Explain this.
Do you believe a reading of the book of Genesis as supporting a literal 6 day creation in defiance of the actual science of earth history is supported by evidence and logic?
I find the insights of John Dominic Crossan to be most helpful here in regards to the ideas of justice. There are actually two types. Retributive Justice and Distributive Justice.
The idea of Retributive Justice is as you describe; paying back others for the wrongs they have done, exacting...
You say that as though you know for sure. You realize that Carrier is one of around only 20 scholars that believe that? Many atheists believe Jesus was historical too. Take Bart Ehrman for one key example.
So that doesn't make modern Christianity bad, considering it the consensus of most...
That's the kind of statement that makes me see that you don't understand what I'm talking about. You say it's their truth, but it's based on falsehoods. My argument is that if it is consistent with available truths as they understand them to be, given that particular framework or stage through...
Based upon your responses and the things you say in regards to those who see the world through a different interpretive framework, it gives that impression. Now that you state you understand this, then communication should prove easier.
Do you accept the relative nature of truth then, based...
I'm still talking about something you're not quite hearing yet. Coming back to these different levels, or structures of consciousness as Gebser first defined them, which are recognized by other developmentalist in multiple areas of human growth. Think of these like different floors in a tall...
Would you claim that Hinduism is a unified religion with a uniformity of beliefs? Would you claim it is dysfunctional because it is the opposite of that? (Although one could argue that it is united in its acceptance and tolerance of diversity).
And you're missing the 3rd variable. Truth which is observed and reasoned and filtered through the lens or framework of our systems of language and current developmental stages. Now you're talking truth. Reality is a meditated affair. We don't go straight from observation to understanding...
No. You simply do not understand what the function and role the mythologies play in actual human evolution. It's not "bad science". It's for another purpose, which is what I and others are trying to explain. They have validity in other words, but you have to let go of this silly notion that only...
Then you agree that truth is relative to the believer, no? Because each uses the same logic and reasoning processes to reach conclusions that fit within their system of reality.
Think of it this way. Is a person playing checkers using logic in playing the game on a board of black and white...
The funny thing is, they are doing that within their particular system. They are following the rules of logic, or the rules of inference within their system, the same way you may be within yours. That is what I was saying when I said, they may not make the same conclusions as yours, as their...
I'm pretty certain that Buddhist deities are still considered "woo woo" by Western "skeptics". No?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhist_deities
Not if you are at the magic and mythic levels. I continually try to educate and inform Western "skeptics", that deity forms are all symbolic of real...
Yes, that is the faith of logical positivism. I respect your beliefs, though I see them insufficient to attain the highest Knowledge available to humans. It has it's value, but unlike yourself, I do not see it as one true way. One True Way'ism is too fundamentalist for my tastes.
If you keep saying this, you may eventually believe it. BTW, "Ultimate Reality" does not refer to a fixed point, or an end or ceiling. It's seeing Openness itself, as opposed to a fixed formula that can be expressed mathematically.
No, it is not entirely and individual thing. Think of it in terms of "good health". Is that entirely subjective, and it can mean just about anything at all or really nothing at all? Of course not. It becomes really clear when things are working efficiently in the body. And it is common to one...
The problem with that is everyone believes their beliefs are justifiable. Otherwise they wouldn't believe in them, right?
Now, what may meet your standards for justications, may not meet the standards of others. And others' justifications for their beliefs might not meet your standards. And...
The same can be said of the meaning of "love". Isn't it really up to us to find what that is as the ideal and live that in our lives, and thus help better define what that means, or is supposed to mean?
All this is true. I would no more accept God means you get to force your views on others, as...
The only thing I suggest is you stop claiming it's not your faith, but rather own it as your faith. That's perfectly fine and reasonable to have physicalism as your faith about Ultimate Reality. It's not fine to claim it's not faith however.
These are matters of philosophical beliefs, not...
Not the way you describe it as resolved we haven't.
No, we haven't established that these are "only what the mind defines them to be" and that they are "mere fabrications". They are hardly fabrications. They are words which have actual referents in lived human reality that extend beyond just...