From: Brent Allsop (allsop@extropy.org)
Date: Thu Apr 03 2003 - 20:56:57 MST
Adrian Tymes,
This is a variation of the "God is impotent" theodicy.
This is the one I use to justify me not spending 90% of my resources to help
starving people in 3rd world countries and such. But, I do spend some
amount of my resources to help, as I am able. For me to do nothing at all
would be irrational and illogical if you ask me. I believe the more
intelligence a being has, the more empathy they are able to feel, and hence
the more motivated they are to help others in need. To think that there are
beings that are much more powerful than us, yet still to busy to even at
least say hi and give us a few helpful pointers seems absurd to me. I just
can't see this as being in any way a logical justification.
Brent Allsop
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-extropians@extropy.org [mailto:owner-extropians@extropy.org]On
Behalf Of Adrian Tymes
Sent: Thursday, April 03, 2003 6:05 PM
To: extropians@extropy.org
Subject: Re: Questions to ask a god or a time traveller/ET (was: RE: If
Magick Exists)
--- brent.allsop@attbi.com wrote:
> 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.
The one that seems to make the most sense:
Because, even with all their power, they still have
finite resources. It is more efficient to make us
solve our own problems than to intervene - even if
that
means we suffer when we screw up, and even if we
insist
in believing that certain events are just
unpredictable
random chance.
This seems unlikely, though, since we can point to
examples on the power scale we do have where it is
more
efficient for the powerful to invervene, in certain
ways, for nearly any intent (especially just getting
the less powerful to become powerful enough to be able
to help the more powerful). For instance, by teaching.
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