# God's math **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [July 13, 2014, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gods-math/692992 "2014-07-13T13:47:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![Treat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/858c86/32.png) [@Treat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treat)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2014, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gods-math/692992/161 "2014-07-13T22:16:44Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > _Is_ there a religion that promises to save the Earth, i.e. put it into a state where all can live in peace and harmony and prosperity or whatever? I was kind of under the impression that religion was little more than a coping mechanism for miseries on Earth and (in western faiths, anyway) the promise that things get better after you die and leave Earth behind. God will not let the Earth be destroyed, yet He will sterilize it with fire. The Earth and Heaven then shall become one ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2014, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gods-math/692992/162 "2014-07-13T22:18:28Z")
> [@Treat](#): > > It just practice, ya know, war games. Just messing with the enemy to see how they will react? ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2014, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gods-math/692992/163 "2014-07-13T22:18:39Z")
> [@Treat](#): > > It just practice, ya know, war games. So the goal is to get better at the game, then? So we’re doing you a _favour_ by responding? You should be grateful. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2014, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gods-math/692992/164 "2014-07-13T22:19:40Z")
> [@Treat](#): > > God will not let the Earth be destroyed, yet He will sterilize it with fire. The Earth and Heaven then shall become one What the fuck is the point of saving it just to burn it to a crisp? ---
**Author:** ![Treat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/858c86/32.png) [@Treat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treat)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2014, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gods-math/692992/165 "2014-07-13T22:19:49Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Do you mean your views can’t stand up to critical analysis? That’s not it at all, but ya know the internet loser that chimes in on others thread with the ole grammar spiel, seen it a thousand times. Speaking of, why you still here?:smack: ---
**Author:** ![Treat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/858c86/32.png) [@Treat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treat)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2014, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gods-math/692992/166 "2014-07-13T22:22:55Z")
> [@zoid](#): > > What the fuck is the point of saving it just to burn it to a crisp? To rid it of pedophiles and atheists, duh:smack: ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2014, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gods-math/692992/167 "2014-07-13T22:23:38Z")
> [@Treat](#): > > God will not let the Earth be destroyed, yet He will sterilize it with fire. And you complain that science has nothing good to offer? “Burn the world” is your idea of a selling point for your religion? ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2014, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gods-math/692992/168 "2014-07-13T22:24:04Z")
Boy, if Heaven is going to be filled with condescending, obnoxious jerks like **Treat** , then Hell sounds far superior. **Treat** , you’re an arrogant, unkind, and unpleasant person, based on what you’ve posted. If you actually want to change anyone’s mind, you might try humility and kindness, rather than the extreme arrogance of one who claims to know who is going to suffer for all eternity. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2014, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gods-math/692992/169 "2014-07-13T22:25:02Z")
> [@Treat](#): > > To rid it of pedophiles and atheists, duh:smack: And you equate the two because? ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2014, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gods-math/692992/170 "2014-07-13T22:25:38Z")
> [@Treat](#): > > God will not let the Earth be destroyed, yet He will sterilize it with fire. The Earth and Heaven then shall become one Funny, from the perspective of a lifeform on Earth, there doesn’t seem to be much practical distinction between being destroyed and being sterilized with fire. Anyway, if Revelation is right and the post-sterilization period lasts a thousand years, that’s a very very tiny fraction of the generally-accepted age of the universe. And then what? I’m sure a thousand years seemed really really awesomely impressive to bronze-age writers, but we have a somewhat broader perspective these days. Heck, with the advances in medicine I can plausibly expect to see in the next few decades, I might personally live (in some form or other) longer than a thousand years. ---
**Author:** ![Treat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/858c86/32.png) [@Treat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treat)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2014, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gods-math/692992/171 "2014-07-13T22:25:40Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > So the goal is to get better at the game, then? So we’re doing you a _favour_ by responding? You should be grateful. I am grateful, the whole reverse psychology thing is working on you, isn’t it?:smack: ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2014, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gods-math/692992/172 "2014-07-13T22:26:22Z")
> [@Treat](#): > > To rid it of pedophiles and atheists, duh:smack: That’s like the police saying “We got your car back from the thieves but we had to crush it and bury it in a landfill to get rid of the cigarette smoke smell. You’re welcome.” ---
**Author:** ![Treat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/858c86/32.png) [@Treat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treat)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2014, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gods-math/692992/173 "2014-07-13T22:26:44Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Funny, from the perspective of a lifeform on Earth, there doesn’t seem to be much practical distinction between being destroyed and being sterilized with fire. > > Anyway, if Revelation is right and the post-sterilization period lasts a thousand years, that’s a very very tiny fraction of the generally-accepted age of the universe. And then what? I’m sure a thousand years seemed really really awesomely impressive to bronze-age writers, but we have a somewhat broader perspective these days. Heck, with the advances in medicine I can plausibly expect to see in the next few decades, I might personally live (in some form or other) longer than a thousand years. After the thousand years the Earth and Heaven become one, Bryan. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2014, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gods-math/692992/174 "2014-07-13T22:28:14Z")
> [@Treat](#): > > That’s not it at all Well, “criticize” does not only mean “denigrate”. It can mean “analyze, study, judge the merits of”. If something cannot stand critical analysis, I personally figure it must be so delicate as to be useless. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2014, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gods-math/692992/175 "2014-07-13T22:29:02Z")
> [@Treat](#): > > After the thousand years the Earth and Heaven become one, Bryan. So Heaven becomes a burnt out wasteland too? ---
**Author:** ![Itself](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/d07c76/32.png) [@Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Itself)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2014, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gods-math/692992/176 "2014-07-13T22:29:50Z")
> [@zoid](#): > > That’s like the police saying “We got your car back from the thieves but we had to crush it and bury it in a landfill to get rid of the cigarette smoke smell. You’re welcome.” Or, “We had to destroy the village in order to save it.” But at least there won’t be any atheists left. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2014, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gods-math/692992/177 "2014-07-13T22:30:18Z")
> [@Treat](#): > > After the thousand years the Earth and Heaven become one, Bryan. Which means what, exactly? ---
**Author:** ![Treat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/858c86/32.png) [@Treat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treat)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2014, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gods-math/692992/178 "2014-07-13T22:30:33Z")
> [@zoid](#): > > That’s like the police saying “We got your car back from the thieves but we had to crush it and bury it in a landfill to get rid of the cigarette smoke smell. You’re welcome.” Well if the storied continued with:we dug it back up and, excuse me for lack of a better term, we ‘pimped your ride’, then ya that would be somewhat of a similar analogy. ---
**Author:** ![Treat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/858c86/32.png) [@Treat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treat)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2014, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gods-math/692992/179 "2014-07-13T22:34:42Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Well, “criticize” does not only mean “denigrate”. It can mean “analyze, study, judge the merits of”. If something cannot stand critical analysis, I personally figure it must be so delicate as to be useless. My work stands up just fine, besides there’s only one opinion that really matters. You should attempt your own ‘critical analysis’ and that’s when you break free. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2014, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gods-math/692992/180 "2014-07-13T22:36:17Z")
> [@Treat](#): > > Well if the storied continued with:we dug it back up and, excuse me for lack of a better term, we ‘pimped your ride’, then ya that would be somewhat of a similar analogy. Then why burn it in the first place just to have to fix it again. Surely God could just blink away everyone he doesn’t like without the collateral damage. Your version of God doesn’t seem to be very smart. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gods-math/692992.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gods-math/692992.md?page=10)