I feel a "professor has no brain" story coming...
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Originally posted by Flattop View PostBecause I have real, practical experience with God.
I can't prove to others that he exists, and I wouldn't even try. But I know what I have experienced and what it means.
If you had been born in ancient Greece, you would be talking about Zeus. If you had been born in India, you'd be talking about a Hindu God. If you had been born in West Africa, you'd be talking about Ju-Ju up on the mountain.That which may be asserted without evidence may be dismissed without evidence. -C. Hitchens
http://twitter.com/SoonerCoug
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Originally posted by SoonerCoug View PostBecause it's not testable. No one can have knowledge of something that can't be tested or demonstrated. Saying you know that God exists is like saying you know there is a ghost in your attic.
As the book had noted, all the elements of each of our own personal creations were in the universe from the time it was dust speck sized; we are the universe; to scientists the material world of which we're an integrated part defines the limit of what is knowable. The rest is nothingness.
As an aside, I've felt that the notion that God resides on a distant planet is a quaint, Nineteenth century notion that wasn't terribly imaginative. Lucretius' imagination was far more extensive than Joseph Smith's, and more prophetic.Last edited by SeattleUte; 10-13-2011, 09:55 AM.When a true genius appears, you can know him by this sign: that all the dunces are in a confederacy against him.
--Jonathan Swift
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Originally posted by SoonerCoug View PostTell us what you have experienced. I don't doubt the sincerity of your belief. I don't want to minimize the personal meaning of your experiences. At the same time, I don't understand why you would claim knowledge based on feelings and perceptions that aren't really testable evidence.
If you had been born in ancient Greece, you would be talking about Zeus. If you had been born in India, you'd be talking about a Hindu God. If you had been born in West Africa, you'd be talking about Ju-Ju up on the mountain.
Why do you (or anyone else for that matter) need to have testable evidence in order to accept that he knows God exists? I can't say that I know God exists - I believe he does - but I have no problem if another makes that claim. Just because I don't know something doesn't mean that it isn't possible for another to know it."Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance and the gospel of envy; its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery." - Winston Churchill
"I only know what I hear on the news." - Dear Leader
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Originally posted by il Padrino Ute View PostAn honest question:
Why do you (or anyone else for that matter) need to have testable evidence in order to accept that he knows God exists? I can't say that I know God exists - I believe he does - but I have no problem if another makes that claim. Just because I don't know something doesn't mean that it isn't possible for another to know it.That which may be asserted without evidence may be dismissed without evidence. -C. Hitchens
http://twitter.com/SoonerCoug
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Originally posted by SoonerCoug View PostIt's not knowledge if it can't be demonstrated or tested in a verifiable way. I think you could call it a strong belief, but you can't call it knowledge.
Can you convince a blind person that you know the color green exists?"Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance and the gospel of envy; its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery." - Winston Churchill
"I only know what I hear on the news." - Dear Leader
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Originally posted by wally View PostI want everyone to calm down for a minute and ask yourselves this question:
"Can you describe what salt tastes like to someone who has never tasted it?"
Think about it.
I rest my case.
I wish I could get into atheism, so my conscience would leave me alone to participate in the evils, errr other things that seem enjoyable that I have refrained from.
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Originally posted by SoonerCoug View PostTell us what you have experienced. I don't doubt the sincerity of your belief. I don't want to minimize the personal meaning of your experiences. At the same time, I don't understand why you would claim knowledge based on feelings and perceptions that aren't really testable evidence.Col. Klink: "Staff officers are so clever."
Gen. Burkhalter: "Klink, I am a staff officer."
Col. Klink: "I didn't mean you sir, you're not clever."
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Originally posted by Tone Loc View PostBingo! End of discussion.
I wish I could get into atheism, so my conscience would leave me alone to participate in the evils, errr other things that seem enjoyable that I have refrained from.
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Originally posted by Flattop View PostIn a way it is testable, though likely not in the way that you mean. It is possible to experiment with spiritual things. If certain steps are followed, a certain result is achievable. In some circumstances it can be shared, but in others it cannot be. It likely cannot be shared or demonstrated via the Internet.That which may be asserted without evidence may be dismissed without evidence. -C. Hitchens
http://twitter.com/SoonerCoug
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Originally posted by Slim View PostYour response belittles and trivializes a sincere struggle that many people have. Yes it is true that I don't experience any guilt drinking an arizona iced tea, but I'd gladly trade that lack of guilt for a more optimistic expectation of what awaits me after this life.
http://uk.ibtimes.com/articles/22809...th-news-sc.htm
Scientists have discovered that people who are very optimistic about the outcome of events could in fact have a "faulty" brain.
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