Free Will

[J'Pol]

Originally posted by zapjb@17 May 2004 - 23:00
Thanks J'Pol. I wasted a few years of my life trying to be an atheist/agnostic.

You just didn't have the calling mate.

[hobbes]

Where did you chaps find out that God is omniscient? Is there a pamphlet on this?

To a microrganism, my dog might be considered a God. After all, that poop he just laid is going to be that bacteria's universe. The little E. Colis are down their praying to the creator of their universe and his infinite wisdom. Meanwhile, Spot sits there oblivious to it all, licking his nuts.

Sure God is omniscient, just make up any old story you want and it is true. Proof, evidence who needs it.

God created man, man fell from grace, God killed everyone and started over. A rational mind might say, "looks like he misjudged his creation and had to start over". The faithful mind will shake it of and say, "God works in mysterious ways".

Whatever it takes to keep the illusion real, I say.

Maybe we are praying to somebodys' dog?

Goes back to my same frustration. Just because we cannot explain the hows and whys of our existance, how is it helpful to imagine that something far more complicated than our Universe arose spontaneously to create us?

[chalice]

Why do Christians or any dogma assume that god is omniscient anyway?

Hobbes's analogy fails in that his dog is not believed by it's parasites as an uber-consciouness. An imagineer, if you will.

Isn't it much more forgivable (not to mention, plausible) to hold that a Supreme Being might have wiped off all we perceive and are made of like ear-wax and
went off and did something infinitely more interesting?

[zapjb]

[QUOTE]chalice Posted on 17 May 2004 - 18:52
Why do Christians or any dogma assume that god is omniscient anyway? ...
[QUOTE]

It's not an assumption. It's a belief.

[chalice]

[QUOTE=zapjb,18 May 2004 - 00:00] [QUOTE]chalice Posted on 17 May 2004 - 18:52
Why do Christians or any dogma assume that god is omniscient anyway? ...

It's not an assumption. It's a belief.

The words are interchangable.

Edit-To be clear- An assumption is a belief.

[zapjb]

No they are not interchangable.

http://dictionary.reference.com/

[chalice]

Originally posted by zapjb@18 May 2004 - 00:05
No they are not interchangable.

http://dictionary.reference.com/

The act of taking to or upon oneself: assumption of an obligation.
The act of taking possession or asserting a claim: assumption of command.
The act of taking for granted: assumption of a false theory.
Something taken for granted or accepted as true without proof; a supposition: a valid assumption.
Presumption; arrogance.
Logic. A minor premise.
Assumption
Christianity. The taking up of the Virgin Mary into heaven in body and soul after her death.
A feast celebrating this event.
August 15, the day on which this feast is observed.

[chalice]

Belief

belief

n 1: any cognitive content held as true [ant: unbelief] 2: a religious doctrine that is proclaimed as true without proof [syn: dogma, tenet] 3: a vague idea in which some confidence is placed; "his impression of her was favorable"; "what are your feelings about the crisis?"; "it strengthened my belief in his sincerity" [syn: impression, feeling, notion]

um...I could go on.

[zapjb]

You can find definitions that seem to prove your point.
But you are not taking the context of the discussion into account.
Ask an unbiased scholarly person. In the context of religion are assume & believe synonymous?

[chalice]

Originally posted by zapjb@18 May 2004 - 00:23
You can find definitions that seem to prove your point.
But you are not taking the context of the discussion into account.
Ask an unbiased scholarly person. In the context of religion are assume & believe synonymous?

I found those defintions at the source you provided for me. Though, I hardly needed to.

Those terms are universal. Ecumenical, you might say.