RE: How can Christians not admit Christianity is all a pile of garbage when ...?
February 19, 2012 at 9:00 am
(February 17, 2012 at 9:07 pm)coffeeveritas Wrote:(February 17, 2012 at 4:17 pm)RaphielDrake Wrote: Define "metaphysical" and how Bible stories would inform me of it please.
Then define "epistemological" and how the Bible stories would expand on my understanding of truth, belief and justification.
I would also be intrigued to learn how taking the Bible literally could ever lead to a sane world view.
Hello Raphiel Drake, I don't believe we've had any sort of exchange as of yet, nice to make your acquaintance!
Here are the definitions:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metaphysics
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epistemology
The terms themselves, however, don't really convey what I'm talking about unless you add the modifier "imagination" as I did in my post. I'm not using the term "imagination" in a childish way, but as it has been used in contemporary philosophy to convey the unique creative impulse and way of proceeding that each person has. It's a post-postmodern adaptation of the phrase "worldview" that has typically been used, but which failed to communicate the artistry of the human psyche. I was basically just saying that the stories of people throughout history reflecting solemnly on a mystical world and divine being that they encounter, as well as how they struggle to find a way of life and relation can teach us something about how we live and think now. It's the translatability of art through time.
As far as translating the Bible literally goes, I was saying that doing so was insane. It's not a constitution; it's not something that can be read literally. So reading it literally doesn't lead to a sane "worldview".
Some very apt questions to be sure, hope I was able to clarify.
The terms themselves, however, don't really convey what I'm talking about unless you add the modifier "imagination" as I did in my post. I'm not using the term "imagination" in a childish way, but as it has been used in contemporary philosophy to convey the unique creative impulse and way of proceeding that each person has. It's a post-postmodern adaptation of the phrase "worldview" that has typically been used, but which failed to communicate the artistry of the human psyche. I was basically just saying that the stories of people throughout history reflecting solemnly on a mystical world and divine being that they encounter, as well as how they struggle to find a way of life and relation can teach us something about how we live and think now. It's the translatability of art through time.
As far as translating the Bible literally goes, I was saying that doing so was insane. It's not a constitution; it's not something that can be read literally. So reading it literally doesn't lead to a sane "worldview".
Some very apt questions to be sure, hope I was able to clarify.
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Pleased to meet you too Coffee.
Don't worry, I knew what they meant. I wanted you to explain how The Bible gave us insight into either.
Imagination is great when it comes to works of creativity, however, it is no measuring device for what is. You said that The Bible could be used to understand the metaphysical and the epistemological but I fail to see how that is the case. I would agree that The Bible should be kept around for insight into the workings of mythology or the primitive mindset but I can't see any other use for it. Any morale message it presents is quickly contradicted by itself and the contradictions far outweigh the morale messages. As for insights on the metaphysical it provides only severely biased interpretations, none of which can be seriously considered to have any philosophical value. Epistemology is the study of knowledge, how we define what knowledge is. The Bible makes no attempts to establish what knowledge is preferring instead to replace it entirely with belief. That is not a mind-set that cares for truth or justification.
I think you need to seriously consider if that is a good thing for anyone to learn. If we are to use imagination for the scale of how valuable the Bible is then we should not look at it as anything other than a work of great creativity, a work of art but a myth nonetheless. To use imagination to weigh up philisophical, logical, moral or factual value would be a gross error of judgement.
