8 ms·

> According to the Bible god created a simulation with humans and stuff. We live in it and have to fulfil the goals of the simulation or God will interfere or e

> According to the Bible god created a simulation with humans and stuff. We live in it and have to fulfil the goals of the simulation or God will interfere or even shut it down. Genesis begins with God creating the Universe not creating a computer and kicking off a simulation of the Universe. I’m uncertain if you’re simply misusing the word for effect or whether you don’t believe in reality and are projecting that onto Scripture, regardless the Bible refers to no simulations.

Jensson 5y ago
> Genesis begins with God creating the Universe not creating a computer and kicking off a simulation of the Universe I don't see the difference between the two. In the first god used some means to create what we perceive as reality, in the other god used some means to create what we perceive as reality. In both cases God is an entity outside of what we perceive as reality, meaning his reality must be used to run our reality, meaning our reality is a simulation that he is running from his reality no matter how you look at it. If he didn't simulate our reality it means that our existence is the same as his, we follow the same physical rules and laws, and the bible makes it clear that it isn't the case, hence he must be simulating us. If you don't believe God actually exists outside of our reality then I don't see how your religion actually answers the question about the truth of the universe. Edit: And if you still believe that the Bible can be true without God running a simulation you'd have to explain how that works and how it would be different from him running a simulation. To me it seems to create more questions than answers, meaning it gets you further from the "Truth" of the universe that proc0 was talking about.
- nyokodo 5y ago
  > God is an entity outside of what we perceive as reality, meaning his reality must be used to run our reality That’s not the understanding of God and creation presented in Scripture. God is not presented as part of a separate reality but is presented as the ultimate and necessary being from whom all contingent beings ultimately come from. God is presented as creating space and matter through His will alone from nothing and breathing a spirit into man who then has free will, agency, and an eternal destiny. You can believe all the vague sci-fi derived philosophies you like but it’s nonsense to map them onto the Bible.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
  - Jensson 5y ago
    It is not nonsense to reason about how the Bible could be true. If God is a computer or God is a programmer both of those scenarios would work and result in the story in the Bible. Instead I'd argue that it is nonsense to say that God isn't a programmer or a computer without coming up with a reasonable alternative. It is also fine to just leave that part out, but in that case I'd say that my religion describing god as a computer has more explanatory power than your religion which just says god existed and used magic to create the universe, it is a very reasonable and sound extension to the origin story in the bible. Ultimately that magic is equivalent to programming the universe, we don't know what kind of hardware he used to run the universe no matter how you view it you can say he programmed it. What else would you call "writing the laws of the universe" than programming?

Jensson 5y ago

> Genesis begins with God creating the Universe not creating a computer and kicking off a simulation of the Universe I don't see the difference between the two. In the first god used some means to create what we perceive as reality, in the other god used some means to create what we perceive as reality. In both cases God is an entity outside of what we perceive as reality, meaning his reality must be used to run our reality, meaning our reality is a simulation that he is running from his reality no matter how you look at it. If he didn't simulate our reality it means that our existence is the same as his, we follow the same physical rules and laws, and the bible makes it clear that it isn't the case, hence he must be simulating us. If you don't believe God actually exists outside of our reality then I don't see how your religion actually answers the question about the truth of the universe. Edit: And if you still believe that the Bible can be true without God running a simulation you'd have to explain how that works and how it would be different from him running a simulation. To me it seems to create more questions than answers, meaning it gets you further from the "Truth" of the universe that proc0 was talking about.

nyokodo 5y ago
> God is an entity outside of what we perceive as reality, meaning his reality must be used to run our reality That’s not the understanding of God and creation presented in Scripture. God is not presented as part of a separate reality but is presented as the ultimate and necessary being from whom all contingent beings ultimately come from. God is presented as creating space and matter through His will alone from nothing and breathing a spirit into man who then has free will, agency, and an eternal destiny. You can believe all the vague sci-fi derived philosophies you like but it’s nonsense to map them onto the Bible.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- Jensson 5y ago
  It is not nonsense to reason about how the Bible could be true. If God is a computer or God is a programmer both of those scenarios would work and result in the story in the Bible. Instead I'd argue that it is nonsense to say that God isn't a programmer or a computer without coming up with a reasonable alternative. It is also fine to just leave that part out, but in that case I'd say that my religion describing god as a computer has more explanatory power than your religion which just says god existed and used magic to create the universe, it is a very reasonable and sound extension to the origin story in the bible. Ultimately that magic is equivalent to programming the universe, we don't know what kind of hardware he used to run the universe no matter how you view it you can say he programmed it. What else would you call "writing the laws of the universe" than programming?