The Religion War Read Online Free PDF

this old man could move that argument. If not, he could always kill him later. Suddenly there seemed to be no hurry.
    The unrestrained Avatar sat on a stool and stretched his arms. The interrogator pulled up a metal chair, keeping a safe distance. "Okay, tell me how you're so sure that God exists."
    "Sometimes what seems to be a difference in opinions is in fact just a difference in definitions," explained the Avatar. "Defined carefully, atheists and believers all accept the existence of the same God."
    "What kind of crap is that?" growled the interrogator. "Atheists don't believe in any kind of God. That's the whole point of being an atheist. Start making sense."
    "My claim," said the Avatar, "is that I can define God in a way that both believers and nonbelievers will agree upon, proving in the process that their differences are only a matter of trivial details."
    "My claim is that you're full of baloney," said the interrogator.
    "If I can prove my point to your satisfaction, will you release me?" asked the Avatar.
    "No. If I don't do my j ob with you, they don't let me out. The last thing Cruz needs is an interrogator leaving the reservation. If the guard outside that door gets a whiff that I'm turning soft, he's got orders to wax me,"
    "I'm sorry," said the Avatar. "I really am."
    "Get back to the point, old man. Define God so an atheist believes in it. I gotta hear this."
    "The secret is time," said the Avatar. "My definition of God is acceptable to everyone if they can allow some flexibility in the scope of time. And I think you'd agree that an omnipotent being would not be operating on a predetermined schedule. If it took God one day or a trillion years to accomplish something, it would make no difference to him."
    "Okay, God doesn't have a watch. I get that," said the interrogator.
    "Tell me what qualities you believe God has," directed the Avatar.
    "Well...obviously he's all-powerful. And he's everywhere. And he loves people, or so they say, although I haven't seen much evidence of that."
    "Is he conscious?" asked the Avatar.
    "Yeah, he's gotta be conscious. I don't want you getting away with saying that God is physics or natural laws or some crap like that. He's gotta be able to think and to have plans."
    "Very well," said the Avatar. "I will define God in a way that meets all of your tests."
    "I'm listening," said the interrogator, leaning back in his chair, legs crossed at the knees.
    "God is all the matter in the universe, and all the blank spaces, and the probability that anything exists in any place at any time. That is the full definition," said the Avatar.
    "You'd better have more than that, old man. How's that explain any of the powers of God?"
    "It explains all of God's powers, simply and completely. God hides in plain sight," explained the Avatar.
    "That explains nothing," argued the interrogator. "That's just a bunch of mumbo jumbo."
    "What powers of God does it overlook?"
    "Well, for one, God's gotta be everywhere at the same time, and your definition is...well..." The interrogator's voice trailed off. "Okay, I see. If God is all the stuff in the universe, then he's everywhere. But that's the only power that fits your definition. I mean, what about being all-knowing?"
    "Do you know how information is stored on a computer?" asked the Avatar.
    "Sure. It's a bunch of zeros and ones," answered the interrogator. "Youjust have to put them in the right order."
    "Likewise, the universe has two fundamental conditions: There is only matter and empty space. Every part of the universe is a sequence of matter and empty space. All meaningful patterns of zeros and ones are stored in the universe, making it, in effect, all-knowing."
    "That's crap," protested the interrogator. "First of all, you can't be sure that every pattern of ones and zeros exists in the universe. Secondly, you can't compare a bunch of random particles in an asteroid with information that's created by intelligent beings. And third, even if a pattern