the religion of peace

[landl]

So your argument is that...

If you persist in a continual "but where did that come from?" riposte to every explanation, then you set yourself up for a way of thinking that can only lead to one of two viewpoints:
1. that of theoretical physics, always trying to find out more about how the universe works, in the belief that as long as you have something that you can't (yet) explain, you can always try more to explain it.
2. the belief that ultimately you don't know where things came from. So it must have been just "created". Therefore there must be a god.

In a way, you arrive at your answer because you insist on looking at the question that way.

...intellectual curiosity is a bad thing?

[EternalOptimist]

...intellectual curiosity is a bad thing?

the usual way for it to work is

thesis + antithsis = synthesis

why ? + why ? + why ? + why ? = a thumping

[expat]

...intellectual curiosity is a bad thing?

Not at all. Not if it is insatiable, and leads to more and more research, physics, thought, and philosophy.

When you are led instead to say that it is too complex so it must have been created by God, then you have abandoned your intellectual curiosity.

[expat]

a child can destroy the most sophisticated philosophy just by 'why?' four or five times on the run

Funny. But not true.

If someone (child or not) understands what he is asking in each of those questions, he will not destroy the philosophy but may well advance it.

If he does not understand, but just repeats the word "why", then he is not even asking about the philosophy, far less destroying it.

[sasguru]

...if there is a God, he/she/it would have to have always existed. That's a difficult thing for us as mortal humans to accept, because it means someone else is further up the pecking order than we are.

I disagree with that last sentence. Humans are comforted by the idea of a supernatural being - hence why all cultures seemed to have created one or many.
It's much harder for your psychology to believe you're on your own and that therefore there might be not much meaning to your existence. This is why atheists are such a tiny minority in the world and why otherwise very intelligent people are seduced by the "God" concept.

Where did "things" come from from? Perhaps we'll never know.

[landl]

Ahhh....

Not at all. Not if it is insatiable, and leads to more and more research, physics, thought, and philosophy.

When you are led instead to say that it is too complex so it must have been created by God, then you have abandoned your intellectual curiosity.

....I see your point, but my belief in the probable existence of a God is not necessarily an admission of a lack of intellectual curiosity. I still want science to push the frontiers of understanding, I just feel that on balance, based on the information we have at the moment, there probably is a God.

[up4it]

If Buddhists are supposed to be peaceful then how come the Tibetans recently murdered several Chinese civilians who made the mistake of merely walking down the street and bumping into a riot.

Not to mention 5 Chinese girls murdered when the shop they worked in was looted and set on fire.

Now that really does cause bad karma!!

So much for peace loving Buddhists!

[AtW]

If Buddhists are supposed to be peaceful then how come the Tibetans recently murdered several Chinese civilians who made the mistake of merely walking down the street and bumping into a riot.

How can you be sure who murdered those Chinese civilians? Tibet is under control of effectively totalitarian country that is known for support of other even more hardcore totalitarian countries that committed terrible things.

Buddhism co-existed nicely with martial arts and plenty of wars - it's just this is mostly in the past as it is old enough religion to avoid such things, same thing can be said for Christianity as it went past its phase of Crusades and other things bad things. Some other younger religions however are just going through this phrase - it would have been okay 500 years ago, but the world moved on since then.

[sasguru]

If Buddhists are supposed to be peaceful then how come the Tibetans recently murdered several Chinese civilians who made the mistake of merely walking down the street and bumping into a riot.

Not to mention 5 Chinese girls murdered when the shop they worked in was looted and set on fire.

Now that really does cause bad karma!!

So much for peace loving Buddhists!

So what you're syaing is humans remain humans regardless of what belief/religion they adopt? How very profound

[landl]

That's interesting

I disagree with that last sentence. Humans are comforted by the idea of a supernatural being - hence why all cultures seemed to have created one or many.
It's much harder for your psychology to believe you're on your own and that therefore there might be not much meaning to your existence. This is why atheists are such a tiny minority in the world and why otherwise very intelligent people are seduced by the "God" concept.

Where did "things" come from from? Perhaps we'll never know.

I'd not thought of it in that way before. I will respect atheists all the more for having the courage of their convictions.

I think your final sentence sums things up nicely.