Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
I left a comment
Here.
They're so proud of themselves when they think they've found a broken promise in the Bible, or a contradiction, and it's so easy for anybody with an ounce of logical capacity to show that the promise hasn't actually been broken or that the contradiction is only an apparent contradiction. Here's a list of the most common things to consider when confronting an apparent contradiction or broken promise:
A) Time: Just because something hasn't happened yet, doesn't mean it never will. Also, if King A ruled before King B, and some event happened prior to the reign of King A, it ALSO happened prior to the reign of King B.
B) Number: If you have 600 horsemen, you also have 400 horsemen. The term 'more than 2' could refer to the same quantity as 'more than 1,000'.
C) Names: Lots of people have more than one name, and lots of other people have the same name as somebody else.
D) Negatives: Often people will unintentionally convert a negative claim into a positive one. For instance: Jesus said, "You will not have fled to every city in Israel before I return". Many people read this as, "You will have fled to some of the cities of Israel before I return, but not all of them." These two statements might seem equivalent at first, but in the possible case where they don't ever actually flee to another city, the first will hold true, but the second will not.
That's just a few to get you thinking.
They're so proud of themselves when they think they've found a broken promise in the Bible, or a contradiction, and it's so easy for anybody with an ounce of logical capacity to show that the promise hasn't actually been broken or that the contradiction is only an apparent contradiction. Here's a list of the most common things to consider when confronting an apparent contradiction or broken promise:
A) Time: Just because something hasn't happened yet, doesn't mean it never will. Also, if King A ruled before King B, and some event happened prior to the reign of King A, it ALSO happened prior to the reign of King B.
B) Number: If you have 600 horsemen, you also have 400 horsemen. The term 'more than 2' could refer to the same quantity as 'more than 1,000'.
C) Names: Lots of people have more than one name, and lots of other people have the same name as somebody else.
D) Negatives: Often people will unintentionally convert a negative claim into a positive one. For instance: Jesus said, "You will not have fled to every city in Israel before I return". Many people read this as, "You will have fled to some of the cities of Israel before I return, but not all of them." These two statements might seem equivalent at first, but in the possible case where they don't ever actually flee to another city, the first will hold true, but the second will not.
That's just a few to get you thinking.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Thursday, June 21, 2007
On Omnipotence
Have you heard this argument?
God is omnipotent.
Omnipotence means that you can make the end come into existence independant of any means.
(i.e. means are only used when one can't immediately acheive the end, so an omnipotent being would never use them)
Since the God of Christianity often uses means, this means that either:
A) He's not really omnipotent. or
B) The concept of omnipotency makes no sense in a temporal world.
Here is why this argument is futile: It says, basically, "Here is a rule by which an omnipotent being would always act. He would always go straight to the end, never using intermediate means to accomplish His goals." However, such a rule cannot apply to an omnipotent being, because an omnipotent being, by definition, does whatever He wants. He doesn't have to follow that rule. If He wants to use some means to accomplish an end, He can do that: He's omnipotent. He can do whatever He wants.
God is omnipotent.
Omnipotence means that you can make the end come into existence independant of any means.
(i.e. means are only used when one can't immediately acheive the end, so an omnipotent being would never use them)
Since the God of Christianity often uses means, this means that either:
A) He's not really omnipotent. or
B) The concept of omnipotency makes no sense in a temporal world.
Here is why this argument is futile: It says, basically, "Here is a rule by which an omnipotent being would always act. He would always go straight to the end, never using intermediate means to accomplish His goals." However, such a rule cannot apply to an omnipotent being, because an omnipotent being, by definition, does whatever He wants. He doesn't have to follow that rule. If He wants to use some means to accomplish an end, He can do that: He's omnipotent. He can do whatever He wants.
Monday, May 7, 2007
I Made a Comment
http://debunkingchristianity.blogspot.com/2007/04/lessons-from-bowflex.html
The guy either has a common misconception about Christianity, or he's trying to help confirm that misconception in others. Also, he doesn't read the Old Testament carefully enough to make those sorts of claims about it.
The guy either has a common misconception about Christianity, or he's trying to help confirm that misconception in others. Also, he doesn't read the Old Testament carefully enough to make those sorts of claims about it.
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