Comments

  • Does anyone know the name of this concept?
    It is an equivocation fallacy, or a Suppressed correlative fallacy.
  • The meaning and significance of faith
    all we can say is that god thought it wise to issue the rule.Moses

    Ok, thanks for the convo.
  • The meaning and significance of faith
    there is a difference between the written law and the implementation of that law.Moses

    Indeed, and I addressed this already and why its not a valid defence for your position.

    Why should the authority matter? This is a philosophy forum. Unless you're trying to get into theology. Then it would be the Talmud. ↪Moses

    You said commandments can be overridden…says you? What justification do you have for the claim that commandments (gods commandments no less!) can be overridden? By who? Where is this written?
  • The meaning and significance of faith
    Commandments in that section of leviticus are not absolute in the sense that they must be followed under all circumstances and across all times. Commandments can be overridden.Moses

    According to what authority?
    Anyway, that doesnt excuse a contradiction so you have still to do.
  • The meaning and significance of faith
    The most straight-off description of the laws in leviticus is that they are laws. they are laws from god. if you want to say that they were issued with divine wisdom then fine. I usually think of wisdom as more bigger picture than just e.g. a law, but this isn't a major point IMO. The Bible is undoubtedly against homosexuality, but the application of that is a different matter. I don't see why we're getting so hung up on this word 'wisdom.'Moses

    It is your claims about the wisdom of the bible we are discussing is it not?
    Anyway, the point is that if they are laws from god and god is wise then so too should his laws be wise, right? But you said that stoning gays isnt wise so Im just observing that this is a contradiction, and to one of my original points you are left ignoring it or rectifying it with the wisdom of the bible.

    Typically when I think of wisdom I think of practical timeless advice, not commandments. But God does possess infinite wisdom according to the book.Moses

    I think that leads to contradiction, even through a biblical lense.
  • The meaning and significance of faith
    L

    Ok but then you are talking about a rule/law with no wisdom in it aren’t you?

    Edited to add:
    Also, you DID say it was a judgement from god. Isnt god wise?
  • The meaning and significance of faith


    I understand, I’m just choosing something specific so we have direct context for this discussion.
    Ok, so if it isnt part of the wisdom then I wonder A) what is it then? And B) why is it in the bible?
    I think we have to do A) first, but could be wrong.
  • The meaning and significance of faith


    Is the bibles edict to kill people who are gay part of its wisdom?
    Im not asking about whether the edict can be proved in a religious court, I AM asking whether the edict is part of the bibles “wisdom”…well Im asking more than that but lets just focus in and not get distracted, as you yourself suggested.
    So is the edict to kill gay people part of the bibles wisdom? Is it wise to stone gay people to death?
  • The meaning and significance of faith
    We're going to stick to this one topic instead of branching off to homosexuality which is its own separate topic. I want to get this done first then we can move on.↪Moses

    Its not branching off to homosexuality, homosexuality is just one specific reason the bible gives for the death penalty. I dont need to discuss the morality of being gay, its not a moral issue to me.
    So staying on the topic of murder in the bible, is your position that killing gays as prescribed in the bible is wisdom or if it isnt wisdom then how do you reckon this awful part of the bible with this “wisdom” you purport it has?
  • The meaning and significance of faith


    So murder in the bible is justified because the people in the bible or those the bible identifies as murder worthy deserved to die?
    What about gay men? The bible calls for them to be stoned to death.
    Also, you mentioned “in theory”, but we dont need to theorise because the bible is specific. Im not asking you about theory but the actual instances of the murder described in the bible.
  • The meaning and significance of faith


    I just meaning general. Whatever wisdom the book provides it also Condones slavery and murder.:.are you just ignoring those parts or…?
  • The meaning and significance of faith


    Fair enough I suppose.
    So how do you reckon the parts of the bible that are awful with the parts with this wisdom you claim it has?
  • The meaning and significance of faith
    Well, it's faith + my reading and understanding of the bible.Moses

    Well it can’t be faith + your reading…it would have to be just your reading then right? Cuz faith isnt a reason…?


    But the bible has moral wisdom that I cannot pinpoint the source of.Moses

    That is an argument from Ignorance fallacy. Just because
    You cannot pinpoint the source doesnt mean you get to insert the one you want. All that can be concluded from your lack of pinpointing is that you do not know. The source of that moral wisdom could be anything, why is the answer god? I dont think it makes sense to answer faith so what factor does faith actually play for you?
  • The meaning and significance of faith
    You should question your sources because sources are human and humans are not unquestionable. For instance, lets take Sennacherib's assassination purportedly by his own sons in 681 BCE. We come to know this because of royal inscriptions and this is also mentioned in the Hebrew Bible (I guess word got around). Is it insane to think that a royal assassination may have been pinned on someone else? Wouldn't be the first time.Moses

    I can agree with that, Im a historical skeptic, further back the more skeptical I am. I am less skeptical when there is corroborated evidence to reinforce a historical fact. For example, the evidence that pyramids were built long ago is so strong ( “hey look, a pyramid!”) that it is foolish to think otherwise.
    However, this level of evidence is still much much stronger than any case based on faith alone.

    Faith is not a reason. It is a jump. I do not know that God exists, but I believe that he does. I may be wrong.Moses

    I don't think there is a real distinction between faith being a reason and a jump.
    But ok, so your answer to “why do you believe in god?” Is NOT faith? What is it then?
  • The meaning and significance of faith
    We need to narrow down our discussion if we want it to be more fruitful: Do you wish to discuss faith in the context of believing whether a historical event occurred or reliability of a news story? These are separate and I don't want our discussion to get too convoluted.Moses

    I didnt want to not respond to your opening paragraph here, but it seems like you move on from it anyway…

    In any case when it comes to history it's about what we consider good reasons/evidence to accept that an event happened. In other words whether you place faith in your sources.Moses

    I disagree that reasons and evidence that an event happened are based on “faith” in your sources. Its a figure of speech to say you have faith in a source, but that way of using the word “faith” is not the same as having faith in the religious sense of the word.

    I was talking about utility in the realm of praxeology, i.e. human action - it allows us to basically cut off our thinking at a certain point and invites action. I agree that utility has no bearing on whether a proposition is true or false, nor should faith be a reason. I think another benefit to faith, if used correctly, is that it acknowledges our own very limited knowledge of this world.Moses

    Ok, so what is faith in the religious sense if its not a reason? Why when people are asked why they belief in god they say “faith”? I do not understand how faith isnt being offered as a reason in that common example.
  • The meaning and significance of faith


    You are using different meanings of “value” interchangeably. Im sorry but it makes it difficult to find a spot to engage with.
  • The meaning and significance of faith


    That doesnt really make sense. Its like saying “the reason for me walking to the store is reason itself”.
    You gave a non-answer to my question.
  • The meaning and significance of faith
    utility is the value. it's necessary unless you want to remain a very serious skeptic your entire life. you will have to make jumps if you want to believe e.g. that certain historical events happened or that the news you read is accurate.Moses

    I don’t think this is true. Those are not leaps of faith, or faith based conclusions. Just because you trust the reliability of something doesnt mean you are taking it in faith. The opposite in fact is true, you have specific reasons for believing certain historical events happened or if the news is accurate. Not faith based at all, but based in the past reliability of historical research or news program.
    Anyway, you said the value of faith is its utility. Its utility doesnt make it true or false, and when faith is given as a reason for belief it is a matter of whether its true or false not whether or not it is useful. Lies have utility too, but that doesnt mean they are true.
    So I think you have made a false equivalence.
  • The meaning and significance of faith
    You'll see rhetoric which discounts the role of faith all the time. I could dig up quotes from the new atheist movement of the 2010s or with many atheists today. There are tons of quotes which discount the role of faith. I just don't see where we're going with this. It's an epistemological matter. I'm sure I could dig up some quote from Dawkins or Penn Jillette or Ricky Gervais... it's a constant theme.Moses

    People are dismissive of faith because they see it as a meaningless placeholder term, with no real value except to avoid accountability for a belief in god that has no other defense.
    Maybe they are wrong though…what is the value of faith?
  • The meaning and significance of faith


    I dont think they do. Hope and optimism were part of 1, not 2 but you posted as though you thought hope and optimism were in 2 as well. So how did you get there?
  • The meaning and significance of faith
    So you want to discuss definition 1? How would that relate to faith as it appears in judeo christian tradition which is actually part of definition 2?
  • What is essential to being a human being?


    Exactly my point. How can having a body be definitive of being a human when all kinds of clearly non-human things have bodies?
    So apparently it does need to be more complicated than that.
  • Bannings
    :up:
  • Bannings
    T Clark was banned?
  • Internal thought police - a very bad idea.
    Sees so, but on the other hand how did it happen that, at least in the US, the most fragile delusional lunatic deems that is ok to say and what is not, while virtually all sane people cater to their demands.M777

    I wouldnt agree that its “”fragile delusional lunatic”, at least not just on one side of this debate. Sadly most people on both sides of any given debate in the US operate in this fragile deluded state. There are two opinions for most people stateside these days, your opinion and the opinion of your sworn enemies.
    There is a complex answer to how that happened, but its the way it is.

    Than again it is understandable, as a normal person would not spend his time trying to get those lunatics fired, while the lunatics might try doing it to the sane person.M777

    Well one of those people is an activist whose hobby it is to go after people and the other a person trying to navigate the treacherous waters the activist has created.
  • Internal thought police - a very bad idea.
    I'd say I am amazed by how easily seemingly grown up people would bend over backwards to cater to some hypothetical bullies.M777

    They are not “hypothetical”, it is a very real social concern. There are, right now, people waiting, searching, for anyone to “speak their mind” in the wrong way so they can met out social justice. You answer someone in the street today, maybe you end up jobless tomorrow cuz some self important douche appointed themselves the arbiter of opinions. Then they will say something along the lines “ freedom of speech doesnt mean freedom from consequences” or something equally as blind and dumb.
    You are right though, it is an act of cowardice.
  • Internal thought police - a very bad idea.


    :lol:
    You took the time to write that comment. Lol
    You never cease to amuse me you self important douche bag.
    :lol: :lol:
  • If I say "I understand X" can I at the same time say "X is incoherent"?
    I can understand that "a round square" is incoherent by juxtaposing the concepts round and square. I get that.

    But I can't understand what a round square is. It's ununderstandable.
    ZzzoneiroCosm

    Right, there are two different things to understand. The sentence, and the concept of a round square.
  • If I say "I understand X" can I at the same time say "X is incoherent"?


    Its not binary, you can both understand the sentence is that incoherent and not understand the incoherent bit at the same time. You are understanding the part that communicates something incoherent and recognizing that what is being communicated is incoherent. Its not either/or.
  • If I say "I understand X" can I at the same time say "X is incoherent"?


    You would understand it is incoherent. Indeed, wouldn't understanding something be a prerequisite for knowing it is incoherent?
  • How to answer the "because evolution" response to hard problem?
    The thing of the inner sensations of "what it's like" is the thing to be explained. Evolution giving rise to "what it's like" doesn't explain why there is a "giving rise to what it's like", only the advantages to an organism for having it.schopenhauer1

    There are lots of things evolution created that we cannot answer in the same way as you describe above. I don’t see why consciousness is a special case.
    Just because we cannot identify that “why” doesnt mean evolution isnt the answer. The way we find out is through science. Thats our go to for answers, reliable as it is.
    Isnt the question why wouldnt evolution be the answer? It has been reliable and good enough for every other trait the human body has, why not that one?
  • Can there be a proof of God?


    More accurately, your imagination.
  • Can there be a proof of God?


    Obviously, but you are forgetting those lower dimensions. In 2D you dont even need the Planck scale hypersphere. Dark energy is the result of a 4D transmission of thermodynamical time from 3D AND 2D. Thus far your model hasn't accounted for that. With that addition you now get a recursive hyperbolic curvature which not only compensates for emergent 3D space and thermodynamical time playing hanky panky but also brings the Hickson-Ray variable to address the extra dimensions into perpendicularitude with each of the dimensions emerging after 3D space which by my count is 7D.
    So indeed the question is, why 5D? And of course the answer is it isnt 5D, its 13D.
  • The Invalidity of Atheism

    “Objection your honour, the prosecution is not responsible for the defences review of the charges.”

    It was a back and forth of like, 2 posts. I cant help you if you can’t track an exchange that short.
  • The Invalidity of Atheism
    It is not a non-sequitor, as it follows and relates to what you said about no longer allowing theists to bring their theism into institutions--even while at the same time suggesting that atheists should push their atheism into institutions.whollyrolling

    I didnt say that, you aren’t really listening. Most of what you said wasn't about me but some atheist bad actor you have in your head. Keep looking. I was trying to initiate an actual discussion but youre just here to trade snide talking points with snide atheists. Happy hunting.
  • The Invalidity of Atheism
    Completely untrue.whollyrolling

    Yes it is, but I’m a sucker for numbered points so lets see what your refutation is…
    1 “not all theists share their belief with others.“
    I didnt claim all theists do. In fact if you actually read my post you will see I specifically account for the possibility of theists who aren’t interested in pushing their beliefs on others. I offered that you yourself might be one of these folks.
    So no refutation here…lets keep going.
    2 “theism can be a rational conclusion.“
    I’m not sure about that, perhaps something to be discussed but certainly not a refutation. “Completely untrue” you said. So far, you have not supported this assertion.
    3 “ theism is not necessarily associated with a specific religion, or religion in general.”
    Sure, theism is belief in god. No necessary structure to theism. Agreed. Never said otherwise. When do you get to the part where what I said is untrue?
    4 “ if theism is associated with a religion, or with religion in general, then a person is exercising their individual rights by making such an association and by practising it.”
    What are you responding to? Are you sure its something I wrote? I never said anything about association or practice. Who you associate with and what you practice are not my business. The point I was making was it becomes my business once a theist inserts their beliefs outside those domains, specifically in the laws governing how we live.
    5 “ theists are no more capable of tearing theism out of themselves than atheists are capable of tearing atheism out of themselves, and anyone who expects either of these outcomes doesn't respect anyone's individual rights--not their own, a theist's, or an atheist's--and could just as easily lose their own rights as remove them from someone else. ”

    Depends on what you mean by tearing it out. Ive known both theists and atheists who have flipped their views. Again though, you are talking as though i made some contrary claim. I don’t think I did.
    6 “ everyone has autonomy, an atheist can choose, an atheist is not some special category of human incapable of choice.”

    Just another non-sequitor. Nothing you said supports your claim that what I said was “completely untrue”.
    I think a civil person would apologize for such a clearly false disparagement.
  • The Invalidity of Atheism
    That's because they have something to share. Atheists, on the other hand, don't.Hillary

    Your admission of guilt is noted, I rest my case.