On Fri, 15 Oct 2004 23:41:59 +1000
"Peter Webb" <webbfamily-diespamdie@optusnet.com.au> wrote:

"Allen Whittaker" <whittaker@klis.com> wrote in message 
news:ckn14a$2l4q$1@poseidon.acadiau.ca...

And if a deity is planting false evidence what is he hiding. It also
doesn't
set a very good example to those that follow him.

Like Socrates points out Gods can only do the good things and that
the bad things are man made because Gods would not do harm to
mortals. He was trying
to prove that stories about Gods doing wrong were false truths.

Allen

Here you have confounded the concept of the creator of the Universe
with the ultimate moral standard. That's only really only true in a
few religions - even Christianinty has a devil. The 30 billion Gods in
the Hindu pantheon appear to have the moral leadership of reality show
contestants, and have no problems routinely blighting the lives of
Indian peasants.

However, the argument against a God being untruthful is far more
compelling. It means we cannot be sure of internal consistency. If God
can make all the photons in the Universe appear in one blink, he can
make them all disappear in the next blink. What's the point of
building observatories, if this is the case?

And for those who have enjoyed this thread (as I certainly have) may I
recommend an SF author Greg Egan. He has explored many similar themes.
One of his better is "Permutation City", where the premise is that
human personalities are stored inside computers. This has been done
before and since, but its an excellent treatment, particularly if you
have some interest in computer science (eg Turing machines).  Many
other books have have a mathematical slant, and he knows what he is
talking about, and he turns these ideas into rip-roaring SF yarns.

I hope Nightbat don't see this but here goes....

Have you read Dr. Nick Bostrom?

http://www.simulation-argument.com/

And his own site

http://www.nickbostrom.com/

"Llanzlan Klazmon" <llanzlan@llurdiaxorb.gov> wrote in message

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