Hi Josh,
I hope your week is going well. Mine has been pretty busy. I have three awesome sons who I try to help with homework almost every night. Tonight one of them was in a concert. He did great!
c) All of the above. It all "should" work together in some logical way. But I do not have all the answers. Maybe with your help I can find a few more.
You are quite right about me. I did have and still do have a need for a "foundation" to build my life on. As you know the quest for "truth" is kinda like a maze in a minefield. Everything you read has assumptions and biases built right into it, so much so, that it becomes very difficult to navigate successfully through it to find any "truth". On top of that each of us has our own life experience, assumptions and biases that affect how we interpret what we read. All I can do is the best I can do. And finally, yes, evidence is necessary for me to determine which foundation to build my life on.
Well, I am not sure what would happen. I try to consider other views and I am willing to reject bad Christian reasoning when I find it. There is plenty of that in existence. Perhaps you could help me discover more. If so, great! My faith is a little more than a "bet" to me.
I know what you mean! The same thing happens to me!
I hope your week is going well. Mine has been pretty busy. I have three awesome sons who I try to help with homework almost every night. Tonight one of them was in a concert. He did great!
JustARide said:About finding evidence of a religion's truth -- what would you say is most important to you: logical proof, scientific documentation of Biblical stories, consistent dogma, maybe a--for lack of a better word--"spiritual" kind of truth? Or something else?
c) All of the above. It all "should" work together in some logical way. But I do not have all the answers. Maybe with your help I can find a few more.
JustARide said:I was given a copy of John McDowell's Evidence that Demands a Verdict, but it failed to convince me of much, mostly because I saw holes in the reasoning (eg. the fallacies behind the Three-L Defense). So I guess I'm curious what really drives the conclusion so many reach to follow Christianity. Is it really proof or "evidence" of something? To me, it seems like you navigated your way out of agnosticism because you needed something definable to worship (a "foundation," in your words), so is evidence really necessary?
You are quite right about me. I did have and still do have a need for a "foundation" to build my life on. As you know the quest for "truth" is kinda like a maze in a minefield. Everything you read has assumptions and biases built right into it, so much so, that it becomes very difficult to navigate successfully through it to find any "truth". On top of that each of us has our own life experience, assumptions and biases that affect how we interpret what we read. All I can do is the best I can do. And finally, yes, evidence is necessary for me to determine which foundation to build my life on.
JustARide said:And one other question I always have ... If it came to pass that your conclusions about God, Jesus, or the afterlife were wrong, would you then look back and feel your decision had been premature? Or is having a faith right now--whatever that faith may be--worth the bet, if only to provide some foundation for living?
Well, I am not sure what would happen. I try to consider other views and I am willing to reject bad Christian reasoning when I find it. There is plenty of that in existence. Perhaps you could help me discover more. If so, great! My faith is a little more than a "bet" to me.
JustARide said:You'll have to excuse all the questions... it seems I rarely encounter a religious conversation that isn't filled with evangelical calls to action, outright arrogance, or instant name-calling.
I know what you mean! The same thing happens to me!