Jan 26 2004, MIT

What do Computers
tell us about God?:
Reflections of a Computer Scientist

Hooman Katirai

Dual Masters Candidate

Computer Science /Technology & Policy
 Humans can create
universes
Inside a computer
Like our universe
have
Creatures
Laws
lend insight to
Relationship between
creator and created
Case in point
Game of Life
(Conway 70)
 Game of Life (Conway 70)

Universe:
A Simple Grid
Creatures:
Yellow cells
Empty Space
Gray cells
 The Game of Lifes Universal
Laws
1. Birth: dead cell with
3 live neighbors
becomes alive
2. Survival: live cell
with 2-3 live
neighbors stays alive
3. Death: all other
cases, cell dies or
remains dead
(loneliness or over-
crowding).
 More sophisticated
Universes
Creatures can learn
Example:
Creature behavior
governed by
probability matrix
Probabilities updated with
experience
Free will simulated by
picking behavior according
to probabilities
Evolution
Survival of fittest
 Suppose you wanted to
communicate with your
creatures
Could you:
enter their world?
turn yourself into a
square on the grid?
 Solution
Since you cannot
enter their universe
you must control
something in their
universe
i.e. to speak to your
creatures you require
an intermediary
i.e. this man cannot be God
 Communication via an
Intermediary
God

Messenger
Us

Our Universe

Messengers = { ,Abraham, Moses, Jesus,

Krishna, Buddha, Mohamed, Bab, Bahaullah, }
Closest we can get to God but they are not God.
 Evidence from Christianity
Christ is an intermediary who carries actions of God on earth:

I do nothing of myself; but as my

Father hath taught me, I speak
these things.
-John 8:28 (King James Version)

Further evidence of distinction between Christ & God:

But of that day and that hour
knoweth no man, no, not the
angels which are in heaven,
neither the Son, but the Father.
-Mark 13:32
 And Islam
Mohammed is an intermediary that delivers message
of God to man:
Even as We have sent unto you a
messenger [Mohammed] from among
you, who reciteth unto you Our
revelations and causeth you to grow,
and teacheth you the Scripture and
wisdom
-The Qur'an, 2:151

Muhammad is but a messenger,

messengers (the like of whom) have
passed away before him.
-The Qur'an 3:144
 And Judaism
Moses in an intermediary that delivered
Gods message to Humankind:

Remember ye the law of Moses My

servant, which I [God] commanded
unto him in Horeb for all Israel, even
statutes and ordinances.
-Prophets
 And the Bahi Faith
Confirms idea of human
intermediary
"since there can be no
tie of direct intercourse
to bind the one true God
with His creation "
God ordains that "in
every age a pure and
stainless Soul be made
manifest in the kingdoms
of earth and heaven"
(Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Aqdas, p. 232)
 If you were to speak to your
creatures ..
What Language: Level of communication:
English? According to our capacity?
their language? Or their capacity?

All that I have revealed

unto thee hath been
in accord-ance with thy
capacity and
understanding, not with
My state and the
melody of My voice.
(Baha'u'llah, The Arabic Hidden Words)
 On Miracles
Should not constitute
a proof:
Except to observers
Even then there are
often alternate
explanations
 Miracles
Nonetheless, we can see how
miracles could be easy for creator

Example: Game of Life

can create life simply by flipping a
bit from a 0 to a 1 in the grid.
a power creatures do not have

So, why not have a miracle

side-show to quell all
doubts?
 Free Will vs. Miracles
If God performed miracles on demand
forced to acknowledge him
lose autonomy to recognize (or reject) creator

Suppose instantaneous {punishment, correction,

guidance} for wrong acts.

Puppet vs. Growing being

-controlled vs. guided
-little or no autonomy vs. free will & choice:
-brute vs. noble being
-loss of self vs. self
-no capacity for altruism vs. capacity for altruism
How might our creatures perceive
us?
The world of our creator is vast and
composed of infinite number of squares.

Our creator is large, composed of an

infinite number of bits

The creator is the source of all life

The creator is all-powerful.

The creator exists above time. Can see

the future; knows the past.

The creator is omniscient (all-knowing).

TAKEAWAY: God is unknowable!
Parallels in Bahi Writings
On Praise:
To have accepted any act or praise from Thy
creatures is but an evidence of the wonders of Thy
[Gods] grace and bountiful favors, and a
manifestation of Thy generosity and providence.
-Baha'u'llah

On Unknowability:
souls shall be perturbed as they make mention
of Me [God]. For minds cannot grasp Me nor hearts
contain Me.
-Baha'u'llah, The Arabic Hidden Words
 But isnt God All-Powerful?
Cant God turn
himself into a
human?
Equivalent
question:
Couldnt God turn
himself into a
square in Game of
Life?
 Power of the Creator
(contd)
What do we mean by
all-powerful?

In Game of life we are

all-powerful because

We can:
change games state to
any state
alter universal laws

no creature can stand in

our way
 Limits of Gods Power
Though All-Powerful
in Game of Life
Can we turn ourselves
into a square?
1 bit needed to
represent square
Bits required to
represent a human?
Information loss
 Power of God (contd)
If humans cant be
represented in 1 bit
Can God?
 From the Bahi Writings
that invisible yet rational God
can in no wise incarnate His infinite, His
unknowable, His incorruptible and all-
embracing Reality in the concrete and
limited frame of a mortal being.
-(Shoghi Effendi, The World Order of Bah'u'llah, p. 112)
 Power of God
Takeaway:
Even power of God
has limits

All Powerful Ability

to do anything
Specifically God
cannot be not God
 What if ..
power withheld from computer
for even a few seconds?

.. if for one moment

the tide of His mercy
and grace were to be
withheld from the
world, it would
completely perish
-Bah'u'llah, Gleanings from the
Writings of Bah'u'llah, p. 68
 Is the universe an abandoned
experiment?
According to Bahi Writings:

We are created of love:

I knew My love for thee; therefore I
created thee . -Baha'u'llah, The Hidden Words

The loving creator guides us:

Were it not for the love of God the
holy books would not have been
revealed. Were it not for the love of God
the divine prophets would not have
been sent to the world
-Abdu'l-Baha, Foundations of World Unity, p. 90
 Can we develop a relationship
with an unknowable God?
1. Prayer: the creator can
communicate with us via
inspiration

A servant is drawn unto Me

in prayer until I answer him;
and when I have answered
him, I become the ear
wherewith he heareth....
-Quran 83:28

"For the core of religious faith is that mystical feeling which

unites man with God. This state of spiritual communion can be
brought about and maintained by means of meditation and prayer.
Bahai Writings: Compilations, Lights of Guidance, p. 506
 How do we develop a
relationship with an

unknowable
Reading
God? (contd)
Sacred Scriptures
(messages sent by creator)
Meditation
On spiritual teachings
(to understand messages
from creator)
Striving every day
to bring behavior more into
accordance with high
standards
Selfless service
to humanity
in carrying on of our trade or
profession.
 Summary
God is unknowable
You cannot:
fully comprehend or
directly interact with God.
Communication with God
requires an intermediary
Founders of World Religions
intermediaries (messengers) between humankind & God
are not God but
are directed by God
hard to imagine another way God could communicate with
humankind without loss of our choice to accept (or reject) God.
What do Computers
tell us about God?:
Reflections of a Computer Scientist

Questions / Discussion
feedback:
 Final Questions
What could we possibly offer our creator
that it doesnt already have?
Thankfulness