Tom Storm

There's an awful lot of work put in by theists and other spear carriers for the supernatural to try to show that atheism is just bad religion. But thi...

I hear you, Brother.

I think this is a common view but not sure it has much impact on the debate. There are many people who believe they have access to knowledge about God...

So what? The point - they would argue - is that logic was created by God for humans. Of course it has no application for a rock. But neither has moral...

Nice joke. :up:

Problem is you are choosing your version of 'overwhelmingly obvious'. The believer sees God in all things. Feels God inside them. Says that God delibe...

I don't like it because it sets up the idea that if there are laws there must be a lawmaker. I prefer the term logical axioms. But as far as we can te...

It's not strange, it is a venerable academic argument. He may not know it but he is referring to the Logical Absolutes (I think Aristotle first articu...

The problem of God and evil is significant and even the most sophisticated religious thinkers like David Bentley Hart find this argument has impact on...

Don't be afraid to call out and oppose supernatural appeals to bigotry where they happen. It is best understood this way: 'I don't hate you, I hate yo...

No point in setting up faith as a magical word. It is just belief without evidence and works no differently than in the case of those people who thoug...

You fail to demonstrate a couple of key things and address none of my points. Until you can demonstrate god or that the world can't have been the prod...

Actually the argument you presented is known as a presuppositional argument for God and is used by apologists almost word for word. I just polished it...

Yep, and it is a great example of the fallacy from incredulity in action. Which is - "I can't think of any other explanation for the world therefore G...

That could useful if I were talking about how hardship is overcome but I'm not.

That's deeply interesting Wayfarer. I had a long interest in Krishnamurti - I think it was his exceptional clarity on some matters and his no nonsense...

I understand that - I was immersed in Jung and theosophy amongst others in the 1980's. I would need someone to demonstrate that this is justifiable be...

Sorry - This kind of model isn't my thing; if it is exoteric - I don't get it :smile: For me human beings are clever animals with language and an abil...

I couldn't say for certain. I think people are similar so their ideas are often similar. But people are also tribal, so approaches develop and split o...

I think we speak of the same things differently.

You forget that religious morality is subjective. All morality is subjective, but, as you say, we can choose to agree on a presupposition like, for in...

Forget Plato's Cave. If you want to chasing after shadows, try spirituality. There have been a zillion attempts to distill the elements of the true sp...

That's true. But there are questions that come out of this. Why is it that Christianity - and let's face it, so many religions worldwide - so effortle...

I don't mind paying taxes. I live in a community. “I like to pay taxes. With them, I buy civilization.” Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes

Well I just did, so that can't be right. Even the secular world has access to the homily: 'Ye shall know them by their fruits.'

A sign of the times. Postmodernism has 'taught' us that we live in a relativist world and for at least 40 years many people have been afraid to call a...

I think you could also say that Marx is one of the most widely coopted and least read thinkers of modernity. Anecdotal I know but I have yet to meet a...

You too, Sir. I appreciate your patience and knowledge.

I don't know,I am not a biologist. But here's the thing. If we discover that something is true we accept it.

I've known a few seriously wealthy individuals. They were pretty ordinary or miserable folk and it never made me imagine that money (past having enoug...

The point is there's a lot of stuff being called scientific that isn't. You need to put that to Dawkins. It's not my subject. But generally science is...

I would think that would be justifiable. Behind every fortune is a terrible crime (Balzac).

It plays out just fine. I don't accept claims unless there is evidence. If claims can't be reproduced they need to be shelved. Bad science exists, esp...

My point is simply that we don't accept a belief without good evidence.

Everything is ideology if you try hard enough.

Thank you for your extensive response. No I would say if it exists, we can investigate it. 'Might be' is not 'is'. Otherwise it is woo. But this and t...

Proferssor Bart Ehrman is probably more nuanced. He thinks YbY was probably real but few of the stories are. I guess I've just always come to the usua...

see my previous point.

Actually there is no certainty on this. Some suggest the character may have been based on a real person - there were numerous itinerant messianic teac...

Not sure this issue resonates with me vey much. I am simply making the point that your presuppositions here may not be recognizable to everyone.

Wayfarer doesn't really say where his ideas may lead, hence my earlier question. I am simply introducing this as part of the discussion as it is an ob...

I don't understand the sentence. The history of psychology and counselling would be at odds with this. The fact is, many, many people don't know they ...

Ok, holistically is fine - many disciplines that can come together usefully, based around evidence and demonstrable results. If it is observational, i...

Well, it is not always a given that changes to undermine the stats quo are going to be good. It is always possible that you will make things worse. An...

Science is just a tool we can use that has demonstrated consistent reliability and its findings can be replicated or reviewed and perhaps found wantin...

Not that you meant this, perhaps, but isn't the tendency to use this word 'scientism' usually a patronizing label? Is applying it to Sagan useful? Giv...

Never said there was not, only that we can't assert it is ipso facto better than naturalism.

What are you thinking? Yes, it is pretty tedious and there is no consensus on this. 'Correspondence' is probably a better word and comes with a venera...

Baker, I'm assuming you're jesting, right? I am not talking about the gestation of Logotherapy in Frankl's mind. I am talking about it as a psychother...

No idea. Absurd can be kind of mysterious can't it? With Camus I always thought the word 'absurd' was really just his rage masquerading as alienation....