Emeera: Hi Bill Nye.
My name is "E".
I’m 16 years old and this is my question.
Is the mainstream concept or definition of
God self-defeating?
And if it isn’t is it possible for a god
to exist within space and time without disregarding
the loss of nature?
Bill Nye: Emeera.
If I understood your question, is the idea
of God self-defeating?
I don’t think so.
A lot of people around the world believe in
God and they seem to conduct affairs pretty
okay.
Can a God exist in space time?
Well according to all my friends who are deeply
religious, yes.
And that would be – the trouble with it
is, if I understand your question, it’s
hard to provide evidence for that.
It’s hard to provide evidence for a God
that you can’t see or detect and then to
draw conclusions about what that God, he or
she, did based on phenomena that people (on
my side of it) can explain without this supernatural
influence.
That’s where I think your question arises.
You’re asking a deep philosophical question.
I don’t know the answer.
Is there a God or not that exists in space
time?
But I always ask myself and others is what
would you do differently?
How would it change the way you would live
your life if you knew that there was no God
or if you knew that there was—what would
you do differently?
Would you start committing crimes?
Would you stop committing crimes?
Would you quit your regular job and help people
everywhere as hard as you could, living a
very modest life?
Or would you try to accumulate as much wealth
as possible without regard to others?
Like what would you do differently if you
knew the answer to your question?
As for me, I wouldn’t do anything differently.
I just try to lead a good life, be responsible
for my own actions, and leave the world better
than I found it.
Those are my goals.
You can decide whether or not I’ve been
successful.
Great question Emeera.
That’s cool.
