God is simple, not complex

[psychoslice]

It's a.k.a. faith.

Theology has traditionally been defined as faith seeking understanding. What this means it that theology requires the intuitive mind (that which perceives the whole) to work in tandem with the analytical mind (that which breaks down in parts).

Na, I can't agree with that, theology is just a study of the scriptures, that doesn't mean that they know how the scriptures should be interpreted, there are theologs that don't agree with you, they may agree with another religion or belief system such as the Seventh Day Adventist, or the JW's, they all have their own theology.

 

[Gambit]

Well, a lot of people like to make generalizations. I am happy to serve as another exception to another person's "experience"of people. But my intuition seems like quite the tangent, so I can't imagine you would rather discuss that than the topic at hand.

I have already pointed out that you made a ridiculous straw man argument. I argued that God is simple, not that the doctrine of divine simplicity is simple to intellectually grasp. Indeed, it requires not only a strong analytical mind but also a strong intuitive mind.

 

[Gambit]

Na, I can't agree with that, theology is just a study of the scriptures, that doesn't mean that they know how the scriptures should be interpreted, there are theologs that don't agree with you, they may agree with another religion or belief system such as the Seventh Day Adventist, or the JW's, they all have their own theology.

I would suggest you spend more time doing your homework before you decide to post.

 

[psychoslice]

I would suggest you spend more time doing your homework before you decide to post.

You are really a big fat egocentric aren't you ?.

 

[Gambit]

You are really a big fat egocentric aren't you ?.

I just tell it like I see it.

 

[Curious George]

I have already pointed out that you made a ridiculous straw man argument. I argued that God is simple, not that the doctrine of divine simplicity is simple to intellectually grasp. Indeed, it requires not only a strong analytical mind but also a strong intuitive mind.

I do not think it is such a "ridiculous argument" given your word choice and penchant for quoting the likes of ockham.

But that is fair. What exactly was your meaning of parsimonious if not implying that it is reserved with regard to the expenditure of mental gymnastics?

 

[psychoslice]

I just tell it like I see it.

yes and you good at it that's for sure, rolled eye's lol.

 

[Rick O'Shez]

It has been my experience that atheists are rather weak in their intuitive capacities.

Or maybe just less gullible. Maybe just less needy, better able to cope with reality.

So what if I claim that Santa Claus is thin rather than fat? Is that really any different from your claim that God is simple? What is the difference?

 

[Gambit]

I do not think it is such a "ridiculous argument" given your word choice and penchant for quoting the likes of ockham.

But that is fair. What exactly was your meaning of parsimonious if not implying that it is reserved with regard to the expenditure of mental gymnastics?

Perhaps I should quote the Dominican Thomas Aquinas rather than the Franciscan William of Ockham.

"It is superfluous to suppose that what can be accounted for by a few principles has been produced by many" - St. Thomas Aquinas

 

[Gambit]

So what if I claim that Santa Claus is thin rather than fat? Is that really any different from your claim that God is simple? What is the difference?

To respond to your post more than this is to give it a modicum of respect which it certainly does not deserve.

 

[Rick O'Shez]

To respond to your post more than this is to give it a modicum of respect which it certainly does not deserve.

Nice bit of evasion! I'm used to your patronising tone by now.

 

[Rick O'Shez]

Actually, I was trying to be diplomatic and tactful.

Trying is the word!

I'll ask the question in a different way. Say that a child believes in both God and Santa Claus, both beliefs result from what the child has been told by it's parents. What is really the difference between these two beliefs?

 

[Gambit]

Trying is the word!

I'll ask the question in a different way. Say that a child believes in both God and Santa Claus, both beliefs result from what the child has been told by it's parents. What is really the difference between these two beliefs?

Do you want me to be blunt?

 

[psychoslice]

To respond to your post more than this is to give it a modicum of respect which it certainly does not deserve.

You certainly don't like compation dpo you ?.

Do you want me to be blunt?

That would be good for a change.

 

[Rick O'Shez]

Do you want me to be blunt?

I want you to stop being evasive and answer the question I posed. What is the difference between a child's belief in God and a child's belief in Santa Claus? I can't see that there is a difference.

 

[allfoak]

Agreed. But hopefully an adult has a more mature understanding than a child.

What is it that a child understands about God?
I would propose that adults lose much of their understanding of God before they actually became an adult.
I am using the physical definition of an adult.

Children have a natural connection to their source.
This connection is abandoned in favor of the ways of the world as we grow older.
As adults we go in search of what we abandoned as a child and make it more complicated than God himself.

We are told to seek but we are not left without being told where to seek.
Ask a child about the little voice inside that tells them when they have done something wrong.
We all know it is there, yet we are unwilling to give it the attention it deserves because it gets in the way of our daily lives.
Now that we are adults we think that life is about the pursuit of pleasure, not realizing that pleasure does not always make one happy.
Happiness and pleasure are often achieved in a very different manner.

It is not God that is complicated, it is the silly human race.
If you want to talk to God, go have a conversation with a child.

 

[allfoak]

I want you to stop being evasive and answer the question I posed. What is the difference between a child's belief in God and a child's belief in Santa Claus? I can't see that there is a difference.

A child's understanding of God is not a belief.
They know that God is on the inside and that santa clause is on the outside of them.

Children pray to God and write letters to santa clause.
There is a clear difference.

 

[savethedreams]

I'm still slightly confused "What is God?" To you?

 

[LuisDantas]

Actually, I was trying to be diplomatic and tactful.

Considering the results, I gather that it is a good idea for you to think twice before posting, at least for a while. You clearly are having a very hard time at it.

 

[Quintessence]

I want you to stop being evasive and answer the question I posed. What is the difference between a child's belief in God and a child's belief in Santa Claus? I can't see that there is a difference.

I'll poke in here briefly, because it actually bothers me that other theists are bothered by comparing gods to "fictional" entities.

The child isn't going to see a distinction, at least initially. They don't learn that until they get older. Then, they are taught by society to create their wall between "real" and "not real" in a particular way though their culture. Even though both God and Santa are otherworldly, they accept one of those otherworldly things and reject the other. Personally, I think this makes no sense at all. I call both real - both entities that clearly exist in the otherworlds and have a powerful influence on the apparent world - and be done with it.

Where the difference lies to me is how humans relate to that otherworldly entity. When they label something as a "god" that indicates a particular kind of regard and relationship above and beyond what people would have for the entity called Santa. "God" is sacred and worthy of worship, but Santa is not. In many respects, to ask the difference is like asking "what's the difference between a person's coworker and their wife/husband?" It's the relationship you have.