Why I am a Christian

Originally posted by FMF
The "religious texts" you are referring to were in fact written by people in different cultural contexts at different points in history. None of their followers can substantiate the metaphysical claims of their religions with sufficient evidence to convince all humans to believe the same thing. Maybe that's God's plan.

Do you believe that two contradictory statements can both be true? Yes or No?

Originally posted by Fetchmyjunk
Do you believe that two contradictory statements can both be true? Yes or No?

I believe that humans can be mistaken in the statements that they make. I believe that statements that they make about supernatural things are a function of psychology and anthropology. Are you reading any of the posts of mine that you are responding to?

Originally posted by FMF
I believe that humans can be mistaken in the statements that they make. I believe that statements that they make about supernatural things are a function of psychology and anthropology. Are you reading any of the posts of mine that you are responding to?

Yes or No? Do you read the questions you respond to?

Originally posted by Fetchmyjunk
So you are saying the same God could reveal to one group of people that there are millions of gods and to another group of people that there is only one God? Yeah right.

Why not? You claim He revealed that there is only one god while others claim that there are millions of gods. Maybe you are all wrong. Or maybe it means that a god/the god/multiple gods did this on purpose. No one knows for sure. It's angels dancing on the head of a pin stuff.

Originally posted by Fetchmyjunk
Do you believe that two contradictory statements can both be true? Yes or No?

Two contradictory statements cannot both be true. But I believe that humans are mistaken in the statements that they make about supernatural matters, as you well know. I give no more credence to statements you make about "God" than those made by my Muslim neighbour. The fact that two contradictory statements cannot both be true lends no extra credibility to any statement you have made about divine beings and your immortality. I get the feeling you think it somehow does.

Originally posted by FMF
Why not? You claim He revealed that there is only one god while others claim that there are millions of gods. Maybe you are all wrong. Or maybe it means that a god/the god/multiple gods did this on purpose. No one knows for sure. It's angels dancing on the head of a pin stuff.

Or maybe you just don't want to recognize the truth?

Originally posted by Fetchmyjunk
Do you read the questions you respond to?

Yes, and my answer was "I believe that humans can be mistaken in the statements that they make. I believe that statements that they make about supernatural things are a function of psychology and anthropology". The problem would appear to be - not that I am not responding to them - but that you disagree with my answers so profoundly that you kind of refuse to understand them or just ignore them.

Originally posted by Fetchmyjunk
Or maybe you just don't want to recognize the truth?

"Recognize the truth"? You say this as if you have somehow forgotten that I don't share your beliefs.

Originally posted by FMF
Two contradictory statements cannot both be true. But I believe that humans are mistaken in the statements that they make about supernatural matters, as you well know. I give no more credence to statements you make about "God" than those made by my Muslim neighbour. The fact that two contradictory statements cannot both be true lends no extra credibility to any ...[text shortened]... have made about divine beings and your immortality. I get the feeling you think it somehow does.

Two contradictory statements cannot both be true.

It also lends no credibility to your earlier statement: '....maybe all religions are true..." But it does mean that if one of the religions is in fact true, it would mean the rest are false since they contain contradictory statements. Which brings me to the next question: if only one religion were logically true and you had to pick one which would it be and why?

Originally posted by Fetchmyjunk
FMF: Two contradictory statements cannot both be true.

It also lends no credibility to your earlier statement: '....maybe all religions are true..." But it does mean that if one of the religions is in fact true, it would mean the rest are false since they contain contradictory statements.

No. Perhaps you are quite deliberately not understanding my point. Maybe god/gods has/have revealed itself/themselves to different humans in different ways, and THAT much is true, while the religious stuff that people have written down - all around the world and all down through history - are riddled with mistakes, speculation, grand claims and thoroughly parochial cultural chauvinism.

Originally posted by Fetchmyjunk
Which brings me to the next question: if only one religion were logically true and you had to pick one which would it be and why?

I don't know, really. A religion would have to be convincing to me before I would subscribe and adhere to it. So I suppose I would pick one that was convincing.

Originally posted by FMF
No. Perhaps you are quite deliberately not understanding my point. Maybe god/gods has/have revealed itself/themselves to different humans in different ways, and THAT much is true, while the religious stuff that people have written down - all around the world and all down through history - are riddled with mistakes, speculation, grand claims and thoroughly parochial cultural chauvinism.

Is this a thought you seriously entertain or are you just making stuff up to muddy the waters?

Originally posted by Fetchmyjunk
Is this a thought you seriously entertain or are you just making stuff up to muddy the waters?

If you think I "seriously entertain" the substance of this thought exercise, then you have not understood anything I have said to you about my beliefs in the last few months. Good grief, what a bizarre question!

How on earth can a hypothetical like the one I offered (which is essentially about your absolute certainty versus the [different] absolute certainty of my neighbour) possibly "muddy the waters" in a discussion like this?

Originally posted by Fetchmyjunk
Or maybe you just don't want to recognize the truth?

He doesn't like for people to talk with any kind of assurance on matters like this.
The confidence with which particularly Christians speak, really bothers him.

His role seems to be to patrol the Forum to counter any kind of speaking of the spiritual realm which has assurance or confidence as a characteristic.

Originally posted by sonship
He doesn't like for people to talk with any kind of assurance on matters like this.
The confidence with which particularly Christians speak, really bothers him.

His role seems to be to patrol the Forum to counter any kind of speaking of the spiritual realm which has assurance or confidence as a characteristic.

Your "assurance" and "confidence" does not disguise the dark senseless magic-gangsterism which lies at the very core of the ideology you preach. While you do speak with "assurance" and "confidence" ~ as many slick and parrot-fashion ideologues often do, in all walks of life ~ your rather lame little cock the snook above shows another side of you - which is when you are rather brittle and petty, to my way of thinking at least.