It is conceivable, therefore ontologically justifiable to say, that there could be beings with such command over the laws of nature as to be indistinguishable from the traditional conception of a deity. This, of course, says nothing about the logical possibility of such a being, nor does even granting the logical possibility of the thing, even in some if not all possible worlds, go any further in support a claim for such a being.JimC wrote:1. Is it logically possible for an entity who would, in most other respects, fit the god definition, to be non-supernatural?
Indeed, even granting the possibility of such an entity being indistinguishable from a deity, would it follow that we'd be obliged to wear a special hat on a Friday, mutilate the genitals of our children, shun those who do not meet this-or-that particular standard of behaviour, or even kill those who challenge the primacy of our ideals?JimC wrote:2. As a possible example of #1, consider an immensely powerful and intelligent alien, perhaps from another universe, who understands the deep physics of the universe to a level well beyond our current knowledge. Just as many aspects of our current technology seem to disobey "natural" laws to a Cro-Magnon, its actions would to us. Some have speculated about the possibility of such a being (presumably acting from another, larger universe) actually "creating" our universe, or at least running it as a super-simulation on a vast computer...
However, such a being is scarcely likely to fit all the other descriptors of the various gods imagined by various tribes of our past, nor would it be likely to exhibit the properties of the modern version of a personal, caring god; no more than a lab scientists cares about the individual bacteria in her petri dish...
I suspect that even the demonstrable existence of such an entity would not stop people making claims on its behalf or trying to regulate the thoughts and actions of others on its presumed authority.
