Hey B.W. thanks again for the detailed post. Unfortunately, I'm going to have to provide some brief answers, as my schedule is tight.
B. W. wrote:In regards to belief – you did not define it in your poll and you forgot an all of the above selection as well too. Best folks can do is to follow some of your post and see that belief is a big negative to you. The poll can be skewed to cherry pick answers, which makes it, not the best format to use. No offence intended in my comments here.
Right, I didn't define it. I've already apologized for that. I intentionally didn't provide an "all of the above" answer, based on the way I define "belief", and I asked that complex answers be explained in posts. No offence taken.
B. W. wrote:Now on to why I mentioned your father. On one thread you mentioned he was healed in a dramatic way the prevented a lifelong crippling effect. In this report, you seemed calloused toward him. This may be due to many things because there are no perfect families. Good positive families are hard to come by. Negative and broken families come a dime a dozen. Let me digress a bit and come back later to answer your questions.
Sure. Honestly, I am somewhat calloused to him. The fact he's not crippled for life, is awesome for him.
B. W. wrote:There is a reason I ask you about your father since you brought him up is to show you something – was there food on the table, were you ever abandoned by your father and left to fend for yourself, did he ever fail to provide for you while you were growing up? Did he, in the only way he knew how, care for you, teach you things? Was he silent in all this? What caused the split between him and you?
Food? Usually, not very nutritious though. Abandoned? Yes. Fail to provide? Yes. Did he care and teach? To a degree. Was he silent? Usually. What caused the split? Really briefly: His actions showed he cared more about himself and his religion, than his children. The ultimate expression of that was he abandoned me.
B. W. wrote:We look for easy answers in complex ways. Some seek science alone, yet, science alone cannot explain everything. Without the ability of faith, no scientist, no musician, no inventor, and no innovator could look at those things that are not, and create from the world around us, what once was a thought/idea. The Scientific method would be impossible without faith that aids the creativity to experiment and test. All people are by their nature, creatures of faith.
Yes, you're right. I'm trying not to jump to conclusions about where you're going with this.
B. W. wrote:Human Faith is misapplied and twists away from God and seeks other things to place faith in, such as science, atheism, what one creates, etc and etc.
I disagree.
B. W. wrote:We all create things such as ideas, illusions in the mind, suspicion, doubt, fears, revenge, etc, and place great faith in these. You see, a person is committed to whatever they place their faith in and are obedient to it, often at all cost.
Yes, and I think that's usually dangerous.
B. W. wrote:So what have you placed great faith in?
A set of basic concepts that let me live a fairly "normal" life. E.x. We're not all brains in a jar, running a simulation of our lives.
B. W. wrote:Yourself as the final authority?
Absolutely not.
B. W. wrote:We as human beings were designed with the ability to operate by faith... Do you see this?
Yes, and I think that's usually dangerous.
B. W. wrote:With this comes responsibility and it is here we fail. You claim, now, that you do not believe in God and place great faith in that idea and base assumptions on it to justify your life course and actions. In this, like the rest of humanity, you miss the mark of what God intended.
Uhhh.... ok?
B. W. wrote:Without God’s love, our faith remains selfishly focused and ‘we get no place fast.’ So God sent forth his means to restart – reboot out faith. This is why I mentioned your father.
I disagree.
B. W. wrote:You stated that you cared but did not love you father. With that, think for a moment that you are God and humanity is represented by your father. With an attitude such as yours, how easy would it be to write him off and let him just fade away? Is that fair and just? Maybe, in your eyes it would be due to all the authority not exercised correctly toward you.
Well, if there is a God, I expect he's already done that. Sure it is fair.
B. W. wrote:It was that way when humanity fell away from God into disbelief. What did he do? John 3:16-31, NASB...
So, I don't believe in God, I don't think John 3:16 is true, so not sure why I should take the rest of the passage into any serious consideration. I know what you're telling me, I've read the bible many times, I've even preached from it. I don't think it is right. I don't accept what it says, on faith, or on any other basis.
B. W. wrote:This kind of faith works by love. The kind humanity lacks. To show this, would you die in order to heal your father thus restoring the relationship broken between you and he?
You already know I wouldn't, because you already know I don't love him. If you want to say the world needs more love, great. I agree with that. Although, that's a lot different than both the common label of "Christian", and the actual doctrines.
B. W. wrote:Do you measure up to that in your relationship with your father?
Again, no.
B. W. wrote:What is the focus of your faith?
I attempt to have as little faith as possible. I exercising just enough of it, to lead a relatively "normal" life. E.x. I do things, because I have faith I'm more than just a brain in a vat, although I accept it is possible.
Now, my answer is science. So I'd like you to appreciate science a bit more. Science doesn't claim ultimate, or divine knowledge. It says "This is our best understanding right now". The application of science is used to make the world a better place. For example, the things encompassed in the Theory of Evolution are applied to develop vaccines. Yes, it operates off a minimal set of presuppositions. It's goal is to make things better, and further develop knowledge, so we can make things even better. It's not static, it is constantly evolving, and improving. I hope that helps cast it in a better light, and people will realize the importance of science.