I asked the question of "When something is written down, how can the mind of the author really be judged? How do we determine if the writing is based on limited knowledge or if the writing speaks from the heart?"
jar writes:
Why would anyone judge the mind of the author by anything other than what was written down?
Well, if we all observe a great work of art, I suppose that we all judge the mind of the artist based upon the artwork. What if we desired to know more of what the artist/author was thinking?
jar writes:
A GOD that is capable of creating this universe, one that intuitively understand the relationship between gravity and the other forces, is not a GOD that would want us to be stupid. He is not someone who would lie to us just for the fun of it.
Good point. I do not try and understand God by reading lots of comparitive religious literature, however. What I get is the different opinions of human authors/philosophers.
You all may wonder why I consider the Bible any differently.
sidelined writes:
Of course, we have the statement that god transcends space-time. What we do not have is evidence to support the notion. This does not mean it is not the case it means that we cannot know either way in which case it is valueless in a discussion.
Imagine us as two young boys. I say to you that my Dad can beat up your Dad. In fact, my Dad can jump over the house! You, being unsure of whether or not my Dad can actually DO these things, finally conclude that THIS argument is between you and me. Dad is not in it. The issue, then, is whether or not I can jump over the house.
I say that my God can do ALL things. You say that this God of mine is illogical. I then ask you where you came from! Who is YOUR Daddy? You then say that the issue is not about God/Dad, it is about how YOU and I think and perceive the world. Right, Sidelined?
Philosophically, the issue boils down to whether we as humans will grow up to understand creation as well as can be understood. Evo's and logical agnostic/atheists think so. Creo's and Christian theists do not. We may well become grownups in our wisdom, yet we are not God.
We claim to know our "Daddy". Yet we may not know Him well enough to explain Him to you.
I am working on it.
sidelined writes:
explain to us uninformed masses, since you have wrapped your mind around the concept,just what you mean by a being that is operating on all dimensions.Or do you mean to say you imagine you have your mind wrapped around the concept? Can you even tell us what you mean by all dimensions? How many would that be?
What are they like?Where do we find them?
Good point, old chap. However, you and I have never sat down with the author" of Isaiah now have we? Unless, of course, that Isaiah was authored through a human vessel by the Holy Spirit. In which case, we chat in His presence all the time.
jar writes:
When you divorce critical thinking from belief, you open yourself to manipulation by the unscrupulous.
Which is why it is good to discuss/debate theology.
riVeRrat writes:
As far as critical thinking goes, it can sometimes be a long process. You can use it to find God, or disprove God in your own mind. Nothing special here. Its just a word. IF people are teaching you how to think, instead of teaching you knowledge and letting you figure it out for yourself, sounds like brain washing to me.
I do not feel as though I have been brain washed by religion. I only read the bible, and compared the lessons within to real life, present time, and then was able to see the truth. You know when you know the truth about something? And then someone tells you the truth, the feeling you get? Times that by 1000 and thats the feeling you get when God is awakened in you.
Like me, RiverRat feels as if He understands who the Creator is. I am beginning to respect Sidelined, Jar, and a few others, however. You force me to re examine my beliefs.
Rei writes:
Just because something makes you feel alive and awake doesn't make it real. Realize that people around the world have been made to feel equally or more alive by their religions, whose beliefs on many subjects may stand in stark oppositions to yours.
Good point, Rei. Let me ask you something. Have YOU ever allowed yourself to believe in a God who can relate to you and you to Him/Her?
sidelined writes:
The author of the bible was human with no actual idea of how the universe began.
Just as WE are today. With all of our understanding, we have but better educated guesses and theories. We STILL do not know. The question is this: Was the human authors of the Bible externally inspired?
Darth Mal writes:
Say that you have the choice of either head or tail. My computer randomly pick head. It just happens that I worship my computer. I, then, flip a coin and, out of the 50/50 chance that it could be either head or tail, the coin lands head. I then say, "Amen to my computer!"
So would it be better to worship the guys who made the computer? What if they were nerdy and buff? Or should we go a step further and worship the One who made them?
I was talking about the odds of the bible agreeing with the big bang theory.
The Bible was written by humans. The Big Bang theory was formed by humans. Your computer was made by humans....I get your point. We are no better worshipping the Bible than we are worshipping your computer! BUT what about the Original Source?
sidelined writes:
It is because we (are) so adept at fooling ourselves that it actually is necessary to understand critical thinking.
RiverRat writes:
I got your point, you once again have dis-proved the bible, congrats!
But THEY have NOT disproved the Author.
These guys HAVE begun teaching us critical thinking skills, however. That way, we do not blurt out assertions without reasoning. Even if our assertions are scriptural, we need to back them up with our reasoning.
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