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From: hua@cmu-cs-gandalf.ARPA (Ernest Hua)
Newsgroups: net.religion
Subject: For Peter Crames
Message-ID: <210@cmu-cs-gandalf.ARPA>
Date: Mon, 18-Feb-85 01:30:41 EST
Article-I.D.: cmu-cs-g.210
Posted: Mon Feb 18 01:30:41 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 21-Feb-85 03:42:43 EST
Organization: Carnegie-Mellon University, CS/RI
Lines: 36

> Here is why I believe God exists ...
> 
> My body, including my brain, is a machine.   A machine can't cause
> itself to move (or think, in the case of the brain).  A machine
> needs an outside agent to cause it to move.  Since I can't cause 
> my own thoughts or actions, my thoughts and actions must be caused
> by an outside agent.  That outside agent must be God, who must cause
> all thoughts and actions as a result of Her/His First Cause or Big
> Bang.  God is a programmer, and the universe is a computer.
> 
> If you understand this, re-read this message substituting words
> as follows:	my -> your
> 		I -> you
> 		God -> I or Me
> 
> Peter Crames	...decvax!genrad!mit-eddie!cybvax0!ptc 

Well, Peter, how did managed to conclude that your brain is dependent upon
something other than the rest of your body?  A machine can be programmed to
function independently.  Of course, most machines that we know of require
a human programmer.  But does it necessarily follow that your brain require
a programmer.  Does your brain look like any one of the countless machines
that man builds?  Mine certainly does not!  If it were a simple machine,
it would not be too difficult for scientists to figure out how we think.
Unfortunately, it is far too complex for anyone to handle.  (This will
change as computers advance.)  I guess, for all intents and purposes, we
can say that a brain can think independently and creatively because it is
so unpredictable.  You will want to read DRAGONS OF EDEN by Dr. Carl Sagan.
It is an excellant book that describes the evolution of the brain in non-
technical language.

I do not understand your substitutions.  The last one would introduce a lot
of incorrect grammatic constructions, rendering some sentences confusing at
best.  Please explain.

Keebler