02-18-2022, 02:07 AM
@Mark - having flipped through Collins's book, I find a contradiction that I have seen with many Christian apologists. It is all right to talk about a God on the basis of how complex life is, how unlikely the universe is, etc. The deep truth is imageless.
But from there, to make the jump and believe that a Levantine tribe 5,000 years ago was selected by a particular tribal deity as his chosen race, and who were enjoined not to worship that deity's rivals, is a bridge too far. Or the whole drama about Yehoshua being resurrected, not to mention the drama of the Trinity.
It's this moving from the plausible and intelligent questions about the nature of existence, to the superstitions of a particular group of people to the exclusion of the superstitions of other groups of people, is what I don't understand.
This is the weakness even with Islam, unless you allow for a radical re-interpretation of its doctrines such as the infallibility of the Quran. But in comparison, Islam is a less theologically conflicted faith amongst the Abrahamic religions.
What is truth?
But from there, to make the jump and believe that a Levantine tribe 5,000 years ago was selected by a particular tribal deity as his chosen race, and who were enjoined not to worship that deity's rivals, is a bridge too far. Or the whole drama about Yehoshua being resurrected, not to mention the drama of the Trinity.
It's this moving from the plausible and intelligent questions about the nature of existence, to the superstitions of a particular group of people to the exclusion of the superstitions of other groups of people, is what I don't understand.
This is the weakness even with Islam, unless you allow for a radical re-interpretation of its doctrines such as the infallibility of the Quran. But in comparison, Islam is a less theologically conflicted faith amongst the Abrahamic religions.
(02-16-2022, 06:46 AM)Torkelburger Wrote: I am only concerned with whether or not something is true, not with whether or not something is creative. Whether or not something is creative has nothing to do with whether or not it is true.
What is truth?