(September 17, 2013 at 12:57 pm)John V Wrote: It didn't come directly to my consciousness, so there's your answer.
Perhaps it did but the false teachings of Christianity supplanted it or something because you were born in the wrong country. Or certainly some people must have been born in the wrong country if there is one true religion, so how do you know you're not one of those people?
Quote:From my POV, yes, both spiritually and practically.
And you know you were born in the right country because?
Quote:There's good stuff in science, and bad. There's good stuff in philosophy, and bad.
Science isn't a belief system it's methodology. Philosophy presents a different ways of thinking about life you can apply if you choose and religion gives you a list of things you have to believe and do. You can live happily enough with a list of anything you have to believe or do. Some people may enjoy being told what to believe and do but it would then seem more like a hobby rather than something that is true or relevant to life.
Quote:If we all shared it, it wouldn't be considered supernatural.
So if we both witnessed the Christ rise from his tomb 2000 years ago it wouldn't be a supernatural event because we would both be sharing the same experience?
Quote:And what definitions of supernatural and scientific don't create an oxymoron here?
If the supernatural exists and if it does anything then will be potentially scientifically obtainable evidence for it. These will be things we can observe, detect and measure like anything else. James Randhi has an offer of 1 million dollars to anyone who can demonstrate any kind of supernatural ability under laboratory test conditions. In over 30 years no-one has claimed it. If there is no demonstrable evidence for the supernatural then chances are it doesn't exist and supernatural events never occur. If supernatural events never occur then you can't have virgin births and resurrections from the dead.
Quote:My point exactly, except I would add "regularly" after operates. If god does something regularly observable, then as you note it becomes part of nature, and is not considered supernatural.
It would still be supernatural in that it would originate beyond the natural world but detectable within the natural world because it operates within it. So we can have rock solid evidence for the supernatural if it exists and that's what we need.