Culberson’s Challenge
Nov 13th
Here’s what gets me.
Rational thinkers need a corollary with which to counter Pascal’s Wager, which essentially is “Either God exists or doesn’t exist, but if so and I believe in God, I will go to Heaven instead of Hell after I die; if God doesn’t exist, I have lost nothing.”
That’s not believing; that’s just saying you believe.
By that reasoning, then you might as well follow the teachings of your chosen “God.” Otherwise, you are admitting that your “God” is so weak as to be fooled by lip-service believers and lets anyone into Heaven just for half-hearted belief, not for good deeds. That’s not a God. That’s a bored security guard.
Blaise Pascal lived from 1623 to 1662 in France and was a brilliant scientist, mathematician, and writer who also invented a calculating machine at 18. In 1654 he had a “mystical experience” and converted to Jansenism, a doctrine of the sect of Roman Catholics in opposition to the Jesuits.
In other words, Pascal himself had doubts about what he had been taught as a Roman Catholic, and if that isn’t enough to make his so-called “wager” suspect, consider that he also wrote “Men blaspheme what they do not know” and “Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction,” both in his Lettres Provinciales [1656-1657].
So, for all you people with such weak religious belief that you take the easy way out to literally “save your soul” or with such weak intelligence that you cannot decide for yourselves what to believe, here is Culberson’s Challenge:
Assume there is no “God.” Then, priests, cardinals, the Pope, preachers, ministers, and all other self-appointed spokespeople for “God” are either liars or deluded into ignoring the empirical evidence of science and mistakenly believing that God exists.
Either way, they are not to be trusted, and as the growing evidence of widespread sexual misconduct mounts, that would seem to be the case.
Now assume there is a God who created us and all the so-called reality around us: the planets, the solar system, the stars, the universe, and the “world.” Then we are all merely figments of God’s own imagination and therefore do not exist outside of that imagination.
However, if we are figments of God’s imagination, if we are manufactured “real” creatures in God’s own image, or if we are truly independent sentient beings with or without free will, what would eternity in either Heaven or Hell mean? We would eventually become used to our existence in either one and inured to the pain that supposedly awaits us in the one and bored in the other of those futures.
And name one other thing in nature that lasts forever without wearing out, running down, burning up, or simply dying.
Therefore, I propose that neither future of “eternity” is anything to aspire to, and consequently believing in the existence of “God” is of no benefit whatsoever while we are alive, just as not believing in Santa Claus when we were children didn’t change whether we got Christmas presents from our parents.
Thus, I challenge you either to give up your belief in a supreme being who supposedly created you and controls you and the world, or else to continue your disbelief in such a mythology, because either way, you lose nothing.
Of course, there are some misguided fools who will not accept this challenge and say, “Better safe than sorry,” which is merely religious belief by slogans and sayings.
This thinking is the basis for all religious belief, and it is the most dangerous aspect of believing in a “God,” because it leads to this sort of logic:
“There must be a God, because everybody says there is. Therefore, I can lead my life believing in God and do anything I want to, because if I ever do anything that God doesn’t want me to do, God will stop me. Therefore, I can do anything I want until God stops me, including trying to convince as many other people I can that God exists, because there is ‘strength in numbers,’ and the more people who believe in God increases the chances that God does exist.”
If you accept my challenge and choose to live without a belief in God, your life on earth will be much less complicated and frustrating and stressful, and it will be much more rewarding, enjoyable, and definitely free of self-imposed religious pressure.
“God” loses. You win.
I rest my case.
Boulder High winds and Fire Danger today. Small fire on Lee Hill #boulderfire
Nov 12th
11/12/12:31 Lee Hill fire: Roughly 50 firefighters are on scene right now.
The fire in Fourmile is in the 3000 block of Fourmile. The fire was last estimated to be approximately 200 feet wide. Latest reports indicate figrefighters have contained the fire. Lee Hill and Old Stage are re open and evacs cancelled. Deertrail remains closed.
The fire in Fourmile is in the 3000 block of Fourmile. The fire was last estimated to be approximately 200 feet wide. Latest reports indicate figrefighters have contained the fire. Lee Hill and Old Stage are re open and evacs cancelled. Deertrail remains closed.
163 reverse 911 calls went out. Fire department is monitoring both fires but danger has been lifter. Lee Hill fire appears to be started by wind blowing branch on power lines. 1 structure, a garage was lost and and auto was burned.
Fire command center is at Lee Hill.
3000 block of Fourmile fire ( carterfire was started by down power lines according to OEM spokesperson.
OEM reports:
11/12 12:05 p.m. – Boulder Wildfires
There are two fires in Boulder County. There is currently no threat to the City of Boulder.
First responders are on scene at both sites. The Emergency Operations Center is open and monitoring the situation, providing support as needed.
The fire at Lee Hill and Deer Trail is approximately 1-2 acres in size. An evacuation order has been issued for all residents in a one mile radius of the intersection of Deer Trail and Lee Hill. Roughly 50 firefighters are on scene right now.
The fire in Fourmile is in the 3000 block of Fourmile. The fire was last estimated to be approximately 200 feet wide. Latest reports indicate figrefighters have contained the fire. Lee Hill and Old Stage are re open and evacs cancelled. Deertrail remains closed.
Carter fire second fire: 5 engines 18 firefighters on scene up hill approximately 400 feet and second fire has broken out next to it. near 3000 block Four Mile according to Boulder county dispatch. 30% containment
High Wind Warning today.
A 1/2 acre fire has broken out at Deer Trail and Lee Hill Road. Many agencies are on scene. Wild land fire department are putting out hot spots according to Boulder county dispatch. Staff at OEM is starting to show up according to Mike Chard
Twitter reports road closures at Old Stage and Lee Hill but Boulder County dispatch says no. 163 reverse 911 calls 50 firefighters
In the City:
A few transformers blew today and are being repaired by Xcel
City of Boulder is working a garage fire at 9th and Marine according to city of boulder dispatch
High Wind warnings
URGENT – WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
404 AM MST SAT NOV 12 2011
…HIGH WINDS TO IMPACT THE FRONT RANGE FOOTHILLS TODAY…
.A STRONG STORM SYSTEM WILL MOVE FROM THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST
ACROSS COLORADO ON SATURDAY. WESTERLY WINDS WILL INCREASE IN
ADVANCE OF THIS SYSTEM THIS MORNING…AND THEN CONTINUE THROUGH
DAY AS THE STORM SYSTEM PASSES ACROSS THE REGION.
PEOPLE PLANNING TRAVEL SHOULD BE PREPARED FOR STRONG CROSS WINDS
CAUSING HAZARDOUS DRIVING CONDITIONS. DRIVERS OF LIGHT WEIGHT OR
HIGH PROFILE VEHICLES SHOULD CONSIDER DELAYING TRAVEL OR USE
ALTERNATE ROUTES. IF YOU ARE DRIVING ON THE ROADWAYS SLOW DOWN
AND REMAIN ALERT FOR SUDDEN AND STRONG WIND GUSTS.
COZ035-036-038-039-121900-
/O.CON.KBOU.HW.W.0007.000000T0000Z-111113T0100Z/
LARIMER AND BOULDER COUNTIES BETWEEN 6000 AND 9000 FEET-
JEFFERSON AND WEST DOUGLAS COUNTIES ABOVE 6000 FEET/GILPIN/CLEAR
CREEK/NORTHEAST PARK COUNTIES BELOW 9000 FEET-
LARIMER COUNTY BELOW 6000 FEET/NORTHWEST WELD COUNTY-
BOULDER AND JEFFERSON COUNTIES BELOW 6000 FEET/WEST BROOMFIELD
COUNTY-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF…ESTES PARK…GLENDEVEY…NEDERLAND…
RED FEATHER LAKES…BAILEY…CENTRAL CITY…EVERGREEN…
GEORGETOWN…IDAHO SPRINGS…WESTCREEK…FORT COLLINS…
HEREFORD…LOVELAND…NUNN…ARVADA…BOULDER…GOLDEN…
LAKEWOOD…LONGMONT
404 AM MST SAT NOV 12 2011
…HIGH WIND WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM MST THIS
EVENING…
A HIGH WIND WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM MST THIS
EVENING.
* TIMING…WESTERLY WINDS WILL INCREASE ACROSS THE FRONT RANGE
FOOTHILLS THIS MORNING AND CONTINUE THROUGH DAY.
* WINDS…WEST WINDS WILL INCREASE TO 30 TO 50 MPH WITH GUSTS IN
EXCESS OF 75 MPH POSSIBLE.
* IMPACTS…TRAVEL ACROSS NORTH TO SOUTH HIGHWAYS AND ROADS WILL
BE VERY DIFFICULT DUE TO STRONG AND GUSTY CROSS WINDS. AREAS
SUSCEPTIBLE TO HIGH WINDS INCLUDE…HIGHWAY 93 BETWEEN GOLDEN
AND BOULDER…HIGHWAY C-470 ALONG THE FOOTHILLS IN JEFFERSON
COUNTY…U.S. HIGHWAY 36 BETWEEN BROOMFIELD AND ESTES PARK…
THE PEAK TO PEAK HIGHWAY FROM ESTES PARK THROUGH BLACKHAWK…
U.S. HIGHWAY 287 FROM LAFAYETTE TO THE WYOMING BORDER…AS
WELL AS THE CARTER LAKE AND HORSETOOTH RESERVOIR AREAS IN
LARIMER COUNTY.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…
REMEMBER…A HIGH WIND WARNING MEANS THAT STRONG AND POTENTIALLY
DAMAGING WINDS ARE EITHER OCCURRING OR HIGHLY LIKELY.
Boulder County –More cone zone nightmares on Valmont
Nov 10th
Paving to continue this weekend on Valmont Road
Boulder County, Colo. – Taking advantage of the warm weather, the Boulder County Transportation Department will complete late-season paving projects this weekend on Valmont and Isabelle roads.
Valmont Road will be closed to through traffic between 75th and 95th streets from 8:30 a.m. until 4 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 11 and 12. Local traffic, deliveries and emergency vehicles will be allowed through the closure.
Although paving will be complete, roadside activity will continue along Valmont Road project through the remainder of the year. Road users should continue to exercise caution and expect minor delays as crews finish up the project.
The repaving of Isabelle Road east of 95th Street will begin on Monday, Nov. 14 and continue for two weeks. Road users should expect on-going construction, uneven road surfaces, and travel delays through Thanksgiving week, weather permitting.
All schedules are subject to change due to weather or other mitigating factors. Updates are available at www.BoulderCounty.org/Transportation.
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