Another study wasting money stating the obvious?

[Paddy]

As in the standard version of general relativity, very massive stars end up collapsing into black holes: regions of space from which nothing, not even light, can escape.

Here is how torsion would play out in the beginning moments of our universe inside a black hole. Initially, gravitational attraction between particles would overcome torsion's repulsive forces, serving to collapse matter into a smaller region of space. But eventually torsion would become very strong and prevent matter from compressing into a point of infinite density. Nonetheless, matter would still be packed together in a highly dense state. The immensely high gravitational energy in this densely packed state would cause an intense production of particles, since energy can be converted into matter. This process would further increase the mass inside the black hole.

The increasing numbers of particles with spin would result in higher levels of spacetime torsion. The repulsive torsion would stop the collapse and would create a "big bounce" like a compressed beach ball that snaps outward. The rapid recoil after such a big bounce could be what has led to our expanding universe. The result of this recoil matches observations of the universe's shape, geometry, and distribution of mass.

In turn, the torsion mechanism suggests an astonishing scenario: every black hole would produce a new, baby universe inside. If that is true, then the first matter in our universe came from somewhere else. So our own universe could be the interior of a black hole existing in another universe. Just as we cannot see what is going on inside black holes in the cosmos, any observers in the parent universe could not see what is going on in ours.

The motion of matter through the black hole's boundary, called an "event horizon," would only happen in one direction, providing a direction of time that we perceive as moving forward. The arrow of time in our universe would therefore be inherited, through torsion, from the parent universe.

Every black hole contains a new universe: A physicist presents a solution to present-day cosmic mysteries

[CoolCat]

Isn’t religion just a mechanism for posh parents to keep their state school exclusive to children that fit their preconceptions and social pretentions? Enforcing segregation of children.

In the absence of selection by ability we have selection by how posh a postcode your parents can afford and selection by how many lies your parents are prepared to tell about their religious convictions.

Meanwhile in the fee paying church schools they are quite happy to take children of any or no religion when hard cash changes hands, which kind of exposes the hypocrisy of it all.

[Old Greg]

If my understanding of Catholicism is correct (and Catholicism is correct), unless he's a saint, then he'll be spending some time in purgatory suffering from the sins he committed during life, until he's atoned (hah!) sufficiently.

If e.g. Luther was correct, and only if your repent of what you've done wrong and receive forgiveness, then if he hasn't repented of all his wrong-doing, then he'll still be going to hell.

If the universalists are right, everyone, eventually, gets to heaven.

Note, TB is only a convicted war criminal in Malaysia, in a trial that can hardly be described as "fair".
α-θεϊστής

The way to deal with the purgatory issue used to be a death bed baptism:

Emperors Constantine I and Constantius II from memory. Also, I think, Charles II of Great Britain, who converted to Catholicism on his death bed. The thinking was that being a ruler means you must do terrible things (Constantius II massacred half his family on accession), but baptism wipes all sins clean

It would be interesting to know if Blair's conversion to Catholicism after leaving office included a baptism or whether (as I suspect is more likely) his presumably Anglican baptism was seen as valid so no further baptism took place. It would have been a neat spiritual trick though to spend your time as PM bombing the hell out of countries, get baptised and then work as a peace envoy.

[Jog On]

Where do spiritual people fit all this? You know the types who don't have an ego any more and therefore have no need to participate in "us vs them" and "I'm right you're wrong" activities?

Some interesting quotes from Einstein if anyone's interested. I notice the devout atheist people like to counter religion with science a lot when preaching their 'beliefs' that they're supposed not to care about:

I want to know how God created this world. I am not interested in this or that phenomenon, in the spectrum of this or that element. I want to know His thoughts; the rest are details.

Science without religion is lame. Religion without science is blind.

My religion consists of a humble admiration of the illimitable superior spirit who reveals himself in the slight details we are able to perceive with our frail and feeble mind.

The further the spiritual evolution of mankind advances, the more certain it seems to me that the path to genuine religiosity does not lie through the fear of life, and the fear of death, and blind faith, but through striving after rational knowledge.

Every one who is seriously involved in the pursuit of science becomes convinced that a spirit is manifest in the laws of the Universe-a spirit vastly superior to that of man, and one in the face of which we with our modest powers must feel humble.

The scientists’ religious feeling takes the form of a rapturous amazement at the harmony of natural law, which reveals an intelligence of such superiority that, compared with it, all the systematic thinking and acting of human beings is an utterly insignificant reflection.

There is no logical way to the discovery of elemental laws. There is only the way of intuition, which is helped by a feeling for the order lying behind the appearance.

The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift.

The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious; It is the source of all true art and science.

We should take care not to make the intellect our god; it has, of course, powerful muscles, but no personality.

Whoever undertakes to set himself up as a judge of Truth and Knowledge is shipwrecked by the laughter of the Gods.

When the solution is simple, God is answering.

God does not play dice with the universe.

God is subtle but he is not malicious.

A human being is a part of the whole, called by us Universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest-a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole nature in its beauty.

Nothing will benefit human health and increase the chances for survival of life on Earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet.

The man who regards his own life and that of his fellow creatures as meaningless is not merely unfortunate but almost disqualified for life.

Peace cannot be kept by force. It can only be achieved by understanding.

Only a life lived for others is a life worth while.

The human mind is not capable of grasping the Universe. We are like a little child entering a huge library. The walls are covered to the ceilings with books in many different tongues. The child knows that someone must have written these books. It does not know who or how. It does not understand the languages in which they are written. But the child notes a definite plan in the arrangement of the books—-a mysterious order which it does not comprehend, but only dimly suspects.

The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery every day. Never lose a holy curiosity.

What I see in Nature is a magnificent structure that we can comprehend only very imperfectly, and that must fill a thinking person with a feeling of humility. This is a genuinely religious feeling that has nothing to do with mysticism.

The finest emotion of which we are capable is the mystic emotion. Herein lies the germ of all art and all true science. Anyone to whom this feeling is alien, who is no longer capable of wonderment and lives in a state of fear is a dead man. To know that what is impenetrable for us really exists and manifests itself as the highest wisdom and the most radiant beauty, whose gross forms alone are intelligible to our poor faculties - this knowledge, this feeling ... that is the core of the true religious sentiment. In this sense, and in this sense alone, I rank myself among profoundly religious men.

The real problem is in the hearts and minds of men. It is easier to denature plutonium than to denature the evil spirit of man.

True religion is real living; living with all one’s soul, with all one’s goodness and righteousness.

Intelligence makes clear to us the interrelationship of means and ends. But mere thinking cannot give us a sense of the ultimate and fundamental ends. To make clear these fundamental ends and valuations and to set them fast in the emotional life of the individual, seems to me precisely the most important function which religion has to form in the social life of man.

--A Einstein

[DodgyAgent]

Intelligence isn't a god-given (ha!) gift but something that can be developed and nurtured, especially during school years. Most schools are non-religious. So people who have more schooling are statistically more intelligent and statistically more likely to have been taught to be atheists, just as how centuries ago the opposite may have been true.

And yes I'm just playing devil's (ha!) advocate here before anyone gets frothing at the mouth.

You are born with a level of intelligence, you do not develop to become more intelligent.

[Old Greg]

You are born with a level of intelligence, you do not develop to become more intelligent.

That is only the case with recruitment agents.

[BrilloPad]

I have come to the conclusion there is no God. Or he would have answered our prayers and saved us from sasguru.

[Old Greg]

I have come to the conclusion there is no God. Or he would have answered our prayers and saved us from sasguru.

He is your punishment.

[Jog On]

I have come to the conclusion there is no God. Or he would have answered our prayers and saved us from sasguru.

Maybe sasguru was sent here to get people to turn to God?

[MyUserName]

Maybe sasguru was sent here to get people to turn to drink?

FTFY