Re: Questions to ask a god or a time traveller/ET (was: RE: If Magick Exists)

From: brent.allsop@attbi.com
Date: Thu Apr 03 2003 - 17:07:47 MST

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    Damien Broderick <damienb@unimelb.edu.au> asked:
    >>>
    What questions would people here pose to a deity claimant (or surrogate)?
    <<<

    No questions should be necessary! The deity (or surrogate) or advanced alien,
    or visitor from the future (or choose your favorite supper being) should come
    in with their rescue ships, sirens a blazing, as fast as they can, heading
    mostly to the hospitals and anywhere else down here where people are still
    suffering and dieing and help us in our efforts to save them and relieve their
    misery.

    If we do discover such a being that claims to be some kind of supper being that
    is not successfully involved in such activity as fast as is possible then
    perhaps one question would be appropriate: "Why?"

    There are lots of religions and beliefs that contain many types of various
    supper beings. All of them have various justifications for why their "God" is
    not giving us more of a hand at relieving some of this misery. To religious
    people this is known as "The problem of evil" They call these
    justifications "theodicies" and they are all irrational BS. Everything from
    some kind of "prime directive" to "We’ve got to be free to choose" all this
    misery...

    Are you listening all you Gods and ETs out there? Screw your prime directives
    and any other justification you think you have and get down here and give us a
    hand!

    This is why I think any extropian must also be a hard core atheist and why
    extropianism isn't compatible with any belief system that includes any "higher
    power". Misery and supper beings are mutually exclusive. One cannot exist
    with the other. If there is already a supper being out there hiding from us
    while there is still misery down here – then we are eternally screwed – for
    even if we become as powerful as that being, like that being, and for the same
    reason, we will not be able to eliminate all known misery.

    If some alleged God came up with some answer to this "why?" question that truly
    made rational sense for why misery is tolerated by powerful beings – now that
    would be powerful evidence of their true Godliness. We would still be screwed –
     but it would be impressive.

    Brent Allsop

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