Re: Non-intelligent supreme X
Posted: Thu Jan 08, 2015 9:12 pm
RE: "Saying this shows someone failed to understand the argument of the necessity of a first causer. Or prime mover, or principle cause. They aren't addressing the argument."
Again, I am not an atheist. But being the devil's advocate for the sake of argument, I've heard it argued by atheists that there is no necessity for a first causer. You are just claiming there needs to be one. The very idea of a "prime mover" or "principle cause" presumes there needs to be one. So this would be claimed to be a circular argument. I've seen thatclaim many times. Again, it's a pretty strong argument to claim nothingness does not exist in reality because there
is no evidence for it. Even if you were holding nothingness you would not be able to tell!
RE: "Again, this shows the atheist doesn't understand the argument presented. So to enable him in this thinking is doing him disservice and not speaking truth. And making him believe he does understand what he is talking about. When he doesn't. "
From the atheist perspective, you are expressing opinions. Not everyone shares your way of thinking. That's why atheists insist on having objective evidence in reality as being more important than your passionate claims that you are speaking an absolute truth.
"Why do you say you are a Christian when you are referring to God as 'herself' and 'her'? That is insulting God by not using the terms He chooses to use for Himself and the reflection that portrays of our relationship to Him."
Please lighten up. I just thought it was funny to imagine if God breaking threw the heavens revealing an undeniable truth to all who witness it and it turns out God was a woman. Of course an omnipotent God is both male, female, and infinite all the same time. An omnipotent God transcends all boundaries. That is
the nature of omnipotence. Being omnipotent means being every possible way all at once.
RE: "There is evidence for God. And faith is trust based off of reason. I trust God = I have faith in God and that faith comes from evidence that cannot be unseen but is most commonly misunderstood. Science is a superficial way to understand reality. You need to talk philosophy and metaphysics if you want to know the evidence which is the foundation of science (which could not exist without the foundation of reality revealed through the study of metaphysics and philosophy). "
Everything you wrote is a judgement about your experiences. I'm not sure it qualifies as "evidence" based on the normal definition of the word. Philosophy and metaphysics are not evidence but commentary. There is no doubt in my mind that your belief in the existence of God is an absolute truth. But your evidence and truth is all about your beliefs. If you are going to prove the existence of God you need to have God standing next to you shaking hands with people you meet. Then as God is shaking hands you say, "Here's God just like I told he exists."
It seems to me what people claim as evidence for existence of God is their judgements about their own experiences. These judgements are purely subjective and are not shared by atheists. But the lack of evidence for God's existence should not degrade our faith. If you need to declare your subjective experiences as proof for the existence of God then I think it indicates your faith is weak. Who are you really trying to convince other than yourself at that point. I have never met anyone having a deep sense of faith claiming the basis of their beliefs came from other people's commentaries.
RE: "I don't know if you believe this or not and I won't assume. But it's obviously false to claim 'there's no evidence to support the existence of God'. The problem is the evidence hasn't been seen. And many things will prevent one from seeing what is obvious."
I thought I was clear that I was conveying what atheists would say. Sorry to split hairs here but if "evidence hasn't been seen" kind of strains the meaning of the word evidence.
If I take an apple and smash on the ground in front of you, it does not require much effort on your part to see the existence of the crushed apple. Most people would claim "evidence" is of this type and does not require effort to experience it or believe it. What you claim as evidence is more like conjecture. If you are going to make an extoridinary claim then you must be able to product extrordinary evidence. Words are just words and nothing extrordinary. And again, it seems to me a person rooted in faith does not need or talk about evidence. They just believe in their convictions without conditions.
RE: "The main one today is how the minds of people have been raised in the end of this age. Which stems from pride, the gateway to destruction."
Well, I hope you don't think I lack humility. I read a very interesting quote that has always haunted me since I read it: "You only criticize and hate in other people what you do not like about your own character." This is why I don't like to criticize other people but just what they are saying.
Many people claim to be an expert on knowing the mind of God. In terms of hubris, I would argue it is probably the height of human hubris for someone to be pretending to speak for God. I tend to think God's mind is infinite and well beyond comprehension of our limited consciousness.
RE: "Regardless, there is evidence, proof exists. And it's waiting to be seen."
Again, you are straining the definition of what it means to be "seen". If I use my eyes to experience reality, that is the act of seeing. Your own personal experiences have nothing to do with the act of "seeing". Although, many people use the word "seeing" as a metaphor for understanding or knowing. But it is not the same thing as looking at something when it is used as metaphor. You can't just flip the metaphor around and say therefore what you "see" is real evidence for the existence of God. You can but no one is going to believe you because nobody can truly know all that is going on inside your mind.
RE: "You are right to think of what the first cause is before the first cause of our temporal existence. As that is to understand God better. As He is beyond time and time is within Him. He is the first cause of this temporal realm as He is Existence. He always has existed and existence springs from Him, aka the prime over, the first cause of an infinity of causes. Get it?"
If you truly believe in the infinite nature of God, then words like "first cause" and "prime mover" are just anthropomorphic constructs from your imagination. God's infinite nature exist outside the boundaries of time. It just seems to me an infinite God is not only beyond our comprehension but words do not even come close to touching what they are supposed to be representing.
I would like to reiterate that scripture is not solely about the nature of God but primarily about the the basic message that being a good person and living a moral life is important. Too much talk about nature of God detracts from the strength of the primary message.
Again, I am not an atheist. But being the devil's advocate for the sake of argument, I've heard it argued by atheists that there is no necessity for a first causer. You are just claiming there needs to be one. The very idea of a "prime mover" or "principle cause" presumes there needs to be one. So this would be claimed to be a circular argument. I've seen thatclaim many times. Again, it's a pretty strong argument to claim nothingness does not exist in reality because there
is no evidence for it. Even if you were holding nothingness you would not be able to tell!
RE: "Again, this shows the atheist doesn't understand the argument presented. So to enable him in this thinking is doing him disservice and not speaking truth. And making him believe he does understand what he is talking about. When he doesn't. "
From the atheist perspective, you are expressing opinions. Not everyone shares your way of thinking. That's why atheists insist on having objective evidence in reality as being more important than your passionate claims that you are speaking an absolute truth.
"Why do you say you are a Christian when you are referring to God as 'herself' and 'her'? That is insulting God by not using the terms He chooses to use for Himself and the reflection that portrays of our relationship to Him."
Please lighten up. I just thought it was funny to imagine if God breaking threw the heavens revealing an undeniable truth to all who witness it and it turns out God was a woman. Of course an omnipotent God is both male, female, and infinite all the same time. An omnipotent God transcends all boundaries. That is
the nature of omnipotence. Being omnipotent means being every possible way all at once.
RE: "There is evidence for God. And faith is trust based off of reason. I trust God = I have faith in God and that faith comes from evidence that cannot be unseen but is most commonly misunderstood. Science is a superficial way to understand reality. You need to talk philosophy and metaphysics if you want to know the evidence which is the foundation of science (which could not exist without the foundation of reality revealed through the study of metaphysics and philosophy). "
Everything you wrote is a judgement about your experiences. I'm not sure it qualifies as "evidence" based on the normal definition of the word. Philosophy and metaphysics are not evidence but commentary. There is no doubt in my mind that your belief in the existence of God is an absolute truth. But your evidence and truth is all about your beliefs. If you are going to prove the existence of God you need to have God standing next to you shaking hands with people you meet. Then as God is shaking hands you say, "Here's God just like I told he exists."
It seems to me what people claim as evidence for existence of God is their judgements about their own experiences. These judgements are purely subjective and are not shared by atheists. But the lack of evidence for God's existence should not degrade our faith. If you need to declare your subjective experiences as proof for the existence of God then I think it indicates your faith is weak. Who are you really trying to convince other than yourself at that point. I have never met anyone having a deep sense of faith claiming the basis of their beliefs came from other people's commentaries.
RE: "I don't know if you believe this or not and I won't assume. But it's obviously false to claim 'there's no evidence to support the existence of God'. The problem is the evidence hasn't been seen. And many things will prevent one from seeing what is obvious."
I thought I was clear that I was conveying what atheists would say. Sorry to split hairs here but if "evidence hasn't been seen" kind of strains the meaning of the word evidence.
If I take an apple and smash on the ground in front of you, it does not require much effort on your part to see the existence of the crushed apple. Most people would claim "evidence" is of this type and does not require effort to experience it or believe it. What you claim as evidence is more like conjecture. If you are going to make an extoridinary claim then you must be able to product extrordinary evidence. Words are just words and nothing extrordinary. And again, it seems to me a person rooted in faith does not need or talk about evidence. They just believe in their convictions without conditions.
RE: "The main one today is how the minds of people have been raised in the end of this age. Which stems from pride, the gateway to destruction."
Well, I hope you don't think I lack humility. I read a very interesting quote that has always haunted me since I read it: "You only criticize and hate in other people what you do not like about your own character." This is why I don't like to criticize other people but just what they are saying.
Many people claim to be an expert on knowing the mind of God. In terms of hubris, I would argue it is probably the height of human hubris for someone to be pretending to speak for God. I tend to think God's mind is infinite and well beyond comprehension of our limited consciousness.
RE: "Regardless, there is evidence, proof exists. And it's waiting to be seen."
Again, you are straining the definition of what it means to be "seen". If I use my eyes to experience reality, that is the act of seeing. Your own personal experiences have nothing to do with the act of "seeing". Although, many people use the word "seeing" as a metaphor for understanding or knowing. But it is not the same thing as looking at something when it is used as metaphor. You can't just flip the metaphor around and say therefore what you "see" is real evidence for the existence of God. You can but no one is going to believe you because nobody can truly know all that is going on inside your mind.
RE: "You are right to think of what the first cause is before the first cause of our temporal existence. As that is to understand God better. As He is beyond time and time is within Him. He is the first cause of this temporal realm as He is Existence. He always has existed and existence springs from Him, aka the prime over, the first cause of an infinity of causes. Get it?"
If you truly believe in the infinite nature of God, then words like "first cause" and "prime mover" are just anthropomorphic constructs from your imagination. God's infinite nature exist outside the boundaries of time. It just seems to me an infinite God is not only beyond our comprehension but words do not even come close to touching what they are supposed to be representing.
I would like to reiterate that scripture is not solely about the nature of God but primarily about the the basic message that being a good person and living a moral life is important. Too much talk about nature of God detracts from the strength of the primary message.