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Old 12-21-2005, 07:43 AM   #271
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Originally Posted by John A. Broussard
If I say that the neighbor I described above was "lame," could you then assume that she had a missing leg?
No, "A implies B" does not mean "B implies A." So people with a missing leg are considered to be lame, but not all lame people have a missing leg.

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Quite the contrary. I'm eager to find out more about Paul Cain, how he had a leg amputated and it grew back.
You are apparently not remembering our prior discussion of this, Paul Cain was the minister who knew of an instance like this, so his credentials and character would be pertinent.

But I am off to Christmas travels, to return in a week, so I wish everyone a good holiday...

Blessings,
Lee

P.S. Feel free to start a new thread on this, John, after a week or so, if you wish...
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Old 12-21-2005, 07:47 AM   #272
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Quote:
Originally Posted by John A. Broussard
If I say that the neighbor I described above was "lame," could you then assume that she had a missing leg?
Quote:
lee: No, "A implies B" does not mean "B implies A." So people with a missing leg are considered to be lame, but not all lame people have a missing leg.
So the verse you quoted from the bible on this topic is completely irrelevant.

I'm pleased to see you finally admit that.
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Old 12-21-2005, 07:49 AM   #273
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There are no fulfilled prophecies anywhere in the Bible.

There are no fulfilled prophecies anywhere in the Bible.

There are no fulfilled prophecies anywhere in the Bible.

There are no fulfilled prophecies anywhere in the Bible.


Well, saying this over and over again doesn't make it true...
And yet you apparently believe that repeatedly claiming "fulfilled prophecy" WILL make it true.

Yet, whenever we examine ANY given example, we see that it is either FALSE (e.g. Tyre, Babylon), or fails to qualify due to "reasonable doubt" of some sort (too vague, too obvious, not definitely written in advance, not verifiably fulfilled...).

Hence, I will continue to claim "there are no fulfilled prophecies anywhere in the Bible" until a Christian PROVIDES a fulfilled prophecy.
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Where was the time specified for the Babylon prophecy?

Still waiting for my travel agency reservation! I would like to take a tour, and meet the mayor.
Then why are you still here? Uncle Sam will PAY YOU to visit Iraq, and you should be able to find the "mayor" if you go to Babylon and ask around (assuming the inahbitants evicted by Saddam are still somewhere in the vicinity).
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There is nothing remotely implausible or miraculous about the survival of the Jewish people thus far, and they were never in danger of worldwide extermination by Hitler.

And if Hitler had gotten an atomic bomb?
Then there would have been a standoff. Probably a "cold war" between Nazi Germany and the US (as in the movie "Fatherland"). Still no danger of worldwide extermination for the Jews.

Remember, YOU are the one who has claimed that the ASSYRIANS are still around (apparently, a handful of people who call themselves "Assyrians" are enough). Just how many examples are there of a people which have NOT survived? The only ones I can think of offhand are small tribal groups exterminated by European colonists.
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Why DOESN'T God regenerate limbs?

I believe there is one report which is of that sort. John doesn't seem to want to discuss Paul Cain's credentials further, though...
So, at best, the almighty and omnipotent Creator of the Universe has managed to gather his immense magical powers to perform this miracle ONCE, under dubious circumstances...

Isn't it rather strange that God generally only bothers to cure ailments that can go into "spontaneous remission" without his help, and can provide psychosomatic relief attributable to the placebo effect?
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Old 12-21-2005, 07:50 AM   #274
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Originally Posted by lee_merrill

You are apparently not remembering our prior discussion of this, Paul Cain was the minister who knew of an instance like this, so his credentials and character would be pertinent.
Perhaps you can use some of your vacation time to provide the evidence of this miraculous growth of a limb and how Paul Cain "knew of an instance like this."
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Old 12-21-2005, 06:25 PM   #275
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Originally Posted by lee_merrill
Well, natural laws do not prove naturalism!
But they do prove that natural laws are sufficent to explain the form and function of living processes from a epistmological standpoint... as for the metaphysical, who cares?

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And how about an immense improbability, based on just those natural laws? Doesn't that have relevance, showing that natural processes, as far as we know, did not produce that result?
You haven't shown that in the slightest, silly.

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Um, that is not a calculation..
Sufficient enough to dismiss arguments from ignorance alluding to supernatural agency; even IF naturalistic models were shakey, they would still be a far cry from special pleadings for the big G.

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That's right! Also polarized radiation from certain stars. Yet the effect is still not strong enough to guarantee one type of molecule in a needed concentration, by any means. This is still a problem which has not been resolved...
Ummm... who has said this was a problem?

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Are also observed! As in fulfilled prophecy.
Selective inclusion and interpretation of nebulous, unshown, or expected statements about perported events after-the-fact makes biblical prophesy a cold fish indeed.

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What does that do by way of disproving fulfilled prophecy, though? The motive we inquire into if we become satisfied that there is Someone there, and this is not a hypothetical universe, we have to take what we do see here in forming our conclusions.
Which could be anything about anything, with no way to verify any of it. An empty venture.

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Well, a real, testable, falsifiable prediction does have metaphysical implications, does it not? And is quite perceptible.
Ummm, no. They ahve epistemic implications, not metaphyscial ones; questions of knowledge (conventionally bounded truths) are different from questions of being and the absolute.

And you have not in the slightest shown them to be perceptible. Care to go into detail here?

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What we need is the alternative that is most probable, though. It is possible that we (luckily) just all appeared two seconds ago! In a quantum fluctuation, with perceptions of a history that isn't really real. But that is not a good explanation, because it is so improbable.
According to whom? You? How would such a metaphysical probability be calculated, and from what vantagepoint and framework of explaiantion would we undertake this inquery?

Answer... we can't. This metaphyscial possibility is just as pointlessly unverifiable as yours or any others.

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Maybe the creator has a book out? There might be further indications and explanation there.
Ummm... why should I believe that or any other possibility? Under what set of criteria, yours? Why should I accept your 'indicators' and not another persons... or not care at all?

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Well, how is my comment not to the point? There is a huge leap in abiogenesis, and also good evidence for a supernatural agent, in fulfilled prophecy, thus lessening the ID gap.
Huh? You have not provided a justified way to determine empirical-to-metaphyaical corralatives, much less shown any 'leap' or 'fullfilled' anything.

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But again, we need to know what is most probable. That is how we can sort out possibilities.
Well, you have various naturalistic models to test for which possesses more predicative and descriptive value... or you have any number of unverifiable and unnecessary metaphysical schemas with unknown probabilities and indicators. Methinks the natural world's your best bet.

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Not in the talk.origins soup! That is part of the problem, by the way, the proposed primordial soups all tend to degrade various critical needed components, as well as various desired resulting products.
Unless you inject energy into system... such as like from the sun, or from the earth; they power reactions all over the place; ever heard of photosynthesis?

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But this is based on present knowledge! This is not a speculation, saying that these needed components came about is what is the speculation here. And isn't the strong anthropic principle a "what about" argument? It's just exactly that.
Except that naturalistic models are verifiable and bounded, unlike metaphyscial mind games with little efficacy. Don't unnecessarally multiply your entities, by the way.

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The weak anthropic principle says "nature-did-it", after chiding (invalid) theist arguments that just say "God did it"! With no evidence in either case. The strong anthropic principle (which was what I was talking about here) postulates many, maybe infinitely many parallel universes, with no evidence. That's not only bad metaphysics in both cases, that's bad physics.
Not according to QM physicists, who theorize that multiple universe are required to model the actions of subatomic particles; they in essense have become emperical, not metaphsyical.

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I would again say we could try and evaluate what is most probable here. I agree that there will be no sure and certain proof. But I can't give you a sure and certain proof that I have eyeballs in my head!
Again, you have not shown the metaphysical can be evaluated AT ALL, much less relative probabilities.

You're wiggling.

Quote:
But what do you mean by an unstable landscape? If Saddam had not tried to attack other countries, if he had not been so violent, I think he could well have rebuilt Babylon, as he intended. Yet he, and Alexander the Great, both failed...
Ever taken a look at Mesopotamia? It's always been a crossroads for armies and invasions of one sort or another due to it's geographical positon and conditions. It's a no-brainer that problems would be forthcoming.
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Old 12-21-2005, 06:28 PM   #276
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lee_merrill
No, "A implies B" does not mean "B implies A." So people with a missing leg are considered to be lame, but not all lame people have a missing leg.
Similarly, stated a creator could have created the world does not mean that the world implies a creator exists.
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Old 12-22-2005, 06:05 PM   #277
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Oh well.
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