Two basic approaches to ancient proscriptions

[granpa]

As a king or priest in the kingdom of God you would have infinite power

[TRANSPONDER]

Originally Posted by MysticPhD

You and Vizio are tedious and tiresome with your inane questions pretending you have some special knowledge granted by your stupid holy books. You don't know the reason for your birth because you believe the ignorant ramblings of our barbaric primitive ancestors who didn't have a clue about anything. You just happened to catch me in my Grumpy Old Man phase or I would just ignore your stupid ramblings. Now I have to repent for my outbursts.

You'd be a devastating atheist.

Originally Posted by GoCardinals

So can we conclude from the above that the entire universe and everything in it came along purely by chance?

One of the most frequently asked and misconceived questions in the religion debate. Doesn't the A/A FAQ deal with it?

It is postulated on what little indirect evidence we have that however it began, it wasn't through a planned and directed act of intention. However it was, it was though a series of natural processes, that we can (or could if we could study it) understand and predict.

Thus it is 'chance' if you mean unplanned/natural. but it is not if you mean random events without any physical coherence. That is why the 'whirlwind in a junkyard' argument is notorious in it ignorance of the theory and the Question of 'Chance?' is - as I say - misconceived.

Originally Posted by GoCardinals

I think you don't understand the basic difference between

"Having the knowlege of something"
and
"Having faith in something"

Not sure about Vizio but am I claiming that I know everything? Absolutely not! My knowledge is extremely limited; however, I do have faith.

And no, I am not gonna take a cheap shot at your age or you being a "grandpa" or going thru a heated moment. Many of us will go thru this phase of our lives before our time is up, the bell rings and the last curtain falls on our eyes.

We all know what the difference is. But where the line is drawn is a bit harder.

Do we know the earth is round or do we just believe it?
Do we know that life grew ouut of biochemicals, a couple of billion years back, or do we just believe it?
Do we know that Jesus rose from the dead, or do we just believe it?

It comes down to the best evidence considered by those we trust as the best able to do it.

It doesn't always work. Evolutionary science is (or so I hear rumours) being questioned from the floor, and I am myself right out on a limb in tossing most Bible -scholarship in the bin.

[nateswift]

As a reminder, HERE is the OP:

As an exercise in futility I waded through the whole thread and find two basic approaches that should be of interest: "God said it so just do it" and "the reason for this is...."

What is most fascinating is that some of those who say "God said it" about OTHER things say "the reason is..." about this.

What interests me most about the "God said it" approach is the idea that God would declare something wrong or "abominable" apparently on a whim: no rationale needed or used. The "might is right" approach if you look at it. What is most interesting is the insane extremes this can be carried to as in the current requirement in Jewish culture that meat and dairy have NO chance of mixing.... based on the prohibition against seething a kid in its mother's milk. Even a superficial look at that prohibition with the idea of finding a reason should indicate that it is a specific example of black magic or necromancy practiced in Canaan of the time, and the idea is to refrain from such magic (the use of magic or formulae to obtain benefits is an insult to the grace of God, but that's another subject). I'd say that mindless following of the formula prohibiting meat and dairy is a form of the magic the original prohibition was intended to curtail.

On the other side of the question, Jesus said that it is not what you put into your mouth that defiles you, but what comes out. Obviously that is a bit of hyperbole, but the point remains that there are comestibles that under some conditions are dangerous but not under others, and some that may be harmful if taken in too great a quantity. The human body is amazing in its capacity to process some toxins without harm, but that also varies greatly from person to person. The trick is to know what works for you, and not to require others to be bound by your limitations.

please address the OP.