The 'What Does it All Mean?' Thread

[BreezeWood]

'What Does it All Mean?'

I'll jump into an argument to defend a Christian, but it's more because I detest bullying than anything else. I respect what is in the Bible ...
...............

According to Spinoza, reality is perfection.

According to Spinoza: reality is perfection ... According to Bible: If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.


Boss: I detest bullying


not sure why "detest bullying" is there - OP, you seem to take the Bible as your foundation then as others point out its faults as yourself, you chose to detest them .... your belief is you are a sinner and all others - those who do not, you detest - but it is then for Boss to proclaim: According to Spinoza: reality is perfection !


"What Does it All Mean" - just do not criticize Scripture or be Detested


which are you, Biblical Spiritualist ? -

there is no Spiritualist that defends the content of the Bible (nor those defending it).


oh, that fly really did not need her wings she is so much better without them - Biblical Spiritualism.


just in answering the question is sometimes relevant to who is asking it ...

.

 

[PostmodernProph]

Why do you assume it has to mean anything?

Because everything points in that direction from a logic perspective in my reality. I see "cause and effect" in the universe around me and I understand that in reality, there is a reason for everything. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Therefore, purpose must relate to cause. If this reality exists, if life exists, if our minds, imaginations, etc., all exist... there must be a reason.

We didn't wake up this morning floating out into space, talking about how "gravity" decided to take the day off... just wasn't feeling the cosmic energy today or something... so here we are, stuck in a day without gravity! Nope... it worked today the same as it has worked since the beginning of the universe. Why do we assume it has to? Well... maybe because if it didn't, we'd really be up shit creek? It actually HAS to exist for "exist" to have relevant meaning.

Physics has been one of our most powerful tools. It has given us broad understanding of the mechanics of our physical universe, but it is currently on the brink of completely uncharted territory. If what some theorize is true, "reality" could exist in millions or billions of forms. One theoretical physicist drew laughter from the line, "it's possible a universe could exist where Elvis is still alive!" But seriously, we don't know what secrets lie in the cosmos.

Again... back on point... I can't wrap my mind around the idea that this is all for nothing and has no real reason or purpose because that doesn't make sense to me.

Really? Why? People are born, grow old and die every single day. Some live long lives thanks to their genetics, some live short lives. Some die from doing stupid dangerous things, some don't. Good people die of dread diseases every minute of every day, while vile, evil, people live out their scumbag existences preying on the good people around them.

If you see logic amongst that, then I need to know what your smokin'.

on the other hand, the really really bad people die too.....

 

[westwall]

Because everything points in that direction from a logic perspective in my reality. I see "cause and effect" in the universe around me and I understand that in reality, there is a reason for everything. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Therefore, purpose must relate to cause. If this reality exists, if life exists, if our minds, imaginations, etc., all exist... there must be a reason.

We didn't wake up this morning floating out into space, talking about how "gravity" decided to take the day off... just wasn't feeling the cosmic energy today or something... so here we are, stuck in a day without gravity! Nope... it worked today the same as it has worked since the beginning of the universe. Why do we assume it has to? Well... maybe because if it didn't, we'd really be up shit creek? It actually HAS to exist for "exist" to have relevant meaning.

Physics has been one of our most powerful tools. It has given us broad understanding of the mechanics of our physical universe, but it is currently on the brink of completely uncharted territory. If what some theorize is true, "reality" could exist in millions or billions of forms. One theoretical physicist drew laughter from the line, "it's possible a universe could exist where Elvis is still alive!" But seriously, we don't know what secrets lie in the cosmos.

Again... back on point... I can't wrap my mind around the idea that this is all for nothing and has no real reason or purpose because that doesn't make sense to me.

Really? Why? People are born, grow old and die every single day. Some live long lives thanks to their genetics, some live short lives. Some die from doing stupid dangerous things, some don't. Good people die of dread diseases every minute of every day, while vile, evil, people live out their scumbag existences preying on the good people around them.

If you see logic amongst that, then I need to know what your smokin'.

on the other hand, the really really bad people die too.....

Eventually. The point is good people die young all the time, while total assholes live long lives. If there were a "point" to it all I would think that the good people would get preferential treatment.

 

[Mr. H.]

A dear friend of mine is at this moment lying on his death bed. He's 90 years young.

His son recently confided in me something that his dad uttered in a brief moment of lucidness.

"The closer I get to dying, the more I realize that there is nothing beyond my physical life".

Granted, this is a gentleman who has attended Church his whole life, and even taught Sunday School.

The chips are down, and he sees a blank awaiting his last blink.

Upon death, our energies will disperse amongst the cosmos. And that's it.

The soul is remnant energy borrowed. And that energy will return remnant.

The fact that it once inhabited a highly evolved mammal is just icing on the cake.

And that in itself is pretty damn cool.

We may now be the shit, but in the end we ain't for shit. Just energy.

*poof*

 

[Avatar4321]

There is nothing whatsoever about a question which indicates anything remotely close to "because I say so." In fact, if there could be a thing more opposite of such a statement, I don't know what it might be. Questions are generally asked by people in search of answers. That isn't professing a "because I say so" argument at all.

Disengage yourself from 'imminent attack mode' for a moment or two, and ponder the OP question. Then, try to formulate some coherent answer to explain your views of reality.

Unless you just WANT to keep looking like a troll...

She wants it to be "because you say so" because then she has excused herself from thinking and participating in the search for truth.

Not at all. Your search for truth has ended at your religious belief.

Someone tells me “Yeah – the gods have spoken to me” is all I need to “believe”? That sounds like a simple Santa Clause (purposeful misspelling) model that “less than critically thinking” people who are not particularly discriminating, can embrace without their sense of proportions getting violated.

Accepting the "gods did it", model means having to assume a lot more than just an illogical frame of reference. It means having to postulate natural reality is also evidence of the supernatural (thereby hopelessly blurring what is meant by "natural" and "supernatural"), and it also means having to assume a written text (in your case the bibles, but it could be the Koran, or Bhagavad gita, etc) is somehow accurate in its perception of the metaphysical. This assumption is based purely on the texts self-proclaiming themselves this authority, and upon nothing else. Additionally, this assumption is not made on the part of the believer with any conscience effort. It's a function of family values. You are further burdened by appealing to a worldview where reality isn't cohesive-- a reality in which worlds are created by thoughts, seas part, dead men rise, men "ascend to heaven" and so on.

So, honestly, don't feel a need to lecture anyone on seeking truth.

I wouldn't if you would actually put an effort into seeking it instead of just making every excuse not to search.

My search for truth has not ended. Because all truth is part of my religion and it's my religious duty to seek to know all things. And there will always be more things to learn in this life.

But you'll never learn them if you keep making excuses.

 

[Boss]

Don't present me with a two hour propaganda piece and expect me to watch it. I have better things to do with my time. If YOU have an argument, make it.

I made an argument and you made up a reason to reject it. I can see by this posting, you do have a sense of time and it holds some semblance of value to you. But your perception of time and the realizations happening within it's space, are finite. Reality as we comprehend it, only exists as a component of our finite universe. Time is only the measure by which our universe is expanding.

Immortality... When we speak this word, it seems to draw ire from the Anti-God crowd, because this defies the principles of physics and the material reality we exist in. But simply put, it describes the higher cosmos, above the level of our universe and plane of reality, where time means nothing. Once you comprehend the universe is expanding, creating time, reality and logic, material elements... subatomic elements... but that it's finite and will one day end, then you have to ponder what is beyond this universe?

Is there anything beyond this universe? I don't know. I would like to think there is. I would love to travel to the other galaxies when I die to see what they are like. Will I get the chance to do that? Who knows.

But that isn't what your OP is about. You OP is about meaning. My contention is there need not be a meaning for anything. Life is just life. Life it the best you can, and enjoy it the best you can.

When people attempt to place meaning on life.....that's when idealogues and other undesirables warp people to do THEIR bidding...usually at the cost of the one life we know we get.

Science is currently exploring Open String Field Theory, the idea there could be many universes. There is almost certainly something beyond this universe or we can't explain black holes. Now probably, you and I are not going to get to travel to other galaxies. That doesn't mean it's impossible or it can't one day be done. Just it probably won't happen any time soon. But here's the thing... if we could live long enough to do that, we'd probably not pop on a fedora like a scene from Mad Men and jump on a red-eye to someplace similar to our own but different. We may be talking about a universe where different "rules of logic" apply, and everything (including perception of reality) is beyond our ability to comprehend. Could we even technically "experience" that? I do not know.

The OP posits the question, what does it all mean? You're welcome to contend there is no meaning. I disagree because this defies everything we know about our universe. Nothing is without meaning, just the mere presence of existence has meaning. When you drop an object, it 'means' to be compelled by gravity and gravity 'means' to attract it to earth. It never does it's own thing or has no meaning. When we see a distant planet in another star system, it 'means' to exist. Light 'means' to be different from dark. Up means to be different from down. The entire reality we exist in is comprised of meaning. To conclude life has no meaning, defies this.

 

[Steven_R]

There is almost certainly something beyond this universe or we can't explain black holes.

Not really. We understand Black Holes well enough and it only requires the one universe we know and love for the equations to work.

You seem to be ill informed about just what the astrophysics and cosmology communities actually know. I'm going to go out on a limb and say most of your information comes from shows like How the Universe Works and Beyond the Wormhole. Caveat Emptor my friend because those kinds of shows are notoriously bad about taking something a scientist says and editing it to make the point for something else or just plain getting a concept wrong in the explanation.

If you can handle the math (Calc I), I would suggest enrolling in the Physics III (aka Modern Physics) at your local university, even if just to audit the class. If you can't do the math, there are many fine laymen books on stuff like black holes and string theory at the local bookstore.

 

[Boss]

'What Does it All Mean?'

I'll jump into an argument to defend a Christian, but it's more because I detest bullying than anything else. I respect what is in the Bible ...
...............
According to Spinoza, reality is perfection.

According to Spinoza: reality is perfection ... According to Bible: If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

Boss: I detest bullying

not sure why "detest bullying" is there - OP, you seem to take the Bible as your foundation then as others point out its faults as yourself, you chose to detest them .... your belief is you are a sinner and all others - those who do not, you detest - but it is then for Boss to proclaim: According to Spinoza: reality is perfection !

"What Does it All Mean" - just do not criticize Scripture or be Detested

which are you, Biblical Spiritualist ? -

there is no Spiritualist that defends the content of the Bible (nor those defending it).

oh, that fly really did not need her wings she is so much better without them - Biblical Spiritualism.

just in answering the question is sometimes relevant to who is asking it ...

I'm not sure why you feel compelled to chop my posts up into little snippits and then interject some off-the-wall commentary not even remotely associated. It's a little weird.

...you seem to take the Bible as your foundation...your belief is you are a sinner and all others - those who do not, you detest...

I would like to know where you've ever read such a commentary by me? I think I have been vociferously clear that I am not a Christian and don't follow the teachings of organized religions. Do I believe what's in the Bible? Some of it, yes... and I believe some of what's in the Koran and other religious dogma. First and foremost, I believe they are inspirational works from humans making a real connection to something spiritual they can't comprehend.

there is no Spiritualist that defends the content of the Bible (nor those defending it).

Hate to burst your bubble, but you're talking to one. Not that I defend the Bible as THE Word of God, but the contents of the Bible are very much in accord, in many ways, with my personal spirituality, particularly the teachings of Jesus Christ. I don't believe he was the Son of God, but I do believe he was a man with great spiritual connectivity. His teachings of what God "wants" has been very inspirational to many and the source of their understanding a spiritual connection, so I can find no fault with that. I break with Christianity on dogmatic philosophy, not presence of God.

But now... WHY are you trying to turn the thread into a repeat of the other two threads on God and Science? The OP ponders a specific question, and you're not addressing that. Instead, you are launching yet another salvo on me personally, for whatever reason, I seem to have gotten under your skin and you just can't help but to lash out. You've never disclosed your own spiritual leanings, I am guessing you are a Buddhist. A lot of what you say sounds like their dogma. But hey... that's okay with me, you can still participate in the OP question, I am interested to hear your take.

 

[Boss]

There is almost certainly something beyond this universe or we can't explain black holes.

Not really. We understand Black Holes well enough and it only requires the one universe we know and love for the equations to work.

You seem to be ill informed about just what the astrophysics and cosmology communities actually know. I'm going to go out on a limb and say most of your information comes from shows like How the Universe Works and Beyond the Wormhole. Caveat Emptor my friend because those kinds of shows are notoriously bad about taking something a scientist says and editing it to make the point for something else or just plain getting a concept wrong in the explanation.

If you can handle the math (Calc I), I would suggest enrolling in the Physics III (aka Modern Physics) at your local university, even if just to audit the class. If you can't do the math, there are many fine laymen books on stuff like black holes and string theory at the local bookstore.

According to Dr. Kaku, the equations don't work if there is only one universe. Physics breaks down at the edge of our universe, the expansion of matter becomes faster than the speed of light. This is precisely why astrophysicists developed quantum mechanics.

What we understand black holes well enough to theorize, is the muliple universe theory. (M-verse) This is cutting-edge science and by no means conclusive. However, logic is a fairly simple concept to follow... if you are inside a container and discover a "hole" then it logically stands to reason there is an outside to the container. What's inside the container is not all there is or ever can be. Now you may not comprehend or know what is outside, on the other side of that hole, but the prevailing point remains, you do know something must be.

 

[PostmodernProph]

Really? Why? People are born, grow old and die every single day. Some live long lives thanks to their genetics, some live short lives. Some die from doing stupid dangerous things, some don't. Good people die of dread diseases every minute of every day, while vile, evil, people live out their scumbag existences preying on the good people around them.

If you see logic amongst that, then I need to know what your smokin'.

on the other hand, the really really bad people die too.....

Eventually. The point is good people die young all the time, while total assholes live long lives. If there were a "point" to it all I would think that the good people would get preferential treatment.

and my point is you're wrong.....you NOTICE good people dying young......assholes die young all the time.....driving down the road drunk......shooting each other over drug deals gone bad..... now look at it from the other side.....you NOTICE assholes when they are alive.....they stick out in a crowd.....in fact, that's generally when we decide they are assholes, for doing something that made them stick out of the crowd.....so assholeism is a condition that makes you one out of many.......thus if the rate of death among young is constant, it stands to reason you would see more young people dying among the crowd than you would among the standouts.....

the fact that you don't see good people dying young at a rate several hundred times greater than assholes dying young is probably testament to the fact that assholes are actually dying at a faster rate than the good people.......

 

[PostmodernProph]

A dear friend of mine is at this moment lying on his death bed. He's 90 years young.

His son recently confided in me something that his dad uttered in a brief moment of lucidness.

"The closer I get to dying, the more I realize that there is nothing beyond my physical life".

Granted, this is a gentleman who has attended Church his whole life, and even taught Sunday School.

The chips are down, and he sees a blank awaiting his last blink.

Upon death, our energies will disperse amongst the cosmos. And that's it.

The soul is remnant energy borrowed. And that energy will return remnant.

The fact that it once inhabited a highly evolved mammal is just icing on the cake.

And that in itself is pretty damn cool.

We may now be the shit, but in the end we ain't for shit. Just energy.

*poof*

how sad.....

 

[Boss]

A dear friend of mine is at this moment lying on his death bed. He's 90 years young.

His son recently confided in me something that his dad uttered in a brief moment of lucidness.

"The closer I get to dying, the more I realize that there is nothing beyond my physical life".

Granted, this is a gentleman who has attended Church his whole life, and even taught Sunday School.

The chips are down, and he sees a blank awaiting his last blink.

Upon death, our energies will disperse amongst the cosmos. And that's it.

The soul is remnant energy borrowed. And that energy will return remnant.

The fact that it once inhabited a highly evolved mammal is just icing on the cake.

And that in itself is pretty damn cool.

We may now be the shit, but in the end we ain't for shit. Just energy.

*poof*

Interesting, but for every such anecdote you can come up with, there are dozens of NDEs claiming a different result. So why is it their stories are laughed off and dismissed while your particular story has credible merit? Well... it's because this fits your perception.

It seems you went to some mighty great lengths to say you believe in souls, they do exist and are not part of our physical body. But then, you speak as if you have some kind of authority of knowledge as to what happens to those non-physical souls after death. I've not seen you support any of this with science, and honestly, I have never seen any science that could support your notion. Therefore, we have to conclude this is your opinion. For whatever that is worth.

Now let's go back to what you said here: "The fact that it [soul] once inhabited a highly evolved mammal..." So this "remnant energy" just somehow coalesced out of the cosmos to occupy a physical creature? Seems like some pretty smart form of energy to me, do you have any idea of what type of physical energy it was? Did the "remnant energy" come in bits and pieces and have to form itself into a soul? Or did it come complete as an entire soul? These seem to be some important questions to ponder.

 

[RandomVariable]

I made an argument and you made up a reason to reject it. I can see by this posting, you do have a sense of time and it holds some semblance of value to you. But your perception of time and the realizations happening within it's space, are finite. Reality as we comprehend it, only exists as a component of our finite universe. Time is only the measure by which our universe is expanding.

Immortality... When we speak this word, it seems to draw ire from the Anti-God crowd, because this defies the principles of physics and the material reality we exist in. But simply put, it describes the higher cosmos, above the level of our universe and plane of reality, where time means nothing. Once you comprehend the universe is expanding, creating time, reality and logic, material elements... subatomic elements... but that it's finite and will one day end, then you have to ponder what is beyond this universe?

Is there anything beyond this universe? I don't know. I would like to think there is. I would love to travel to the other galaxies when I die to see what they are like. Will I get the chance to do that? Who knows.

But that isn't what your OP is about. You OP is about meaning. My contention is there need not be a meaning for anything. Life is just life. Life it the best you can, and enjoy it the best you can.

When people attempt to place meaning on life.....that's when idealogues and other undesirables warp people to do THEIR bidding...usually at the cost of the one life we know we get.

Science is currently exploring Open String Field Theory, the idea there could be many universes. There is almost certainly something beyond this universe or we can't explain black holes. Now probably, you and I are not going to get to travel to other galaxies. That doesn't mean it's impossible or it can't one day be done. Just it probably won't happen any time soon. But here's the thing... if we could live long enough to do that, we'd probably not pop on a fedora like a scene from Mad Men and jump on a red-eye to someplace similar to our own but different. We may be talking about a universe where different "rules of logic" apply, and everything (including perception of reality) is beyond our ability to comprehend. Could we even technically "experience" that? I do not know.

The OP posits the question, what does it all mean? You're welcome to contend there is no meaning. I disagree because this defies everything we know about our universe. Nothing is without meaning, just the mere presence of existence has meaning. When you drop an object, it 'means' to be compelled by gravity and gravity 'means' to attract it to earth. It never does it's own thing or has no meaning. When we see a distant planet in another star system, it 'means' to exist. Light 'means' to be different from dark. Up means to be different from down. The entire reality we exist in is comprised of meaning. To conclude life has no meaning, defies this.

Gravity has nothing to do with meaning. If I am texting and run into a tree my running into the tree does not mean anything. If I run my car into a tree because I want an apple then there is a meaning I can tell the insurance company.

 

[Boss]

Gravity has nothing to do with meaning. If I am texting and run into a tree my running into the tree does not mean anything. If I run my car into a tree because I want an apple then there is a meaning I can tell the insurance company.

You are confusing meaning with reason. If you were texting and ran THROUGH the tree, there would be no meaning. The fact that a certain thing happens when the matter of your car meets the matter of the tree, is meaningful.

 

[RandomVariable]

Gravity has nothing to do with meaning. If I am texting and run into a tree my running into the tree does not mean anything. If I run my car into a tree because I want an apple then there is a meaning I can tell the insurance company.

You are confusing meaning with reason. If you were texting and ran THROUGH the tree, there would be no meaning. The fact that a certain thing happens when the matter of your car meets the matter of the tree, is meaningful.

Then the OP is a physics/metaphysics question and not of religion and ethics.

 

[BreezeWood]

Do I believe what's in the Bible? Some of it, yes... and I believe some of what's in the Koran and other religious dogma. First and foremost, I believe they are inspirational works from humans making a real connection to something spiritual they can't comprehend.

there is no Spiritualist that defends the content of the Bible (nor those defending it).

Hate to burst your bubble, but you're talking to one. Not that I defend the Bible as THE Word of God, but the contents of the Bible are very much in accord, in many ways, with my personal spirituality, particularly the teachings of Jesus Christ. I don't believe he was the Son of God, but I do believe he was a man with great spiritual connectivity. His teachings of what God "wants" has been very inspirational to many and the source of their understanding a spiritual connection, so I can find no fault with that. I break with Christianity on dogmatic philosophy, not presence of God.

Boss: I'll jump into an argument to defend a Christian, but it's more because I detest bullying than anything else.

Boss: I'm not sure why you feel compelled to chop my posts up into little snippits and then interject some off-the-wall commentary not even remotely associated. It's a little weird.

for some reason those who profess to believe in God (Scripturalist) are the very people who have historically stood in defiance against finding answers they fear will not support their religion at the expense of those who are simply interested in an answer, whatever it may be ... the OP is an example of such a dichotomy.

Hollie: So, honestly, don't feel a need to lecture anyone on seeking truth.

Avatar4321: I wouldn't if you would actually put an effort into seeking it instead of just making every excuse not to search.

My search for truth has not ended. Because all truth is part of my religion and it's my religious duty to seek to know all things. And there will always be more things to learn in this life.

But you'll never learn them if you keep making excuses.

Boss: Not that I defend the Bible as THE Word of God, but the contents of the Bible are very much in accord, in many ways, with my personal spirituality, particularly the teachings of Jesus Christ.

it is important to know - why do Scripturalist (Detest) others opinions that either refute the Bible or question its Dogma, then ask the question "What Does it All Mean?" especially the literalist, Avatar when the question itself refutes the validity of their established religion ? and / or then use detestation to refute answers contrary to their Dogma ?


sorry Boss, no Spiritualist reasons every Being is a sinner - many agree there are passages to draw from written in the Bible - selectivity, is not an excuse to support one while detesting another.

.

 

[Youwerecreated]

Don't present me with a two hour propaganda piece and expect me to watch it. I have better things to do with my time. If YOU have an argument, make it.

That is why you think too small,you don't have time to consider reality.

No, I don't choose to watch propaganda. If you have a point make it. Don't rely on others.

Thinking too small was my point.

 

[amrchaos]

Spinoza's God is pretty much the definition of God in Pantheism.

That is a type of non-theistic belief. The reason why,I guess, is because of the fact that this god can be separated and exist in two disconnected regions of emptiness and shown to exist in both by definition.

In short, we can't define the Pantheist god as a singular or any specific number but instead has to refer to it as a separable continuum. Believe it or not, non-theistic viewpoints tend to give an added aesthetic view to reality.

P.S. By the way, you can agree with many of the things a religious figure says,like Jesus, and not be a Christian or theist for that matter. I agree with some of the things Jesus says and I am still an atheist. So whats the problem?

 

[Steven_R]

There is almost certainly something beyond this universe or we can't explain black holes.

Not really. We understand Black Holes well enough and it only requires the one universe we know and love for the equations to work.

You seem to be ill informed about just what the astrophysics and cosmology communities actually know. I'm going to go out on a limb and say most of your information comes from shows like How the Universe Works and Beyond the Wormhole. Caveat Emptor my friend because those kinds of shows are notoriously bad about taking something a scientist says and editing it to make the point for something else or just plain getting a concept wrong in the explanation.

If you can handle the math (Calc I), I would suggest enrolling in the Physics III (aka Modern Physics) at your local university, even if just to audit the class. If you can't do the math, there are many fine laymen books on stuff like black holes and string theory at the local bookstore.

According to Dr. Kaku, the equations don't work if there is only one universe. Physics breaks down at the edge of our universe, the expansion of matter becomes faster than the speed of light. This is precisely why astrophysicists developed quantum mechanics.

What we understand black holes well enough to theorize, is the muliple universe theory. (M-verse) This is cutting-edge science and by no means conclusive. However, logic is a fairly simple concept to follow... if you are inside a container and discover a "hole" then it logically stands to reason there is an outside to the container. What's inside the container is not all there is or ever can be. Now you may not comprehend or know what is outside, on the other side of that hole, but the prevailing point remains, you do know something must be.

A couple of things. First, that's an opinion by Dr. Kaku. It's not what the literature says or currently accepted model of Black Holes demands. It's okay to put it on a TV show, but it's not being supported by the work in the field.

Secondly, Dr. Kaku's reputation in the physics community is somewhat divided. He's done groundbreaking work at one point, but he's becomes more of a science populizer. That's great, but he's no longer on the cutting edge of research and while he may still be the bee's knees in his field (high energy theoretic physics), he has made some errors when he venture outside of that area when talking to the public. Maybe that's because he can't figure out how to dumb it down so laymen can understand it or maybe he just errs or maybe it is just how the editors of these shows put the information out.

Third, Dr. Kaku's reputation has taken severe hits of late because he shows up on programs like Coast To Coast AM and those pseudoscience programs on cable. It's hard to be taken seriously as a science populizer when you show up on programs about bigfoot, UFOs, and psychics.

Take what he says with a grain of salt.

 

[Boss]

for some reason those who profess to believe in God (Scripturalist) are the very people who have historically stood in defiance against finding answers they fear will not support their religion at the expense of those who are simply interested in an answer, whatever it may be ... the OP is an example of such a dichotomy.
.........
sorry Boss, no Spiritualist reasons every Being is a sinner - many agree there are passages to draw from written in the Bible - selectivity, is not an excuse to support one while detesting another.

On your first point, I totally agree, many have used their dogma to stand in the way of scientific progress through the years. However, the OP is not an example of this. We must ask ourselves, what IS science? Isn't it the pursuit of knowledge regarding that which is unknown? Well, when you have drawn a conclusion on the questions at hand, God, whether one (or more) exists, spiritual nature, meaning of it all, etc. then you have stopped practicing science. Now, that's okay because many people stop practicing science and adopt various faiths and beliefs, it's one of the things that makes us exceptional as humans. What is not okay is pretending to be practicing science while practicing faith instead.

Now, I have never said that every Being is a sinner. Not sure where you got that, but it's not MY words. I have said that humans are fallible, and I stand by that statement, unless you have some evidence to the contrary. I don't actually believe in "sin" per say. I believe there are actions that are wrong for humans to engage in because they diminish spiritual connectivity and/or the positive flow of spiritual energy. The "punishments" for this are paid for by humanity. I also have to consider, if the positive spiritual force is leading us in a specific direction (towards good), there may be a hierarchy component regarding our immortal souls. Heaven and Hell? Maybe not, but some measure of deference to how our souls performed in this experience, possibly playing a role in our next assignment. We are compelled toward "good" for some reason.