Puzzling Questions Thread

[Kira]

Any baffling questions you have been thinking about goes here, so I'll start ^^


If humans originated from primates, then why aren't primates extinct?

What do clocks truly indicate if time is only a perception of mankind?

How could the big bang have happened if NOTHING existed?

 

[Ska]

If humans originated from primates, then why aren't primates extinct?

Humans simply share a common ancestor primates - primates and humans both branched off from the common ancestor, then existed at the same time, and each species evolved from there.

What do clocks truly indicate if time is only a perception of mankind?

Time as man perceives it.

How could the big bang have happened if NOTHING existed?

Even if there was something before the big bang, that something would have had to originate from something (or nothing). Or are you arguing that something has always existed? That seems highly unlikely since it indicates there is no beginning to life and that it has always existed (and therefore most likely will always exist).

 

[Marlene]

What do clocks truly indicate if time is only a perception of mankind?

Mankind's capacity to construct our own reality.

Q) If you lined up, heel to toe, all the shoes that exist in the world, stretching from Earth out into the atmosphere, how far would they go?

 

[DesertSmeagle]

Good time question. I once asked the same question. But then how would it be possible that when they tested the theory of relativity the times were different? i think they did a study where they had 2 atomic clocks and one of them was in a fast moving jet, and the one in the jet was slightly different then the one not moving..why could this be if time is a creation of man?

as for the big bang, it was probably God, i wont lie, but if it somehow wasnt, some scientists believ that the universe is just on universe in a room with a bunch of others. They think that maybe this universe collided with another and it made some kind of spark, and that was the big bang haha..but nobody really knows at all, and im sure we will never know until we figure out how to go back in time. But if time doesnt exist then that could be a problem...i think time exists, but what we know as time is just man recording the amount of existence that happens each day.

 

[Ska]

as for the big bang, it was probably God, i wont lie

How was god created from nothing, and who created him?

 

[nexion]

How was god created from nothing, and who created him?

God. That which is greatest in this universe (or even outside of it), that which is not created.

Your questions lead to a dead end. Either God has existed for eternity and he wasn't created, or the universe has existed for eternity and it wasn't created.

Smeagle: Great leaps in quantum physics take place all the time. Maybe we will know many of the details of the universe within a few hundred years, but we will likely never know what created the universe, for the aforementioned reasons.

Time is essentially there to measure the change in matter. Without the concept of time such would be impossible. It is a human construct, created because humans don't have the capacity to live in anything other than the current moment. My understanding anyway.

 

[Ska]

God. That which is greatest in this universe (or even outside of it), that which is not created.

Your questions lead to a dead end. Either God has existed for eternity and he wasn't created, or the universe has existed for eternity and it wasn't created.

Yes, that's what I'm saying. If you are going to argue for God because something can't come from nothing, you can equally argue against God because he couldn't have come from nothing either. If a God created God, then another God would have had to created that God.

 

[Thaklaar]

Yes, that's what I'm saying. If you are going to argue for God because something can't come from nothing, you can equally argue against God because he couldn't have come from nothing either. If a God created God, then another God would have had to created that God.

It's turtles, all the way down.

 

[nexion]

Yes, that's what I'm saying. If you are going to argue for God because something can't come from nothing, you can equally argue against God because he couldn't have come from nothing either. If a God created God, then another God would have had to created that God.

Yes, but the very definition of God dictates the he need not be created. With your line of thinking, there are just an infinite amount of gods.

 

[Ska]

Yes, but the very definition of God dictates the he need not be created. With your line of thinking, there are just an infinite amount of gods.

That seems like a pretty convenient definition to me then....

 

[nexion]

Convenient? If you take God to be omnipotent, then you can pretty much end the argument right there. If you believe in God but do not believe him to be omnipotent, then there is probably a greater God who is omnipotent.

Saying that an omnipotent God created the universe makes a lot more sense to me than saying that there is a near infinite amount of gods or that the universe itself is infinite (even though they could all be true, none of this will ever be proven). so take your pick, is there an infinite God that created the universe or is all matter infinite (meaning, necessarily, that there are an infinite amount of universes before and after our own [wow, that's even more confusing]).

For the sake of the discussion, I would like to know which you prescribe to. As far as I can tell there aren't many other options, except for the weird, weird stuff.

 

[snafupants]

Good time question. I once asked the same question. But then how would it be possible that when they tested the theory of relativity the times were different? i think they did a study where they had 2 atomic clocks and one of them was in a fast moving jet, and the one in the jet was slightly different then the one not moving..why could this be if time is a creation of man?

as for the big bang, it was probably God, i wont lie, but if it somehow wasnt, some scientists believ that the universe is just on universe in a room with a bunch of others. They think that maybe this universe collided with another and it made some kind of spark, and that was the big bang haha..but nobody really knows at all, and im sure we will never know until we figure out how to go back in time. But if time doesnt exist then that could be a problem...i think time exists, but what we know as time is just man recording the amount of existence that happens each day.

as an object approaches the speed of light - approximately six hundred and seventy miles per hour - time collapses and moves slower. the problem is that faster speed results in more mass; this is why electrons can only approach and not match the speed of light: the mass gets too unwieldy and it takes more and more force to move an increasingly larger object: the electron can not viably reach that speed. einstein layed the groundwork for a time machine, which is completely possible by the way, with the basic premise that one travels out into space at the speed of light (no light feat) for some months and comes back millions of years in the future - thus, essentially freezing time and allowing earth civilization to run its course. if you should see a series of blasts from that blue and green ball, keep moving.

 

[Ska]

I don't believe in God or any other gods. I believe the concept to be completely contrived by the human mind. Either way I don't see how omnipotence would work.

 

[typus]

ATTENTION EVERYONE: YOU GUYS NEED TO COOL IT ON DIVINE STUFF

The laws of physics made the Big Bang inevitable (or so theory says), call these laws God if you want to, call them the laws of physics if you want to. I don't really see what there is to argue about.

 

[EyeSeeCold]

I wrote an expository paper on the creation of the universe, I can't seem to find it though. I think it's pretty good considering that I wrote it only at age 16.

My own question:

Why was God furious at Adam and Eve when they ate from the forbidden tree? If God is omnipotent then "he" would have known beforehand what was going to happen, yet "he" still chose to create Adam and the tree. Even if he did not have the ability of foresight, still he created Adam and Eve with their curious and easily manipulated minds. Knowing this, he left them in Eden, kept them ignorant and forbade them to eat of a special tree with a persuasive creature in the vicinity.

Genesis makes God seem like he has dementia and a short temper. This is why I think it's so obvious that all religions are merely attempts at explaining human nature.

 

[snafupants]

^ like the holy trinity, it is a mystery which we can not truly comprehend with our puny human brains, which incidentally were endowed by god. a theologian would tell you free will, by the way. i would tell you this is not harry potter and snakes dont talk; its ironic that bible thumpers cavil about harry potter being witchcraft when the bible trumps lord of the rings in menace and imagination. your one stop shop for lightning bolts, resurrections, immaculate conceptions, people living to six hundred years old, people living in whales, extortion, fornification, drunkenness, and countless instances of murder. oh, and whores.

 

[EyeSeeCold]

The argument of free will is invalid though because God already knew what was going to happen, he basically set up the whole situation and became angry because things happened the way they were supposed to.

But yes there's no point in arguing any view in theology founded on belief.

 

[snafupants]

thats where youre wrong though, the bible is divinely inspired!

 

[EyeSeeCold]

Same thing.

 

[nexion]

as an object approaches the speed of light - approximately six hundred and seventy miles per hour - time collapses and moves slower. the problem is that faster speed results in more mass; this is why electrons can only approach and not match the speed of light: the mass gets too unwieldy and it takes more and more force to move an increasingly larger object: the electron can not viably reach that speed. einstein layed the groundwork for a time machine, which is completely possible by the way, with the basic premise that one travels out into space at the speed of light (no light feat) for some months and comes back millions of years in the future - thus, essentially freezing time and allowing earth civilization to run its course. if you should see a series of blasts from that blue and green ball, keep moving.

I thought there was something wrong with this post. The speed of light is approximately 186,000 miles per hour...

I wrote an expository paper on the creation of the universe, I can't seem to find it though. I think it's pretty good considering that I wrote it only at age 16.

My own question:

Why was God furious at Adam and Eve when they ate from the forbidden tree? If God is omnipotent then "he" would have known beforehand what was going to happen, yet "he" still chose to create Adam and the tree. Even if he did not have the ability of foresight, still he created Adam and Eve with their curious and easily manipulated minds. Knowing this, he left them in Eden, kept them ignorant and forbade them to eat of a special tree with a persuasive creature in the vicinity.

I have heard this question thrown around many times. I have even posed this question myself on a few occasions. Firstly, let me say that I do not believe the Genesis creation story to be literal. Obviously, science has proved the earth is more than 6000 years old, evolution occurred, two people reproducing would have made the entire human race sterile in a few generations, etc.

I reject the free will argument, and I have many times struck it down as a valid response to this question. Actually, I reject the notion of theological free will as a whole. I believe God predestined everything to happen, and that the true mercy and glory of God will be revealed in the universal salvation of all mankind.

I would say more on belief, and how I am not truly adamant in those beliefs (as my beliefs change all the time) but they have been my beliefs for the past 2 years or so. I threw away free will and the doctrine of eternal hell out a long time ago though.

Also, I'm sure the content of this post will only draw from you more questions, which I am ready to answer to the best of my abilities.

 

[EyeSeeCold]

I have heard this question thrown around many times. I have even posed this question myself on a few occasions. Firstly, let me say that I do not believe the Genesis creation story to be literal. Obviously, science has proved the earth is more than 6000 years old, evolution occurred, two people reproducing would have made the entire human race sterile in a few generations, etc.

I reject the free will argument, and I have many times struck it down as a valid response to this question. Actually, I reject the notion of theological free will as a whole. I believe God predestined everything to happen, and that the true mercy and glory of God will be revealed in the universal salvation of all mankind.

I would say more on belief, and how I am not truly adamant in those beliefs (as my beliefs change all the time) but they have been my beliefs for the past 2 years or so. I threw away free will and the doctrine of eternal hell out a long time ago though.

Also, I'm sure the content of this post will only draw from you more questions, which I am ready to answer to the best of my abilities.

Nope, not on my part. I have taken the Bible, mainly the book of Genesis, as a complex myriad of metaphors[The authors(yes, authors, to you believers) must have been geniuses]. I even have my own interpretation of the popular belief that the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil was related to sex. Not to mention, I have been arguing against a two human genesis since before adolescence.

 

[nexion]

Well, that is nice to know. About the tree being about sex, I can kinda see it, but you would mine forming a brief synopsis of it?

 

[Anthile]

Why do I even bother?

 

[Dormouse]

Because you have an overwhelming desire to be understood or possibly worshipped by the hoardes of idiots surrounding you.

Why does lichen take so long to grow? <Because I'm too damn lazy to look it up.

 

[EyeSeeCold]

Well, that is nice to know. About the tree being about sex, I can kinda see it, but you would mine forming a brief synopsis of it?

Bear with me here, it's not yet a constructed theory, but really just deductions.

Well first off, when Adam and Eve first "ate the fruit", they immediately realized their nakedness and felt ashamed. That is very similar to the feeling one gets after ejaculation, and not only that, the first thing they noticed was nakedness. I'm not 100% on actual intercourse, mutual oral sex and masturbation are also possibilities. Also Eve's punishment was a curse put upon her womb (or menstruation). Now why would God do that? The way I see it, the author was trying to explain the cycle of life.

Another big one, is that God declared:

Genesis 2:16,17 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely
eat: But of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eat thereof thou shalt surely die.

He did not mean immediate physical death as one would get from a poison. In fact he meant that in having sex, you create life and if one lives, one must die. Adam and Eve created their own and all of humanity's mortality through having sex.

It needs a lot of work, but I think you can understand.

 

[nexion]

Yes, I understand. I really don't have much to add currently. Maybe tomorrow. It's about time for bed. In an hour. Maybe thirty minutes.