RE: Hello from Nathan
February 25, 2011 at 8:39 pm
(This post was last modified: February 25, 2011 at 8:51 pm by Nathan.)
(February 25, 2011 at 8:02 pm)Minimalist Wrote: Exactly. And it provides no evidence to support those claims. In this it is no different from any other religion concocted by the minds of men. They postulate a 'god' and attribute everything they see to him.Minimalist, all I am doing is explaining what I meant by "describing the world". Notice how this actually follows on from what you were talking about. All I find in your post in a bunch of random objections about things I haven't said. All belief-systems claim things - that's what belief-systems do! It is the proponents of particular beliefs that provide evidence. You are making a strange category error here. Christianity is not a person that goes around failing to provide evidence and arguments. There are Christians that certainly do that I agree, but if you give me half a chance on this forum I will try to show you that I'm not one of them.
I could claim that there are invisible pink unicorns drinking tequila in a Tiajuana bar at Mardi Gras and it would be as valid as your claims of 'heaven.' And both of us would be talking through our butts.
Quote:However there is also the political aim of xtianity which with all its focus on the "next life" and "heavenly rewards" "eternal punishments" and "render unto Caesar." It is the ideal religion for slave owners and even offers false hope to the slaves. "Keep your nose clean - do what your told - you'll get your reward in heaven........... meanwhile, we'll just clean up down here!"I do not share this abhorrent escapist view which is sadly held by many Christians, and neither does the Bible. The Platonic view of a heaven upstairs and a hell downstairs is a view completely foreign to the Jewish mind. "Heaven" language was their way of talking metaphorically about "God's space" - not a special place that people go to when they die. The eternal punishment was death, and never being raised to life again. The hope of the New Testament Christians is a bodily resurrection here on earth, and so this world really does matter. We should render to Caesar what is Caesar's because what Caesar has put his face on has no intrinsic value, give it back to him if he really wants it because it is ultimately worthless. What is of value is what is God's: give to the hungry, the broken, and the oppressed. Have you read Paul's letter to Philemon? I don't find Paul pushing the "keep your nose clean" line too much.
Quote:Science is actually quite simple: "The Oxford English Dictionary says that scientific method is: "a method of procedure that has characterized natural science since the 17th century, consisting in systematic observation, measurement, and experiment, and the formulation, testing, and modification of hypotheses."No place for prayer...full stop? Or within science? Or what?
There is no place for prayer.
(February 25, 2011 at 8:25 pm)everythingafter Wrote:Yes...but what in your view is one of these laws? For example, is a law of physics a general description of the way things happen? Or is a law a universal generalisation that tells us what things can and can't happen? Or...(February 25, 2011 at 8:04 pm)Nathan Wrote: What, in your view, is a "law of physics"?Well, I said "laws," plural. There's many of them. Gravity's one. Look 'em up. lol
