Fighting God

There are a whole host of things covered in this chapter expanding on the idea of God's Debris. Below is just a little summary of ideas in this chapter and some remarks.

God's Will:

Probability is the expression of God’s will. It is in your best interest to obey probability... God’s reassembly requires people—living, healthy people (page 99)

I like how God is in everything but he needs people to do his will. I thought that would then mean people are seen by him as a bit better than "rocks and trees and plants and animals" (see this earlier post) because God "requires" us.

Good and Evil:

Evil is any action that might damage people. Probability generally punishes evildoers... Usually you know instinctively when you are working with probability on your side and when you are fighting it... When you love and respect others and procreate responsibly, you are living within the safety cone of probability. You are, in a sense, fulfilling God’s will. (page 100)

There is an appeal to instinct that we somehow know what is right and wrong, but how does that fit in with morality being an illusion (see this earlier post)?

It also sounds like love and respect affect probability. I think this then means that light (see this earlier post), love, respect, some force to cause matter to constantly re-exist (see this earlier post) and people (see above) rule over God.

Forgiveness from God:

...by exerting control over the averages of human activity and not the individual acts. Every person has the opportunity to improve his average contribution to society regardless of what he has done in the past. (page 101)

I find it interesting that even though the old man didn't say anything about us wronging God the young man wanted to know if he could be made right with God. Do we have some sense that if we do wrong to someone it also affects God? Do we have some instinct that we all need forgiveness?

The God in this book doesn't seem to forgive anyone specifically, it seems that a person has to help themselves by helping society and then God generally helps everyone.

Afterlife:

The clump of debris that comprises your body and mind will break down and disintegrate someday, but a version of you will reappear in the future, by chance... a replica of your mind and body will exist in the distant future, by chance. And the things you do now can either make life more pleasant or more difficult for your replica. (page 102)

I don't see how living one way or another will affect the next replica of someone because on a long enough timeline both the pleasant and the difficult options will occur by chance.