[alicebot-aiethics] The bot and religion

[Christopher Fahey [askrom]]

> I find it interesting how you know so much, yet others have 
> failed to realize what you have come to know.  Can I ask, was 
> this information given to you in a vision, a dream, where you 
> stoned? 

I think you misunderstood me on several counts. You may call me a
heretic agnostic, but I in fact never said anything that contradicts any
religious belief (except maybe my daring suggestion that maybe some
people don't believe in the Bible).

First, regarding my thinking about AIML: "Standard AIML" is the name for
a set of simplified AIML files that several people are working on right
now to transform Dr. Wallace's 60,000+ category ALICE into a "generic"
bot that anyone can edit to create their own bot personality. ALICE's
thoughts on God represent Richard's personal beleifs, but may not be
applicable to your creative goals. For example, if I was trying to make
a bot version of John F. Kennedy, you can be sure I wouldn't want him to
say that he's a Protestant. 

So I'm not saying that one's AIML shouldn't have one's personal beleifs
in it, I'm saying that "Standard-AIML" shouldn't have anybody's personal
beleifs in it. Standard-AIML with personal beleifs in it is like a
coloring book with hald the pages colored in by someone else. 

Secondly, regarding how I "know so much": Well, there are other books
about the history of the Jewish people besides the Bible. The Bible
talks about a real people and real events, such as the Exodus. The Bible
was written and recorded as history progressed. Noah didn't have a Bible
to read since it wasn't written yet - he was living it. Moses didn't
have a Bible, either. Ezekial probably had *some* scriptures, but
obviously not the chapters that talk about him or his successors. 

So what were the Hebrews like *three thousand* years ago? I've read
history books that describe them as a polytheistic nomadic people who
were gravitating towards one particular god, Yahweh. My point was that
the Bible doesn't contradict this historical fact, and that the Exodus
chapter was actually written by and for an audience that was still not
yet monotheistic. They were not at all like Jews today. Certainly
today's Jews, Christians, and Moslems are monotheistic, but it's also
interesting that the First Commandment itself, written so long ago, is
not a statement of monotheism. You need to realize that saying "the
ancient Israelites were not monotheistic" doesn't necessarily say "there
is more than one God". 

I once read that "The Bible does not call itself a history book but it
records the dealing of the real God with real people as they lived real
lives in real times." In fact, I read that quote here, an interesting
page about how the Bible and history overlap:
  http://debate.org.uk/topics/history/rohl-1.htm

Here's an interesting synopsis of the Exodus, from a biblical and
historical perspective:
  http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/society/A0818033.html


> I urge you to actually read the whole Bible before 
> you  make your claims. 

I urge you to read other books about the history of religion - in
addition to the Bible.

Peace,
-Cf