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03-18-2002, 11:39 PM | #221 | |||
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This is awfully big of you Jailet.
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~WiGGiN~ (((UBB gremlins))) [ March 19, 2002: Message edited by: Ender the Theothanatologist ]</p> |
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03-19-2002, 07:16 AM | #222 | |
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Thank you. (I am trying not to make any comment about upper and lower case gods, I don't see that the word one uses and how exactly its spelt makes any difference in your prior implication that other gods do exist.) Can you tell me how the revelation you refer to above is different than, say, the revelations of the Salem witch trials? My point remains that the the catholic church is self appointed - unless you can provide evidence of the church's direct line to god its like in New York when they say "Trust me!". Cheers, John [ March 19, 2002: Message edited by: John Page ]</p> |
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03-19-2002, 07:51 AM | #223 | ||
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Dear Adrian,
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Ouch! What we have here is my failure to communicate. When I said, "you're too busy being distracted by bullshit to know yourself much," I meant that rhetorically as a statement of fact regarding all of us. In no way did I mean to imply that your questions were bull shit. I'm on record here for believing that all questions qualify as prayer. I’d never say such a thing about your questions, especially your questions which have always been fair and honest and smart. But now that I re-read my words, I can see how you took them as a slam. Sorry. I think I said what I said also because I am genuinely frustrated by the amount of bullshit I see myself needing to shovel on a daily basis. If you don't believe me, believe my subconscious. Truth be told, just last night I dreamed I was in that shit-hole scene in the film "Shindler’s List." That's where two kids in a WWII concentration camp tried to hide from the Germans by jumping neck deep into a latrine. The variation on that theme for me last night was that the authorities were coming and they would be able to see our heads if we didn't submerge. The kid next to me gulped some air and took the plunge. I hesitated and mercifully woke up. I think this illustrates what a low opinion I have for how well we exercise our free will. The world is set up for smoke and mirrors and camouflage, not for us to stand up and be counted as who we are. So we sing arias while shoveling bullshit and immersing ourselves in bullshit in order to get by. Sorry to wax depressing. Quote:
To know something is to actually become that thing. For example, the first flower your daughter experiences will form an image in her memory. In that sense, your daughter has become remade in the image of the flower. She literally incorporates the flower template within her as we incorporate the image of God within us. The better she knows that flower, the more her brain is etched precisely in the same manner of beauty. But the best she'll ever be able to do with the flower is know it in terms of its geometry, color, and botany, not in how it would be to be the flower. Not even the flower is capable of that. Ditto for herself. To the degree she knows herself, she exists to herself. But being ourselves, experiencing in total who we are, is an order of magnitude beyond our abilities. That's where the need for an Infinite Being steps in. -- Sincerely, Albert the Traditional Bullshit Smeared Catholic |
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03-19-2002, 08:23 AM | #224 | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Amos
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What could have compelled God to choose not to be in the image of man anymore. Quote:
And how does one acguire this God-perspective without being God? And how can one know for sure that its a God perspective and not merely a deeply thinking man or an imaginative man? And Oh, Amos, you still need to demonstrate that essence is eternal. AFAIK, that essence needs to exist - First. Even in a mind. Then it can be considered an essence. If its the mind of a creator, fine, the essence will precede the existence of something to be created. But that is a narrow and exclusive way of looking at the dilemma - don't you think so? Don't the innovators matter? I mean, dont innovators have something (an essence) in mind? And in a way, I think the precedence order of essence and existence is a chicken and egg problem - a problem without any definite answer... Quote:
And if that is so, doesnt that contradict your idea of our essence being eternal(unaware of time/ time independent)? Quote:
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Where is the evidence for this? Is it your unsupported opinion or an objective truth? Quote:
How do we know we have a destiny? Quote:
Using this reasoning, one would sat that hermaphrodite animals do not exist because male and female sexes must exist to ensure procreation. Quote:
They are original? What do you mean original? What biological or material quality do women lose when they lose their virginity that makes them less original? Original in terms of their essence? Are male virgins also original? How is this originality important as the destiny of our future is concerned? AFAIK, loss of virginity only affects a few tissues. The womb remains the same. Quote:
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The bible contains dogmatic teachings, Jewish myths, falsities, Jewish history and false-wisdom NOT philosophical teachings. At no section does the bible encourage intellectual means of gaining knowledge, logic or rogorous enquiry. Unless you want us to discuss ecclesiastes. Which is full of logical fallacies and myths. Quote:
Active participation in events or activities, leading to the accumulation of knowledge or skill. I can experience pain when I get burnt. That, my friend, is very direct. Quote:
So I disagree when you say we gain more knowledge even when we experience confusion. In fact confusion can lead to the knowldge so far acquired being eroded or lost. Acquisition of knowledge requires some form of consistency with the existing knowledge. SO, so far, premise (1 and (2 are invalid. Need I go to (3 and (4 ? Quote:
I disagree with the second assertion. For the reasons stated above. Besides, 1) was talking about experience being indirect. Now you are concluding that information is indirect. You are equivocating. Besides information cannot be said to be "direct". The sources of information can be said to be "original" or information can be said to be "first-hand". The means of acquisition can be indirect, but not the information itself. So evidently, you are confusing information and the channel of information: two distinct things. You dont seem to have given much thought to that statement. Even the introduction of that new word "Relational" seems to have been a lazy attempt to seal any loopholes extant in premises 1) and 2). Otherwise, what is its relevance in premise 3)? Thus , the following conclusion fails because of the above reasons, besides, I don't believe it needed premise 1) 2) and 3). It can stand as a statement on its own without the support of premises. What it needs is an explanation, not a premise. It seems you just wanted to create the illusion that your conclusion has been arrived at through some premises. Because I will ask the same questions about the premises as the conclusion. What your logic boils down to is this: 1. Experience is indirect. 2. We get knowledge of existing things through experience. 3. Therefore existing things are not substantive. The conclusion is false. It should be : "Ergo, Our knowledge is not substantive". Whether or not existing things are substantive is NOT dependent on our manner/ method of acquiring knowledge. You need to explain how these two isolated facts: existing things being substantive or otherwise is related to the manner in which we acquire knowledge (direct or indirect). Besides, you need to explain exactly what constitutes "direct" and "indirect" as far as information is concerned. Are you also asserting that we are incapable of having direct relationships with other things? Quote:
If not, please explain. Quote:
This blanket statements dont assist your argument at all. Personally, I suppose that there is no evidence that something experiences "being" (if "being" has some metaphysical, supernatural bearing). NOT "nothing experiences being". I hope the difference is clear. Quote:
BUT, as much as I could agree with it, it depends on what needs to be known. For example, lets say, for arguments sake, that I agree that we experience Hydrogen indirectly. What doesnt mankind know of hydrogen that shows we don't know Hydrogen completely? Is there a reason to believe there is something else about hydrogen that we dont know completely? If there is no reason to believe that, then its an irrational belief. There is what we call encapsulation (information hiding) and abstraction (a way of reducing complexity) in programming and they "help" us to live comfortably. For example, I know everything there is to know about how to use a toilet. But if my toilet breaks down, I call a plumber. What I need to know is not how to fix the flushing mechanism etc, because its not relevant to me. The plumber OTOH MUST know HOW the system. So a plumber can tell you he knows everything about the toilet system. So Ok, you may ask the plumber why the water comes out wheh x is pulled, and he may not know the physics behind it. Then an engineer comes in (say, a water engineer) and he explains to you WHY it works the way it does. It will be plainly irrational to assert the the Engineer that "there is a lot he does not know about the toilet". Why? Because He knows, ALL THERE IS TO KNOW about a toilet. What he might not know will be whether toilets have souls - which is silly. So I disagree when you say that we can never know anything completely. Unless you say specifically what we don't know about a tin for example. Quote:
You said knowledge is indirect and therefore NOT substantive - Now you are saying things can be known substantively? According to your earlier premises, this is a contradiction in terms. You have contradicted yourself and I believe at this point that you are confused. This point does not follow from 1) 2) 3) 4) and 5). You have introduced the phrase "being a thing" and are equating it to "completely known substantively". You have created no middle ground for allowing me to jump from 1) 2) 3) 4) and 5) and statement 6 appears as a contradiction in terms, or simply independent of 1) 2) 3) 4) and 5). Because 1) 2) 3) 4) and 5) assert that its not possible to "completely know something substantively" because things DO NOT exist substantively (which I refuted). So what is this thing that breaks the rules in 1) 2) 3) 4) and 5)? No, don't tell me - its God? lets see...*quickly moving on* Quote:
Isn't a cow a thing ?(a living thing for that matter) If so, (and it is so), is a 6) is a cow completely experienced and completely known substantively? If not, please explain. At this point I am confident that its totally unnecessary to further debunk your argument. Because it has totally collapsed. Premises 7) to 9) don't follow from the earlier ones, or even from common knowledge. The rest of your post are irrelevant rhetorical questions, what you admit is "infinite exaggeration" (a clue that I should not bother),..then Quote:
then..claims that I am unconscious all my life and insinuating that I am unwell and should make an appointment with the doctor. Which is not worthy of my time because its totally irrelevant. Thank you for your responses so far Albert. |
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03-19-2002, 08:34 AM | #225 | |
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Infallibility means "in charge of destiny" and to be in charge of your own destiny you must be "one with God" ("of one mind"). Remember here that free will only exist if we are one with God (in heaven) and so any church that is not infallible obviously is not in chagre of its own destiny but is moved by its members instead of omniscience. The reason the Catholic Church can be infallible is because of the many saints it has in heaven (in the strict interpretation saints have the mind of God and are omniscient). A direct line to God exist only from oblivion because if you 'are' God you won't need another one. No, this is not arrogance but just a philosopical truth in plain English. |
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03-19-2002, 09:52 AM | #226 | |
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Dear John,
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The Salem witch executions were perpetrated upon women via the hearsay testimony of pre-pubescent girls that was contradictory and without foundation. It was a case of "I said she said" and grotesque visions. At its worse, Exodus 3:14 can be construed as an auditory hallucination powerful enough to cause the victim of it (Moses) to risk his own life, not the lives of others, in seeking freedom, not capital punishment. As an auditory hallucination, it was sensible enough to be remembered for generations before being committed to paper and thought about by thoughtful people ever after around the world as an intellectually profound statement, that if true, stands our nascent ontology on its head. So the scrap of Revelation you question differs in kind and effect and purpose and result from the depraved hearsay of the little girls testifying at the Salem witch trials. Next! -- Sincerely, Albert the Traditional Catholic |
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03-19-2002, 11:54 AM | #227 | |
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03-19-2002, 01:37 PM | #228 | |||
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Albert:
You are misquoting me, this is a sin for you. Let's go through this again. In response to my question about the special link you say the catholic church has with god you replied: Quote:
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a) why you believe the catholic church has a supposed special link with god other than saying "revelation". By the way, moses wasn't a catholic and neither was jesus so try again. b) how such a revelation is different from the kind of revelation displayed during the Salem witch trials. By the way, what were you refering to when you said "our nascent ontology"? Finally, the "I am who I am" Yaweh stuff doesn't work. Not unless you're a cartoon character called Popeye. Cheers, John [ March 19, 2002: Message edited by: John Page ]</p> |
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03-19-2002, 01:51 PM | #229 | |
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I just don't follow your reasoning here, what it seems to boil down to is that the catholic church has a special connection to god because the catholic church says so and they have lot of saints. Please provide me the plain truth in English, if you will. Cheers. |
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03-19-2002, 02:59 PM | #230 |
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Albert:
Firstly i congradulate you on your efforts to reason and examine your belief system to the best of your ability. Also I'm sure participating in such a forum as this must be difficult, so again your effort is commendable. This makes it all the more unfortunate that you still "believe". Without going into long examples in attempts to dissuade you from your convictions as you seem to no longer be a "seeker", I suggest you read the bible as you might any other book-take the "holy" out of it. Try not to justify or explain away anything you might discover. Take it as is written. If what is written there still seems reasonable to you, well best wishes and good luck |
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