Re: Raithere
Originally posted by tiassa
Tiassa, you wear me out. Though you'll never be able to claim a talent for being succinct your posts are interesting.
Regarding the reference, I was indicating why these boards take the trends that they do, not refusing to accept that there are other notions of God or refusing to discuss them.
So we have 6 requests that God do for individuals what is said won't be done
So God refuses to perform miracles? Most religions include miracles in their mythology.
3 more requests for something that is doctrinally out of the question
Whose doctrine? Seriously, one moment you're complaining that there are too many strictures on the notion of God brought to discussion, the next moment you're claiming doctrinal authority… which is it to be?
What strikes me are the eleven requests for invalidations of a concept before the individual will accept the validity of the concept. Oh, well. (For the record, those are the 6 for true miracles, the 3 for personal appearance, the 1 for direct benefit, and the 1 for impossibility.)
75% of the respondents accounted for have requested proofs of God which are inherently contradictory. I find this a compelling statistic.
How is it that God demonstrating its existence invalidates itself as God? I assume this is coming from a concept of God as "that which is unknowable" but then I must question where you derive your inception of the concept of God in the first place.
Technically, that only serves my point. But I'll point you over to the Kharkovli thread instead of leaving it simply standing at that.
I'll leave a detailed reply for when I have time and will post in the proper topic, however, after a superficial reading it seems that you are discussing religion as a social phenomenon. While I agree the topic is valuable it reduces God to an abstraction rather than the fact most Theists claim it to be.
I have repeatedly reminded all of a greater sense of God. If you have yet to see it, perhaps you're not looking?
Ah, one of Jan's favorite arguments. If you can't sense God then you're not looking or not looking properly. And you like to claim it's the Atheists who are arrogant, for shame.
Seriously though, what you call a "greater sense of God" I consider to be the shadow of lost infancy and childhood. It's the lost sense of security and awe most of us experienced during these periods in our lives. Fortunately, I do not have to go without satisfying these deeply ingrained needs. That I do not is a point of major confusion for most Theists.
we can knock off gods one at a time if we want but will never get back toward that central idea of a godhead which is present in all religions. What is the concept of God, for instance?
Another familiar argument: The lost truths. I see no such origins evinced in the various concepts of God, believe me as a Theist I looked hard for them. The similarities that exist do so because of our common human nature rather than remnants of a unified past.
On the one hand, I've been advised that such a "god" is an unnecessary condition, and to the other, I've been asked a couple of times to provide a godhead for discussion. I'm not sure what to make of it.
The first is a reply to the notion of an unknowable God, which is simply an unnecessary complication. The second is obviously an attempt to get you to state your position on what God is. You refute all attempts to debate God's existence based upon a lacking definition of God yet refuse to bring another consideration to the table.
Part of the key is right there, I promise you.
I have a feeling we're going to be returning to our "meaning and consciousness" debate on this one. Any ultimate answer or ultimate question implies that there is an intent to existence. If I'm off track here you'll need to be a bit less abstruse. I'm not here to solve riddles.
I have yet to see this process taking place.
The most simple one goes like this: There is no evidence or condition that supports any idea of God or necessitates God's existence, therefore to believe in God is simply an unnecessary complication.
It's out there.
I'm waiting. It's rather difficult to analyze an argument that hasn't been presented.
Can you give me another words?
See above.
What is it with atheists and this idea of, "I never said that"?
It generally occurs when you misrepresent a statement in order to refute it or point out an error.
I repeatedly pointed back to an example of the process for you in the Downside topic and you made the justification I've included at the beginning of this post.
Please refer back to my reply to that at the top of this post.
And for all the times I've mentioned the difference between defeating the Christian concept of God and the general concept of God, I have yet to see an atheist undertake it.
Take another look up; this is not the first time I have presented that argument.
God is a necessary word to encapsulate a range of ineffable principles in the Universe.
What a joke. The word God expresses the inexpressible? You've also claimed that God is unknowable. What possible point is there in pursuing this unknowable, inexpressible concept? How can you possibly assert truth to such a concept? It sounds to me like your following Jan's dark path of illogic. I'll quote Sting, "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da".
It is easy to reject God while subscribing to religion; it is much harder to do the opposite.
Not really, we call them lapsed Catholics; I went to school with lots of them. Using your depiction of a patriot as religious you give an example of and atheist patriot. Though, personally, I find the use of the term religion in this manner to be problematic.
Here ... here's a question: Do atheists say, "Goddamnit!"
And I know for a fact that many of them do. Now, why?
It's part of our vernacular. I also say "Shit!" even when there's no shit to be seen and "Fuck!" even when I'm not having intercourse.
But whether it's my own paganism, Christianity, Sufism, or whatnot, I have always asserted that the godhead is illusory, a representation, a compressed idea, a scale-model (at best), or otherwise not truly real.
Then what about the larger concept of God is real and how can you know?
People create gods; upon what foundation do they build them?
Well you begin to answer the question yourself.
How did superstition anthropomorphize?
Because we have a strong tendency as humans to do so. We often conceptually project ourselves into the objects or events we witness. Human language is rife with examples. I don't find the riddle particularly difficult.
Remember, sir, that if you meet the Buddha walking along the road, you are to kill him.
I read this long ago and I proceeded to do so.
We might compare that to a common Sufi phrase: "I have not learned anything."
Or even Socrates… and don't forget Bill and Ted.
~Raithere
Originally posted by tiassa
Tiassa, you wear me out. Though you'll never be able to claim a talent for being succinct your posts are interesting.
Regarding the reference, I was indicating why these boards take the trends that they do, not refusing to accept that there are other notions of God or refusing to discuss them.
So we have 6 requests that God do for individuals what is said won't be done
So God refuses to perform miracles? Most religions include miracles in their mythology.
3 more requests for something that is doctrinally out of the question
Whose doctrine? Seriously, one moment you're complaining that there are too many strictures on the notion of God brought to discussion, the next moment you're claiming doctrinal authority… which is it to be?
What strikes me are the eleven requests for invalidations of a concept before the individual will accept the validity of the concept. Oh, well. (For the record, those are the 6 for true miracles, the 3 for personal appearance, the 1 for direct benefit, and the 1 for impossibility.)
75% of the respondents accounted for have requested proofs of God which are inherently contradictory. I find this a compelling statistic.
How is it that God demonstrating its existence invalidates itself as God? I assume this is coming from a concept of God as "that which is unknowable" but then I must question where you derive your inception of the concept of God in the first place.
Technically, that only serves my point. But I'll point you over to the Kharkovli thread instead of leaving it simply standing at that.
I'll leave a detailed reply for when I have time and will post in the proper topic, however, after a superficial reading it seems that you are discussing religion as a social phenomenon. While I agree the topic is valuable it reduces God to an abstraction rather than the fact most Theists claim it to be.
I have repeatedly reminded all of a greater sense of God. If you have yet to see it, perhaps you're not looking?
Ah, one of Jan's favorite arguments. If you can't sense God then you're not looking or not looking properly. And you like to claim it's the Atheists who are arrogant, for shame.
Seriously though, what you call a "greater sense of God" I consider to be the shadow of lost infancy and childhood. It's the lost sense of security and awe most of us experienced during these periods in our lives. Fortunately, I do not have to go without satisfying these deeply ingrained needs. That I do not is a point of major confusion for most Theists.
we can knock off gods one at a time if we want but will never get back toward that central idea of a godhead which is present in all religions. What is the concept of God, for instance?
Another familiar argument: The lost truths. I see no such origins evinced in the various concepts of God, believe me as a Theist I looked hard for them. The similarities that exist do so because of our common human nature rather than remnants of a unified past.
On the one hand, I've been advised that such a "god" is an unnecessary condition, and to the other, I've been asked a couple of times to provide a godhead for discussion. I'm not sure what to make of it.
The first is a reply to the notion of an unknowable God, which is simply an unnecessary complication. The second is obviously an attempt to get you to state your position on what God is. You refute all attempts to debate God's existence based upon a lacking definition of God yet refuse to bring another consideration to the table.
Part of the key is right there, I promise you.
I have a feeling we're going to be returning to our "meaning and consciousness" debate on this one. Any ultimate answer or ultimate question implies that there is an intent to existence. If I'm off track here you'll need to be a bit less abstruse. I'm not here to solve riddles.
I have yet to see this process taking place.
The most simple one goes like this: There is no evidence or condition that supports any idea of God or necessitates God's existence, therefore to believe in God is simply an unnecessary complication.
It's out there.
I'm waiting. It's rather difficult to analyze an argument that hasn't been presented.
Can you give me another words?
See above.
What is it with atheists and this idea of, "I never said that"?
It generally occurs when you misrepresent a statement in order to refute it or point out an error.
I repeatedly pointed back to an example of the process for you in the Downside topic and you made the justification I've included at the beginning of this post.
Please refer back to my reply to that at the top of this post.
And for all the times I've mentioned the difference between defeating the Christian concept of God and the general concept of God, I have yet to see an atheist undertake it.
Take another look up; this is not the first time I have presented that argument.
God is a necessary word to encapsulate a range of ineffable principles in the Universe.
What a joke. The word God expresses the inexpressible? You've also claimed that God is unknowable. What possible point is there in pursuing this unknowable, inexpressible concept? How can you possibly assert truth to such a concept? It sounds to me like your following Jan's dark path of illogic. I'll quote Sting, "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da".
It is easy to reject God while subscribing to religion; it is much harder to do the opposite.
Not really, we call them lapsed Catholics; I went to school with lots of them. Using your depiction of a patriot as religious you give an example of and atheist patriot. Though, personally, I find the use of the term religion in this manner to be problematic.
Here ... here's a question: Do atheists say, "Goddamnit!"
And I know for a fact that many of them do. Now, why?
It's part of our vernacular. I also say "Shit!" even when there's no shit to be seen and "Fuck!" even when I'm not having intercourse.
But whether it's my own paganism, Christianity, Sufism, or whatnot, I have always asserted that the godhead is illusory, a representation, a compressed idea, a scale-model (at best), or otherwise not truly real.
Then what about the larger concept of God is real and how can you know?
People create gods; upon what foundation do they build them?
Well you begin to answer the question yourself.
How did superstition anthropomorphize?
Because we have a strong tendency as humans to do so. We often conceptually project ourselves into the objects or events we witness. Human language is rife with examples. I don't find the riddle particularly difficult.
Remember, sir, that if you meet the Buddha walking along the road, you are to kill him.
I read this long ago and I proceeded to do so.
We might compare that to a common Sufi phrase: "I have not learned anything."
Or even Socrates… and don't forget Bill and Ted.
~Raithere