B
Blue_Horizon
Guest
Ender the epistemological problem here is this: by what criteria does an intellectually lone autodidact objectively know whether he has actually “learnt” in the first place.Oh, and all this time I thought learning what the church taught was a good thing.
Ender
(Or as Jesus was want to say “you hear but do not understand, look but do not see…”)
How does such a one know for sure he has correctly grasped what he thinks he sees the Church as teaching?
Your solution to this unspoken epistemological issue, as has been noted by another good-willed contributor here, is in fact a Protestant solution.
That is, direct personal inspiration by the HS of your own private interpretation of the written text (in your case not just the Bible but any allegedly authoritative ancient docs you can cherry pick).
The massive problem with this Protestant approach is that dead men’s writings (which are in fact further ambiguated by translation) cannot stand on their hind-legs and tell the reader to his face they are raping the meaning.
And of course, those living authors who could do so you would ignore as “new”, “unauthorative” … or prudential only.
This is a typical BlackSwan rationalisation unworthy of a mature, deep thinker who must be self-aware of his own limitations in handling the “truth” before trying to play the definitive truth teacher to others.
I hope you had a look at the Black Swan link I provided.
In this sense yes I say your thinking is intellectually shallow.
And when this epistemological approach causes you to cherry pick both authors of your liking and partially quote balanced authors whom you present as fully backing your position … well yes that is intellectually dishonest.
Please not I did not say personally dishonest - you are completely unaware of what you are doing intellectually.
If you were my apprentice and you kept using my favourite, expensive chisel (which I sharpen each morning before coming to work) as a screw-driver I would observe the same.
Not all of us old bastards are on Catholic Answers simply to give the sort of robotic black and white answers to life that some are seeking here.
The best answers are never black and white - and they are always personal.
Whether you get angry and take it personally … or grasp an opportunity to better cultivate your talents and self-awareness from some-one a little further along the road than you who is actually trying to help …is entirely your decision to make.