Reminds me of a mythical UU story that I take to show that people who believe in eternal punishment cannot be 'good' people. They don't even have that option:


Hosea Ballou, 18th Century Universalist who
taught that all people (and not just an
elected few) were saved, “was riding the
circuit in the New Hampshire hills with a
Baptist preacher one afternoon. They argued
theology as they traveled. At one point, the Baptist
looked over and said, “Brother Ballou, if I were a
Universalist and feared not the fires of hell, I could hit
you over the head, steal your horse and saddle, and
ride away, and I’d still go to heaven.” Hosea Ballou
looked over at him and said, “If you were a
Universalist, the idea would never occur to you.””
(told by the Rev. Elizabeth Strong)

The belief that, at some point, "there was nothing", is contradictory
to the fact that there is something now. It is not part of atheism.

The diatribe against the morality of individual atheists is baseless,
since morality founded in religion and faith, as opposed to in reason,
is (IMO) sure to be flawed.

[QUOTE=davar55;314697]The belief that, at some point, "there was nothing", is contradictory
to the fact that there is something now. It is not part of atheism.[/QUOTE]

Agreed.

How do you think Hawking mathematically deduced that Black Holes evaporate?

[QUOTE=davar55;314697]The diatribe against the morality of individual atheists is baseless, since morality founded in religion and faith, as opposed to in reason, is (IMO) sure to be flawed.[/QUOTE]

You're now commingling the issues.

[QUOTE=chalsall;314768]How do you think Hawking mathematically deduced that Black Holes evaporate?[/QUOTE]Could you elaborate on that please?

I'm being particularly dim at the moment.

[QUOTE=Ninja;314689]Good point.[/QUOTE]

Kinda funny.

You have a two post count, and then you YELL WITH A TWO POINT FONT TELLING US WE NEED TO LISTEN TO WHAT YOU SAY.

Then you link off to a blog selling a book.

-10 hit points off the bat.

And you know what? Maybe we're smarter than that....

[QUOTE=xilman;314777]Could you elaborate on that please?

I'm being particularly dim at the moment.[/QUOTE]

Sure. I'll even present a reference: [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawking_radiation"]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawking_radiation[/URL]

[QUOTE=chalsall;314783]Sure. I'll even present a reference: [URL]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawking_radiation[/URL][/QUOTE]
My understanding is very poor indeed, but I understood the evaporation of black holes to be caused by the spontaneous appearance of something, a particle/antiparticle pair, out of nothing at the event horizon of a black hole. Doesn't this actually contradict what davar55 said?

[QUOTE=Brian-E;314790]My understanding is very poor indeed, but I understood the evaporation of black holes to be caused by the spontaneous appearance of something, a particle/antiparticle pair, out of nothing at the event horizon of a black hole. Doesn't this actually contradict what davar55 said?[/QUOTE]

Yes.

[QUOTE=chalsall;314791]Yes.[/QUOTE]
So the word "Agreed" was sarcasm!
(I think?)
Sorry, you have to make allowances for me because my mind is going.:blush:

[QUOTE=Brian-E;314793]So the word "Agreed" was sarcasm!
(I think?)
Sorry, you have to make allowances for me because my mind is going.:blush:[/QUOTE]

No.

I agreed with you.

For some reason you wouldn't accept the possibility that I agreed with you.

You're a very agreeable person and I have no trouble accepting that you agreed with me.
I'm confused, however, about the apparent agreement in your posting below, which was in answer to davar55.
[QUOTE=chalsall;314768]Agreed.

How do you think Hawking mathematically deduced that Black Holes evaporate?[...][/QUOTE]