says something about *God*.
One might call my approach something like noetic-judo. Help[
thge believer's beliefs to make themselves unpalatable to
him.
>
> I don't know what the believers will say when the ETs pay us a
> visit. How will they relate to beings much more advanced than
> "the son of god?"
Who says the son of god is to primitive? Is Sophocles
less "advanced" than George Dubya Bush?
>
> On the other hand, our technology is advancing so rapidly that
> it is not beyond belief that humans could be visiting other
> planets in a hundred years or so. Just think of the scientific
> advances that have been made in the last century.
>
> I don't think that human behavoir will change much in such a short
> time, so if we are barbarians now we will still be barbarians
> in 2102. Why do we think that the ETs will necessarily be
> philosophically more advanced than us?
I agree. They may just be solving their
population problem by colonizing new planets....
>
> In years past sailors used to let goats and pigs off on
> uninhabited islands, so they would have fresh meat available when
> next they happened by. They also kept track of locations where
> native game could be easily obtained. Maybe this is our lot, to
> be spread around the universe as a storehouse of fresh meat.
Sensible explorers *will*, like Amundsen when he went for
the South Pole, leave well provisioned supply dumps at
close intervals, all along their way back to
where they came from. My repugnance toward Scott and Shackleton,
with their more "honorable" but less practical ideas of
exploration, is as limitless as the land they wished to survey.
If you meet the Buddha in the road, try to
ascertain if he is real or an imposter.
Treat him with dignified respect if he treats you with
the same. But if he thinks he is some way superior,
just keep walking unless you are starving and the
only way to survive is to make a meal out of him.
Think outside the box [or the Prayer-Wheel...]
\brad mccormic
>
> Dennis Paull
>
> At 02:29 PM 4/16/2002 Tuesday , Brad wrote:
> >Dennis Paull wrote:
> >>
> >> Hi all,
> >>
> >> At 06:50 PM 4/15/2002 Monday , Pete wrote:
> >> >
> >> >On Sat, 13 Apr 2002 "Brad McCormick, Ed.D." <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> >> >
> >> >>What difference does it make whether there are any other
> >> >>species "out there", be they ETs or cherubims, seraphims,
> >> >>principalities (and, oh, yes, the Pope himself!)?
> >> >
> >> >[snip]
> >>
> >> >The difference would be that at a minimum, they would have a sufficiently
> >> >superior knowledge of technology to contact us. Considering the
> >> >time depth of the store of human knowledge vs the age the of the
> >> >universe, the odds are almost certain that their society would
> >> >be orders of magnitude older than ours, and their knowledge further
> >> >beyond ours than we could begin to imagine. However, like I said
> >> >in the other post, I don't expect to hear from them, they would
> >> >be far too wise to be so rash. -PV
> >> >
> >>
> >> They may want to keep us as pets. We might be highly amusing to them.
> >> Our communications might be for them like dog barks or bird calls
> >> are to us.
> >>
> >[snip]
> >
> >But aren't we that already to the Judeo-Christian G-d, at
> >least when said Deity is in certain moods? And our Theologists
> >explain to us that we are like dogs, in that just as dogs
> >can understand our speech hardly at all, so too we
> >cannot understand G-d's speech. But maybe we *are* like
> >dogs, since dogs still love their masters even if
> >their masters physically grossly abuse them....
> >
> >Of course, if "Our communications might be for them like dog barks",
> >then they may be more evolved than our Deity, too, since He
> >showed what he thought of our communication by becoming
> >paranoid and attacking us.
> >
> >I have little doubt that if there are ETs out there
> >with the ability to visit our planet, that they also
> >have the technical means to hurt us a lot, while
> >they may also have personality characteristics which
> >would lead them to exercise their capabilities -- perhaps,
> >just like G-d, to see how we will respond (ref.: Job).
> >
> >\brad mccormick
> >
>
--
Let your light so shine before men,
that they may see your good works.... (Matt 5:16)
Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. (1 Thes 5:21)
<![%THINK;[SGML+APL]]> Brad McCormick, Ed.D. / [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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