From: Glenn Morton (glennmorton@entouch.net)
Date: Sat Sep 06 2003 - 12:30:16 EDT
Hi Howard,
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Howard J. Van Till [mailto:hvantill@chartermi.net]
>Sent: Friday, September 05, 2003 7:09 AM
>Hi Glenn, a couple of comments.
>
>1. I would not credit the MWH or any other scientific theory or
>metascientific world-picture with the ability to be a "religion killer."
>Such theorizing may affect the way in which we articulate our religious
>beliefs, but cannot, by itself, annihilate religion categorically.
As I mentioned to Blake, I do need to modify this claim. Reincarnational
religions could survive. But I see no way christianity could survive such a
view. Everyone is saved, everyone is lost. Doesn't seem real meaningful to
do that to Christianity. Remember that objects in identical quantum states,
which is what many of these universes would be, are indistinguishable. Thus
your comment below might be questioned.
>
>2. If there is another universe with sentient, morally-conscious creatures
>in it, _my_ identity would not be affected. Even if there were another such
>creature that was atom for atom identical to me structurally, it would not
>be "me." I have not the slightest concern about there being a duplicate of
>Glenn or Howard in any other universe, certainly not for reasons of
>confusion about our eternal destinies.
If there are universes in identical quantum states, they and your identity
are indistinguishable. Since we have a very poor idea of what consciousness
is, how it arises, or even what its nature is, we couldn't say we aren't
'living' in both universes, up till the time of the splitting of the
universes suggested by Everett which then makes both universes
distinguishable..
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