the Universe, including life, was designed (and created) by a creator...

[timothy1027]

I am a 63-year-old agnostic theist who is in the process of deconstructing from Christianity. Although no human has (yet) proven or disproven that God exists, I think that it's more likely than not that the Universe, including life, was designed (and created) by a creator as opposed to developing from random & arbitrary chemical processes over billions of years. We just have no proof of this (yet). There seems to be many "indicators" though. e.g. 1. The moon and the sun appear to be the same size in the sky, 2. The Earth is located in the "Goldilocks" habitable zone in its orbit around the sun, 3. The moons rotation is "tidally locked" to the earth, 4. life in the Universe is extremely rare & valuable, 5. Human consciousness is STILL almost a complete mystery, 6. The human female menstrual cycle and the lunar cycle are each very close to 29 days, 7. Each of the eight billion humans on Earth has a brain that contains a "symphony" of 150 billion coordinated neurons that have established & maintained: complex societies, language, art, culture, medicine, poetry, morals, computers, "smart" electronic devices, chemicals, machines, space craft and Artificial Intelligence (AI), among MANY other things! (updated 7/19/23).

 

[ChristineM]

I am a 63-year-old agnostic theist who is in the process of deconstructing from Christianity. Although no human has (yet) proven or disproven that God exists, I think that it's more likely than not that the Universe, including life, was designed (and created) by a creator as opposed to developing from random & arbitrary chemical processes over billions of years. We just have no proof of this (yet). There seems to be many "indicators" though. e.g. 1. The moon and the sun appear to be the same size in the sky, 2. The Earth is located in the "Goldilocks" habitable zone in its orbit around the sun, 3. The moons rotation is "tidally locked" to the earth, 4. life in the Universe is extremely rare & valuable, 5. Human consciousness is STILL a complete mystery, 6. The human female menstrual cycle and the lunar cycle are each very close to 29 days (which is why women can be called "lunatics") 7. Each of the eight billion humans on Earth has a brain that contains a "symphony" of 150 billion coordinated neurons that establish & maintain complex societies, language, art, culture, medicine, poetry, morals, machines, space craft and Artificial Intelligence (AI), among MANY other things! (updated 7/18/23).
Click to expand...

1. Coincidence of the time. The moon was closer to earth in the distant past making it appear bigger then the sun. The moon moves away from earth at a rate of around 1.5 inches per year.

2. So are venus and mars. Of the 1700+ planets discovered so far atound 16 appear to be in the habitable zone of their sun

3. Not uncommon, it appears that all our solar systems large moons are tidally locked to their planets.

4. As far as we know life is rare, the universe is quite unforgiving of life. As to valuable, i guess it depends on your interpretation of valuable.

5. Not quite complete, it seems it is partly sourced from the brain stem and the resst is a work in progress.

6. Calling women lunatics is just likely to cause problems for you.

7. Yes, and?

 

[Audie]

1. Coincidence of the time. The moon was closer to earth in the distant past making it appear bigger then the sun. The moon moves away from earth at a rate of around 1.5 inches per year.

2. So are venus and mars. Of the 1700+ planets discovered so far atound 16 appear to be in the habitable zone of their sun

3. Not uncommon, it appears that all our solar systems large moons are tidally locked to their planets.

4. As far as we know life is rare, the universe is quite unforgiving of life. As to valuable, i guess it depends on your interpretation of valuable.
and
5. Not quite complete, it seems it is partly sourced from the brain stem and the resst is a work in progress.

6. Calling women lunatics is just likely to cause problems for you.

7. Yes, and?

 

[Audie]

I am a 63-year-old agnostic theist who is in the process of deconstructing from Christianity. Although no human has (yet) proven or disproven that God exists, I think that it's more likely than not that the Universe, including life, was designed (and created) by a creator as opposed to developing from random & arbitrary chemical processes over billions of years. We just have no proof of this (yet). There seems to be many "indicators" though. e.g. 1. The moon and the sun appear to be the same size in the sky, 2. The Earth is located in the "Goldilocks" habitable zone in its orbit around the sun, 3. The moons rotation is "tidally locked" to the earth, 4. life in the Universe is extremely rare & valuable, 5. Human consciousness is STILL a complete mystery, 6. The human female menstrual cycle and the lunar cycle are each very close to 29 days (which is why women can be called "lunatics") 7. Each of the eight billion humans on Earth has a brain that contains a "symphony" of 150 billion coordinated neurons that establish & maintain complex societies, language, art, culture, medicine, poetry, morals, machines, space craft and Artificial Intelligence (AI), among MANY other things! (updated 7/18/23).

You been inhaling moldy PRATT spores?

 

[Soandso]

1: I'm not so sure I share your observations. During an eclipse some years ago, I put on some super polarized lenses so I could look at the sun directly. Those glasses completely eliminated the glare. Without all of that glare surrounding the sun, I was impressed just how small it seemed. Certainly seemed smaller than the moon to me

2: lots of planets do - inside or outside of our solar system

3: that is pretty cool!

4: We just don't know that for sure, yet. We haven't had a chance to thoroughly explore our own planet let alone others

5: I suspect it will be for some time, too. I think that just shows more that human kind isn't as knowledgeable as we would like to think we are. There's still so much more to learn

6: that's not so surprising to me. Human beings evolved on this planet and are in tune with it's mechanisms. Humans aren't the only animals in tune with the lunar cycle - there are many

Animals Tune Behavior by Lunar Cycle; but How? | Evolution News

Researchers in Austria think they have found a clue: a cryptochrome protein that appears to respond to the lunar cycle.

evolutionnews.org

7: One thing that makes humans different than other animals is the way that we accumulate knowledge and can pass it down. It took a long time for us to get to that point, but you can thank the creation of agriculture for all that you see now. Before that, our way of life was not too different from neanderthals or other homonids

 

[Valjean]

I am a 63-year-old agnostic theist who is in the process of deconstructing from Christianity. Although no human has (yet) proven or disproven that God exists, I think that it's more likely than not that the Universe, including life, was designed (and created) by a creator as opposed to developing from random & arbitrary chemical processes over billions of years. We just have no proof of this (yet). There seems to be many "indicators" though. e.g. 1. The moon and the sun appear to be the same size in the sky,

So?

2. The Earth is located in the "Goldilocks" habitable zone in its orbit around the sun,

*The question wouldn't have come up were we not in a Goldilocks zone.
*The life possible in the zone we chance to be in appeared and evolved. Had we been in a different zone, some other sort of life might have developed, or no life.
We evolved to fit the Goldilocks conditions we're in. There's no reason to believe the zone was engineered to produce our sort of life.
* It looks likes solar systems around planets are the norm. Given the quintillions of stars out there, how mahy other planets must there be in Goldilocks zones?

5. Human consciousness is STILL a complete mystery,

So? Blood circulation, weather, earthquakes, and disease were once complete mysteries -- and not that long ago. How is this evidence of God?

6. The human female menstrual cycle and the lunar cycle are each very close to 29 days (which is why women can be called "lunatics")

So? How is this evidence of God, rather than natural selection?
Lunatics?!

7. Each of the eight billion humans on Earth has a brain that contains a "symphony" of 150 billion coordinated neurons that establish & maintain complex societies, language, art, culture, medicine, poetry, morals, machines, space craft and Artificial Intelligence (AI), among MANY other things! (updated 7/18/23).

So? How is this the product of magic, as opposed to natural selection?

I get the impression you're trying to shoehorn life into a magical, religious narrative you're familiar with, as opposed to drawing the reasonable conclusions possible from the existing evidence and leaving the rest in the "unknown" bin.

 

[RestlessSoul]

6. Calling women lunatics is just likely to cause problems for you.

I can confirm from experience, it will.

 

[Quintessence]

Your indicators involve a rather high level of anthropocentrism that I'm just not comfortable with. But if that works for you - as it seems to for many humans - carry on. Let not this ecocentric animist pester you with the inconveniences of rejecting a universe that for some reason revolves around humanity.

 

[ppp]

I am a 63-year-old agnostic theist who is in the process of deconstructing from Christianity. Although no human has (yet) proven or disproven that God exists, I think that it's more likely than not that the Universe, including life, was designed (and created) by a creator as opposed to developing from random & arbitrary chemical processes over billions of years. We just have no proof of this (yet). There seems to be many "indicators" though. e.g

1. The moon and the sun appear to be the same size in the sky,

Are all coincidences indicators, or just that one? And why that one in particular?

2. The Earth is located in the "Goldilocks" habitable zone in its orbit around the sun,

Douglas Adams' Parable of the Puddle

3. The moons rotation is "tidally locked" to the earth,

This is a common occurence with moons. Why do you think this is significant?

4. life in the Universe is extremely rare & valuable,

You don't know that. You don't have the ability to know that.

5. Human consciousness is STILL a complete mystery,

A mystery. Not a complete mystery. But either way, this is a God of the Gaps sentiment.

6. The human female menstrual cycle and the lunar cycle are each very close to 29 days (which is why women can be called "lunatics")

Seriously?

7. Each of the eight billion humans on Earth has a brain that contains a "symphony" of 150 billion coordinated neurons that establish & maintain complex societies, language, art, culture, medicine, poetry, morals, machines, space craft and Artificial Intelligence (AI), among MANY other things! (updated 7/18/23).

Which is evidence of humans being tool users.

 

[timothy1027]

1. Coincidence of the time. The moon was closer to earth in the distant past making it appear bigger then the sun. The moon moves away from earth at a rate of around 1.5 inches per year.

2. So are venus and mars. Of the 1700+ planets discovered so far atound 16 appear to be in the habitable zone of their sun

3. Not uncommon, it appears that all our solar systems large moons are tidally locked to their planets.

4. As far as we know life is rare, the universe is quite unforgiving of life. As to valuable, i guess it depends on your interpretation of valuable.

5. Not quite complete, it seems it is partly sourced from the brain stem and the resst is a work in progress.

6. Calling women lunatics is just likely to cause problems for you.

7. Yes, and?

Thanks for your feedback!
The end of #6 was a joke, but I will revise to improve the poitical correctness of my write up.

 

[ppp]

Thanks for your feedback!
The end of #6 was a joke, but I will revise to improve the poitical correctness of my write up.

Don't ask if the actions are politically incorrect. Consider if they are the actions of a jerk.

 

[Brian2]

I am a 63-year-old agnostic theist who is in the process of deconstructing from Christianity. Although no human has (yet) proven or disproven that God exists, I think that it's more likely than not that the Universe, including life, was designed (and created) by a creator as opposed to developing from random & arbitrary chemical processes over billions of years. We just have no proof of this (yet). There seems to be many "indicators" though. e.g. 1. The moon and the sun appear to be the same size in the sky, 2. The Earth is located in the "Goldilocks" habitable zone in its orbit around the sun, 3. The moons rotation is "tidally locked" to the earth, 4. life in the Universe is extremely rare & valuable, 5. Human consciousness is STILL a complete mystery, 6. The human female menstrual cycle and the lunar cycle are each very close to 29 days (which is why women can be called "lunatics") 7. Each of the eight billion humans on Earth has a brain that contains a "symphony" of 150 billion coordinated neurons that establish & maintain complex societies, language, art, culture, medicine, poetry, morals, machines, space craft and Artificial Intelligence (AI), among MANY other things! (updated 7/18/23).

What does "deconstructing from Christianity" mean?

 

[timothy1027]

You been inhaling moldy PRATT spores?

When I was a teenager, I would frequently smoke a lot of REAL GOOD STUFF (to quote Cheech & Chong)! But then I found AA and have been in recovery from addiction since 1996 thanks to 12-Step and SMART Recovery programs!

 

[Audie]

When I was a teenager, I would frequently smoke a lot of REAL GOOD STUFF (to quote Cheech & Chong)! But then I found AA and have been in recovery from addiction since 1996 thanks to 12-Step and SMART Recovery programs!

You do know what I mean by PRATT?

Good you got away from drugs. Ugh!
Zero for me, including alcohol.

At NYU people offered me like marijuana,
but I just left, won't be where that is.

Anyway, good you quit.

 

[F1fan]

I am a 63-year-old agnostic theist who is in the process of deconstructing from Christianity. Although no human has (yet) proven or disproven that God exists, I think that it's more likely than not that the Universe, including life, was designed (and created) by a creator as opposed to developing from random & arbitrary chemical processes over billions of years. We just have no proof of this (yet). There seems to be many "indicators" though. e.g. 1. The moon and the sun appear to be the same size in the sky, 2. The Earth is located in the "Goldilocks" habitable zone in its orbit around the sun, 3. The moons rotation is "tidally locked" to the earth, 4. life in the Universe is extremely rare & valuable, 5. Human consciousness is STILL almost a complete mystery, 6. The human female menstrual cycle and the lunar cycle are each very close to 29 days, 7. Each of the eight billion humans on Earth has a brain that contains a "symphony" of 150 billion coordinated neurons that have established & maintained: complex societies, language, art, culture, medicine, poetry, morals, computers, "smart" electronic devices, chemicals, machines, space craft and Artificial Intelligence (AI), among MANY other things! (updated 7/19/23).

So why were genetic defects, mental illnesses, and cancers, especially among children and young mothers, part of the design? Were these necessary for some important reason?

 

[timothy1027]

You do know what I mean by PRATT?

Good you got away from drugs. Ugh!
Zero for me, including alcohol.

At NYU people offered me like marijuana,
but I just left, won't be where that is.

Anyway, good you quit.

I grew up on Long Island, near NYU.
Please elaborate on PRATT?

 

[InChrist]

So why were genetic defects, mental illnesses, and cancers, especially among children and young mothers, part of the design? Were these necessary for some important reason?

 

[InChrist]

I’m sure you know, unless you’re biblically illiterate, that those things; defects, illnesses, etc., were not a part of the design.

 

[Subduction Zone]

I grew up on Long Island, near NYU.
Please elaborate on PRATT?

Points Refuted A Thousand Times.

Almost all creationist arguments are PRATT's. It makes them quite boring at times.

 

[F1fan]

I’m sure you know, unless you’re biblically illiterate, that those things; defects, illnesses, etc., were not a part of the design.

That doesn’t answer my question.

According to Christians their idea of God is that it is the ultimate authority. So how could God’s design get hacked and changed unless God has a weakness?

Or, what exists IS God’s design and he is cruel and immoral by human standards.