So, WWII was a good thing...

[mbh]

The important thing, I think, is not to be bitter. You know, if it turns out that there is a God, I don’t think that he’s evil. I think that the worst you can say about him is that basically he’s an underachiever.

Woody Allen, in Love and Death

[Wendell_Wagner]

Note that a universe in which God could do anything whatsoever, unconstrained by any physical rules whatsoever, would literally be an unscientific universe. If you want a scientifically explainable universe, God would have to operate within the constraints of some physical laws. He could create any possible initial state for the universe that he wanted. He could create any possible physical laws that he wanted. He could tweak the universe at any place and time within the history of the universe up to the limits of any possible uncertainty principle. But He can’t just make arbitrary changes in the universe. That would mean that no scientific laws consistently apply to the universe.

[Grumman]

@Wendell_Wagner

Hari Seldon writes:
> After all, if an omnipotent god wanted to prevent atomic war, it could just make
> atomic weapons impossible to build.

This assumes that God can create a universe in which anything whatsoever that can be described by us can happen even if that description is ridiculous and inconsistent. But what if God can only create a universe with consistent laws of physics? Perhaps a universe in which atomic weapons are impossible to build is one in which no intelligent beings could ever evolve, since in such a world there could never be stars supplying light and heat to planets.

Fusion on a stellar scale does not require supercritical fission, let alone that supercritical fission occur at a practical scale to be used in a weapon, or that the elements required for supercritical fission be readily available on Earth.

But I doubt that will stop you making excuses for your impotent, false god.

[carnivorousplant]

Let’s simplify the discussion.
Can G-d make an object so heavy that He can’t move it?

[Wendell_Wagner]

I’m not making excuses for anybody. I don’t wish to claim on the SDMB that God does or doesn’t exist. I don’t wish to claim on the SDMB that, even if He exists, He is omnipotent. I don’t wish to claim on the SDMB that there is even any clear definition for the word “omnipotent.” My only point is that some posters who have been posting on the SDMB about their religious beliefs for many years haven’t even thought carefully about anything they believe. If they want to learn something new, they should read some books about the subject, both by people who do and who don’t believe in God. Certainly they’re never going to learn anything by reading the threads on religious matters on the SDMB. Partly this is because the argumentation in such matters is pretty weak on the SDMB. Partly this is because such posters don’t listen to anybody else’s arguments and keep posting the same things whenever such matters come up.

[Ranger_Jeff]

As Tevye the Milkman used to say, “I know we’re your Chosen People, but once in a while, couldn’t you choose someone else?”