Our server costs ~$56 per month to run. Please consider donating or becoming a Patron to help keep the site running. Help us gain new members by following us on Twitter and liking our page on Facebook!
Current time: April 28, 2024, 5:25 am

Thread Rating:
  • 0 Vote(s) - 0 Average
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
3 reasons for Christians to start questionng their faith
RE: 3 reasons for Christians to start questionng their faith
(April 4, 2013 at 12:24 am)radorth Wrote:
(April 3, 2013 at 1:19 pm)Faith No More Wrote: I'm thinking you should read up a little more on the burden of proof before trying to lecture others on the rules of logic and what they must prove. He specifically said, "Christianity fails to substantiate even the most basic of it's[sic] claims." Nowhere did he claim the bible writers are liars, so your insistence that he prove that is worthless and empty.

The claim they are liars is obviously implicit. If they are not liars, then you have more than sufficient proof.

I don't think it was ever about lying or not. Take the Aztecs for example. Are they to blame for thinking that the conquistadors were the incarnate ghosts of their ancestors? If they wrote an account of their encounters with what they would claim as the "incarnate ghosts of our forefathers", they wouldn't be "liars" as such. All we can conclude is that their understanding of reality is limited and shallow, which is understandable. If we keep this in mind and turn our attention to the Bible, then it's somewhat understandable that people believed in far-fetched superstitions.

(April 3, 2013 at 11:37 pm)Darkstar Wrote:
(March 30, 2013 at 12:58 pm)jstrodel Wrote: Utilitarianism is a philosophy fit for factory owners.
Huh Could you explain what you mean by this? (I think you may have it backwards)

I think jstrodel is demonstrating his lack of understanding once again. Utilitarianism was a philosophy made popular by Mr. Bentham during the industrial revolution. How this means factory owners are pro-utilitarian... beats me.
"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it" ~ Aristotle
Reply
RE: 3 reasons for Christians to start questionng their faith
(April 4, 2013 at 12:24 am)radorth Wrote: The claim they are liars is obviously implicit. If they are not liars, then you have more than sufficient proof.

Sufficiency is often subject to the quality of one's standards; obviously yours is lower than ours.
Reply
RE: 3 reasons for Christians to start questionng their faith
(April 4, 2013 at 12:24 am)radorth Wrote: The claim they are liars is obviously implicit. If they are not liars, then you have more than sufficient proof.

No, it is not implicit. They could believe they are telling the truth but still be wrong. If you think determining they are not liars(how you would do that, I don't know) is sufficient proof, you need to look up the words "sufficient" and "proof" before throwing them around again.
Even if the open windows of science at first make us shiver after the cozy indoor warmth of traditional humanizing myths, in the end the fresh air brings vigor, and the great spaces have a splendor of their own - Bertrand Russell
Reply
RE: 3 reasons for Christians to start questionng their faith
A factory owner that ran his factory according to utilitarian principles would probably make a great employer - his profits might suffer a little for it though, lol.
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!
Reply
RE: 3 reasons for Christians to start questionng their faith
(April 4, 2013 at 8:25 am)Faith No More Wrote: No, it is not implicit. They could believe they are telling the truth but still be wrong. If you think determining they are not liars(how you would do that, I don't know) is sufficient proof, you need to look up the words "sufficient" and "proof" before throwing them around again.

So they thought they saw a man's limb grow out, crazy and blind people instantly cured, Lazareth raised, and were simply mistaken?

Right. Sorry, they either saw it or they were liars and you well know there is no choice as you claim, if you have the powers of reason you claim.
Reply
RE: 3 reasons for Christians to start questionng their faith
(April 5, 2013 at 1:15 am)radorth Wrote: So they thought they saw a man's limb grow out, crazy and blind people instantly cured, Lazareth raised, and were simply mistaken?

Right. Sorry, they either saw it or they were liars and you well know there is no choice as you claim, if you have the powers of reason you claim.

All I have to say in response to that is that there are still thousands of gullible idiots who are taken in and fleeced by charismatic and fraudulent faith healers in the year 2013, when everybody should know better.
Reply
RE: 3 reasons for Christians to start questionng their faith
(April 5, 2013 at 1:15 am)radorth Wrote:
(April 4, 2013 at 8:25 am)Faith No More Wrote: No, it is not implicit. They could believe they are telling the truth but still be wrong. If you think determining they are not liars(how you would do that, I don't know) is sufficient proof, you need to look up the words "sufficient" and "proof" before throwing them around again.

So they thought they saw a man's limb grow out, crazy and blind people instantly cured, Lazareth raised, and were simply mistaken?

Right. Sorry, they either saw it or they were liars and you well know there is no choice as you claim, if you have the powers of reason you claim.

Correction, they thought they heard someone say they saw those things happen. Your cherished NT Gospels aren't witness accounts. Never forget that.
"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it" ~ Aristotle
Reply
RE: 3 reasons for Christians to start questionng their faith
Luke went out and interviewed people. He asked the witnesses and made a document for a guy named/nicknamed Theophilus. So Luke isn't exactly witness accounts, but it is the combination of witness accounts.

The apostle John wrote the Gospel of John.

The apostle Matthew wrote the Gospel of Matthew.

Mark was one of the 70 not-as-close disciples of Jesus.
The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.
Reply
RE: 3 reasons for Christians to start questionng their faith
(April 6, 2013 at 12:56 am)Tex Wrote: Luke went out and interviewed people. He asked the witnesses and made a document for a guy named/nicknamed Theophilus. So Luke isn't exactly witness accounts, but it is the combination of witness accounts.

The apostle John wrote the Gospel of John.

The apostle Matthew wrote the Gospel of Matthew.

Mark was one of the 70 not-as-close disciples of Jesus.

Well done in relaying what Tradition says.

With Mark being the first Gospel written, why did "Matthew", a supposed witness, feel the need to use the content in Mark as opposed to his own eyewitness testimony? Why is it written in third person?

John is a clear example of rumours being hyped up, which indicates it couldn't have been an eyewitness who wrote it, otherwise we wouldn't see this clear exaggeration in e.g. theology.
"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it" ~ Aristotle
Reply
RE: 3 reasons for Christians to start questionng their faith
FallentoReason Wrote:Well done in relaying what Tradition says.

Any time.

FallentoReason Wrote:With Mark being the first Gospel written, why did "Matthew", a supposed witness, feel the need to use the content in Mark as opposed to his own eyewitness testimony? Why is it written in third person?

Mark was the account already written. He could have simply not wanted to repeat a story already told in another way. Mark was the historical account and first written. Matthew was trying to convert Jews. Matthew is laced with OT references and genealogies and prophesies fulfilled and whatnot that the Jews at the time loved.

Mark never mentions himself. John never mentions himself. Matthew doesn't either. This wasn't a letter, it was a book to tell the story.

FallentoReason Wrote:John is a clear example of rumours being hyped up, which indicates it couldn't have been an eyewitness who wrote it, otherwise we wouldn't see this clear exaggeration in e.g. theology.

Do you believe all the conspiracy websites? Perhaps those websites are a conspiracy themselves...

Anyway, the reason you say John has "hyped up rumors" must be because you really want there to be a flaw, because this is quite the stretch. Lets put this book at 100 A.D. to make this easy. You're going to tell me, that rumors got hyped up so amazingly high within the course of 60-70 years, that some guy wrote a book in which the dude claims to be God... and everyone believes it? Wouldn't most of the people be able to ask their friend about the dude? So there is a group that starts making racket about this guy, and no one stops and thinks, "I should probably ask people who were also there"? Such a stretch.
The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.
Reply



Possibly Related Threads...
Thread Author Replies Views Last Post
  Dear God, please soften their hearts... zwanzig 12 1016 August 6, 2023 at 3:31 pm
Last Post: LinuxGal
  [Serious] For former Christians only, why did you leave your faith? Jehanne 159 13189 January 16, 2023 at 7:36 am
Last Post: h4ym4n
  A Believer's Thoughts on Faith rlp21858 168 11492 July 9, 2022 at 3:43 pm
Last Post: Jehanne
  Bible talked in circles at start Ketzer 19 1883 January 3, 2022 at 12:05 am
Last Post: Ferrocyanide
  Faith is Feelings zwanzig 44 4462 February 28, 2021 at 1:47 am
Last Post: The Grand Nudger
  What will win the god wars? Faith, Fantasy, Facts, or God? Greatest I am 98 6207 December 28, 2020 at 12:01 pm
Last Post: Greatest I am
  why faith fails Drich 43 4381 January 23, 2020 at 12:45 am
Last Post: Haipule
  South Dakota Schools required to have "In God We Trust" on their walls Cecelia 16 1757 July 29, 2019 at 6:11 pm
Last Post: Fireball
  Christians vs Christians (yec) Fake Messiah 52 7836 January 31, 2019 at 2:08 pm
Last Post: The Grand Nudger
  7 Pious Xtian Shits Who Stepped On Their Own Dicks Minimalist 0 882 October 12, 2018 at 12:57 pm
Last Post: Minimalist



Users browsing this thread: 1 Guest(s)