All right -

What is really real?
-I'm not sure we can ever truly know that, objectively. Subjectively, our feelings are real but our senses can betray us at times.

What is the stuff that can never be destroyed? Matter? Energy? God? Spirits?

-Both energy and matter have laws of conservation that say they cannot be created or destroyed, merely converted from one form to another. If we could prove a soul exists, I could accept the possibility fo a similar law for souls, but when it comes to the hereafter, it's hard to sort out what is true from what is merely wistful thinking.

-I think "God" is real but am not sure what it is. Definitely not an individualized presence keeping track of misdeeds, nor a dead man named Jesus. Could be the collective consciousness, could be a mindless force of nature, could be something evolved far beyond what we know. The very nature of God demands that it be beyond our comprehension, perhaps.


What is the nature of the cosmos?
-fucked if I know. Anyone who claims to know is probably lying or delusional.

Is it ruled by natural laws?
-Yes, almost by definition. What we call nature is ipso facto governed by natural laws.

Is there a purpose to it?
-Is there a purpose to anything? Existence itself seems like purpose enough.

Did the cosmos begin to exists? Did it come into existence by chance? Purpose? Both? How did the cosmos come into being?
-Infinity is a tough thing to wrap one's head around. It's hard to imagine either a finite cosmos or an infinite one. Yet one must be true, eh?

What is a human being? A highly evolved animal? A person in the image of God? Both?

-A highly evolved animal that is still evolving towards something higher. The "image of God" thing is tricky, because the Christian God rejects "images." As does the Muslim one, I believe. I don't really accept the notion of a God who looks like man inside or out. However, by developing reason and moving beyond instinct, I think we are getting closer to something more positive, possibly definable as divine. I believe that virtually all evil in the world occurs as the result of the worst elements of instinct and reason combining, while most pure good comes from the best of same. Animals are neither good nor evil, just instinctual.
I think God is made in the image of man rather than vice versa. If we were all superintelligent horses, for example, God would be envisioned as a horse.
LYT | Homepage | 05.27.05 - 12:12 am | #

Hey, thanks. It seems rather inappropriate to debate, or anything, but I think the imago dei (ooh, improvised latin. How'd I do?) I mean, the image thing, is from here...

Genesis 1

26 Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, [b] and over all the creatures that move along the ground."

27 So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.