tullis@uiucdcs.CS.UIUC.EDU (10/27/85)
Paul, how is this for a hypothesis? You claim that there exists an evil, damager god. This god is responsible for the evil in this world. However, this god enjoys blaming the cause of evil on another god: Satan. You claim that Satan does not exist and that the evil damager god made up the idea of another god who causes evil. It appears to me that neither proposition a) There is a single evil damager god b) There is a good God and an evil Satan is provable in a scientific "proof". However, consider that there is an evil damager god who enjoyed blaming things on another nonexistant god. If this damager god has done all kinds of evil things, he won't want YOU spilling the beans. If everyone believes like you his fun would be spoiled. So he would eliminate you PDQ. It could look like an accident. Then you could no longer reveal his dirty deeds and plans. Alternatively, if there is a Satan HE would want you to say exactly what you do say. He would motivate you to really press the issue. It would be to his advantage for you to tell everyone that there is only one god, an evil type damager god. Then God gets blamed for Satans dirty work. And you would be safe from a good God. You are still alive and kicking, aren't you?
rrizzo@bbncca.ARPA (Ron Rizzo) (10/30/85)
<followup to "If there were a damager god, he'd rub out Paul; but a Satan would find the damager myth useful."> Paul's alive. So what? Down thru the ages people have espoused almost every imaginable idea. The only danger anyone's ever faced from holding a particular opinion is persecution or death at the hands of their usu- ally religious fellow humans, not from any supernaturals resentful about mortals revealing their benign or malicious game plans. You can think any thought you wish. No one's peering into your skull (at least not yet), deducting points for naughty thoughts. The Index lives, Ron Rizzo