republicans oppose teaching of “critical thinking skills”

[Ricter]

Quote from RCG Trader:

The bible states that God is all knowing, and all powerful. Do you refute this?

I wasn't arguing those ideas earlier, and trying to make my philosophical point was not an attempt to create an argument for those ideas, either.

 

[Yannis]

Quote from RCG Trader:

The bible states that God is all knowing, and all powerful. Do you refute this?

Very crude description, but used for beginners. More correctly, God is the ultimate source of knowing and of power.

 

[Yannis]

Quote from RCG Trader:

Yannis, apparently you missed this, so I will again call it to your attention.

As I stated before, parts of the Bible is symbolic, parts is historical and other parts are just for teaching. You need to have appropriate training, deep faith and live a religious life to be able to tell what's meant by each segment, if anything.

 

[Brass]

Two words you don't often see next to each other.

Quote from Yannis:

...blind logic...

MODERATOR: Yannis has escaped from the Jokes thread. Please do the necessary.

 

[Free Thinker]

Quote from Yannis:

Sure we can, we do it all the time, but not through our limited thinking. We can't prove that our dreams exist, and yet we know they are there, we experience them all the time. Same with our love towards others, fears, enjoyment of good music, etc etc.

Most of what we experience cannot be proven that they exist if we take a limited "objective" perspective that pseudo-scientists claim should be driving us. Objective proof is just impossible, how can you get everyone on this planet to agree on anything?

What we have is inter-subjective guidance: many of us experience something and we decide to let it influence us, call it "real".

We interact with God through intuition that's faith-powered, ie, an initial acceptance that this line of experience is valid based on similar experiences that others have had and comes to us as inter-subjective evidence. For example, others have told you that dreams are real, you open your mind to the possibility and you remember them next morning. Crude example, but in the ballpark.

Once that interaction takes place even once, no more "objective" proof is needed, our faith takes hold and we can see for ourselves.

If “faith” is a prerequisite in a belief in order to see the truth of the belief, being if there were evidence there would be no need for “faith” in any particular belief.
All supernatural beliefs require “faith” in its truth, being there is no evidence proving any particular belief.
So it must be the “faith” itself that dictates what is true.
Therefore every one of the worlds religions are true, being they all rely on the “faith” of the believer to see its truth.

 

[RCG Trader]

Quote from Yannis:

Very crude description, but used for beginners. More correctly, God is the ultimate source of knowing and of power.

This is sophistry and patently untrue. This is not what the bible states.

I know that thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholden from thee.
(Job 42:2) KJV

Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."
--Matthew 19:26, NIV

So now, this is in writing. What is it with this beginner stuff?

 

[RCG Trader]

Quote from Yannis:

As I stated before, parts of the Bible is symbolic, parts is historical and other parts are just for teaching. You need to have appropriate training, deep faith and live a religious life to be able to tell what's meant by each segment, if anything.

Now, that is interesting, because the bible itself does not state any of these assertions. Just where do you get this from?

 

[Yannis]

Quote from Free Thinker:

If “faith” is a prerequisite in a belief in order to see the truth of the belief, being if there were evidence there would be no need for “faith” in any particular belief.
All supernatural beliefs require “faith” in its truth, being there is no evidence proving any particular belief.
So it must be the “faith” itself that dictates what is true.
Therefore every one of the worlds religions are true, being they all rely on the “faith” of the believer to see its truth.

This post is kind of hard to decipher, so let me give you a scientific example: you cannot see an electron or any elementary particle, let alone a photon that you use to see things with. Yet, scientists believe they are there. They use their own tools, paradigms, accelerators, various axioms, and previous (yet unprovable) theories to make sense of the stuff. Everybody accepts Einstein's theory of general relativity, yet no one has ever recorded a graviton, its basis. The speed of light being the ceiling for speed is only based on mathematics, not direct evidence... etc etc.

Theologians have to use similar approaches, being that you cannot just use something to prove that this same something exists... you need to be able to stand outside of it, like Archimedes famously proclaimed: give me a place to stand (outside this planet) and I will move the Earth.

So, you see where faith come in, it's a necessary tool to get your juices frlowing. But faith is supposed to be just the beginning... direct religious experience is needed later on to make things real for yourself.

 

[RCG Trader]

Also, Yannis, you stated that God does not hate anything, but I posted from his Book that he does.

Is that literal, teaching, metaphorical? Just what is that?

 

[Yannis]

Quote from RCG Trader:

This is sophistry and patently untrue. This is not what the bible states.

I know that thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholden from thee.
(Job 42:2) KJV

Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."
--Matthew 19:26, NIV

So now, this is in writing. What is it with this beginner stuff?

I agree with the Bible, but you and I may interpret these passage differently.