For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.That's from the Apostle Paul's letter to the Romans - specifically Romans 1:18-23 (this is from the English Standard Version).
The line below -
"A stupid man's report of what a clever man says can never be accurate, because he unconsciously translates what he hears into something he can understand"
is from Bertrand Russell.
One might think the two had much in common - in that they both have a quote about not being able to understand things.
At least, you might think that - until you learn even a little bit more about Bertrand Russell.
He had a lot to say about philosophy, mathematics, society - and a whole bunch of other things.
Among his more memorable quotes -
"No one can sit at the bedside of a dying child and still believe in God."
The problem here, of course, is that Russel, like so many of us, presumes to know the mind of God.
Which sets up an even more outrageous scenario.
Russell presumes to know the mind of a God he claims doesn't even exist!
Clearly - there's a logic problem here. Just the fact that Russell claims to know that God can't exist - because of what he also claims to know about that non-existent God's lack of feeling over the sight of a dying child - indicates one really huge flaw in this man's thinking. Either Bertrand Russell doesn't know what God feels about that child - or God does exist. It's a logic flaw that even a beginning student in the theory of logic could point out. But apparently once one reaches the pinnacles of success that Bertrand Russel has - "minor" little details like invalid logic no longer apply.
Oh well - so much for Bertrand Russell and the Apostle Paul having anything in common.
More likely - Bertrand Russell would be one of those Paul had in mind whose heart was darkened.
This one was originally written December 6, 2010.
It's now August 9, 2016.
Updates made in 2016 will be in text like this.
Rather than add a huge update to this article,
I ended up doing a whole new one on this Bertrand Russell statement.
If you'd like to check it out - it's here - True or False - No one can ...
So - time travel.
What's any of this got to do with time travel?
Well - this quote showed up as part of a reader comment on a web article called Stephen Hawking's Time Machine on msnbc.com.
That article was referenced by another msnbc.com page called Stephen Hawking says time travel should be possible — but with a big 'if'.
No surprise here - that Stephen Hawking would be talking about time travel.
What was a bit of a surprise - and a big disappointment -
is that he seems to have reverted back to having no use for God again -
saying that the law of gravity is enough to explain the universe.
Nothing about "who" created that law of gravity - just that it can explain the universe.
He is still alive though - so there's still hope for him.
Such an apparently "brilliant" man - but not able to see the plain truth.
Just as Paul said would be the case.
Anyway - following is a quote from the time machine article -
The laws of physics actually accommodate the notion of time travel, through portals known as wormholes.
"The truth is wormholes are all around us, only they're too small to see. They occur in nooks and crannies in space and time," Hawking writes. "Nothing is flat or solid. If you look closely enough at anything you'll find holes and wrinkles in it. It's a basic physical principle, and it even applies to time. Even something as smooth as a pool ball has tiny crevices, wrinkles and voids.
More laws - this time physics - that explain how things work.
I can't help but wonder who Hawking thinks created the laws of physics.
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