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Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but throug
- Thread starter John Martin
- Start date
FranklinMichaelV.3
Well-Known Member
like you do the same huh!
FranklinMichaelV.3
Well-Known Member
Huh? What do you mean? If you have taken my responses to you to be offensive in anyway I apologize. I do know in debates it can get very heated and we may come off as defending our positions more fervently then we intend.
Tell me your religion. christian mysticism?
FranklinMichaelV.3
Well-Known Member
No.
I do not fit well into any one Christian denomination. I may come off more as a Christian Deist, as when I read science books, It is hard for my brain to not conceptualize some creator. Or I may come off having some mysticism (as I believe that humans should strive for perfection), I do not hold the doctrine of an eternal hell (As the OT does not seem to indicate such a realm), and rather believe that it is our actions (and societies actions), that determine the suffering of mankind, God does not punish us but we punish ourselves. I may have some Judaism as well as I believe that when we die, the breath of life given to us returns to God.
I believe that the reason I was born into a Christian family, is because that is the way God knew I would best be able to begin searching for God and ultimately having some inkling of what God is (Going by the idea that if no one ever told me of God how would I know to search for God?)
However I am aware that my thoughts are completely irrational to others but rational to me, which is why I would refrain from calling any persons view of the world Irrational, as that is comparing it to the majority.
But I am also aware that I can very much be wrong.
There is a difference between belief in the non-rational, and irrationality. Non-rationality are things such as love, aesthetics, spirituality. Theses are not incompatible with rationality, though their nature is not itself known through rationality. These are experiential, phenomenological.
Irrationality on the other hand is bad rationality. It violates reason. It stands in denial of mountains of evidence that any rational mind can not deny, such as the fact that the earth is round and not a flat plate. This sort of bad-rationality, or irrationality violates not only reason, but spirit, the non-rational. Religious beliefs are not themselves irrational, but non-rational. Irrationality in religion however is also bad spirituality.
FranklinMichaelV.3
Well-Known Member
Thank you, however I think that some who are religious would call me irrational and some atheists would also call me irrational.
There usage of the term may be incorrect, but it doesn't change how they feel/think/believe. So I acknowledge that those people exist.
Well, yes. They mistakenly would assume it to be irrational, since they themselves lack context.
One thing that may help your own understanding, if you're not aware of this already, is understanding the pre/trans fallacy. A rational person may confuse pre-rational mythic-literal beliefs (your fundamentalists in particular), with mystical, or transrational experience. They would see everything that is not rational, as pre-rational, or 'irrational'. They would see this, because they do not have the context of transrational experience. Likewise the pre-rational fundamentalist would see you as a 'heretic', a 'pagan', or whatever boogie man symbol that can slap a face on it with, since they lack context as well. So yes, I understand your point.
You may enjoy this short explanation here. I think it will be helpful to understand: The Pre-Trans Fallacy