Searching for GOD...

[floo]

Have you ever had an original thought in your life?

Many more than you, I suspect!

[Walt Zingmatilder]

Vlad,

Don't be silly. What "primacy" do you think you see?

It was merely a question about what method you would propose to select one explanation over the various competing ones.

As we both know you'll never answer that though, I guess it must remain forever a secret eh?

I think you'd have to go some to find anyone in the NHS who would risk belief equals mental aberration hypothesis Hillside I think you might have to ''go private'' for that. If the competitive ideas fail we are not bound toaccept their success.

The method thing is of course science and that limits itself to the physical so you are trapped in one massive circularity supremely prone to the question why something and not nothing. (Good luck with that one.)

[Rhiannon]

Have you ever had an original thought in your life?

Why is it that if I go to see a spiritualist medium I have to be aware that it's 'for entertainment purposes only' but when I go to Holy Communion I don't? What's the difference? Spiritualism is a belief system that many share.

[Walt Zingmatilder]

Vlad,

No there aren't. It just means the separation of state from religion. That you paint it with all sorts of paranoid fantasies, attach it to words like "Stalinist" to discredit it by association etc is a matter only for you.   

Not so we know that the NSS thinks the amount of religious broadcasting is extravagant. The figures show it is extremely miniscule. The motivation of the NSS to reduce from the miniscule to the insignificant must be
1; Social
2: Political.

It happens to be that the same impulse vis a vis religion are most nearly matched by soviet Russia under Stalin.

The actions of the NSS in this matter are therefore unjustifiedly Stalinist.

Removal of the 22 Bishops is therefore a mere cover. The NSS must be judged by it's goals for religious broadcasting instead.

[bluehillside Retd.]

HV,

Have you actually read what I wrote?

Yes. Have you?

[SteveH]

HV,

Yes. Have you?

Of course I have - I wrote it!

[floo]

Of course I have - I wrote it!

 

[bluehillside Retd.]

Vlad,

I think you'd have to go some to find anyone in the NHS who would risk belief equals mental aberration hypothesis Hillside I think you might have to ''go private'' for that. If the competitive ideas fail we are not bound toaccept their success.

Who mentioned mental aberration?

The method thing is of course science and that limits itself to the physical so you are trapped in one massive circularity supremely prone to the question why something and not nothing. (Good luck with that one.)

But in that case then why would you not to accept the faith beliefs of anyone else about anything else just as true for you as you think your faith beliefs are true for the rest of us? 

Not so we know that the NSS thinks the amount of religious broadcasting is extravagant. The figures show it is extremely miniscule. The motivation of the NSS to reduce from the miniscule to the insignificant must be
1; Social
2: Political.

It’s minuscule, and that’s got nothing to do with the definition of secularism. That the NSS expresses its opinions on various matters is a separate matter.

It happens to be that the same impulse vis a vis religion are most nearly matched by soviet Russia under Stalin.

Don’t be ridiculous. What “impulse” do you think you see here?

The actions of the NSS in this matter are therefore unjustifiedly Stalinist.

Good grief. You really are utterly clueless aren’t you. If Stalin had confined himself to issuing a few press releases, or if the NSS promoted rounding up people and executing them you’d at least be on the same planet but as it stand this is just paranoid fantasy. 

Removal of the 22 Bishops is therefore a mere cover. The NSS must be judged by it's goals for religious broadcasting instead.

Oooh religious broadcasting eh? The horror!

[bluehillside Retd.]

HV,

Of course I have - I wrote it!

Then you'll understand why it was simple to falsify.

[Walt Zingmatilder]

But in that case then why would you not to accept the faith beliefs of anyone else about anything else

That's inaccurate as has been pointed out to you before.

I think you're FOS on that one.

[bluehillside Retd.]

Vlad,

That's inaccurate as has been pointed out to you before.

I think you're FOS on that one.

1. How can a question inaccurate?

2. Why have you avoided it?

3. Why do you think spitting the dummy again helps you?

[Walt Zingmatilder]

Vlad,

1. How can a question inaccurate?

Just like that.

[bluehillside Retd.]

Vlad,

Just like that.

Evasion noted.

[Shaker]

The true atheist would have said his piece and pissed off by now.

This Jesus character died 2,000 years ago and you don't get people still banging on about that, do you?

[Alan Burns]

I don't know if AB can really answer that problem, contact lens versus sick babies.   I suppose there are a variety of responses - God can't actually help people who are sick, because he's powerless; God could, but for mysterious reasons, he doesn't; and it's all for the best, in any case, cos when the babies die, they go to heaven; and I suppose, it's not a problem, cos I don't worry about it.

We are God's presence on this earth.  Answers to prayer often come by motivating people to do His will.  When I pray about a lost contact lens, I do not expect it to jump into my hand - I need to act in faith and allow God to guide me to find it.  It is the same for many other prayers.  When I pray for people in need, I will try follow what I feel God motivates me to do. 

I know that the more affluent in society could do a lot more to help those less fortunate.  There are many resources which could be used if people were motivated to use them more effectively to help those in need.

But there is another type of poverty which is much more difficult to deal with, and which ultimately has very dire consequences.  This is the spiritual poverty which is becoming much more prevalent in the affluent west.

[Shaker]

We are God's presence on this earth.  Answers to prayer often come by motivating people to do His will.  When I pray about a lost contact lens, I do not expect it to jump into my hand - I need to act in faith and allow God to guide me to find it.

You stand in need of a methodology to distinguish between 'God guides me to find my contact lens' and 'looking for my contact lens', Alan.

It is the same for many other prayers.  When I pray for people in need, I will try follow what I feel God motivates me to do.

Which as ever sounds like a whole lot of Alan and no God.

... there is another type of poverty which is much more difficult to deal with, and which ultimately has very dire consequences.  This is the spiritual poverty which is becoming much more prevalent in the affluent west.

Fictitious diseases have fictitious remedies.

What according to you are the "very dire consequences"?

[bluehillside Retd.]

AB,

We are God's presence on this earth.  Answers to prayer often come by motivating people to do His will.  When I pray about a lost contact lens, I do not expect it to jump into my hand - I need to act in faith and allow God to guide me to find it.  It is the same for many other prayers.  When I pray for people in need, I will try follow what I feel God motivates me to do. 

I know that the more affluent in society could do a lot more to help those less fortunate.  There are many resources which could be used if people were motivated to use them more effectively to help those in need.

But there is another type of poverty which is much more difficult to deal with, and which ultimately has very dire consequences.  This is the spiritual poverty which is becoming much more prevalent in the affluent west.

You do know that there's a faith sharing area on this mb for this kind of thing right?

[Shaker]

AB,

You do know that there's a faith sharing area on this mb for this kind of thing right?

I think of it as the Nuneaton of the board - I know where it is so I can avoid it.

[wigginhall]

We are God's presence on this earth.  Answers to prayer often come by motivating people to do His will.  When I pray about a lost contact lens, I do not expect it to jump into my hand - I need to act in faith and allow God to guide me to find it.  It is the same for many other prayers.  When I pray for people in need, I will try follow what I feel God motivates me to do. 

I know that the more affluent in society could do a lot more to help those less fortunate.  There are many resources which could be used if people were motivated to use them more effectively to help those in need.

But there is another type of poverty which is much more difficult to deal with, and which ultimately has very dire consequences.  This is the spiritual poverty which is becoming much more prevalent in the affluent west.

I suppose this means something to you.   To me, it is just like eating cotton wool, or blah blah blah.   

[torridon]

But there is another type of poverty which is much more difficult to deal with, and which ultimately has very dire consequences.  This is the spiritual poverty which is becoming much more prevalent in the affluent west.

If there are dire consequences for those for whom god fails to manifest then you need to be having a word with god about that.

[floo]

We are God's presence on this earth.  Answers to prayer often come by motivating people to do His will.  When I pray about a lost contact lens, I do not expect it to jump into my hand - I need to act in faith and allow God to guide me to find it.  It is the same for many other prayers.  When I pray for people in need, I will try follow what I feel God motivates me to do. 

I know that the more affluent in society could do a lot more to help those less fortunate.  There are many resources which could be used if people were motivated to use them more effectively to help those in need.

But there is another type of poverty which is much more difficult to deal with, and which ultimately has very dire consequences.  This is the spiritual poverty which is becoming much more prevalent in the affluent west.

And what dire consequences would they be?

[Shaker]

And what dire consequences would they be?

I asked that too. Don't suppose we'll ever find out.

[SteveH]

HV,

Then you'll understand why it was simple to falsify.

Go on, then - falsify it.

[bluehillside Retd.]

Shakes,

I asked that too. Don't suppose we'll ever find out.

No I don’t suppose we will. I reckon it’ll definitely be, you know, dire though. Oh, and consequential too. Yep, definitely consequential.

Ooh, and maybe there’ll be some wailing and gnashing of teeth thrown in as well. Not sure mind about the tearing of hair and rending of garments, but wailing and gnashing seems pretty likely to me. I was thinking too that there could be some walking around a bit, and maybe I’d venture so far as to say that Alan’s contact lens finding technique might be on the fritz what with “God” taking the day off.

Or at maybe a half day off.

Or something.

Hope that helps.     

[bluehillside Retd.]

HV,

Go on, then - falsify it.

Again? OK, I'll copy and paste it for you here:

So you haven't then. Fair enough.

There's no shame in it by the way - no other Christian has managed to come up with a cogent solution to "the problem of evil" either, but it should at least give you pause I'd have thought.

Just to remind you where you went wrong by the way, in Reply 23624 you said: "Or that God is not as omnipotent as we often think. It depends on what you mean by omnipotence."

No it doesn't: "Omnipotent" means "of unlimited power". If you want to describe something with limited power on the other hand, you can't call it omnipotent. 

QED

There you go.