The Multiple Watchmakers Analogy

[dust1n]

Suppose for a moment, if you will, that you are walking across a beach, and you come across an fighter jet half-buried in the sand. You might note it because it is different from all the nature around it. It's notably more complex. Now you'd think, this object has to have been created by an agency. You would also note, that the object is so complex as to require many hundreds of agents. And it stands to reason that if you have come across a plane graveyard, you'd need tens of thousands of agents to account for all the complexity. Therefore, the universe was created by millions upon millions of sentient agents.

Thank you.

 

[Revoltingest]

It makes sense that there'd be multiple supreme beings.
To be alone would be lonely.
A perfect all omnipotent being wouldn't endure that.
Therefore, there must be a plurality of them.

 

[Lyndon]

This is the religious debate section, not the anti religious debate section, you have several of those.

 

[dust1n]

This is the religious debate section, not the anti religious debate section, you have several of those.

I'm not anti-religious. Being religious doesn't entail monotheism, nor does it entail theism at all. If anything, I just made an argument for millions of gods.

 

[Revoltingest]

This is the religious debate section, not the anti religious debate section, you have several of those.

Very real issues may be addressed with mirth.
No one is being insulted here.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

Suppose for a moment, if you will, that you are walking across a beach, and you come across an fighter jet half-buried in the sand. You might note it because it is different from all the nature around it. It's notably more complex. Now you'd think, this object has to have been created by an agency. You would also note, that the object is so complex as to require many hundreds of agents. And it stands to reason that if you have come across a plane graveyard, you'd need tens of thousands of agents to account for all the complexity. Therefore, the universe was created by millions upon millions of sentient agents.

Thank you.

On top of that, you'd need billions more higher level sentient agents to have created those sentient agents - and another level of even more complex sentient agents above that. In fact, there would necessarily be no end to the levels of sentient agents, and thus, there must be, in fact, an infinite number of gods.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

This is the religious debate section, not the anti religious debate section, you have several of those.

The OP stands as a perfectly valid topic of religious debate despite your thinly veiled semantical trickery.

 

[Revoltingest]

On top of that, you'd need billions more higher level sentient agents to have created those sentient agents - and another level of even more complex sentient agents above that. In fact, there would necessarily be no end to the levels of sentient agents, and thus, there must be, in fact, an infinite number of gods.

I've long thought that if there's one god, there'd be more.
And if those gods created us, higher level gods created those gods.
It turtles all the way up.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

I've long thought that if there's one god, there'd be more.
And if those gods created us, higher level gods created those gods.
It turtles all the way up.

Turtles all the way up, turtles all the way down. But, what's over to the left?

Ooh, I finally get philosophy.

 

[Demonslayer]

No one is being insulted here.

Some folks have a hair-trigger on their "I'm insulted" gun.

 

[Revoltingest]

Turtles all the way up, turtles all the way down. But, what's over to the left?
Ooh, I finally get philosophy.

Did you join the Philosopher's Union?

 

[Kilgore Trout]

Some folks have a hair-trigger on their "I'm insulted" gun.

Like I can't tell that you're obviously talking about me. Who do you think you are saying that I get insulted too easily?

 

[Kilgore Trout]

Did you join the Philosopher's Union?

I'm planning on it once I've collected enough cereal box tops.

 

[Revoltingest]

Some folks have a hair-trigger on their "I'm insulted" gun.

I really don't intend to provoke such a response, but it happens on occasion.
What's really weird is that (rarely, fortunately) some take simple posts as actual assault upon them.
FYI, I don't wield that kind of power.

 

[Jainarayan]

Suppose for a moment, if you will, that you are walking across a beach, and you come across an fighter jet half-buried in the sand. You might note it because it is different from all the nature around it. It's notably more complex. Now you'd think, this object has to have been created by an agency. You would also note, that the object is so complex as to require many hundreds of agents. And it stands to reason that if you have come across a plane graveyard, you'd need tens of thousands of agents to account for all the complexity. Therefore, the universe was created by millions upon millions of sentient agents.

Thank you.

That's polydeism. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polydeism

 

[dust1n]

That's polydeism. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polydeism

Thanks. Ya learn something new everyday.

 

[Augustus]

It makes sense that there'd be multiple supreme beings.
To be alone would be lonely.
A perfect all omnipotent being wouldn't endure that.
Therefore, there must be a plurality of them.

If you were a perfect omnipotent being you would probably come up with lots of very witty comments on a frequent basis. It would get really annoying if you couldn't share them with someone and just had to sit chuckling to yourself for all of eternity.

You could share them with a prophet I suppose, but either he'd get 'whooshed' as it went straight over his head, or if he got it and passed it on then he'd just take all of the credit anyway.

A perfect omnipotent being wouldn't stand for that and would create others who were on their level.

 

[Demonslayer]

Like I can't tell that you're obviously talking about me. Who do you think you are saying that I get insulted too easily?

I honestly wasn't talking about you. I'm getting accused of "bashing religion" over on the "you know what I've noticed" thread and I was just venting in general about how some people are so easily insulted. I haven't seen anything like that from you.

 

[dust1n]

I honestly wasn't talking about you. I'm getting accused of "bashing religion" over on the "you know what I've noticed" thread and I was just venting in general about how some people are so easily insulted. I haven't seen anything like that from you.

You, my friend, have been sarcasmed for comedic effect.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

I honestly wasn't talking about you. I'm getting accused of "bashing religion" over on the "you know what I've noticed" thread and I was just venting in general about how some people are so easily insulted. I haven't seen anything like that from you.

That was the joke. Must have fallen short.