Spare me the commentary Stu, surely even you can see how weak an argument is to say:
7/7/2011 11:52:34 AM
I'm pretty sure that was hyperbole on her [his?] part. I agree though, she's generalizing, which I don't really have a problem with. The Bible clearly contains magical, miraculous things along with explanations of human existence that don't jive with scientific understanding. Going through passage by passage and hearing your particular flavor of interpretation to reconcile it isn't going to get us anywhere.
7/7/2011 12:02:41 PM
The existence of miracles, or supernatural events, are certainly a physically unjustifiable ramification of faith. But this is why Christianity is faith based. That is faith in the power of God and salvation of Christ, to say this faith is entirely without rhyme or reason however, is unfounded.
7/7/2011 12:06:35 PM
I see religious faith as the abandonment of reason, myself. The things which require faith for you to be a Christian require that you accept them without evidence or rational support, and ignore mountains of contradictory evidence and reason to boot. I'm not saying everything in the Bible can't be supported by evidence or reason, but the stuff that you truly cannot prove exists (or happened) cannot.All this stuff about saints transforming in Heaven and whatnot that you're talking about with E Man. There's nothing resembling reason in how you conclude that such processes even exist and that you can know details about them to have conversations about them. It's faith.My position is that faith is a bad thing. It's giving up. You don't have an explanation, so instead of trying harder or accepting it, you make one up. That's what faith is, to me.And aaronburro I'm essentially going to ignore your response to this post. You know what I mean by faith in this context. Not reasonable assumptions based on evidence, or the assumption that reality really is real.[Edited on July 7, 2011 at 12:26 PM. Reason : .]
7/7/2011 12:25:02 PM
LeonIsPro, my previous attempts to take you through a logical hop, skip, and jump failed miserably. It is like we are speaking different languages. Here is my last attempt, and I'll cut right to the chase.I think your being Christian, as opposed to Muslim or Buddhist or Shinto or Zoroastrian or ..., is due primarily to the accident of birth. Christianity is not your original idea. You were exposed to Christian beliefs in a specific way. The manner in which these beliefs were presented and the types of evidence you accept as support for these beliefs are not unique. They are holy books, the teachings of a preacher, etc - different in content than their analogs in other religions, but only in content. If you were instead born in Saudi Arabia, you would be Muslim. You would have been taught the Quran by imams instead of the Bible by preachers. Given that you have said it would take a personal message from God for you to give up your Christian beliefs, does your Muslim mirror image not have that same right? None of your reasons for believing in Christianity would be up to snuff for your Muslim mirror image, who would also only accept a personal message for God refuting Islamic teachings, which you can't provide to him. If so, how do you begin to tell that person that Christianity is true and Islam is not true?
7/7/2011 12:32:03 PM
I have some questions for creationists. Why do we have counter shading on our hands since we don't walk on them?Why do men have nipples?Why are embryos so similar to our closests evolutionary relatives?How can anyone look at that and reject evolution?[Edited on July 7, 2011 at 1:23 PM. Reason : I assume you understand the Catholic view of evolution driven by the holy spirit]
7/7/2011 1:22:49 PM
7/7/2011 1:26:01 PM
7/7/2011 1:30:21 PM
7/7/2011 2:35:54 PM
7/7/2011 2:45:20 PM
7/7/2011 2:55:35 PM
Here's a serious question: if you're unwilling to accept the basic principles of rational inference and discourse that have led humanity to the great leaps in mathematics and science in the past few centuries, how can we have a productive discussion about your religious ideas? It seems to me that you're only willing to accept a certain style of argument and that your ultimate barometer for truth is your own intuition (and understanding of the scriptures). Given that you're unwilling to even entertain that you might be wrong about something, how could a discussion like this prove fruitful?
7/7/2011 2:55:47 PM
7/7/2011 3:07:05 PM
I assume y'all have covered this one already, but just in case... The christmas tree effect. Taking from other previous religions to build your own.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osiris-Dionysus
7/7/2011 3:57:41 PM
http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_jcpa2.htm
7/7/2011 4:09:00 PM
7/7/2011 5:45:20 PM
Ok, so I skimmed through the thread. Good stuff. Since LeonIsPro hit the nail on the head that "not all Christians are saved" and pretty much lambasted Catholics, I might as well show you guys what me and my dad had in plan.Here ya go:Or is it only funny when there is a Spiderman picture accompanying it?
7/13/2011 3:52:10 AM
See? Jesus Christ can't even hotlink an image!
7/13/2011 8:53:38 AM
I have a question for E Man and pretty much any other liberal Christian who thinks that Genesis isn't literal.If Genesis is not literal and you believe in science's explanation for people (evolution with natural selection, etc) and not Adam and Eve, then what is Jesus saving you from? If the Fall never happened, what's the point of Jesus?It seems to me (and I assume LeonIsPro) that the NT is inexorably tied to the OT (particularly Genesis) being a literal story.
7/25/2011 11:40:34 AM
Jesus isn't saving people from The Fall. He is ostensibly saving people from their own sins. damn, that was easy.
7/25/2011 9:50:36 PM
It'd be convenient if my ethos had a catch-all term to cover any/all fallacies that it might contain. Like "faith," but less cliche.
7/25/2011 10:17:11 PM
if only that's what faith were. doH!
7/25/2011 10:24:13 PM
In practice...
7/25/2011 10:26:13 PM
not really.
7/25/2011 10:27:06 PM
I'm sure faith is really a matter of faith.
7/25/2011 10:29:26 PM
yeah, but it's not really a matter of ignoring things you've noticed as troubling. That's just being naive
7/25/2011 10:36:54 PM
7/25/2011 10:38:55 PM
Yes, I have a faith-based question.Please explain thisThank you.
7/25/2011 10:46:40 PM
7/25/2011 10:48:16 PM
Why do Christians have the logical reasoning abilities of my 4 year old nephew?
7/25/2011 11:01:20 PM
Second question:Why would Jones Sr. reach for the grail after just witnessing Elsa plummet to her death in the exact same scenario?
7/25/2011 11:04:02 PM
7/25/2011 11:30:12 PM
7/26/2011 1:17:34 AM
They go to purgatory for their original sin.
7/26/2011 2:07:29 AM
Just because there are many different religious answers and systems doesn’t automatically mean pluralism is correct.
7/26/2011 4:41:38 AM
7/26/2011 8:27:13 AM
Third question:If the Ark of the covenant is so powerful, why was it stored in such an unsecured site with little-to-no protection from someone stumbling across it?
7/26/2011 8:36:44 AM
7/26/2011 9:16:10 AM
7/26/2011 9:21:53 AM
7/26/2011 10:14:51 AM
7/26/2011 10:20:07 AM
All I can tell you is that everyone has to answer for their sins. To me, it seems pretty hard to end up in hell if you are willing to repent. Anyone can sin and its easier for people with great power to commit mortal sins.
7/26/2011 10:26:49 AM
That's an interesting answer, though not in line with scripture, and a secular summation of Christianity (without Jesus, which for some reason you always seem to leave out), I'm once again left with this question...
7/26/2011 10:34:58 AM
already been answered
7/26/2011 10:54:41 AM
7/26/2011 10:59:11 AM
Its more you have to accept redemption than "earn" it but yeah.
7/26/2011 11:07:34 AM
7/26/2011 11:18:51 AM
No. The Pope makes non-infallible statements all the time. Like the one he just made on condom use in aids-ridden areas.
7/26/2011 11:22:25 AM
Well, that sure is convenient, so tell me then, how do we know when he's speaking ex Cathedra?
7/26/2011 11:24:13 AM
They make it clearhttp://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2676121/posts
7/26/2011 11:37:50 AM