The following are Christian religious teachings which strike me as more rational/empirical than most. Do you detect any reasoning flaws in them?
Q. Is the knowledge of the existence of God a matter of mere tradition, founded upon human testimony alone, until a person receives a manifestation of God to themselves? A. It is.
No one can truly say he knows God until he has handled something.
The beauty of the teachings of the Lord is that they are true and that you can confirm them for yourself.
If we understood the process of creation there would be no mystery about it, it would be all reasonable and plain, for there is no mystery except to the ignorant. This we know by what we have learned naturally since we have had a being on the earth.
Their not being able to prevail against it does not prove it to be the Kingdom of God, for there are many theories and systems on the earth, incontrovertible by the wisdom of the world, which are nevertheless false.
No one can truly say he knows God until he has handled something.
What does it mean? What do I need to handle to know God?
The beauty of the teachings of the Lord is that they are true and that you can confirm them for yourself.
It would be beautiful if you could, but alas, either the teachings are not testable, or the test fails, or there is a simpler explanation.
If we understood the process of creation there would be no mystery about it, it would be all reasonable and plain, for there is no mystery except to the ignorant.
This is true as far as it goes, but note that astrophysicists admire the night sky at least as much as lay folks, despite being able to describe in some detail how the stars shine and galaxies form. So “reasonable” doesn’t mean “plain”.
This we know by what we have learned naturally since we have had a being on the earth.
I don’t understand what this sentence means.
Their not being able to prevail against it does not prove it to be the Kingdom of God, for there are many theories and systems on the earth, incontrovertible by the wisdom of the world, which are nevertheless false.
Does this say that one cannot tell the difference between many models giving the same predictions? Then yes, it is pretty reasonable.
...but note that astrophysicists admire the night sky at least as much as lay folks, despite being able to describe in some detail how the stars shine and galaxies form. So “reasonable” doesn’t mean “plain”.
Quite the opposite, since the astrophysicists can enjoy the night sky on many more levels than someone who believes that stars are just little holes in the celestial dome, or something. Some of these things we call “stars” are suns (much like our own Sol), but others are galaxies or globular clusters. What sounds more grand and wonderful: “a tiny little light in the sky”, or “a gravitationally bound system consisting of stars, stellar remnants, interstellar gas and dust, and dark matter” ?
Mmm, that might be about right, I’m not clear on a few points.
1 - Is the bad epistemology from an assumption that the teacher here advocates believing in what he calls a mere human tradition (until this manifestation, anyway)?
2 - Do you mean here that the form of the teaching is sound, but that you believe it could never practically apply, because there is not God that you could hold off on “truly knowing” until you met and felt him?
3 - Ah, here, I do believe we have a misunderstanding. My question is if you detect anything wrong with the form of the assertion. If the way of thinking is irrational, rather than the implied belief it’s being applied to.
4 - I think your answer here was good, thanks :)
5 - I think you’re good here. Just to confirm I’m understanding, you mean that the form of the assertion is rational, but that the specific implied belief accompanying it is false, yes?
The following are Christian religious teachings which strike me as more rational/empirical than most. Do you detect any reasoning flaws in them?
Q. Is the knowledge of the existence of God a matter of mere tradition, founded upon human testimony alone, until a person receives a manifestation of God to themselves? A. It is.
No one can truly say he knows God until he has handled something.
The beauty of the teachings of the Lord is that they are true and that you can confirm them for yourself.
If we understood the process of creation there would be no mystery about it, it would be all reasonable and plain, for there is no mystery except to the ignorant. This we know by what we have learned naturally since we have had a being on the earth.
Their not being able to prevail against it does not prove it to be the Kingdom of God, for there are many theories and systems on the earth, incontrovertible by the wisdom of the world, which are nevertheless false.
What does it mean? What do I need to handle to know God?
It would be beautiful if you could, but alas, either the teachings are not testable, or the test fails, or there is a simpler explanation.
This is true as far as it goes, but note that astrophysicists admire the night sky at least as much as lay folks, despite being able to describe in some detail how the stars shine and galaxies form. So “reasonable” doesn’t mean “plain”.
I don’t understand what this sentence means.
Does this say that one cannot tell the difference between many models giving the same predictions? Then yes, it is pretty reasonable.
Quite the opposite, since the astrophysicists can enjoy the night sky on many more levels than someone who believes that stars are just little holes in the celestial dome, or something. Some of these things we call “stars” are suns (much like our own Sol), but others are galaxies or globular clusters. What sounds more grand and wonderful: “a tiny little light in the sky”, or “a gravitationally bound system consisting of stars, stellar remnants, interstellar gas and dust, and dark matter” ?
Going through in order:
1 is a confession of bad epistemology,
2 is an assertion with no bad epistemology but a wrong premise,
3 is a generic wrong assertion with a “and that’s beautiful” tacked on the front,
4 is a true statement largely independent of religious questions,
5 is good epistemology applied to wrong premises.
Does that engage with what you were asking, or have I misparsed you completely?
Mmm, that might be about right, I’m not clear on a few points.
1 - Is the bad epistemology from an assumption that the teacher here advocates believing in what he calls a mere human tradition (until this manifestation, anyway)?
2 - Do you mean here that the form of the teaching is sound, but that you believe it could never practically apply, because there is not God that you could hold off on “truly knowing” until you met and felt him?
3 - Ah, here, I do believe we have a misunderstanding. My question is if you detect anything wrong with the form of the assertion. If the way of thinking is irrational, rather than the implied belief it’s being applied to.
4 - I think your answer here was good, thanks :)
5 - I think you’re good here. Just to confirm I’m understanding, you mean that the form of the assertion is rational, but that the specific implied belief accompanying it is false, yes?
Thanks much, I appreciate your brevity.