Author Topic: Searching for GOD...  (Read 3864222 times)

bluehillside Retd.

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Re: Searching for GOD...
« Reply #27850 on: April 05, 2018, 04:53:59 PM »
NS,

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It just serms to me a waste if time to discuss what type of evidence is being used if you haveb't agreed what constitutes evidence for this type of claim.

Perhaps it is, but that's a different issue to what type of evidence AB thinks he has.

As for what type of evidence would validate the claim "god" though, that's for the person who makes the claim to tell us I'd have thought. I know that that collapses very quickly when believers try it, but that doesn't alter where the burden of proof lies.
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The Accountant, OBE, KC

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Re: Searching for GOD...
« Reply #27851 on: April 05, 2018, 05:02:35 PM »
Gabriella,

Briefly:
 

You’re terribly confused. He thinks he has objectively true evidence because the claim he thinks this (supposed) evidence (supposedly) validates is an objectively true one – ie, he thinks that its validating “god” for him means it must also therefore validate the same god for me if only I’d realise it.
Nope, you're confused. He says in #27383 that his evidence "is not just personal faith - it is also based on a lifetime of experiences and seeing how God works through other people."

http://www.religionethics.co.uk/index.php?topic=10333.27375

Reads to me as if he is expecting you to believe God as fact if you open yourself to the same experiences he has had e.g. of seeing how God works through other people. If you have a post to quote, where he says that it's not just faith or experience but he has objective/ testable evidence, then by all means let's see the post.

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You’re embarrassing yourself now. He “thinks” his god is my god in just the same way that I “think” the earth orbiting the sun is as true for him as it is for me. That his confidence in his supposed evidence is entirely misplaced is neither here no there – that’s his claim nonetheless.
No, you're embarrassing yourself now. We already know he thinks his god is true - we were discussing whether he has claimed to have objective evidence for what he thinks to be true.

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You got something wrong and I corrected it. You know as well as I do that when I said “forensics’ you thought it meant, “to do with bodies and stuff” or similar (there’s no shame in that by the way – most people do) and so you denied it without bothering to look it up. When I explained that it could just mean “concerning court proceedings” so used it correctly, you then dissembled into denying one secondary definition of it as if that in some way invalidated what I’d said.   

Rather than keep twisting the wind about this with ever more convoluted post rationalisations why not just accept it and move on?
I ask you to back up specific statements and assertions you made with evidence, and I get this waffle instead and zero evidence. Pretty much what I expected from you.

And you know as well as I do that you have no evidence to dispute that I was querying what I had said about "forensics" based on me using a different dictionary definition of "forensics" from you. You know as well as I do that the dictionary definition I was using was meaning 3 in your preferred online dictionary, which says "relating to or dealing with the application of scientific knowledge to legal problems" or meaning 1 of the Oxford English dictionary "Relating to or denoting the application of scientific methods and techniques to the investigation of crime." You're absolutely right on one thing though, there is no shame in assuming a different dictionary definition from the one you were using until you clarified the definition that you were using, and then thanking you for clarifying your intended meaning and agreeing that I was using a different meaning from you. But by all means carry on making yourself look ridiculous by repeatedly demonstrating that you can't support your narratives with any actual evidence or quotes.

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This is bonkers. It was ironic because you accused me of not understanding a word I’d used when in fact I’d used it perfectly correctly.
Yes it must be tiresome for you, constantly being challenged about what you post on a debate forum rather than people just agreeing with you. By the way, I said you didn't understand the meaning of the word "dishonest". If you think you used the term correctly, by all means provide the evidence of my alleged dishonesty. 

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Stop digging – see above. AB thinks he has objective evidence for an objectively true god. If he thought he had only subjective evidence for his personal belief “god”, then he couldn’t make the claim. Repeatedly telling me that he can’t have objective evidence is neither here nor there – that’s what he thinks he has, however daft his position.
Stop digging yourself- it's pretty simple - if AB has claimed that he has objective evidence you will be able to provide the evidence.   

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Why are you doing this to yourself? If you think that for some mysterious reason advertising works for all goods and services except for religion, then it’s your job to explain why it’s the exception. Until you do, there’s no reason to think otherwise. (You might also by the way want to explain your thinking to the US evangelicals in particular who spend $ms on it every year.)
Why are you doing this to yourself? I've already explained that I think advertising only works if there are metrics to prove it has worked - must be the accountant in me needing KPIs rather than believing assertions about financials when it comes to organisations. You're the one making generalisations and seeking to apply it to every situation - your claim  about the impact of CofE privilege, your burden of proof.     

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It’s been evidenced already. If you can’t or won’t read it, that’s not my problem.
So you keep claiming. Where is this evidence? Quote from RC document, page number, paragraph number, explanation of your interpretation of the quote?

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Oh dear. What it thinks is that its beliefs are objectively true facts about the world. It doesn’t think, “God exists, but only for RCs” or similar, and it thinks this presumably because it also thinks “faith” is a reliable means of identifying these supposedly objectively true facts about the world.
Kind of pointless to believe your beliefs are not true.

Your claim though was the RC document is evidence that RC schools are teaching beliefs as facts. So over to you for the evidence to back up this claim. Quote, Page number, paragraph number, explanation of your interpretation of the quote?

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You can dissemble and obfuscate about this as much as you like, but that’s what they claim. That you and I might think the claim to be utter rowlocks is neither here nor there – that’s the claim nonetheless, which is why it teaches these things precisely as facts to the pupils who attend its schools.
Evidence? Quote, page number, paragraph number.... you know the drill.     
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Unless you finally manage actually to engage with the reasoning that undoes you, this is not something you can know to be the case.

Time for your nap I think.
Your opinion that you have presented any reasoning that undoes me is noted. Other opinions are available. By the way, thanks for your thoughtful suggestion of a nap but don't worry I have plenty of energy to keep discussing this with you. But you take a nap if you feel you need one before continuing the discussion.

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Nor does it say, “and this evidence is written on a piece of paper”. There’s no need to try again as it’s a slam dunk in any case – see above variously.
Oh don't worry - I will be happy to keep going - as the slam dunk is just your wildly optimistic hope rather than reality.
« Last Edit: April 05, 2018, 05:51:50 PM by Gabriella »
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Enki

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Re: Searching for GOD...
« Reply #27852 on: April 05, 2018, 05:04:31 PM »
Actually, Alan believes that God's existence is an objective fact, and objective facts require objective evidence. The best he has come up with so far is that he has 'overwhelming evidence for the existence of God', which he believes to be 'an objective fact' remember, but it seems he isn't inclined to share any of the objective evidence (which is needed to substantiate that claim)with the rest of us.

In the absence of such evidence, isn't it sensible to suggest that Alan is wrong(i.e. to claim that God's existence is an objective fact) until he produces evidence to back up his claim?
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Re: Searching for GOD...
« Reply #27853 on: April 05, 2018, 05:10:44 PM »
But if we have no agreement of what evidence would be for the claim that a god exists, then arguing about whether Alan means objective or subjective evidence is simply a waste of time.
« Last Edit: April 05, 2018, 05:13:50 PM by Nearly Sane »

Nearly Sane

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Re: Searching for GOD...
« Reply #27854 on: April 05, 2018, 05:13:22 PM »
NS,

Perhaps it is, but that's a different issue to what type of evidence AB thinks he has.

As for what type of evidence would validate the claim "god" though, that's for the person who makes the claim to tell us I'd have thought. I know that that collapses very quickly when believers try it, but that doesn't alter where the burden of proof lies.

Yes, it is a different issue but one which if you don't sort out, makes the entirety of the discussion of what type of evidence meaningless.

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Re: Searching for GOD...
« Reply #27855 on: April 05, 2018, 05:17:46 PM »

The idea that people in some way have to wilfully refute evidence though even if it is about experiences, puts him in a position pf appearing to argue that the  evidence is there for all and is in that sense objective, rather than personal.

However I think  whether Alan thinks it is objective or subjective evidence is secondary to establishing what might be any form of evidence for the claim of a god existing.
I think it ties in with Vlad's idea of god-dodging. I think some theists believe that atheists have experiences of god but close their mind to those experiences being from a god;

Or some theists think that atheists are not giving enough credibility to other people's testimonies of gods and by refusing to pray (for however long) and interpret any subsequent experiences as potentially from god, maybe that is what AB means by atheists (or Muslims) "wilfully refuting evidence" of his concept of God. My impression is that AB is still only talking about experiences of love, gratitude, wonder and humility that he interprets as evidence of God or belief in the testimony of others - none of which is objective evidence.
I identify as a Sword because I have abstract social constructs e.g. honour and patriotism. My preferred pronouns are "kill/ maim/ dismember"

Quite handy with weapons - available for hire to defeat money laundering crooks around the world.

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Enki

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Re: Searching for GOD...
« Reply #27856 on: April 05, 2018, 05:20:10 PM »
But if we have no agreement of what evidence would be for the claim that a god exists, then arguing about whether Alan means objective or subjective evidence is simply a waste of time.

To be honest, I don't really care what whether Alan meant objective or subjective evidence when he said he had 'overwhelming evidence'. My point is that if he makes the statement that  God's existence is an objective fact, then he needs to substantiate that with objective evidence. If he is unable to do that, then he is wrong to make that claim.
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Re: Searching for GOD...
« Reply #27857 on: April 05, 2018, 05:25:55 PM »
I think it ties in with Vlad's idea of god-dodging. I think some theists believe that atheists have experiences of god but close their mind to those experiences being from a god;

Or some theists think that atheists are not giving enough credibility to other people's testimonies of gods and by refusing to pray (for however long) and interpret any subsequent experiences as potentially from god, maybe that is what AB means by atheists (or Muslims) "wilfully refuting evidence" of his concept of God. My impression is that AB is still only talking about experiences of love, gratitude, wonder and humility that he interprets as evidence of God or belief in the testimony of others - none of which is objective evidence.
And again if you haven't agreed what might constitute evidence for a claim, it's just people talking last each other. What you or bhs think Alan means as regards type of evidence is worthless, as indeed will any comment from Alan himself on what he means,  as no one has agreed what evidence would be here.

Anyway, having now repeated myself to the point that I am bored to the extent  of thinking that this is moaning an epicycle of pointlessness added to an enormous cycle of pointlessness, I'll leave any comment to those who want to perform taxonomy of an unknown

The Accountant, OBE, KC

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Re: Searching for GOD...
« Reply #27858 on: April 05, 2018, 05:38:53 PM »
NS,

Surely claiming to have “overwhelming evidence” (or indeed any evidence) to validate a claim about an objectively true fact (ie, “god”) means that the claimed objectivity of that evidence is baked in necessarily doesn’t it?
No surprises that I don't think it is baked in. People often claim personal experience as evidence for objective facts - ghosts, aliens, past lives, gods. They are offering their testimony and nothing more - and testimony is, by its subjective nature, open to challenge and other people are free to challenge, dismiss or accept whatever parts of someone else's experiences or testimonies they believe/disbelieve.
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Gabriella incidentally is missing the point by demanding to know where specifically he used the word “objective” – if I say that I have evidence for the earth orbiting the sun, I don’t bother to include the prefix “objective” to indicate that I think this evidence is objective. When AB prays for an unlikely event and that event happens, so far as he’s concerned that is objective evidence for an intercessionist god. If the thought otherwise, why would he bother telling us about it?
My view is that he is telling us his subjective experience in the hope someone might be persuaded by it and try praying. Also he might be explaining why he personally believes and why he spends time trying to share his beliefs with others.     
I identify as a Sword because I have abstract social constructs e.g. honour and patriotism. My preferred pronouns are "kill/ maim/ dismember"

Quite handy with weapons - available for hire to defeat money laundering crooks around the world.

“Forget safety. Live where you fear to live.” Rumi

Gordon

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Re: Searching for GOD...
« Reply #27859 on: April 05, 2018, 07:07:23 PM »
My view is that he is telling us his subjective experience in the hope someone might be persuaded by it and try praying. Also he might be explaining why he personally believes and why he spends time trying to share his beliefs with others.   

Ideally then we need Alan to set out his stall regarding the extent to which he regards 'God' as being an objective or subjective claim, and if the former he should also be able explain with some degree of precision the method by which we can test, so as to confirm or reject, his claim of objectivity.

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Re: Searching for GOD...
« Reply #27860 on: April 05, 2018, 07:24:56 PM »
That's what I would like AB to clarify. I have read a selection of his posts and all I keep reading about as his claims of evidence is testimony and experience e.g. his personal experience (Jesus making himself known to him) or faith or his belief in free will or other people's testimony of miracles that he couldn't substantiate with testable evidence .

AB feeling sad about people "wilfully refuting any evidence for God" could just mean refuting experiences that he thinks are evidence for God e.g seeing the sun or the moon or our ability to conceptualise or hearing people say they prayed and their prayers were answered.

I haven't seen a post where AB has claimed he has testable evidence - there might well be such a post since I haven't read the whole thread.

Challenging AB's testimony and not believing it is the default position, because as AB is hopefully aware, testimony is usually challenged unless testable evidence is provided that turns the testimony into fact.

He can feel sad and depressed that his testimony is not automatically believed but still feel it is his duty to keep testifying nonetheless. He probably feels equally sad and depressed when people do believe testimony, when that testimony is "there is no god but Allah and Mohamed is his messenger".
The sadness does not come from my ideas being rejected.  The sadness is that so many people are not able to experience the amazing joy of knowing God's love for them.  The first twenty-five years of my life were spent thinking I knew God, but I did not know of His love for me.  The revelation of God's love came as a complete surprise and was truly overwhelming, and I now know what St Paul meant when he said :

Romans 8:38-39 : For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The truth will set you free  - John 8:32
Truth is not an abstraction, but a person - Edith Stein
Free will, though it makes evil possible, is also the only thing that makes possible any love or goodness or joy worth having. - CS Lewis
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Nearly Sane

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Re: Searching for GOD...
« Reply #27861 on: April 05, 2018, 07:32:39 PM »
The sadness does not come from my ideas being rejected.  The sadness is that so many people are not able to experience the amazing joy of knowing God's love for them.  The first twenty-five years of my life were spent thinking I knew God, but I did not know of His love for me.  The revelation of God's love came as a complete surprise and was truly overwhelming, and I now know what St Paul meant when he said :

Romans 8:38-39 : For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
As so often Alan you appear to not actually be reading the post you reply to. We all do it now again. That you continually do it, just seems ignorant.
« Last Edit: April 05, 2018, 07:40:31 PM by Nearly Sane »

Alan Burns

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Re: Searching for GOD...
« Reply #27862 on: April 05, 2018, 07:35:34 PM »
Ideally then we need Alan to set out his stall regarding the extent to which he regards 'God' as being an objective or subjective claim, and if the former he should also be able explain with some degree of precision the method by which we can test, so as to confirm or reject, his claim of objectivity.
Unfortunately, past experience has shown me that those who do not want to believe will always find a reason not to believe, even if it means that they have to conclude that all their thought processes are pre determined by events over which they have no control, because for control to exist, there needs to be a source of control - not just inevitable reactions to previous events.
The truth will set you free  - John 8:32
Truth is not an abstraction, but a person - Edith Stein
Free will, though it makes evil possible, is also the only thing that makes possible any love or goodness or joy worth having. - CS Lewis
Joy is the Gigantic Secret of Christians - GK Chesterton

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Re: Searching for GOD...
« Reply #27863 on: April 05, 2018, 07:39:45 PM »
Unfortunately, past experience has shown me that those who do not want to believe will always find a reason not to believe, even if it means that they have to conclude that all their thought processes are pre determined by events over which they have no control, because for control to exist, there needs to be a source of control - not just inevitable reactions to previous events.
And as ever this is you again people who state they don't believe are lying and want not to believe. Apart from being yet another use of begging the question, it says the people who don't believe are lying. Why do you show this basic discourtesy so frequently, Alan?

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Re: Searching for GOD...
« Reply #27864 on: April 05, 2018, 07:41:06 PM »
Gabriella

Do you feel any better informed about AB's assertions of evidence after reading
  #27860? Or do you think, as I do that it is jjust another woolly , irrelevant set of words?
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Gordon

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Re: Searching for GOD...
« Reply #27865 on: April 05, 2018, 07:51:39 PM »
Unfortunately, past experience has shown me that those who do not want to believe will always find a reason not to believe, even if it means that they have to conclude that all their thought processes are pre determined by events over which they have no control, because for control to exist, there needs to be a source of control - not just inevitable reactions to previous events.

Alan: the above is nothing more than fallacious bilge.

Is this really the best you can do?

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Re: Searching for GOD...
« Reply #27866 on: April 05, 2018, 07:54:20 PM »
Ideally then we need Alan to set out his stall regarding the extent to which he regards 'God' as being an objective or subjective claim, and if the former he should also be able explain with some degree of precision the method by which we can test, so as to confirm or reject, his claim of objectivity.
As far as I know Alan set his stall out about his belief in God as objective fact but having no evidence testable by science. Near the start of this thread:

Reply #623 - the exchange between Alan and torridon
http://www.religionethics.co.uk/index.php?topic=10333.600

Which includes Alan saying "I am not posting here to win arguments or engage in trivial tit for tat exchanges.  I am simply witnessing to how I see God works in my life.  I know beyond any doubt that God loves each one of us, and I want to share this life-changing knowledge with as many people as possible."

Then later #27379
I think you vastly overestimate what can be discovered through our physical senses and man made contraptions.

 
I identify as a Sword because I have abstract social constructs e.g. honour and patriotism. My preferred pronouns are "kill/ maim/ dismember"

Quite handy with weapons - available for hire to defeat money laundering crooks around the world.

“Forget safety. Live where you fear to live.” Rumi

The Accountant, OBE, KC

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Re: Searching for GOD...
« Reply #27867 on: April 05, 2018, 07:59:10 PM »
Gabriella

Do you feel any better informed about AB's assertions of evidence after reading
  #27860? Or do you think, as I do that it is jjust another woolly , irrelevant set of words?
He only responded to my opinion of why he felt sadness. Nothing about evidence. So I'm currently sticking with my opinion that he believes God as objective fact but his evidence is not objective/ testable evidence, only personal testimony of his experiences.
I identify as a Sword because I have abstract social constructs e.g. honour and patriotism. My preferred pronouns are "kill/ maim/ dismember"

Quite handy with weapons - available for hire to defeat money laundering crooks around the world.

“Forget safety. Live where you fear to live.” Rumi

Gordon

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Re: Searching for GOD...
« Reply #27868 on: April 05, 2018, 08:16:20 PM »
As far as I know Alan set his stall out about his belief in God as objective fact but having no evidence testable by science. Near the start of this thread:

Reply #623 - the exchange between Alan and torridon
http://www.religionethics.co.uk/index.php?topic=10333.600

Which includes Alan saying "I am not posting here to win arguments or engage in trivial tit for tat exchanges.  I am simply witnessing to how I see God works in my life.  I know beyond any doubt that God loves each one of us, and I want to share this life-changing knowledge with as many people as possible."

Then later #27379

Then at best all he is really doing here is proselytising, and in doing so he is failing to substantiate what a reasonable interpretation of what he says implies: which is that his 'God' is in some sense objectively real since, via his repeated 'souls' claim, it can externally influence how our physical brains work (by some as yet to be explained mechanism) and help him find car-parking spaces.

I get that you are an Alan apologist but I'd suggest, given the volume and content of Alan's posts, that he doesn't just think his 'God' is true for all of humanity - he is utterly certain of it. He is perfectly free to set out the evidence (and method) to confirm how he knows his 'God' is real as in being some sort of fact: but all we see from him is vacuous proselytising.   
« Last Edit: April 05, 2018, 08:18:32 PM by Gordon »

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Re: Searching for GOD...
« Reply #27869 on: April 05, 2018, 08:21:23 PM »
Unfortunately, past experience has shown me that those who do not want to believe will always find a reason not to believe...

Nobody needs reasons not to believe, Alan; what people need in order to even consider the possibility of believing, is at least the hint of a morsel of a scintilla of reason to actually take what you are saying seriously. Something you have consistently failed to provide.

...even if it means that they have to conclude that all their thought processes are pre determined by events over which they have no control, because for control to exist, there needs to be a source of control - not just inevitable reactions to previous events.

Back to the thought-free, and (rather ironically) totally predicable script - complete with the dishonest (or thoughtless) misrepresentation of what people have said and redefinition of the language.

Where is the 'overwhelming evidence' and where is the 'logical analysis' that you claimed to have?
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torridon

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Re: Searching for GOD...
« Reply #27870 on: April 05, 2018, 08:36:05 PM »
Unfortunately, past experience has shown me that those who do not want to believe will always find a reason not to believe...

Unfortunately, past experience has shown me that those who do want to believe will always find a reason to believe.

Now, which sentence makes more sense ?

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Re: Searching for GOD...
« Reply #27871 on: April 06, 2018, 12:11:48 AM »
He only responded to my opinion of why he felt sadness. Nothing about evidence. So I'm currently sticking with my opinion that he believes God as objective fact but his evidence is not objective/ testable evidence, only personal testimony of his experiences.
But surely that is exactly* what posts from non-believers have been saying for a thousand or more pages?!! Why the apparent need , which seems to me to come acrossin your posts, to sort of support AB's woolly thinking?

*it is difficult to find an appropriate adverb here, since AB never answers questions.
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The Accountant, OBE, KC

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Re: Searching for GOD...
« Reply #27872 on: April 06, 2018, 07:12:45 AM »
But surely that is exactly* what posts from non-believers have been saying for a thousand or more pages?!! Why the apparent need , which seems to me to come acrossin your posts, to sort of support AB's woolly thinking?

*it is difficult to find an appropriate adverb here, since AB never answers questions.
Susan - you seem to spend more time reading things into my posts rather than discussing the actual points in them. I'm not going to encourage your woolly thinking about what you perceive as the tone or feelings in my posts so your why will have to remain unanswered.

I made a comment a few pages back that AB's claim of evidence is subjective evidence as I had not seen any posts where he claimed to have objective evidence. If you disagree, fine - show me where he claimed to have objective evidence. If you want to agree to the point raised by me, Steve H, Be Rational, Enki and a few others that subjective evidence is all AB has, also fine.
I identify as a Sword because I have abstract social constructs e.g. honour and patriotism. My preferred pronouns are "kill/ maim/ dismember"

Quite handy with weapons - available for hire to defeat money laundering crooks around the world.

“Forget safety. Live where you fear to live.” Rumi

The Accountant, OBE, KC

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Re: Searching for GOD...
« Reply #27873 on: April 06, 2018, 07:59:41 AM »
Then at best all he is really doing here is proselytising,
That seemed fairly obvious to me - I didn't realise you were unsure about this.
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and in doing so he is failing to substantiate what a reasonable interpretation of what he says implies: which is that his 'God' is in some sense objectively real since, via his repeated 'souls' claim, it can externally influence how our physical brains work (by some as yet to be explained mechanism) and help him find car-parking spaces.
Personally, I thought that his view of his God as objectively real was also always pretty obvious.

Quote
I get that you are an Alan apologist but I'd suggest, given the volume and content of Alan's posts, that he doesn't just think his 'God' is true for all of humanity - he is utterly certain of it. He is perfectly free to set out the evidence (and method) to confirm how he knows his 'God' is real as in being some sort of fact: but all we see from him is vacuous proselytising.
If commenting that Alan seems to have claimed testimony and personal experience as his evidence and does not appear to have claimed to have objective evidence for his God is being an apologist for Alan, I'm happy to go with that assessment - especially if being an apologist for Alan irritates you in some way. It may not irritate you but it seemed important to you that you state I am an apologist for Alan, so sure - let's go with that.
I identify as a Sword because I have abstract social constructs e.g. honour and patriotism. My preferred pronouns are "kill/ maim/ dismember"

Quite handy with weapons - available for hire to defeat money laundering crooks around the world.

“Forget safety. Live where you fear to live.” Rumi

SusanDoris

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Re: Searching for GOD...
« Reply #27874 on: April 06, 2018, 08:03:01 AM »
Susan - you seem to spend more time reading things into my posts rather than discussing the actual points in them.
Well, during the amount of time I spend on reading and sometimes responding to your posts, which is a very small proportion of the time I spend on reading others, that is possibly true. But then, reasons why people do and say things I find very interesting.
Quote
I'm not going to encourage your woolly thinking about what you perceive as the tone or feelings in my posts
I refute the charge of woolly thinking on my part!! :)
so your why will have to remain unanswered.



I
The Most Honourable Sister of Titular Indecision.