Re: Pascal\'s Wager...
 

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I have to admit that attitude is beyond me, totally. No hope, no meaning, no purpose - " a walking shadow, a poor player" indeed. "Out, out brief candle".

But for us
"There are pleasures in the right hand of God forever".

"We rejoice with joy unspeakable".

"No more tears, no more suffering."

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Hope, meaning, and purpose are what you make of them. You choose to make them into the intangible and unseen.

Re: Pascal\'s Wager...
 

There is no meaning to existence other that that which you give it. Word.

Makes me feel paradoxically warm and cozy.

Re: Pascal\'s Wager...
 

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But for us
"There are pleasures in the right hand of God forever".

"We rejoice with joy unspeakable".

"No more tears, no more suffering."

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Had you been born in Iran, you would have one set of beliefs. If India, another. If China, yet another. What makes you think that your particular set of religious beliefs is true to the exclusion of all the others?

Or to put it another way, how should I choose a religion? (Supposing that I suddenly decided that were a good idea.)

GG

Re: Pascal\'s Wager...
 

If this is true, why are so many people speaking for God as though they understand the ultimate Overlord's intentions?
What is the criteria by which you distinguish divine revelation from hubris? If you cannot understand, admit that you don't understand and move on with your life.

Re: Another Question For Christians
 

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"People like Sklansky believe there is nothing above them. Therefore, there must be no God. Overly intelligent people have too much pride and confidence in themselves to accept that their is something higher then they are."

It is very important that people understand the untruthfullness of the above. Most highly intelligent people believe it is very likely that there are far more intelligent beings elswhere in the universe. The reason they do not believe in the God of organized religions is because an intelligent analysis of the evidence leads to the conclusion that these religions are almost certainly wrong. It has nothing to do with pride.

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Not only that but almost all highly intelligent people believe there is a huge amount of both thigns thye they don't know and things that are unknown.

"The difference between what the most and least leanred people know is inexpressibly trivial in relation that which is unknown."
-Albert Einstein.

Re: Pascal\'s Wager...
 

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Hope, meaning, and purpose are what you make of them. You choose to make them into the intangible and unseen.

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"For why does one hope for what he sees?"

"Looking not at the things which are seen, but the things which are unseen"

Re: Pascal\'s Wager...
 

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Makes me feel paradoxically warm and cozy.

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The warmth and coziness of rebellion. There is a certain pleasure in the joy of forbidden fruit, but it is temporal and the consequence is not pretty.

Re: Pascal\'s Wager...
 

I don't think it's possible to make any decision concerning one's ultimate beliefs on the basis of rationality alone.

However, Christianity is unique. Only those religions based on the Bible teach an absolute/personal Creator Who is supreme and justly exercising authority over His creation. There are many other doctrines of the Bible not found in any other world view.

I believe that if objectivity was possible, one would find that the Bible best "explains" everything compared to any other world view. That doesn't mean it explains everything, or for that matter anything exhaustively.

But no one becomes a Christian on the basis of argumentation alone. God is active in all conversions and He also says "Whosoever will may come".

Re: Pascal\'s Wager...
 

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If this is true, why are so many people speaking for God as though they understand the ultimate Overlord's intentions?


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People say all sorts of things.

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What is the criteria by which you distinguish divine
revelation from hubris?


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The Word of God.

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If you cannot understand, admit that you don't understand and move on with your life.


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I understand and don't understand. I try to move on with my life every minute.

Re: Another Question For Christians
 

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The reason they do not believe in the God of organized religions is because an intelligent analysis of the evidence leads to the conclusion that these religions are almost certainly wrong. It has nothing to do with pride.


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This is sanguine beyond measure. I have yet to find an intelligent analysis leading to the conclusion that Christianity is wrong. What I find is a presupposition about the nature of ultimate reality that is non-Christian, followed by a perfunctory reasoning process that proves what has been assumed.

Unbelief is ethical, not intellectual.