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Author Topic:   On Kinds... again.
Rei
Member (Idle past 7013 days)
Posts: 1546
From: Iowa City, IA
Joined: 09-03-2003


Message 61 of 63 (66191)
11-13-2003 4:36 AM
Reply to: Message 60 by mendy
11-12-2003 8:42 PM


Re: kind
On the subject of life on other worlds, I'd be interested in your take on this:
Why We Believe In A Designer!
It's by Ed Babinski, a former creationist. He raises some excellent issues that I'd be interested in seing your response in, concerning the universe and other planets. Also, from his introduction to this section:
quote:
But all kidding aside, let's get to the big questions. The biggest one is, "Are there intelligent beings elsewhere in the cosmos?" The cosmos as it is presently known, contains over 50 billion galaxies, each galaxy containing between 100 to 200 billion stars. Recent advances in telescopic magnification have allowed astronomers to detect rings of matter and planets that circle stars other than our own. It is conceivable that intelligent beings exist, or have existed in the distant past, or will exist in the future, on planets other than the earth. Are we the only intelligent beings who have evolved in the cosmos' vast dimensions of space and time?
Even a "Biblical creationist" might find himself unable to believe that we are the only intelligent beings "God created" in a cosmos of countless blazing stars and (who knows how many) planetary bodies? So much cosmic "real estate" going to waste. Doesn't sound very "purposeful" does it?
Yet, if intelligent beings exist on other planets, how are they going to react to the "Biblical creation account?" Are they going to believe that the cosmos was created in "six days" as measured from one planet's perspective, the earth's? Such beings might well wonder why the cosmos wasn't created based on the length of a "day" on their own planet, rather than ours.
Neither are they going to believe that five out of the "six" days of creation, or, five sixths of the "creation period" was focused solely on the earth, during which its seas, dry land and sky, and the plants and animals on it, were created. The "rest" of the cosmos with it's 50 billion galaxies, and it's unknown multitude of planets, including the one these other beings live on, took only "one day" out of "six" to create? They'd be on the floor laughing at such earth-centered viewpoints in the very first chapter of the Bible. Only one planet, the earth, took five sixths of God's creation time to complete? No intelligent being inhabiting another planet is going to believe that!
Or, how about this for a "worst case" scenario after meeting a technologically advanced being from another planet: (Being from another planet speaking with Billy Graham's son) "So, you say, five sixths of God's `creation time' was spent on your pitiful little planet full of natural disasters and turmoil and idiocy, and God only spent one sixth of that time creating the rest of the cosmos, including what was to become our vast pan-galactic civilization whose history stretches back before the first pitiful little Biblical book was scrawled on goat skin parchments?"
Hence my next big question, ARE THERE CREATIONISTS ON OTHER PLANETS? Do they quote from a book somewhat like our earth-centered book of Genesis? And, supposing that the name of their planet is "Zontar," does their book read something like this...
In the beginning God created the heavens and ZONTAR, and the spirit of God moved on the face of the waters OF ZONTAR and God said let there be light, and there was the first evening and morning. And God separated the waters and caused dry land to appear ON ZONTAR, and there was a second evening and morning. And God made the land bring forth green plants and fruit trees ON ZONTAR, and there was a third evening and morning. And God made TWO GREAT LIGHTS, one to rule the day ON ZONTAR, and one to rule the night ON ZONTAR, and he made the stars also, and set them in the sky to light ZONTAR and for signs and seasons, and there was a fourth evening and morning. And God made animals ON ZONTAR, and there was a fifth evening and morning. And God made beings IN HIS OWN IMAGE, and he visited them in the garden where He and they left slimy trials as they moved and talked to each other via their antennae, and there was a sixth evening and morning. And on the seventh day God "rested" from creating the heavens and ZONTAR.
Of course, we earthlings, being raised on the Bible, would know that God needed to "rest" after creating ZONTAR, so He could regain enough energy to trek to another part of the cosmos (near one of those stars he'd created "to light ZONTAR") and create a place called "earth." Once there, He had to "separate light and darkness again," "separate the waters," make dry land appear, create plants and fruit trees, make two more "great lights" to "rule the day and night" on that planet, create animals, and create beings in his own image, this time more ape-like than the intelligent snail-like beings of ZONTAR.
Then, after creating the heavens and the EARTH, God "rested" a second time. (The first time God "rested" was after he'd created ZONTAR, remember?)
P.S. - I think there may have been some threads that I missed when I was really busy that we had been chatting in before. If you can think of any, just bump them and I'll get back to you.
------------------
"Illuminant light,
illuminate me."

This message is a reply to:
 Message 60 by mendy, posted 11-12-2003 8:42 PM mendy has not replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 62 by Adminnemooseus, posted 11-13-2003 11:38 AM Rei has replied

  
Adminnemooseus
Administrator
Posts: 3974
Joined: 09-26-2002


Message 62 of 63 (66254)
11-13-2003 11:38 AM
Reply to: Message 61 by Rei
11-13-2003 4:36 AM


Re: kind
An worthy (evo side bias?) and interesting message from Ed, but I have a hard time seeing how it fits into this topic.
There is a seemingly relevent existing topic, "Possibility of Life in the Known Universe", but that topic seems to have gone rather bad.
I suggest you start a new "Big Bang..." forum topic, relating to the Ed Babinski comments.
Adminnemooseus
------------------
Comments on moderation procedures? - Go to
Change in Moderation?
or
too fast closure of threads

This message is a reply to:
 Message 61 by Rei, posted 11-13-2003 4:36 AM Rei has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 63 by Rei, posted 11-13-2003 3:49 PM Adminnemooseus has not replied

  
Rei
Member (Idle past 7013 days)
Posts: 1546
From: Iowa City, IA
Joined: 09-03-2003


Message 63 of 63 (66298)
11-13-2003 3:49 PM
Reply to: Message 62 by Adminnemooseus
11-13-2003 11:38 AM


Re: kind
Good call - I'll start a new thread. I came in at the end of the discussion here, and it seems to be different from its original topic.
Thread started here.
------------------
"Illuminant light,
illuminate me."
[This message has been edited by Rei, 11-13-2003]

This message is a reply to:
 Message 62 by Adminnemooseus, posted 11-13-2003 11:38 AM Adminnemooseus has not replied

  
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