Why an Atheist in the R&S Forum?

[LearnMe]

Originally Posted by myuen2

You ask great questions, my friend. You would make as wonderful a dinner guest as Andre of the movie "My Dinner with Andre". Look at those highlighted points you raised above. We could reflect on them all evening long from a dry martini before the meal to a fine brandy by the fireplace. A zen master would frown on all that alcohol. Jesus turned water into wine, didn't he? This is one of the reasons why I feel spiritually at home in Christianity as all westerners ought to be.

How many egoless people do I know? Ego is a western concept invented by naturalism. New-age spiritualism, a western thought form derived from Eastern religions, equates the ego with the psyche, that voice in your head, and your image in the mirror. Have I met any egoless people? Many of those new-age types I talked to on the internet insisted that they were egoless. I have never gotten rid of that voice in my head. And I hope I never stop seeing that image in the mirror. It would be weird otherwise. Does that mean I have an ego? No, it does not. I don't accept naturalism and its doctrines.

I don't deny the physical world but I reject its immutability. Naturalism, stripped of pretensions, is scientism. It claims that science alone can render truth about the world and reality. I raised the mystery about the phenomenon of falling objects. If you cannot entertain that mystery, no escape from physicality is possible, and you are attached to the physical world. Scientific knowledge is not a body of baseless beliefs. They are, nevertheless, beliefs (concepts) that have use for making the world we live in better or worse. So far, our world has gone progressively worse.

I would say naturalism precedes theism. If the physical world was not a horror to live in, there would be no need for a struggle to escape in theism. Die-hard naturalists, having decided that there is no way out, make the best of an absurd existence.

"My Dinner with Andre!"

I remember seeing that movie in the theater when it came out. I was going to college at the time. I'll never forget the experience and how much I loved that movie. Quite unique. Glued to the dialogue from word one. Makes me think I should see it again. If discussions in this thread were anywhere near as interesting on a more frequent basis, it would be hard to sign off!

[Sonof]

Originally Posted by myuen2

Naturalism narrowed it down to 4700 B.C. when Peruvians popped their corn. What do you think a pop corn look like after lying around your kitchen floor for 6700 years? And they found the fossil. I thought you guys don't swallow tall tales from high priests the way you perceive theists as doing.

I don't understand what you are asking.
If you really are looking for answers and not just <<cut>>, try to put your questions together in a coherent manner.

And those dinosaurs running around in full color screaming like devils in Jurassic Park are exactly like those 100 million years ago before an asteroid strike wiped them out. You believe that also? And you would reject the parting of the Red Sea merely a 1000 years ago just because it is not a natural phenomenon.

I don't reject "parting of the Red See". If anything, I reject claim about "parting of the Red See" ever taking place.

And I don't even reject it. I just ignore it as I would any other empty, unsubstantiated claim.

[myuen2]

Originally Posted by Sonof

I don't understand what you are asking.
If you really are looking for answers and not just <<cut>>, try to put your questions together in a coherent manner.

I don't reject "parting of the Red See". If anything, I reject claim about "parting of the Red See" ever taking place.

And I don't even reject it. I just ignore it as I would any other empty, unsubstantiated claim.

You are filled with angst, Sonof. This forum is a social place where people mingle and share perceptions. Think of this as an international Religion and Spirituality convention. I am a Christian, a Catholic to be exact. <<cut>> Do you have a religious or spiritual belief? What is it? I am of the opinion that all forms of spirituality stems from the one and same principle. If my statements don't make sense to you, let's talk about them. My interest is in finding communion among members of this Religion and Spirituality convention.

By the way, I was wrong about the timing of the Red Sea parting. According to Exodus, it was 3000 years ago. Below is Smithsonian article affirming, that based on scientific research, it could have happened. It's Smithsonian, and if you don't swallow this tall story, then I am going to be extremely puzzled with you.



https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart...ing-180953553/

[myuen2]

Originally Posted by LearnMe

"My Dinner with Andre!"

I remember seeing that movie in the theater when it came out. I was going to college at the time. I'll never forget the experience and how much I loved that movie. Quite unique. Glued to the dialogue from word one. Makes me think I should see it again. If discussions in this thread were anywhere near as interesting on a more frequent basis, it would be hard to sign off!

Why don't you make discussions here interesting then? Imagine you having a dinner conversation with mordant and me here. I am Jesus. I will bring the wine. What do you say?

[phetaroi]

Originally Posted by myuen2

You are filled with angst, Sonof. This forum is a social place where people mingle and share perceptions. Think of this as an international Religion and Spirituality convention. I am a Christian, a Catholic to be exact. <<cut>> Do you have a religious or spiritual belief? What is it? I am of the opinion that all forms of spirituality stems from the one and same principle. If my statements don't make sense to you, let's talk about them. My interest is in finding communion among members of this Religion and Spirituality convention.

By the way, I was wrong about the timing of the Red Sea parting. According to Exodus, it was 3000 years ago. Below is Smithsonian article affirming, that based on scientific research, it could have happened. It's Smithsonian, and if you don't swallow this tall story, then I am going to be extremely puzzled with you.



https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart...ing-180953553/

You seem to forget that earlier you condemned the Smithsonian magazine.

[Sonof]

Originally Posted by myuen2

You are filled with angst, Sonof. This forum is a social place where people mingle and share perceptions. Think of this as an international Religion and Spirituality convention. I am a Christian, a Catholic to be exact. <<cut>>

<<cut>>
You straw-man other's position and continue to straw-man even after it was pointed out to you.
You ignore requests for clarifications. You deflect.

<<cut>>

Do you have a religious or spiritual belief?

No, I don't

If my statements don't make sense to you, let's talk about them. My interest is in finding communion among members of this Religion and Spirituality convention.

That's what you say, but not what you do.
When I fry to talk about them by asking you to clarify points you made, you either ignore my requests all together or pivot to completely unrelated subjects. And pivot not exactly in any coherent manner at that.
That's what trolls do when they don't like the line of questioning, correctly realizing that they are about to get cornered.

By the way, I was wrong about the timing of the Red Sea parting. According to Exodus, it was 3000 years ago. Below is Smithsonian article affirming, that based on scientific research, it could have happened. It's Smithsonian, and if you don't swallow this tall story, then I am going to be extremely puzzled with you.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart...ing-180953553/

Oh, all of a sudden you are respecting scientific research and about to "be extremely puzzled" with those who don't?
So scientific research is great when it comes to Exodus and useless naturalistic crap when it comes to dinosaurs? Nice.
If you genuinely don't understand how horrible from the standpoint of rationality this approach is, then you are simply not very bright (or, speaking American, an idiot).
And if you do and still are pushing it - <<cut>>

So, what would you like to talk about?

[myuen2]

Originally Posted by phetaroi

You seem to forget that earlier you condemned the Smithsonian magazine.

I did not condemn the Smithsonian magazine. It just doesn't have the authority of the Smithsonian Institute founded in 1846. The magazine bearing its illustrious name is a latter day publication with a different agenda. It's a young puppy that is nothing like the old dog that I treat with respect.

What do you think of the pup's story on the Red Sea? Is it as believable as it's Pilgrim story? I would be very puzzled if you don't buy it.

[phetaroi]

Originally Posted by myuen2

I did not condemn the Smithsonian magazine. It just doesn't have the authority of the Smithsonian Institute founded in 1846. The magazine bearing its illustrious name is a latter day publication with a different agenda. It's a young puppy that is nothing like the old dog that I treat with respect.

What do you think of the pup's story on the Red Sea? Is is as believable as it's Pilgrim story? I would be very puzzled if you don't buy it.

Maybe you need to read the article yourself. What he pointed out was NOT at the Red Sea.

[myuen2]

Originally Posted by phetaroi

Maybe you need to read the article yourself. What he pointed out was NOT at the Red Sea.

I did not read the entire article. Just what I paste below:


Non-believers typically dismiss the miracles described in the Bible as fiction or metaphor. But according to research, at least one of those supposed impossibilities—the parting of the Red Sea to make way for Moses and the fleeing Israelites—perhaps could have happened. (Rachel Nuwer. Smithsonian Magazine.)

[mordant]

Originally Posted by myuen2

I did not read the entire article. Just what I paste below:


Non-believers typically dismiss the miracles described in the Bible as fiction or metaphor. But according to research, at least one of those supposed impossibilities—the parting of the Red Sea to make way for Moses and the fleeing Israelites—perhaps could have happened. (Rachel Nuwer. Smithsonian Magazine.)

"perhaps could have" indicates speculation, not evidence.

In any event I am not aware of any reputable scholar who thinks the exodus happened or that Moses existed as a historical character in the first place.