(March 2, 2018 at 1:34 am)stretch3172 Wrote:(March 1, 2018 at 8:42 pm)Whateverist Wrote: *My bold*
But to use the possibility that there is more to reality than our sensory/cognitive arrays can sift out .. to justify believing in just one outlandish thing in particular out of all the outlandish things people have ever believed. That seems like some pretty reckless believing, no disrespect intended. Then to decide -with your still limited sensory/cognitive arrays- that a particular book carries an important message from that very outlandish thing, complete with marching orders for how to live your life. Boy, for a guy as smart as you that must be difficult to swallow.
You're absolutely right. That argument is meant only to convey the idea that belief in an entity such as the Christian God is feasible, not to show why Christianity is superior to any other spiritual system. To do that, we need more specific arguments. Unfortunately, I don't have time to lay out the ones I hold to at the moment, but I personally think certain versions of medieval cosmological, ontological, and teleological arguments do a pretty good job of showing not only that a God exists, but that this God must also have certain specific attributes (i.e. intelligence, power, a will, etc.), which makes Him quite different from most other spiritual entities. From there, we would have to turn to even more specific arguments for the authority of Scripture to justify Christianity against other belief systems. It gets incredibly complicated, but it's a fun topic nevertheless.
I for one won't press you to do any of that. It is pretty clear that a determined and clever person can find a way to justify almost anything. But thanks for being willing to converse on the level.
