Look back over it and you'll see that your wording suggested that you were looking for an argument.
And as for your latter querie, I'd have to say that some things in this world are not logical. Don't misunderstand, though. That doesn't devalue them.
Just like many things in this world, unconditional love can't be explained in terms of science. There's the whole idea of lust, but that's not what I mean. In reference to organisations like World Vision, or Amnesty International, the fact that we can care for someone we've never met, half way across the world, and act of their behalf, makes no logical sense. We don't need to help these people. Yet such bouts of compassion, and "morality" are valued universally throughout humanity.
Religious beliefs are very much the same. They don't need to make sense for us to know that they're right.
I believe God caused the Big Bang, but I don't need to know the origins of God. Maybe God's so clever that he made himself. Does it really matter? All I know is that this world is awe made incarnate, and that during several points in my life so far, I've found volumes strength in the emptiest of places. That's proof enough for me.
DarkSun I have taken your advice and looked back over all responses that I made on this thread to see if I was indeed rude. Sincerely I found none. In a sense I agree with your observation that I would welcome an argument but rather than call it an argument, the term
sincere intellectual discourse is the way it should be identified.
I do not argue for argument's sake. Having found Truth, I am seeking more of it and putting what I see as truth up for examination. That is what this forum is about and every effort of mine is spent here in an attempt to be courteous. That is why I asked that if anyone could identify where I had been rude, tell me about it. No one really identified any real rudeness on my part. I still don't see where the rudeness was but I think I understand where the disrespect and personal attacks on me have come.
Since I understand the personal attacks, I forgive those who have attack me and can live with that.
DarkSun, have you read or heard about Plato's Cave Allegory? About everybody that attended college probably remembers the story. It is a classic. It's about a man tied in a cave so he could not see the daylight outside the cave. He had a confused opinion of life outside the cave because he had been in darkness for so long. He believed what he experienced in the cave was reality. Please read the story and you will get more meaning out of it than I can relate to you here. But as the man's eyes adjusted to the light so he could see reality outside the cave, his eyes hurt. That's what I think has happened on this thread. I have documented these hurtful events from the responses on this thread but it would spark more contention than the monitors would appreciate if I flouted these. I'll probably be belittled for pointing this out.
What this explosion and net picking at me was, was like the old time preacher who said you could throw a rock into a pack of Dogs and the one that was hit would come out barking. Somebody said to me that if a person had the truth that he would not have to tell everyone. Maybe that's true but one thing for sure is that you will not be emotionally torn apart every time your challenged. Challenges will just role over your head.
There is no place I can go on these threads that the rocked dogs will not be. Check out all the threads on religion and politics. You'll find all injured dogs there barking just like here. As a young Christian the unbelievers used to confuse me and belittle me in discussions about God. If the atheist and agnostics sunk their teeth into you, you were called names and threatened and all manner of crazy stuff. Not all ateist and agnostics were doing this. Just a few were. What I found out was, it was their logic that was incorrect. Logic is as good as its premises. No sound and stable premises, bad behavior, bad science, bad theories, bad communication skills, bad government (communism), bad judges, bad rulers, bad marriages, bad parents,bad ethics, bad debates, etc. When you see fighting and confusion, don't blame it on a person, blame it on faulty logic. The wrong can not stand it. They might leave you alone unless your name is George Bush.
You can say about anything on these threads within reason, but if you question a person's premises, that is when you will be asked to leave. There is no way I have violated the rules of the forum but I'll leave just to keep the peace as there are other threads to explore. If, as in your case, someone addresses a thread to me, I will attempt to respond.But if you don' t like my answer, don't call me rude.
:clap the GadFly
