PoetPhilosopher
Veteran Member
Actually I did mention fundamentalism, but it's a broader definition: Christian fundamentalism - Wikipedia
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The indiscretion I was talking about was the spilling of seed.
What if the donkey was telepathic? Have you guys ever thought of that? No.
If we are talking about a car what is presented is applicable since what we know factually is nature is one giant car and god is its designer creator that the universe randomly goes about its business accidentally, clearly crktical thinking is applicable.Numbers 22:28-30 New International Version (NIV)
28 Then the Lord opened the donkey’s mouth, and it said to Balaam, “What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?”
29 Balaam answered the donkey, “You have made a fool of me! If only I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you right now.”
30 The donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your own donkey, which you have always ridden, to this day? Have I been in the habit of doing this to you?”
“No,” he said.
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Genesis 38:9-10 New International Version (NIV)
9 But Onan knew that the child would not be his; so whenever he slept with his brother’s wife, he spilled his [seed] on the ground to keep from providing offspring for his brother.10 What he did was wicked in the Lord’s sight; so the Lord put him to death also.
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Question: Is Bible fundamentalism compatible with Critical Thinking?
View attachment 29961
No. Definitely not.Question: Is Bible fundamentalism compatible with Critical Thinking?
Short answer: No. Those who take the Creation story or the OP stories literally are not using Critical Thinking.Numbers 22:28-30 New International Version (NIV)
28 Then the Lord opened the donkey’s mouth, and it said to Balaam, “What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?”
29 Balaam answered the donkey, “You have made a fool of me! If only I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you right now.”
30 The donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your own donkey, which you have always ridden, to this day? Have I been in the habit of doing this to you?”
“No,” he said.
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Genesis 38:9-10 New International Version (NIV)
9 But Onan knew that the child would not be his; so whenever he slept with his brother’s wife, he spilled his [seed] on the ground to keep from providing offspring for his brother.10 What he did was wicked in the Lord’s sight; so the Lord put him to death also.
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Question: Is Bible fundamentalism compatible with Critical Thinking?
View attachment 29961
Question: Is Bible fundamentalism compatible with Critical Thinking?
Critical thinking = the analysis of facts to form a judgmentIf you mean, is a literal view of the Bible consistent with critical thinking, I would say no.
So... in other words....Animals have languages and God is able to translate it into an understanding in the mind of a man.
No different than a man figuring out what the dog wanted:
Stange dog wants the police to come to his house – one glance at the balcony and he quickly calls 911
The only difference is that the policeman didn't get the verbal translation, just the understanding of the dog's actions.
So the dog WASN'T talking to the policeman
and DIDN'T know something was wrong with his owner?
And when he saw the policeman follow, he just RANDOMLY went to his house?
WOW! You are SO perceptive. Are you an atheist? Just asking.
Didn't that donkey in Shrek speak as well? You might have the proof you need!!I might be having second thoughts - on critical reflection it is hard to believe that "Lords" would actually speak through donkeys...like donkeys perhaps...but not through them
It can easily be observed that animals don't communicate in complex sentences containing thoughts as concise as were expressed by this biblical donkey. They use short, meaningful bursts of communication for over-arching concepts like "I'm angry", "danger present", "help" or "emergency." If they could communicate in much the way that humans could, then it would necessarily mean that they grasped whole hosts of abstract thoughts and thought processes, they would much more easily be able to work together toward common goals, reason with one another over disputes, and generally much more easily deceive and trick we humans as they felt necessary. Instead, we see them easily isolated from one another, unable to cope with trickery, trapping, or human presented challenges. Hell... deer apparently can't even communicate to one another that they should be careful around those crazy solid-river things made of that shiny black material.I thought we were talking critical thinking here.
I didn't ask if you understood the whole of an animals language (since science is still working on that) but rather if they did have a language to communicate by:
Stange dog wants the police to come to his house – one glance at the balcony and he quickly calls 911
Isn't atheism the result of critical thinking?Hmmmm... I think atheism doesn't allow critical thinking.
It was a tongue in cheek statement. Critical thinking is both for atheists as it is for theists.Isn't atheism the result of critical thinking?
So, when you go to work and "believe" you will get a paycheck, no critical thinking is involved because you don't know if the company will close the very week that you are expecting a paycheck? You just "believe" it will remain open?Critical thinking = the analysis of facts to form a judgment
Belief = an acceptance that something exists or is true, especially one without proof
I think, according to these definition, "Critical thinking" is impossible when we talk about "Belief", which is per definition "Not Fact"
Numbers 22:28-30 New International Version (NIV)
28 Then the Lord opened the donkey’s mouth, and it said to Balaam, “What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?”
29 Balaam answered the donkey, “You have made a fool of me! If only I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you right now.”
30 The donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your own donkey, which you have always ridden, to this day? Have I been in the habit of doing this to you?”
“No,” he said.
----
Genesis 38:9-10 New International Version (NIV)
9 But Onan knew that the child would not be his; so whenever he slept with his brother’s wife, he spilled his [seed] on the ground to keep from providing offspring for his brother.10 What he did was wicked in the Lord’s sight; so the Lord put him to death also.
---
Question: Is Bible fundamentalism compatible with Critical Thinking?
View attachment 29961
It was a tongue in cheek statement. Critical thinking is both for atheists as it is for theists.
Alright. That resolves the OP I spent 20 minutes on finding the verses, and posting in debates for careful consideration and refutation.
No, it is myth and should be read as such and not as literal history. In the first case we have a donkey given voice so that we can see a person struggle against the will of God. This experience foreshadowed for Balaam what God what God was about to do to the king who had summoned him. In other words Balaam was being treated by that king as he was treating that donkey.
In the second case another longer story is being told that has to do with how a families generations would play out. The man spilling his seed was disobeying his father's instruction and also, probably, his social duty to his family. His punishment is meant to express the notion that if one doesnt work to promote the family then one will die without having a family to carry on ones life.
Then the father having lost two sons in this manner makes the same mistake but God uses the woman who was to be the mother of his Onan's fathers descendants to finally give him that descendant in spite of of himself.
Now whether you are a believer or not, we all experience in life that we may get in our own way, be our own worst enemy. We try to find a way around something that we want to avoid and still try to accomplish our goal even if avoidance brings failure. Accept reality in order to find satisfaction, obey the will of God who is the author of reality and you will have the benefit of a story with a happy ending.