Protestantism

» Brian Tubbs - Another extreme, Migisi

In response to Truth, Evidence, etc. posted by Migisi:

I'm a true believer, and my belief is not based on "zero proof" or blind faith. You are pushing this to an extreme choice.

I believe there is a high percentage of evidential substantiation for the existence of God, the existence of Jesus, and the resurrection of Jesus - the three foundational, building block tenets for Christianity.

In my periods of doubt and soul-searching (and please do not underestimate the depth of doubt in those periods), I came to the conclusion - through study (not just prayer) of ALL sides - that there was more evidence for the fundamental claims of Christianity (and I'm talking about BASIC, evangelical Christianity - and NOT Catholicism or all the 2000 years of doctrinal evolution) than for any other religion or for atheism.

The Bible does not call Christians to a blind "leap-in-the-dark" faith. It calls them to a reasoned faith.

http://protestantism.suite101.com/articl...

Permalink Print Discussion Email Discussion How to subscribe to feeds

» Brian Tubbs - Answering Pink

In response to Truth, Evidence, etc. posted by pink101:

Where do YOUR thoughts come from?

The brain is the processor for our thoughts. The source of those thoughts would be the stimuli of our senses. Example: We see and smell an object, and those senses are processed in our brain and we then realize we are looking at and smelling a flower. I'm over-simplifying, because this is an Internet discussion board, and I don't have time to give a more thorough biological and psychological explanation. But you get the idea.

Does God put them in your mind as completed packages while you are developing in the womb?

No, but we grow in our womb according to God's design. God is the Creator of humankind.

Permalink Print Discussion Email Discussion How to subscribe to feeds

» pink101 - Answering Pink

In response to Answering Pink posted by BrianTubbs:

.
This question of where our thoughts come from was one of the main doctrinal issues during the early days of our nation--in particular with the highly educated Puritan pastors like Johnathon Edwards and Whitfield.
.
So, Bryan, are you saying that your thoughts do not come directly into your mind from the Holy Spirit of God?
.
Is that what you are saying?
.

-- posted by pink101

Permalink Print Discussion Email Discussion How to subscribe to feeds

» Brian Tubbs - Thoughts

In response to Answering Pink posted by pink101:

I'm saying that thoughts are the result of the brain processing input from the various stimuli - and that stimuli includes, but is not limited to, God. God is certainly capable of putting thoughts into our mind, but not every single thought that I have comes from God.

Permalink Print Discussion Email Discussion How to subscribe to feeds

» Brian Tubbs - Standards

In response to Extremes posted by Migisi:

To Migisi AND Pink, my challenge to both of you is that you apply the same standard of analysis ACROSS THE BOARD to documents of antiquity.

Migisi, I'm not asking you to buy into all of Homer's writings - hook, line, and sinker. But retaining a critical and skeptical mind with respect to Homer doesn't mean that you completely dismiss Homer and what he says.

There are many things that the Bible reports, and there's no reason to question them. For example, all four Gospel accounts say that Jesus was buried in the tomb of Joseph of Arimethea (sp?). Well, why question that? That's FOUR ancient documents - four sources - that report that particular situation. There's no reason to throw that out.

And yet...it seems that (to a great extent) Migisi and (to a lesser, but still significant extent) Pink are inclined to jettison the ENTIRE Bible, because of the "agenda" of some of its authors and the supernatural claims made within many of its pages. I'm saying that...EVEN IF YOU REJECT THE SUPERNATURAL ELEMENTS and/or TURN YOUR NOSE UP AT THE MONOTHEISTIC AGENDA...the collection of writings contained in the Bible deserve to be treated - at the very least - as any other document of antiquity. To do anything less is truly anti-intellectual.

Permalink Print Discussion Email Discussion How to subscribe to feeds

» pink101 - Standards

In response to Standards posted by BrianTubbs:

.
It amazes me that you try to speak on behalf of others regarding what their beliefs are about the Bible.
.
I don't throw ANY of the Bible out per se. But, I do put the Fundamentalist as well as other extremist interpretations where I think they belong.
.
The more I learn, the less I believe. No wonder Fundamentalists are so anti-intellectual. They are afraid of education.
.

-- posted by pink101

Permalink Print Discussion Email Discussion How to subscribe to feeds

» pink101 - Light of Education

.
Education is like a light that penetrates the darkness of human ignorance.
.
Ignorance is inexcusable in our post modern times when education is so readily available.
.
The idea of praxis as it is applied to self education seems to be lost on so many of the religious right who are led about by the nose of their emotions. With public libraries so available and the 'Net so easy to access, it is difficult to understand why anyone would close the doors to the opportunity we all have to learn more and more truth about our existence.
.
Ignorance is the purposeful closing of the mind to the light of education. What a shame that America is so engorged on religious bigotry that disallows the light of what is already available to be known about reality. There is more than enough proof ~ PROOF POSITIVE ~ that the earth is more than 100s of millions of years old and that prehistoric animals pre-existed human beings. To say a person is ignorant, is to say they purposely close their eyes to the light.
.
Religious bigotry has outlived its ability to block out the light from anyone who exhibits the least amount of curiosity. But, it continues to do what it can to confuse and discombobulate reason.
.

-- posted by pink101

Permalink Print Discussion Email Discussion How to subscribe to feeds

» Migisi - Standards

In response to Standards posted by BrianTubbs:
.
For example, all four Gospel accounts say that Jesus was buried in the tomb of Joseph of Arimethea (sp?). Well, why question that? That's FOUR ancient documents - four sources - that report that particular situation. There's no reason to throw that out.
.
Yes there is reason to throw it out. Was it Joseph's tomb?
.
- Mat 27 says "placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock."
- Mark 15 says "and placed it in a tomb cut out of rock".
- Luke reads "placed it in a tomb cut in the rock, one in which no one had yet been laid".
- John 19 reads "At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there."
.
So, only Matthew identifies the tomb as belonging to Joseph. The other three don't.
.
Discrepancies surrounding this simple little detail, and the many others surrounding the resurrection and appearances afterwards, shoot holes in the accuracy of the four "ancient documents".
.
According to Jewish burial tradition back then, Joseph would've had his tomb built in his native Arimathea where his family clan was. Let's say Joseph followed tradition. Problem is even the location of Aramathea remains in question. Some say it's about 16 miles east of Joppa, some say it's northwest of Lydda, others think it's actually the town of Ramah six miles north of Jerusalem. So, who really knows where Joseph's tomb really was - or where Jesus' tomb was??
.

-- posted by Migisi

Permalink Print Discussion Email Discussion How to subscribe to feeds

» Brian Tubbs - Light of Education

In response to Light of Education posted by pink101:

Education is like a light that penetrates the darkness of human ignorance.

Agreed...well said.

Ignorance is inexcusable in our post modern times when education is so readily available.

Agreed...also very well said.

The idea of praxis as it is applied to self education seems to be lost on so many of the religious right who are led about by the nose of their emotions.

The "religious right" (which is a very loaded and fluid term, but I'll let it pass for now) is not the only group that allows itself to be led "by the nose of their emotions."

With public libraries so available and the 'Net so easy to access, it is difficult to understand why anyone would close the doors to the opportunity we all have to learn more and more truth about our existence.

I agree with you 100%. This has always been frustrating to me. But a lot has to do with our fixation on pleasure, entertainment, etc. People care more about NCAA March Madness or Tom Cruise's career and love life than they do about the kinds of things we regulardly discuss on this site.

Ignorance is the purposeful closing of the mind to the light of education.

Agreed

What a shame that America is so engorged on religious bigotry that disallows the light of what is already available to be known about reality.

Bigotry in general is a culprit in this, not simply religious bigotry. And there are other factors as well, like I mentioned above.

There is more than enough proof ~ PROOF POSITIVE ~ that the earth is more than 100s of millions of years old and that prehistoric animals pre-existed human beings.

If you assume across-the-board naturalism and embrace uniformatarianism, then I agree.

To say a person is ignorant, is to say they purposely close their eyes to the light. Religious bigotry has outlived its ability to block out the light from anyone who exhibits the least amount of curiosity. But, it continues to do what it can to confuse and discombobulate reason.

I reject religious bigotry, but I think you define that term more broadly than I do.

Permalink Print Discussion Email Discussion How to subscribe to feeds

» Brian Tubbs - Tomb

In response to Standards posted by Migisi:

Let's start up a new thread on the empty tomb. I think this is a great discussion, and I appreciate your points. Let's not have this get lost in a broader discussion on Mithras, Christ, paganism, etc.

Permalink Print Discussion Email Discussion How to subscribe to feeds