V
Verisimilitude
Guest
It seems most posters here are of the Catholic/Christian, Jewish, Mormon, and Moslem faiths with a fair share of those who claim no particular belief system. With the exception of those claiming no particular faith the others have Holy Books to be used as a proof of some sort in support of their reason to believe what they do.
I think it is understood and accepted by most that those who first physically wrote the holy books we know today were inspired in some way to do so, but what inspired them and why is often not discussed. I will note that those claiming no particular faith often accept the inspiration of at least parts of the faiths mentioned though not subscribing to any particular one.
It may seem logical to assume Gods message has evolved in human understanding over time to produce the various faiths mentioned, but there is no logical or rational reason to accept one over the other without knowing why/who/what inspired the writers and if those inspirations can be trusted.
To say God may have inspired them all is not enough for me because the messages are so different for the most part. For reasons of discussion I will ascribe the Torah to Jews, Gospels for Catholic/Christians, Qur’an for Moslems and BOM for Mormons.
I think it is worth noting here that it is generally accepted that Moses, Mohammed, and Joseph Smith are the ‘authors’ of the written words to those particular faiths, but for Catholic/Christians Christ is subject and the writers are of less import since no one claims Christ wrote anything preserved today.
The difference is significant to me at least because Moslem apologists often claim the lack of proof that the Disciples Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John are not the “actual” Gospel authors and therefore their inspirited writings are not to be as trusted as those who penned the Qur’an.
Facts are subjective in this regard but not to be dismissed. Fact is Mohammed wrote no words himself but relied on others just as Moses may not have penned the actual parchments, and Joseph Smith was peering into his hat while others wrote what he said. This puts all holy books on the same plane and is an irrelevant argument regarding the authenticity of what has been preserved.
So to me, who/what/why inspired each is the most important question, not the inspiration or belief itself. If the inspiration was false or misunderstood the belief is false or misunderstood. Everyone should agree that to believe a known or provable falshood is illogical.
My views:
Who/what inspired Moses? God. Why? Because humanity was acting contrary to our original Created intent and he describes the story that got us there and what to do about it.
Who/what inspired the Gospel writers? God. Why? Because Christ is God and He fulfilled the words of Moses and other OT inspired writers to bring us back in communion with that original Created intent.
Who/what inspired Mohammed? Satan/Mohammed. Why? Because it is Satan’s nature to deceive and men are easily corrupted by power and influence.
Who/what inspired Joseph Smith? Joseph Smith. Why? Because history is full of men that do things like that.
I believe there are general or human inspirations not specifically generated or directed by God so that philosophies such as Buddha, Confucius, and Taoism are not evil or wrong in themselves because they have their origin in our Created Human Nature and that is in the image of God.
I think everyone to include Mohammed and Smith just as the everyday average Joe and Jane on the planet are inspired to some degree by that Created Human Nature but we are also influenced by many things unrelated to God or in opposition to God. We can see this in our daily lives from why we are lazy on a Saturday afternoon to why we strive to make our world better.
So my question is: If you disagree with my views about the other faiths, what inspires you and why, and what are your views on those faiths or the overall inspiration that forments them?
I think it is understood and accepted by most that those who first physically wrote the holy books we know today were inspired in some way to do so, but what inspired them and why is often not discussed. I will note that those claiming no particular faith often accept the inspiration of at least parts of the faiths mentioned though not subscribing to any particular one.
It may seem logical to assume Gods message has evolved in human understanding over time to produce the various faiths mentioned, but there is no logical or rational reason to accept one over the other without knowing why/who/what inspired the writers and if those inspirations can be trusted.
To say God may have inspired them all is not enough for me because the messages are so different for the most part. For reasons of discussion I will ascribe the Torah to Jews, Gospels for Catholic/Christians, Qur’an for Moslems and BOM for Mormons.
I think it is worth noting here that it is generally accepted that Moses, Mohammed, and Joseph Smith are the ‘authors’ of the written words to those particular faiths, but for Catholic/Christians Christ is subject and the writers are of less import since no one claims Christ wrote anything preserved today.
The difference is significant to me at least because Moslem apologists often claim the lack of proof that the Disciples Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John are not the “actual” Gospel authors and therefore their inspirited writings are not to be as trusted as those who penned the Qur’an.
Facts are subjective in this regard but not to be dismissed. Fact is Mohammed wrote no words himself but relied on others just as Moses may not have penned the actual parchments, and Joseph Smith was peering into his hat while others wrote what he said. This puts all holy books on the same plane and is an irrelevant argument regarding the authenticity of what has been preserved.
So to me, who/what/why inspired each is the most important question, not the inspiration or belief itself. If the inspiration was false or misunderstood the belief is false or misunderstood. Everyone should agree that to believe a known or provable falshood is illogical.
My views:
Who/what inspired Moses? God. Why? Because humanity was acting contrary to our original Created intent and he describes the story that got us there and what to do about it.
Who/what inspired the Gospel writers? God. Why? Because Christ is God and He fulfilled the words of Moses and other OT inspired writers to bring us back in communion with that original Created intent.
Who/what inspired Mohammed? Satan/Mohammed. Why? Because it is Satan’s nature to deceive and men are easily corrupted by power and influence.
Who/what inspired Joseph Smith? Joseph Smith. Why? Because history is full of men that do things like that.
I believe there are general or human inspirations not specifically generated or directed by God so that philosophies such as Buddha, Confucius, and Taoism are not evil or wrong in themselves because they have their origin in our Created Human Nature and that is in the image of God.
I think everyone to include Mohammed and Smith just as the everyday average Joe and Jane on the planet are inspired to some degree by that Created Human Nature but we are also influenced by many things unrelated to God or in opposition to God. We can see this in our daily lives from why we are lazy on a Saturday afternoon to why we strive to make our world better.
So my question is: If you disagree with my views about the other faiths, what inspires you and why, and what are your views on those faiths or the overall inspiration that forments them?