Okay, so you are talking about the problem of consciousness and the teleological argument. The latter can be dismissed out of hand, as it has been addressed ad infinitum since it was formed millennia ago, but consciousness is an interesting problem for a materialist universe, and one I often contemplate, and would seem the only plausible reason to have faith in the supernatural, as the agent behind the doling out of "souls" from which to have a subjective experience. This has convinced me for a time, and still irks me, and is something which I, nor anybody, has an answer for. God would be a solution, but the that only puts the question And mystery a step back: what is god? Where is it? What can be known about it? How was it created? How exactly does it create consciousness? how does it interact with our material universe? Given these questions, you may have solved consciousness, but opened up a whole new set of questions which completely out of reach and unsolvable, making you worse off, epistemically, although perhaps emotionally satisfied, because you can identify with the concept of "another mind at work." We do it all the time when we talk to other people, yet positing this concept and projecting it ontologically into existence is a whole other step, which you have little warrant to do, aside from the emotional awards reaped from perceived existential security. You ask some good, honest questions, and I appreciate that. However, something seeming unsolvable does not mean "god did it," because you are only allaying the unsolvable onto another realm: the supernatural.
To attribute the creation to Creator (mind, power, source) does open the doors to questions concerning "It's", "HIS" nature.
It is somewhat of a cop out to just dismiss everything that exceeds the grasp of our knowledge as an "act of God". I don't attempt to do that. What I am doing is tempering my desire to know with the practical knowledge of the limits on my time and abilities. Reason itself compels me to admit that there is much more that I don't know than that which I do know, or even can possibly know in my lifetime.
So judging from what I do know and have experienced I ask myself whether it is reasonable to assume that there is a Creator Being. I have surmised that it is. That assumption carries with it the caveat that my knowledge and understanding of that Being is also finite. So it is necessary for me to leave room in my minds eye scheme of things to allow for growth.
I do not really know anything that would rule out that possibility to begin with. After having studied the matter, it seemed more rational to assume the existence of a creator than not. The acceptance of that idea provided a frame work from which to make practical decisions about how to conduct myself whereas the atheistic option reduced to this world and this life to an absurd practice in futility.
Regardless of which avenue one chooses to take, the kind of explanations that we are looking for so far as the tangible world goes remain about as deep one way as the other. Realistically speaking, I will doubtless die never knowing.
Science as we know it does not really address the metaphysical questions of existence or attempt to explain the spiritual nature of it. Therefore it is of little or no use to look to a book such as the Bible for explanations about the physical origin of the universe. One can approach those problems without having to jettison speculation about the supernatural.
Personally I believe that there IS a
super natural aspect to the universe.
But I do not mean by that a belief in a sort of
anything goes world where one can conjure into existence anything that the imagination can drum up. I think a lot of people who cannot find the spiritual answers they seek in science will embrace an acceptance of the supernatural that will admit to practically anything. I don't.
To clarify this idea, I would be as skeptical as you probably are of some peoples professing themselves to be "witches" or gifted with some other implausible connection to "other worlds". I'm long since past the stage where I have to whistle past grave yards as well.
But as I said, I leave room in my concept of the universe to include a revised and expanded version of it
which DOES operate by certain rules.
I am not asserting that the phenomenon of consciousness cannot be derived from matter or that it is impossible for it to be understood. I am saying that this problem and many others are realistically beyond us at this stage and that we should not be overly presumptuous in assuming that the explanation for it lies strictly within our concepts of how the material universe operates. I suspect that there may be concepts involved in grasping it which may include regions that touch on the
supernatural. Some developments, like progress in technology, have to wait on other developments to take place first.
Baring some
miracle it will be well beyond our lifetimes before anyone will be
in the position to approach the problem with any
hope of success.
I expect that someone will master gravity and discover the means to travel beyond the stars before that happens.
When I look up at the black sky at night and try to contemplate where the "end" of the universe may be, or how tiny can a thing get before it can't get any tinier, I feel dwarfed if not awestruck. It's very difficult for me to debunk every sensation like that or others that overcome me when I am forced to confront the numinous.
I would define the term "miracle" as being applied only to those things which could be attributed to "God" in which He preforms a deed which lies totally outside the realm of the laws of the physical universe. I do not mean those which may only lie outside of that which is known but those which lie outside the realm of all that
could be known. I mean only those acts which would by any conceivable means BE
impossible under natural law even with a full knowledge of it. Those are the kinds of acts which I would ascribe to "God", as I conceive Him; the master of all that is, that could be, or which may be possible by any means which one less than God Himself
could conceive.
Somewhere between the tangible universe and the one in which miracles may occur, I would place the
supernatural. That isn't to say that this realm is illogical or is not governed by principles which are analogous to the physical laws as we are acquainted with such as those introduced by Newton, Einstein, Planck, Heisenberg and those other guys. I bet they would be the first to admit that mankind still has a long way to go before he approaches the status of a Creator God.
Some people imagine the pinnacle of creation to be man. But what if their are aliens on distant worlds that are as far above us as we think we are above ants?
What prevents one from imagining powers derived from knowledge which is even greater than that?
If there is a limit to what can be known, or if all that is knowable is a finite amount, just how far would that go, and what would place the limit on it?
If you proceed in Science on the assumption that all may eventually be understood, then it is only a matter of time until one would acquire the knowledge needed to master any aspect of nature. Doesn't the knowledge of science enable one to control those forces which are sought to be understood? Take the atom bomb for example or light and heat from electricity. Just try to follow the logical conclusion of this procession in your mind. So far all we can do is theorize about these things.
