Another Joseph Smith; a problem for atheism

[Typhoon]

I'm just glad that the DNA confirms we were all made within a six day period. That's absolutely impossible to argue with from the DNA evidence.

I'll offer to make a JPY 10,000 bet, with the win going to a charity of the counter-party's choice, that artificial life will be created in the lab long before the Second Coming and/or
the Rapture Rupture(tm) occurs.

[Doc]

I'm just glad that the DNA confirms we were all made within a six day period. That's absolutely impossible to argue with from the DNA evidence.

I'll offer to make a JPY 10,000 bet, with the win going to a charity of the counter-parties choice, that artificial life will be created in the lab long before the Second Coming and/or
the Rapture Rupture(tm) occurs.

You are saying that Artificial life will be created for the first time ?

[Nonc Hilaire]

I'm just glad that the DNA confirms we were all made within a six day period. That's absolutely impossible to argue with from the DNA evidence.

I'll offer to make a JPY 10,000 bet, with the win going to a charity of the counter-parties choice, that artificial life will be created in the lab long before the Second Coming and/or
the Rapture Rupture(tm) occurs.

What is your definition of life, and of artificial life? A reverse in entropy? A violation of the second law of thermodynamics?

[Typhoon]

I'm just glad that the DNA confirms we were all made within a six day period. That's absolutely impossible to argue with from the DNA evidence.

I'll offer to make a JPY 10,000 bet, with the win going to a charity of the counter-parties choice, that artificial life will be created in the lab long before the Second Coming and/or
the Rapture Rupture(tm) occurs.

What is your definition of life, and of artificial life? A reverse in entropy? A violation of the second law of thermodynamics?

No physical process, including life, is known to violate the 2nd law of thermodynamics.

[Nonc Hilaire]

I'm just glad that the DNA confirms we were all made within a six day period. That's absolutely impossible to argue with from the DNA evidence.

I'll offer to make a JPY 10,000 bet, with the win going to a charity of the counter-parties choice, that artificial life will be created in the lab long before the Second Coming and/or
the Rapture Rupture(tm) occurs.

What is your definition of life, and of artificial life? A reverse in entropy? A violation of the second law of thermodynamics?

No physical process, including life, is known to violate the 2nd law of thermodynamics.

Nonresponsive. What is your definition of life, and artificial life?

[Mr. Perfect]

I'm just glad that the DNA confirms we were all made within a six day period. That's absolutely impossible to argue with from the DNA evidence.

I smell a false binary choice in the making.

[Mr. Perfect]

I'm just glad that the DNA confirms we were all made within a six day period. That's absolutely impossible to argue with from the DNA evidence.

I'll offer to make a JPY 10,000 bet, with the win going to a charity of the counter-parties choice, that artificial life will be created in the lab long before the Second Coming and/or
the Rapture Rupture(tm) occurs.

What is your definition of life, and of artificial life? A reverse in entropy? A violation of the second law of thermodynamics?

Ditto.

[Typhoon]

I'm just glad that the DNA confirms we were all made within a six day period. That's absolutely impossible to argue with from the DNA evidence.

I'll offer to make a JPY 10,000 bet, with the win going to a charity of the counter-parties choice, that artificial life will be created in the lab long before the Second Coming and/or
the Rapture Rupture(tm) occurs.

What is your definition of life, and of artificial life? A reverse in entropy? A violation of the second law of thermodynamics?

No physical process, including life, is known to violate the 2nd law of thermodynamics.

Nonresponsive. What is your definition of life, and artificial life?

Busy. First correcting a common, yet fundamental, misunderstanding.

Definition of Life

Since viruses are known to evolve, synthetic viruses would, I think, be sufficient.

[Mr. Perfect]

So then the next question would be what would count as artificial.

[Mr. Perfect]

I'm pretty sure the second coming will happen before anybody makes a virus from scratch.

[Doc]

Seems like everyone here is a bit behind the times on this

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10132762

[Mr. Perfect]

That's the Craig Venter guy afreim use to promote. He's orders of magnitude from creating life, or a virus.

[Typhoon]

I'm pretty sure the second coming will happen before anybody makes a virus from scratch.

And my opinion is that the second coming is a load of bollocks,

hence the offer of a bet.

[Mr. Perfect]

If we can come to terms I'm more than happy to take that bet.

[Doc]

you both already lost the bet.

[Alexis]

Well the point is that atheists seem to think that if they can give rational explanations for the universe then Santa Claus will just fade out.

Some atheists may think that, but it's no more than a pipe dream.

The converse desire would be for believers to give a rational demonstration of the existence of God.

None of the two is going to happen.

[Alexis]

Would make more sense to start with the worst case scenario. Which is you need to consider the possibility that people you believe spoke with authority after pure revelation.. in fact did not. That what is written in the bible about God contains a lot of crap.

This does not even remotely look like a "worst case scenario" to me.

Worst case scenario is not that Jesus was not who he said he was. It's not that God is not and that death has the last word.
You're on the right track to a true worst case scenario when you imagine God might be "a malevolent mad sadistic prick of sorts".

Here is my proposal for worst case scenario:

As you die, your conscience is not terminated, like maybe you had expected if you are an atheist. As you die, you find yourself still perceiving and thinking. You are in a place you could not have described while you were living. You are alone. Then, you begin to hear hymns in the distance...
"Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn"
(in his house at R'lyeh, dead Cthulhu waits dreaming)