RE: On the nature of evidence.
October 25, 2014 at 10:45 pm
(This post was last modified: October 25, 2014 at 10:47 pm by Mudhammam.)
(October 25, 2014 at 10:27 pm)trmof Wrote: My previous definition made no assumption of omnipotence, merely power to influence events to some superhuman degree.Of course, since you have no evidence or good reason to believe that such a being exists (disregarding your emotions and intuitions), it's quite convenient to define your concept as vague and elastic as the present circumstances demand i.e. how you "feel" about it. Hence, you agree:
(October 25, 2014 at 10:27 pm)trmof Wrote: Feel include that to the definition now. As for, "to some superhuman degree," I could spend all day defining this for myself, but the point of the post is really to get YOUR opinion on what you think would be the subtlest possible level of this sort of influence which would make you reconsider whether your current conception of God is true or not.Now you're basically just affirming: If there are any forces in the Universe that we currently do not understand or are unable to explain, believe this about it and call it (he?) god.
When that thing gets explained, you'll say, "yes, but we need god to explain that!"
Maybe we need a god to explain god? Of course, revert to the elasticity of your meaningless concept and require that all questions stop there. It's a great strategy to conclude all thought, not to do philosophy.
(October 25, 2014 at 10:27 pm)trmof Wrote: In other words, what is your bare minimum for the miraculous? I've yet to hear from someone who's personal burden of proof is as low as or lower than mine, which is perfectly fine. That is, however, the reason why I feel no need to share my personal testimony of strange occurrences, as it would be fruitless if no one would care about it anyway.Your personal experiences don't tell you anything about the origins of the Universe or beings that live in other dimensions. Dead ancestors aren't really speaking to you (not that you're into that really, but your bar is so low it wouldn't actually make any difference than your present claim).
You misunderstood the causes underlying your experiences. Get over it. Learn what actually happened so that you can repeat them, or grow from them as a more rational, ethical human being.
He who loves God cannot endeavour that God should love him in return - Baruch Spinoza