RE: Deism for non-believers
June 29, 2012 at 12:22 pm
(This post was last modified: June 29, 2012 at 12:34 pm by The Grand Nudger.)
The god with no choice would again fall to the axe that his interventionist god fell to, perhaps even more gloriously, in that the interventionist god has been ruled out due to a lack of evidence, but the choiceless-though-present god is not only lacking in evidence, but lacking a manner in which we would even be able to determine what evidence there might be. (specifically, as it would be indistinguishable from a universe -by any other means-)
Hehehe, I covered my bases on that one pages ago. I think the trouble with the scale in this regard is that it invoked demonstrable evidence (and the lack thereof) as a disqualifying criteria for one set of gods whilst simultaneously shielding another presumed set of gods from the same criteria. To me, the scale seems to be a classic exercise in two things. Working backwards from our conclusion, and creating special considerations and classifications that are friendly to the type of god we were looking to conclude in favor of in the first place. Rather than asking whether or not there is a god, and if so whether or not this god is a creator god (the two proposals here don't exactly tumble one after the other like dominoes) we have decided that there is both a god and a creator, and the purpose of the scale is to reinforce those initial assumptions. As such, whatever comes out the other end of this scale will be worth precisely what those assumptions are worth, which in this case (and largely due to the way criteria for acceptance of this or that has been determined) is nothing at all.
Hehehe, I covered my bases on that one pages ago. I think the trouble with the scale in this regard is that it invoked demonstrable evidence (and the lack thereof) as a disqualifying criteria for one set of gods whilst simultaneously shielding another presumed set of gods from the same criteria. To me, the scale seems to be a classic exercise in two things. Working backwards from our conclusion, and creating special considerations and classifications that are friendly to the type of god we were looking to conclude in favor of in the first place. Rather than asking whether or not there is a god, and if so whether or not this god is a creator god (the two proposals here don't exactly tumble one after the other like dominoes) we have decided that there is both a god and a creator, and the purpose of the scale is to reinforce those initial assumptions. As such, whatever comes out the other end of this scale will be worth precisely what those assumptions are worth, which in this case (and largely due to the way criteria for acceptance of this or that has been determined) is nothing at all.
I am the Infantry. I am my country’s strength in war, her deterrent in peace. I am the heart of the fight… wherever, whenever. I carry America’s faith and honor against her enemies. I am the Queen of Battle. I am what my country expects me to be, the best trained Soldier in the world. In the race for victory, I am swift, determined, and courageous, armed with a fierce will to win. Never will I fail my country’s trust. Always I fight on…through the foe, to the objective, to triumph overall. If necessary, I will fight to my death. By my steadfast courage, I have won more than 200 years of freedom. I yield not to weakness, to hunger, to cowardice, to fatigue, to superior odds, For I am mentally tough, physically strong, and morally straight. I forsake not, my country, my mission, my comrades, my sacred duty. I am relentless. I am always there, now and forever. I AM THE INFANTRY! FOLLOW ME!
