Everything is made of energy. little molecules rubbing against each other in a certain pattern at a certain speed. Well, at least that's what I recall from physics. So the energy that made up the world years ago is the same energy that makes us and our world today. Right?

The conclusion from the book is that all the energy in the universe = 0, to answer your question, yes.

For some reason I find that description very erotic...

Sorry for being off topic.

Guess what?

As a Satanist you really don't have to know all the answers to all the big questions such as:

Is there a God?

Was there a Big Bang?

Will my pizza get delivered on time?

And so forth.

It may be fun to speculate and you can place your bets, but it really does not matter whether Darwinian evolution, Lamarkian evolution, intelligent design, unintelligent design, creationism, or utter boredom was responsible for people, the universe or anything at all for that matter.

Maybe Hawking will be proven over time to be precisely correct in every utterance he has ever made.

Probably not.

"Today's science is tomorrow's belly laugh." -Unknown

As long as you can keep these assumptions in perspective, have fun!

The critical issues remain the same:

Your personal life.

This really is just a suggestion.

You do not have to agree with me.

First of all, from a scientific point of view, humans did not evolve from apes. Apes and humans belong to the same biological super-family called Primates. That means that both apes, monkeys and humans originate from the same ancestor, they all evolved from that ancient ancestor, but they didn't evolve one from another. Taking into account the same ancestor – hence the resemblance of humans and monkeys in some anatomical aspects.

Evolution as a concept is based on the survival of the fittest. That which fails to prevail – dies, and that which is stronger – survives. That is called the ''bottleneck'' effect. This is also a commonly accepted scientific concept. One of the probable, also scientifically proposed reasons why humans evolved so quickly and climbed on top of the food chain is that they are erect (if you remember the old Homo Erectus) which enabled them to use their hands.

This opened a lot of possibilities for them – many new things to learn – thus – the development of the human brain which is much more advanced than that of the apes. It is peculiar that genetically, all primates, so both monkeys and humans are more than 90% genetically similar.

Creationism as a concept is, in my opinion, outdated and obsolete. If water, ammonia, carbon dioxide and oxygen are mixed in a glass container and then heated and a strong electrical current is introduced into this mix – there is a result – some very simple amino acids are produced, which are building blocks of proteins that all life forms today are built from. That could give an explanation of how the building blocks of life were created in the first place.

When you study the human cells, you will discover that there is a concept of mitochondrial DNA. This DNA is different from genomic DNA which commonly known as just ''DNA''. The evolutional explanation for this is that there was symbiosis of certain types of organisms many millions of years ago – when they started working together as cells to produce more complex organisms.

To conclude, when it comes to discussing whether or not something is accidental – I have to say that when considering the probability of something happening – nothing is ever 100% possible or 100% impossible. Thus, there is no such thing as a coincidence. Even a probability of 1% that something will happen – may cause substantial changes in evolution – if it does happen. An example is radiation. There is a very small probability (mathematically) that a neutron will leave the atomic core due to its instability – yet it happens – and it commonly accepted as a natural phenomenon of gamma radiation.

I have a question…and this is coming from way out in left field…is there a dictum, either scientific or philosophical, that states if something is possible, given enough time, it will happen? As I said, this is just following through on a brain fart.

Goodwin`s law or something?

"On a long enough timeline, everyone's life expectancy drops to zero." ~Fight Club

Sorry. I love that movie.

I can give you a hint on the probability theory. Let's imagine you take a coin and you toss it 10 times. You get 7 heads and 3 tails. But when you solve this problem mathematically – you will get that the chances of both outcomes are 50%. So 50% of the time tails, 50% of the time – heads. This probability calculation is based on the fact that you toss the coin an infinite number of times. So in a way yes – if given enough time and opportunity – there is a chance that everything might eventually happen.

"Anything not forbidden is compulsory."

It's more of an aphorism than a scientific principle, and it's not universally accepted, to say the least. You'll most often hear it invoked in discussions about particles that are theorized to possibly exist, but have never been detected -- like tachyons or negative matter.

-Chess

Of course you don't. That is the essence of it all i think. That the actions and behaviour of someone should be from their own hearts, which fits in nicely and on topic with this thread. Exploring the unknown and knowable is rather fun I think. Even if there were a creator or anything like that that set the universe as we know it in motion I don't think I would behave any differently. The issue really is that absolutely none of the scientists or religions have gotten to understand much of the universe at all. Steven Hawking is very humble in that obvious admission. It is however very logically to assume that sicence rather than religion is most definitely going in the right direction to understand the nature of things. As a religion, Satanism probably beats out both in regards to actually being the most relevant.

I don't, but I do nonetheless.

I have never understood the need some people possess to have "all" the answers. That may have been possible for Leonardo, but it just isn't possible today. Furthermore, I find it to be decidedly un-Satanic bothering with those "answers" at all. They are a distraction form attaining happiness.

Now, if someone were to prove to me how the answer to the ultimate question of life were going to provide additional enjoyment for me in my present moment then I would listen. Until then, I am finished "coming to believe," and I will be out there somewhere DOING for myself.

On a sycophantic side note: I rather enjoy all your postings, and have recently received your book in the mail. I am eager to read it, though it is, at this point, somewhere down the "list."


HS!

Oh, and by the way, The "answer" is 41, I "believe."

If being powerless makes you happy then I agree with you. However, I find knowledge to be power. Having power however minute makes most people, including my self, quite happy.

This opinion presupposes that acquiring knowledge for the sake of knowledge is somehow inferior to other joyful acts. I think it is decidedly "un-Satanic" to assume that since you don't find the pursuit of knowledge to be a condition of happiness, no one else should either; solipsism is dangerous, for good reason.

There is a difference between that which is truly un-Satanic and, that which purely rests within the theater of personal taste.