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NeoGreen

(4,030 posts)
88. It is Turtles all the way down...
Mon Jun 20, 2016, 08:23 AM
Jun 2016

...https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turtles_all_the_way_down




The origins of the turtle story are uncertain. It has been recorded since the mid 19th century, and may possibly date to the 18th. One recent version appears in Stephen Hawking's 1988 book A Brief History of Time, which starts:

A well-known scientist (some say it was Bertrand Russell) once gave a public lecture on astronomy. He described how the earth orbits around the sun and how the sun, in turn, orbits around the center of a vast collection of stars called our galaxy. At the end of the lecture, a little old lady at the back of the room got up and said: "What you have told us is rubbish. The world is really a flat plate supported on the back of a giant tortoise." The scientist gave a superior smile before replying, "What is the tortoise standing on?" "You're very clever, young man, very clever," said the old lady. "But it's turtles all the way down!"
—?Hawking, 1988[1]


I know virgin births are possible...it happened to my seventeen y.o.daughter! ret5hd Jun 2016 #1
Interesting. Always wondered about this. I've read of this Lint Head Jun 2016 #3
Doctors? What kinda family do you think we are? Faith is all the doctorin' you need son! ret5hd Jun 2016 #4
If you live far enough south it happens when brothers and sisters share bathwater Major Nikon Jun 2016 #5
nothing against those who really believe in it johnnypanic42 Jun 2016 #2
Some good followup questions... Major Nikon Jun 2016 #6
That's the question that "liberal" and "progressive" believers skepticscott Jun 2016 #9
"I know it when I see it" Act_of_Reparation Jun 2016 #22
Yes i believe those events happened. hrmjustin Jun 2016 #7
Of course you do skepticscott Jun 2016 #10
Whatever! hrmjustin Jun 2016 #12
I do as well . . . MousePlayingDaffodil Jun 2016 #32
I believe these things as well... onpatrol98 Jun 2016 #90
! cleanhippie Jun 2016 #8
The most interesting thing about this thread skepticscott Jun 2016 #14
Maybe they don't want to be mocked. hrmjustin Jun 2016 #15
If they can back up their opinions and convictions skepticscott Jun 2016 #16
You know we can't prove it. hrmjustin Jun 2016 #17
That's not an answer to my question skepticscott Jun 2016 #18
Ok. hrmjustin Jun 2016 #19
And you know there are more plausible expalnations for why you believe that. cleanhippie Jun 2016 #20
No doubt you have your opinion. hrmjustin Jun 2016 #21
No doubt you tell tell yourself what you need to so you feel better. cleanhippie Jun 2016 #23
I am realistic about my faith. hrmjustin Jun 2016 #24
If you say so. cleanhippie Jun 2016 #25
I just did. hrmjustin Jun 2016 #29
And now you feel better about yourself. cleanhippie Jun 2016 #33
No. I am just responding to you. hrmjustin Jun 2016 #34
its not acceptable to deny the crutch of bullied people swhisper1 Jun 2016 #27
No one is being denied anything skepticscott Jun 2016 #31
Did the talking donkeys help write the Bible? Brettongarcia Jun 2016 #11
Of course not. That's ridiculous. Iggo Jun 2016 #13
I have no idea! I think it's possible. David__77 Jun 2016 #26
A more important question - imho is: do you believe that life spontaneously generated jonno99 Jun 2016 #28
I wouldn't say "spontaneous." ZombieHorde Jun 2016 #35
I think jonno99 Jun 2016 #36
Notable. nt ZombieHorde Jun 2016 #37
Nifty derailment. But irrelevant. mr blur Jun 2016 #39
Why? jonno99 Jun 2016 #40
Where you got the "belittle" part is a mystery skepticscott Jun 2016 #41
This pompous drivel for one thing. rug Jun 2016 #42
It's a question skepticscott Jun 2016 #44
Of course it is. rug Jun 2016 #45
I win that bet skepticscott Jun 2016 #47
Oh please, are you suggesting that the OP was anything but an opportunity to belittle? jonno99 Jun 2016 #43
"An opportunity to belittle"? skepticscott Jun 2016 #46
LOL jonno99 Jun 2016 #49
Nice try skepticscott Jun 2016 #51
I agree with your statement: jonno99 Jun 2016 #52
Ummmm...all of them, dude skepticscott Jun 2016 #53
Your own words describe your response: jonno99 Jun 2016 #55
Yes, you did miss it skepticscott Jun 2016 #57
I see - jonno99 Jun 2016 #58
Please don't tell me what you think I mean. mr blur Jun 2016 #54
Your words: jonno99 Jun 2016 #56
You have no idea what you're talking about. mr blur Jun 2016 #89
Post removed Post removed Jun 2016 #91
time is not a god unless you add new meanings to the definition of what constitutes a deity. Warren Stupidity Jun 2016 #48
Please note that I qualified the word "god". I termed it as such because jonno99 Jun 2016 #50
The idea that life arose from "primordial goo" is the only one we have any evidence for. trotsky Jun 2016 #59
If a creator exists, he certainly doesn't need any help from me. And don't you think it's jonno99 Jun 2016 #60
Uh, that's kinda how this all works. trotsky Jun 2016 #62
So you have no actual proof that life can occur spontanously? got it. jonno99 Jun 2016 #64
I have more evidence than you do for your hypothesis. trotsky Jun 2016 #66
Sure - you have an existing world with living people. jonno99 Jun 2016 #69
Yes, I understand your mindset. trotsky Jun 2016 #74
"Yes, I understand your mindset." jonno99 Jun 2016 #80
We know that time exists. cpwm17 Jun 2016 #61
Thank you - jonno99 Jun 2016 #63
A god is a huge step backwards in our understanding on how the Universe works and life got here. cpwm17 Jun 2016 #65
I disagree - jonno99 Jun 2016 #67
Science proves there is structure in the Universe cpwm17 Jun 2016 #70
"Natural processes are generally predictable" - it's convenient how that turned out - jonno99 Jun 2016 #72
Be honest, now. Act_of_Reparation Jun 2016 #68
It is not unnatural to assume that something of extreme complexisty was jonno99 Jun 2016 #71
That's a self-defeating argument since you must now answer who made god. cpwm17 Jun 2016 #73
C'mon, you have to know the cop-out answer to that one. trotsky Jun 2016 #75
"you must now answer who made god" - jonno99 Jun 2016 #76
Grass is a product of billions of years of evolution. cpwm17 Jun 2016 #78
No - I simply asked what makes you qualified to ask: jonno99 Jun 2016 #79
No, I'm using your own argument against you. cpwm17 Jun 2016 #81
No - you're misconstruing my response to a previous question. jonno99 Jun 2016 #82
That was my way of saying that you're making an argument for a predecessor to God. cpwm17 Jun 2016 #83
Agreed - as long as I (or you) get to define the jonno99 Jun 2016 #84
You make impossible demands from science. cpwm17 Jun 2016 #85
Or - it is simply dealing with reality. Our agreement is not required. nt jonno99 Jun 2016 #86
No, I don't think it is unnatural. Act_of_Reparation Jun 2016 #77
Probably not, but Vogon_Glory Jun 2016 #30
I really doubt it. nt ZombieHorde Jun 2016 #38
Of course they did! Also, a monster swallows the sun at night, and a giant turtle holds the earth! Arugula Latte Jun 2016 #87
It is Turtles all the way down... NeoGreen Jun 2016 #88
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