What he’s asking is where did it all come from. If you say the entire universe came from one exploding mass the size of a baseball, where did that baseball-sized mass come from and why did it explode? What do you call that original cause?
On his show, Bill always drew criticism for calling his religion of Catholicism a philosophy. I think his view is more like Deism as was many of USA’s founders. God is how we refer to that original cause and now you’re on your own. Don’t ask that cause for help. You’ve been given something and the rest is up to you.
What’s silly is saying people who wonder that question are silly, yet countless philosophers far smarter than most have philosophized about it for thousands of years. You can say it doesn’t matter, that you’d rather not consider the question, and that’s fine. But some people are deeper thinkers.
If you have the answer, mankind will either be eternally grateful or all commit suicide.
@epic @themactep@fosstodon.org
> What do you call that original cause
What I see is a guy disputing the very basic concepts of astronomy, in a very literal sense, in response to someone's criticism of his particular statements from previous lectures. And the fact that he's calling them names ("pinheads who attack me") doesn't make his argument any more philosophical.
Bill is no philosopher, and he doesn't word things like one. His beliefs are split between Catholicism and Deism. I only saw that clip and it seemed as though he had been questioned about something he'd said and was getting more specific.
I once read theories about the moon but the only one I remember is a giant asteroid hit the Earth once and ripped a big chunk off which went into orbit. Since that's the only one I remember, I must have decided that's the one I wanted to think. Works for me! 😀