Author Topic: Searching for GOD...  (Read 3893544 times)

Alan Burns

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Re: Searching for GOD...
« Reply #33875 on: December 27, 2018, 09:14:18 AM »
But where does it come from?
Your physical brain and sensory organs
Quote
But what makes me me?
your spiritual soul
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

torridon

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Re: Searching for GOD...
« Reply #33876 on: December 27, 2018, 10:04:16 AM »
Your physical brain and sensory organs

your spiritual soul

And given the same options to choose from, why would one spiritual soul choose differently from another one.  Why should souls differ ?

jeremyp

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Re: Searching for GOD...
« Reply #33877 on: December 27, 2018, 10:13:21 AM »
Your physical brain and sensory organs
Where do they get it from?
Quote
your spiritual soul
What makes my spiritual soul me?

Shall we cut this short? In the end you are going to be forced to admit that a) information comes from things that have happened and b) what makes me me is things that have happened.

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savillerow

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Re: Searching for GOD...
« Reply #33878 on: December 27, 2018, 12:40:21 PM »
AB There must be some hope for you to "get it" in 2019. Just for clarification, I have no faith, zilch, zero, zippity but I do have a shed load of hope for all the planet. But weve got to remove bad ideas, dont you think?
i know this is hard for theists to agree with but . . . .we are flying this planet.

bluehillside Retd.

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Re: Searching for GOD...
« Reply #33879 on: December 27, 2018, 01:01:16 PM »
Savs,

Quote
AB There must be some hope for you to "get it" in 2019. Just for clarification, I have no faith, zilch, zero, zippity but I do have a shed load of hope for all the planet. But weve got to remove bad ideas, dont you think?

If AB removed his bad ideas he'd have diddly-squat left. That's his problem. 
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Alan Burns

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Re: Searching for GOD...
« Reply #33880 on: December 27, 2018, 01:24:10 PM »
And given the same options to choose from, why would one spiritual soul choose differently from another one.  Why should souls differ ?
because they are not machines
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

bluehillside Retd.

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Re: Searching for GOD...
« Reply #33881 on: December 27, 2018, 01:29:57 PM »
AB,

Quote
because they are not machines

As you cannot define, describe, provide a means to investigate or provide verifiable information of any kind about a supposed "soul" how would you know that they exist at all, let alone know what they may or may not be even if they were to be real?
« Last Edit: December 27, 2018, 01:34:24 PM by bluehillside Retd. »
"Don't make me come down there."

God

Alan Burns

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Re: Searching for GOD...
« Reply #33882 on: December 27, 2018, 01:39:00 PM »
Where do they get it from?What makes my spiritual soul me?

Shall we cut this short? In the end you are going to be forced to admit that a) information comes from things that have happened and b) what makes me me is things that have happened.
But information only exists as information in conscious human perception.  Remove this perception and all you have left will be things that happen, but nothing to perceive them happening.  You comprise more than what can be defined just by things happening.  You can perceive things happening, but you are not defined by those things.
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

bluehillside Retd.

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Re: Searching for GOD...
« Reply #33883 on: December 27, 2018, 01:43:07 PM »
AB,

Quote
But information only exists as information in conscious human perception.  Remove this perception and all you have left will be things that happen, but nothing to perceive them happening.  You comprise more than what can be defined just by things happening.  You can perceive things happening, but you are not defined by those things.

This reply relies on one or more logical fallacies so is rhetorically worthless. I could tell you why they are false, but as you're indifferent to the wrongness of your arguments there'd be no point.
« Last Edit: December 27, 2018, 10:02:51 PM by bluehillside Retd. »
"Don't make me come down there."

God

Alan Burns

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Re: Searching for GOD...
« Reply #33884 on: December 27, 2018, 01:44:46 PM »
AB,

As you cannot define, describe, provide a means to investigate or provide verifiable information of any kind about a supposed "soul" how would you know that they exist at all, let alone know what they may or may not be even if they were to be real?
I know souls exist because I am one of them.
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

bluehillside Retd.

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Re: Searching for GOD...
« Reply #33885 on: December 27, 2018, 01:47:30 PM »
AB,

Quote
I know souls exist because I am one of them.

This reply relies on one or more logical fallacies so is rhetorically worthless. I could tell you why it/they are false, but as you're indifferent to the wrongness of your arguments there'd be no point.
« Last Edit: December 27, 2018, 10:02:39 PM by bluehillside Retd. »
"Don't make me come down there."

God

Sebastian Toe

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Re: Searching for GOD...
« Reply #33886 on: December 27, 2018, 02:18:06 PM »
I know souls exist because I am one of them.
What does  your soul do, when your physical brain is sleeping?
Describe what it is like to exist in a place where time does not exist.
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Stranger

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Re: Searching for GOD...
« Reply #33887 on: December 27, 2018, 02:26:47 PM »
And given the same options to choose from, why would one spiritual soul choose differently from another one.  Why should souls differ ?
because they are not machines

What made you totally ignore the actual question; arrogance, stupidity, simply not paying attention, or fear of actually thinking about it?

Machines differ.

If one soul makes a different choice to another, is that because of reasons or is it just random? If it's due to reasons, what sort of reasons? Due the individual personalities perhaps? How do differences in personalities come about?
x(∅ ∈ x ∧ ∀y(yxy ∪ {y} ∈ x))

Dicky Underpants

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Re: Searching for GOD...
« Reply #33888 on: December 27, 2018, 04:44:42 PM »
What does  your soul do, when your physical brain is sleeping?
Describe what it is like to exist in a place where time does not exist.

Does it travel to another dimension, where it has another life? Oh dear, that sounds like spiritualism (or maybe aborigine 'dream time' etc.). Not sure many good catholics would like that.

Trouble is, Alan's arguments essentially derive from his sense of subjective perception. Well, arguments for the night-time travelling of the 'astral body' also derive from subjective perception.
I'm sure many of us (certainly myself) have had other-worldly experiences which seem utterly real and convincing at the time they were experienced - 'lucid dreaming' etc.
The fact that they seemed real does not make them real.
This world could of course be the dream, and the dream-time experiences be the real ones.....
"Generally speaking, the errors in religion are dangerous; those in philosophy only ridiculous.”

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torridon

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Re: Searching for GOD...
« Reply #33889 on: December 27, 2018, 05:23:41 PM »
because they are not machines

A non-answer; par for the course, I suppose.  A better response would have been to say what they are, not what they aren't.  I guess you don't have a worthy answer, do you ?

Gordon

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Re: Searching for GOD...
« Reply #33890 on: December 27, 2018, 08:11:39 PM »
So I'm standing in a music shop which I've visited in order to buy some new guitar strings (which I really will be doing later) and I'm going to buy either my usual brand or a set of the more expensive Elixir strings: I'm 'consciously aware' of all the relevant information about both sets of strings, since it is printed on the packs.

So, what else do you think, Alan, will influence my decision making?

Alan

I asked you this earlier, but perhaps you missed it: the purchase of said guitar strings was a success.

So, perhaps you can suggest what in addition to the information on the packs would have influenced my decision. Or, to put it more simply, what does my 'soul' know about guitar strings that my brain doesn't?

bluehillside Retd.

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Re: Searching for GOD...
« Reply #33891 on: December 27, 2018, 08:37:27 PM »
Torri,

Quote
A non-answer; par for the course, I suppose.

It's AB - you'll never get a straight answer from him. Believe me, I've tried. Seem dishonesty is fine and dandy provided he does it for for Jesus or something.
"Don't make me come down there."

God

jeremyp

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Re: Searching for GOD...
« Reply #33892 on: December 27, 2018, 09:36:33 PM »
But information only exists as information in conscious human perception.  Remove this perception and all you have left will be things that happen, but nothing to perceive them happening.  You comprise more than what can be defined just by things happening.  You can perceive things happening, but you are not defined by those things.
What makes the bit of me that can't be defined by things that have happened?

Things happen. I perceive them in a certain way. What causes me to perceive them in the way I perceive them?
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Alan Burns

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Re: Searching for GOD...
« Reply #33893 on: December 27, 2018, 09:41:20 PM »
Alan

I asked you this earlier, but perhaps you missed it: the purchase of said guitar strings was a success.

So, perhaps you can suggest what in addition to the information on the packs would have influenced my decision. Or, to put it more simply, what does my 'soul' know about guitar strings that my brain doesn't?
It is a simple fact that you were free to choose whichever guitar strings you wanted for any reason you care to choose.  It is not your mechanistic material brain doing the choosing.  It is you.  Your brain just follows the orders you give it.
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

Gordon

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Re: Searching for GOD...
« Reply #33894 on: December 27, 2018, 09:52:28 PM »
It is a simple fact that you were free to choose whichever guitar strings you wanted for any reason you care to choose.  It is not your mechanistic material brain doing the choosing.  It is you.  Your brain just follows the orders you give it.

So, since I mentioned 'souls' and you haven't can I assume that you're confirming that 'souls' have no active role in the choosing of guitar strings and that all the aspects of the choice I made, including my previous preferences as regards guitar strings balanced against my inclination to try something different for a change, were due to routine electrochemical activity in my brain?

Alan Burns

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Re: Searching for GOD...
« Reply #33895 on: December 27, 2018, 09:52:50 PM »
What makes the bit of me that can't be defined by things that have happened?
It can't be defined by things that have happened because it is a spiritual entity defined by God.
It is not defined by things which have happened, but it can cause things to happen by making conscious choices
Quote
Things happen. I perceive them in a certain way. What causes me to perceive them in the way I perceive them?
Perception is a mystery to us because we can't define a single entity of perception or how it works.  We know what gets perceived, but we do not understand how it is perceived or what perception entails.  We only know it exists because we are the perceiver.
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

Alan Burns

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Re: Searching for GOD...
« Reply #33896 on: December 27, 2018, 09:56:37 PM »
So, since I mentioned 'souls' and you haven't can I assume that you're confirming that 'souls' have no active role in the choosing of guitar strings and that all the aspects of the choice I made, including my previous preferences as regards guitar strings balanced against my inclination to try something different for a change, were due to routine electrochemical activity in my brain?
Sorry, I did not make myself clear.
Your soul is you, Gordon.
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

bluehillside Retd.

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Re: Searching for GOD...
« Reply #33897 on: December 27, 2018, 09:58:05 PM »
AB,

Quote
It is a simple fact that you were free to choose whichever guitar strings you wanted for any reason you care to choose.  It is not your mechanistic material brain doing the choosing.  It is you.  Your brain just follows the orders you give it.

That's not a simple fact at all - it's just something you've made up. This reply relies on one or more logical fallacies so is rhetorically worthless. I could tell you why it/they are false, but as you're indifferent to the wrongness of your arguments there'd be no point.
« Last Edit: December 27, 2018, 10:02:01 PM by bluehillside Retd. »
"Don't make me come down there."

God

bluehillside Retd.

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Re: Searching for GOD...
« Reply #33898 on: December 27, 2018, 09:59:53 PM »
AB,

Quote
It can't be defined by things that have happened because it is a spiritual entity defined by God.
It is not defined by things which have happened, but it can cause things to happen by making conscious choices

Quote
Perception is a mystery to us because we can't define a single entity of perception or how it works.  We know what gets perceived, but we do not understand how it is perceived or what perception entails.  We only know it exists because we are the perceiver.

This reply relies on one or more logical fallacies so is rhetorically worthless. I could tell you why it/they are false, but as you're indifferent to the wrongness of your arguments there'd be no point.
"Don't make me come down there."

God

bluehillside Retd.

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Re: Searching for GOD...
« Reply #33899 on: December 27, 2018, 10:00:46 PM »
AB,

Quote
Sorry, I did not make myself clear.
Your soul is you, Gordon.

This reply relies on one or more logical fallacies so is rhetorically worthless. I could tell you why it/they are false, but as you're indifferent to the wrongness of your arguments there'd be no point.
"Don't make me come down there."

God