(April 19, 2014 at 5:11 am)fr0d0 Wrote: My belief isn't supernatural. I believe in a supernatural entity defined as the Christian God. Why not believe in any absurd idea of the supernatural: because I have the ability to reason what those ideas are, as we can all know what they are.
Perhaps it is just semantics but I am unable to attach meaning to a category of entities that are supernatural. I wonder if you think the distinction between "natural" and "supernatural' would exist in the mind of a god. From some superhuman perspective everything would simply be natural. Existence equals natural. It may be that our perceptual/cognitive array ill equips us to understand what a dog smells or the manner in which a bat experiences the world. But I am pretty sure those things are still natural to them.
(April 19, 2014 at 5:11 am)fr0d0 Wrote: Moreover, studying Christian doctrine is an in depth study of the supernatural. It's my subject. So I'm better equipped to consider questions of supernatural origin. Someone ignorant of the field wouldn't be as equipped to consider such problems. Practically, I will be more aware of superstitious practice and able to avoid them. That's my experience.
Good point about being better equipped to avoid superstitious practices - provided you define religious practices as pertaining to real supernatural phenomenon. *rolls eyes*
Seriously though, my stepson who grew up with his atheist mother and I along with his very wooey (but non-xtian) father seems to be drawn like a magnet to every superstition you can imagine.
(April 19, 2014 at 5:11 am)fr0d0 Wrote: If you want to dismiss supernatural entities, I would expect you to have some idea why. If you have no reason, then I'm happy to acknowledge your lack of opinion.
The reason I dismiss them is semantic as previously discussed. There is the natural we know and the natural we may not know directly. But I cannot conceive of a categorical unknowable which is in fact entirely undetectable. The only place I experience an intrinsic mystery is in the very nature of first person experience. I see no reason to suppose the mystery that supports consciousness has any physical world correlate. If you do -and if it really is more than a hunch- I would appreciate it if you would point that out. Otherwise I think the jump between inner mystery to outer mystery is entirely unfounded .. and no, I can't give you a reason. It simply isn't a jump I am willing to make without good reason.
