Tag Archive for 'Christianity'

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The geographic and temporal spread argument, part 6

Published by davinci on October 27, 2010 in reflections on religion and religion. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , .

(Part 5 is here.)

I wrote above that it is a “deflection” for a believer to say that God (i.e., his or her particular God) is not to be tested. A supernatural being can certainly choose to behave in a way that renders him or her indistinguishable from a figment of human imagination, and God can certainly order His minions to do so. The problem with this reasoning, however, comes from the other side.

Those Protestants who denounce the Roman Catholic Marian apparitions as Satanic skullduggery simply do not take their logic far enough… » [Expand post] [Permalink]

If you like this post, you might also like:

  1. The geographic and temporal spread argument, part 5
  2. The geographic and temporal spread argument, part 15
  3. The geographic and temporal spread argument, part 3
  4. The geographic and temporal spread argument, part 7
  5. The geographic and temporal spread argument, part 4
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The geographic and temporal spread argument, part 5

Published by davinci on October 26, 2010 in reflections on religion and religion. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , .

(Part 4 is here.)

This lack of external evidence for supernatural beings is not restricted to the Abrahamic family of religions. Many Hindus consider the Buddha to have been one of the avatars of the god Vishnu. In Buddhist texts, however, it is Vishnu who submitted to the Buddha and became a protector of the Buddha-Dharma, although he is not an important Buddhist deity in areas where Buddhists are not in contact with Hindus. If either of these beliefs is true, Vishnu could simply indicate this directly to the followers of the wrong religion. But he does not do so. Instead, there is no evidence whatsoever that he has any ability to act outside of the sphere of influence of the people who believe in him, and except through them. And, naturally, he never says or does anything that is contrary to the beliefs of those speaking or acting on his behalf… » [Expand post] [Permalink]

If you like this post, you might also like:

  1. The geographic and temporal spread argument, part 11
  2. The geographic and temporal spread argument, part 6
  3. The geographic and temporal spread argument, part 15
  4. The geographic and temporal spread argument for religion as a human creation, conclusion and overview
  5. The geographic and temporal spread argument, part 4
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The geographic and temporal spread argument, part 4

Published by davinci on October 25, 2010 in reflections on religion and religion. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , .

(Part 3 is here.)

The point is that the actions attributed to Gabriel by Islam are remarkably indistinguishable from those of a mythological character. The argument can likewise be applied in the other direction: if Christianity is true, Islam would be finished if Gabriel had simply appeared during the Hajj at Mecca and told the Muslims that they are mistaken. Regardless of whether you believe Christian or Muslim claims about the archangel Gabriel, there is simply no evidence whatsoever that he exists outside of the imaginations of those who are supposed to have interacted with him… » [Expand post] [Permalink]

If you like this post, you might also like:

  1. The geographic and temporal spread argument, part 5
  2. The geographic and temporal spread argument, part 3
  3. The geographic and temporal spread argument, part 10
  4. The geographic and temporal spread argument, part 11
  5. The geographic and temporal spread argument, part 15
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The geographic and temporal spread argument, part 3

Published by davinci on October 24, 2010 in reflections on religion and religion. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , .

(Part 2 is here.)

There are a number of important differences between exotic animals and supernatural beings that make it reasonable to acknowledge the existence of the former without likewise accepting the existence of the latter. For one thing, we have direct evidence of tigers, which anyone can independently verify. We have photographs and video recordings of these animals, and like many people I have seen actual tigers with my own eyes. No one has ever produced an image of a deity or an angel, except through the medium of art as produced by human hands. Historically, sightings of tigers were recorded independently in different cultures, and yet the descriptions of these creatures were remarkably similar. The same cannot be said of any supernatural being… » [Expand post] [Permalink]

If you like this post, you might also like:

  1. The geographic and temporal spread argument, part 6
  2. The geographic and temporal spread argument, part 4
  3. The geographic and temporal spread argument, part 15
  4. The geographic and temporal spread argument, part 5
  5. The geographic and temporal spread argument, part 11
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The geographic and temporal spread argument for religion as a human creation, part 1

Published by davinci on October 22, 2010 in reflections on religion, religion and social issues. 5 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .

I consider this argument to be one of the strongest for the thesis that religions are created by human beings. It’s also an argument that every person I have ever known who became an atheist as a result of an in-depth study of religion has come up with on his or her own. From this, I infer that this argument is ubiquitous amongst atheists who had once been theists, and yet scant attention has been paid to it in writing. This is probably because it is “too obvious”, but this is one of those observations which are really obvious only in retrospect. It is not obvious to religious believers who have never been seriously exposed to another religion nor to the study of the history of religion outside of a pious “Church history” or its equivalent… » [Expand post] [Permalink]

If you like this post, you might also like:

  1. The geographic and temporal spread argument for religion as a human creation, conclusion and overview
  2. The geographic and temporal spread argument, part 16
  3. The geographic and temporal spread argument, part 14
  4. The geographic and temporal spread argument, part 15
  5. The geographic and temporal spread argument, part 11
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My depression in Waterloo, part 1: the first term

Published by davinci on May 18, 2009 in autobiography and personal. 3 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

The previous series of posts, called “The causes of my depression”, established the triggers that set off my depression. Since coming to Waterloo, I have been encountering these almost every single day. I am therefore beginning a new series on (the effects of) my depression in Waterloo. As before, these posts were expanded from notes I took after my sessions with UW Counselling and a private psychiatrist.

The University of Waterloo is run on a system of three terms (or semesters) of four months each per academic year. The first term actually went very well for me, right up until near the end of the term, when I made the mistake of consenting to a visit from my parents… » [Expand post] [Permalink]

If you like this post, you might also like:

  1. My depression in Waterloo, part 5: feeling “unworthy”
  2. My depression in Waterloo, part 8: disguising my research
  3. My depression in Waterloo, part 6: meeting people
  4. My depression in Waterloo, part 9: exposed
  5. My depression in Waterloo, part 13: dropping out
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