Smartest Man in America says God exists

Just because someone is smart doesn't mean that whatever they say is right.

The smartest man of America says this? Or is it just the smartest man of the USA? In this case I have to remind you that the USA practized to cut the umbilical cord too early for many years, which caused some problems with intelligence, I don't want to discuss any further.

So maybe my neighbor's opinion is worth more then the opinion of the most intelligent person over there.

Should we take the word of one smart bouncer, or thousands of scientists who have made it their life's work?

I don't think we should take anyone's word, only their proof. Having a high IQ doesn't excuse one from the burden of proof.

reply to post by Runciter33

Seems that some other very smart people are arriving at the same conclusion.

The God Theory.

Intriguingly, a colleague of Bernard Haische actually derived Newton's famous equation of motion F=MA while working in equations dealing with the quantum vaccuum. For more on that see Brilliant Disguise: Light, Matter and the Zero-Point Field.

reply to post by Runciter33


So?

The "Cognitive-Theoretic Model of the Universe"? I liked it better when it was just called Platonic Idealism.

This guy is nothing special. All he has done here is recapitulate the old neoplatonism with some modern-day technobabble. Maybe if he had finished college he'd have something original to say.

Well first of all, IQ is not an accurate measurement of intelligence.

Secondly, no matter how "smart" you are, you can be wrong, and you can have false beliefs. Him believing in god and being smart are two very different and unrelated things. There is no proof or evidence of a creator, therefore intelligence doesn't come in to play, it's a matter of personal belief.

P.S. -- All this banter about the virtues of "genius" and "smarts" is hilarious. Some really profound statements being made here for sure (n.b., sarcasm.)

if people can believe in god which there is no proof, why can people not believe in aliens which there is allot of proof...

Originally posted by Runciter33

Christopher Michael Langan (born c. 1952) is an American autodidact whose IQ was reported by 20/20 and other media sources to have been measured at between 195 and 210.[1] Billed by some media sources as "the smartest man in America",[2] he rose to prominence in 1999 while working as a bouncer on Long Island. Langan has developed his own "theory of the relationship between mind and reality" which he calls the "Cognitive-Theoretic Model of the Universe (CTMU)"

Heard this guy on coast to coast am recently, and found him pretty fascinating. Anyways, here are quotes from him on wikipedia;

I believe in the theory of evolution, but I believe as well in the allegorical truth of creation theory. In other words, I believe that evolution, including the principle of natural selection, is one of the tools used by God to create mankind. Mankind is then a participant in the creation of the universe itself, so that we have a closed loop. I believe that there is a level on which science and religious metaphor are mutually compatible.

Langan explains on his website that he believes "since Biblical accounts of the genesis of our world and species are true but metaphorical, our task is to correctly decipher the metaphor in light of scientific evidence also given to us by God". He explains

In explaining this relationship, the CTMU shows that reality possesses a complex property akin to self-awareness. That is, just as the mind is real, reality is in some respects like a mind. But when we attempt to answer the obvious question "whose mind?", the answer turns out to be a mathematical and scientific definition of God. This implies that we all exist in what can be called "the Mind of God", and that our individual minds are parts of God's Mind. They are not as powerful as God's Mind, for they are only parts thereof; yet, they are directly connected to the greatest source of knowledge and power that exists. This connection of our minds to the Mind of God, which is like the connection of parts to a whole, is what we sometimes call the soul or spirit, and it is the most crucial and essential part of being human.[25]

Langan has said elsewhere that he does not belong to any religious denomination, explaining that he "can't afford to let [his] logical approach to theology be prejudiced by religious dogma."[14] He calls himself "a respecter of all faiths, among peoples everywhere."

en.wikipedia.org...

Anyone heard of him before? What are your thoughts on his 'Cognitive-Theoretic Model of the Universe'?

Here is his website as well, which can also be found at the wikipedia link above.

www.megainternational.org...

Great. Note the part where he specifies in his opinion the Bible is an ALLEGORY.

reply to post by polarwarrior

Should we take the word of one smart bouncer, or thousands of scientists who have made it their life's work?

Some times the thousand scientist's create a bias box status quo entirely dependent on corporate funding which says what should be invested in and how. At these times it may take a independent thinking bouncer unmolested by systematic thought, or a young copywriter to break the molds of that status quo.

Let's not forget that many times in science, its a single idea by one individual that changes everything.

Here are some wonderfully intelligent ideas about 'what God is' and how to understand something that is unseen and yet exists as a Reality greater than the 'things' caused by It:

There is a remarkable and magnificent similarity between what is termed God (Fact, Reality, Truth) and the principle of mathematics. Entire philosophic systems have been built around this likeness. Nearly 2,600 years ago the Greek philosopher and mathematician Pythagoras said that no concept more nearly approached Divinity then the principle of arithmetic. He pointed out that early every quality attributed to God was clearly expressed for all to see and understand in the simplest fact of arithmetic. Indeed, there is inherent in nature a revealed as well as a hidden harmony that reflects itself under the image of simple mathematical laws.

This similarity aids in understanding more clearly who and what God actually is. It paints a picture considerably more accurate than humanity's anthropomorphic concept. Reader, the arithmetic illustration will help you understand Absolute Reality in such a manner as to free you from all your troubles which are the seeming consequence of ignorance concerning Reality, God.

Examine these parallels. God is spiritual and not material. The principle of arithmetic is not material either. It cannot be seen or weighed on a scale. It cannot be felt or picked up by the hand.

God is omnipresent. You can understand the all-presence of God by contemplating the omnipresence of arithmetic. The principle of arithmetic is everywhere, isn't it? Two plus two is four right where you are this minute. So is everything concerning the principle of arithmetic. It is all at the top of Mount Everest and under the waters of the sea. If one were on the moon or at the bottom of a well, the principle of arithmetic would be there too. There is no place in the universe one can go to escape the principle. It is everywhere, every bit, perfectly present; nowhere is it the least bit absent.

I am sure you cannot imagine a place where addition is present but subtraction is absent or where everything is present except the number five or where two plus two is four and a half. Just as one can easily understand that the entire principle of arithmetic is perfectly present everywhere, so can one comprehend the omnipresent perfection of God.

Can you imagine a personal situation so frustrating that two plus two is four would not be present there? God, Reality, Fact, Principle is present too, no matter where you are nor how terrible the seeming situation.

“Whither shall I go from thy spirit? Or wither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there; if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.” (Psalms 139:7-10).

Originally posted by Wandering Scribe
reply to post by manna2

 

There is no substantiated evidence which supports the conjecture that fluoride is, or was, in rat poison. You're letting an emotionally-led agenda mislead you through life. You're a part of the problem, not a part of the solution.

~ Wandering Scribe

I think you are blatantly lying and appealing to emotions and not any facts.
A collection of info on flouride as a toxic waste and yes, used as rat poison.
www.grandlifestyle.com...

reply to post by intrptr

What about the genetic code? It is encoded, right?

Having never left this little rock of a planet to travel anywhere, thats pretty arrogant to say there is no intelligent design. That smacks of the middle ages when the church used to hold that the earth was the center of everything and the sun and stars revolved around it. Aren't you declaring the same thing when you say there is no "creator" out there?

Stuck in the Middle Ages.

We call it genetic code, but that doesn't mean it is encoded by some programmer, like one who personifies too much might assume. All signs point to it being encoded by nature and translated by cells. There appears to be no god at work here.

I didn't say there was no intelligent designer, I said there was no evidence for one. I gravitate towards that which has evidence before that which doesn't. I think it is more arrogant to assert the one without evidence.

Nonetheless, I can say there is no intelligent designer until you can prove to me otherwise. If you do, I will say that there is an intelligent designer. I am being open minded here. But to assert without evidence and be skeptical of all evidence to the contrary is the epitome of closed mindedness.

Stuck in the middle ages.

The arithmetic illustration is a means by which one is able to comprehend the continuing Presence of Perfection everywhere.

Consider a few more interesting parallels. Two plus two is four; this is a simple fact of arithmetic. Two plus two is four—not five, not three, not four and one-tenth, not three and ninety-nine one- hundredths. Two plus two is four and nothing else. The perfect fact exists. The principle proclaims only the correct statement that two plus two equals four. Any other answer, no matter how close, is not the correct answer nor is it contained within the principle and has no existence at all so far as this perfect principle is concerned.

Now can anyone doubt the accuracy of the principle? The schoolboy who finds a mistake on his school paper knows the mistake is not in the principle itself. He does not blame arithmetic for the error. The error exists outside the principle; yet the principle, when understood as it is, serves to correct the mis-worked problem. It is because principle exists as an immutably perfect fact that one is able to enjoy the facts it embodies.
Exactly so, Reality is what Reality is, absolute Truth. It is perfect, harmonious Fact in which there is nothing “that worketh or maketh a lie.” The schoolboy does not blame arithmetic for the errors on his paper, nor does the pianist blame Beethoven if she errs at the piano. So why blame God, the perfect Principle of Being, for the untoward events of life?

Consider Eternity in the light of arithmetic. When did the principle of arithmetic begin? Ponder this a moment and you will see clearly that it had no beginning at all. It has always existed as itself. It is as eternal as existence. And when will it end? What can happen to alter or destroy the principle of arithmetic? Does it get sick? Can it be maimed or crippled? Can it be killed in a war? Can an atom bomb destroy it? If this entire planet were blown to dust by hydrogen weapons, would the principle of arithmetic be affected at all? No. It would still exist untouched and perfect as ever. Two plus two would still be four. It would not be bent in the least.

In exactly this way the Principle of all existence (called God) is eternal, without beginning and without end, indestructible and continuous in being, no matter what the tortured meanderings of human activity. And since the principle continues, so continues all that principle is. As long as there is a principle of arithmetic, addition, subtraction and everything else arithmetic is, continues.

Well, God (Divine Principle, Reality) continues also; hence, all that God is continues. God, the substance and essence of all that is, remains perfect, unabated and untouched—everywhere present, nowhere absent.
Arithmetic is perfect, single, completeness. It is shown forth, made tangible or apparent, by the various signs and symbols of arithmetic.

Consider numbers for a minute. They exist because the principle of arithmetic exists. If there were no principle there would be no numbers. Because the principle is infinite, there is an infinity of numbers. We might say that numbers “live and move and have their being” in the principle of arithmetic because the principle is. The numbers are as eternal and immaterial, as indestructible and perfect as the principle. They are because principle is and for no other reason. So long as there is a principle, there will be the perfect signs and symbols that manifest it.

reply to post by SilentKoala


That's atheist dogma and it isn't true.

Is this guy like Rainman where he can count toothpicks as they fall, but can't tie his own shoes? Is that why he's a bouncer?

A spread of 15 points is a pretty big spread. If they can't accurately measure his IQ, than there is no way to really tell if he is the smartest man in America. IQ is not the only defining form of intelligence.

Einstein and Galileo probably would of failed modern IQ tests.

195 points? ppppfffft, that is child's play. I can beat that.

Ok, that was my joke for the evening.

Originally posted by dc4lifeskater
if people can believe in god which there is no proof, why can people not believe in aliens which there is allot of proof...

There is evidence for God, and there is evidence for "aliens", too many people have turned a blind eye to the evidence, it is suppressed, denied, ignored, and overlooked.

reply to post by Wonders

There is evidence for God, and there is evidence for "aliens", too many people have turned a blind eye to the evidence, it is suppressed, denied, ignored, and overlooked.

Let's hear it then. What evidence do you have to support the theory? If it has been suppressed, I would like to hear it.