--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, TurquoiseB <no_re...@...> wrote: > > Still riffing on this, I think that many people's issue > with an eternal universe is not that it postulates No God > (although that pushes a LOT of buttons because "It just > isn't *done* to question God's existence"), but because > it implies No Purpose.
Yes, that, I'm sure. But what about "Justice"? Thinking out loud here, but... Just as you could scarcely claim a difference between an English football fan and a drunk, it seems there might similarly be little difference between, say, a Buddhist and an atheist. But I wonder if the difference is this: Is there (ultimately) *Justice* in the world? For an atheist the answer I think has to be "no". Any justice is justice we create. And against the backdrop of an uncaring, unfeeling universe, you might well wonder "what's the point?" Person 'A' comes into Being out of nothing, acts like a selfish, sadistic, exploitative bastard all his/her life, then snuffs it. Person 'B' comes into Being out of nothing, does his/her best but gets thoroughly screwed by the likes of 'A'. And yet saint-like, always turns the other cheek, and never turns cynical or bitter. Or whatever (you get my idea). An atheist's universe couldn't care less presumably. But I think religious folks have faith that in the end it will turn out right somehow. Plenty of religionistas think in terms of Hell and Heaven as "justice" of course. But others might prefer to believe that 'A' types just need the opportunity to learn the error of their ways (more lifetimes perhaps?) to overcome their ignorance (which is their real sin). Just thinking then - what is the *real* difference between being religious or atheist? The issue of a created or non-created universe is probably not the main point. Darwin versus Creationism is also a red herring I'd say. I think Dawkins (and maybe Hawking) want hegemony. So they *reduce* religion to something that has the appearance of a bad physical theory, and then abrogate that to their patch. It's empire building.
