Does a higher power intervene in the world?
Snowblind, i have a point of view much like yours... i also think that there are higher powers, and that they act in a passive way... its interesting that i hadnt read this thread before, and some hours ago, when i was HIGH i was thinking just about this... i think the higher powers act upon what is called "chance".
As a physicist, ive learned in quantum mechanics that in a VERY small scale, our universe is a complete mess... pairs of particles are created and destroyed at random places, in random times... virtual particles are exchanged... in resume... the chaos. Only at greater scales the order that we call "the laws of physic" appears.
One real-life example of this is the emission of radioactivity by a radioactive atom. Each radioative atom emits radiation, but the exact instant of this emission is completly unpredictable. We only know that, there is, lets say, 50% of chance of it emit radiation during one hour, but there is absolutely no laws to tell when the atom must emit.
So, i think the higher powers would intervene in the physical world through this "holes" in the physical laws. A higher power would, for example, induce the atom to emit its radiation at some choosen instant. Doing so it wouldnt be interfering with the physical laws, and yet it would be acting somehow upon the physical world.
If the higher powers could intervene in what is called "chance", then they could induce what is called "miracles". For example... it isnt physically impossible that a lake freeze in the summer (with the temperature above 0C/32F). Due the chaotic nature of the matter, there is a small probability of it happen, but the probability is SO small (1 in 100000000000.....000000.....00000........ you got it.) that we say its impossible.
But if were possible to act upon the chances, then would be possible to influence all the choices of all the molecules of water and made all of them made all the "right" choices for freezing a lake in the summer.
I think its also related to what we usually call "good luck". When all the things that happens seems to fit to our benefit, we say we were lucky. But if we calcule the probabilities of everything had gone so well, we find that we were lucky indeed, cause the chances were very low... so, maybe what we call "luck" and treat as an abstract concept is in fact a measurable thing, that is related with our ability of influence random events.
And if we think this way, we could say that the higher powers would be the most "lucky" beings that are...
Does a higher power intervene in the world?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Coelho
So, i think the higher powers would intervene in the physical world through this "holes" in the physical laws. A higher power would, for example, induce the atom to emit its radiation at some choosen instant. Doing so it wouldnt be interfering with the physical laws, and yet it would be acting somehow upon the physical world.
I am amazed that someone else thoguht of this idea too! When I was studying physics and learned about the Heisenberg Uncertatinty Principle and the other things like virtual particles and vacuum fluctuations, I thought this is where a supernatural being could influence events without violating physics.
I firmly believe that physics always holds true --- no "miracle" can violate the laws of physics. But our understanding of physics now says that there are certain limits to what we can know about the state of a particle at the quantum level. Virtual particles pop out of nothingness and then disappear all the time. And I mean all the time --- every nanosecond uncountable numbers appear, recombine and disappear.
It seemed like to me that if a God, or other supernatural being that stood outside of our normal physics could control what is physically unknowable inside our physics, then that being could influence events without violating our laws of physics.
I don't actually believe that supernatural beings do this, but it occured to me that it would be one way to allow for "miracles" and maintain consistency with physics.
If you believe that God created the universe, and also believe in the Big Bang, then you probably already believe in this idea without even knowing it. One physical explanation for the Big Bang is that it is some form of highly unprobable vacuum fluctuation that resulted in unusual particles arising out of the vacuum and such rapid inflation that the virtual particles became so separated that they could never recombine and fall back into the vacuum. The universe arose out of the uncertainty principle. If you believe that, and you also believe God created the universe, then you basically believe God created the miracle of the universe through influencing the uncertainty principle.
Does a higher power intervene in the world?
No
But I can't post a post that is only two letters so I added some filler ;)
Does a higher power intervene in the world?
Quote:
Originally Posted by greg23
Yeah, heā??s called the US Government.
No Bush is not the higher power. maybe the "anti" higher power! LMAO
