Moon landing vs. vrigin birth!

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and what does that have to do with the problem of induction? nothing. you have no gauruntee, assurance, knowledge, or any other similar adjective that the next inductive observaqtion will comport with the previous.

the ‘so what’ is the problem of induction. you cant escape it. it is simply inherent to the inductive process

not at all. im denying that the basis for rejection of Biblical claims is rational.

no its not. there is no indisputable physical evidence. we can show ways that it might well have been faked.

there are only 12 first hand witnesses who walked on the moon, and only 27 people orbited the moon.

but here is where your double standard kicks in.

for you the thousands who watched a rocket launch and the millions who watched the moonlanding on TV are eyewitnesses. yet clearly they didnt witenss the actual moonlanding at all.

on what do you base this assertion?

hardly, it relies on the Blessed Mothers testimony.

and the fact that you think there is a significant difference shows the same of you:rolleyes:
God is an unreliable witness, the Blessed Mother has unknown reasons to lie therefore must be lieing, the Apostles conspired to create a myth, and the moon landing was a hoax. :hypno: Do I understand you correctly?
 
Metaphysics? In other words an aspect of philosophy that’s constantly being criticized for being structured to give theologians references to when attempting to rationalize
that isnt what metaphysicis is.

metaphysics is the study of being. we study it by the logical forms of necessity, contingency, etc. whether by traditional, or modal logic.

mathematics studies being by qauntity.

the empirical scientific method studies beings with physically observable qualities.

many atheist websites promote the idea that metaphysics is some strange philosophy divorced from the way other disciplines examine being. that is demonstrably false.
occurences that are unscientific, with a claim that they are supposedly above phyics.
there are no such things as occurences that are unscientific. there is no such thing as magic. there are only processes that we do not yet understand. this is easily demostrated by the advance of the physical sciences.
For that evidence to even be admitted one has to accept metaphysics as valid.
thats true for every disciplines axioms. you have to accept that the axioms of math. you have to accept ‘empiricism’ for the scientific method. and you have to accept the rules of logical inference for metaphysics.

dont pay too much attention to those atheist web sites. they just gave you an incorrect immptression of what metaphysics is, right out of the gate. what else are they wrong about?
 
God is an unreliable witness, the Blessed Mother has unknown reasons to lie therefore must be lieing, the Apostles conspired to create a myth, and the moon landing was a hoax. :hypno: Do I understand you correctly?
no, you dont. where did you get that idea?

G-d is reliable. the Blessed Mother tells the truth. the Apostles also told the truth. the moonlanding actually happened. (i just use it to illustrate a point about the epistemology of historical claims.)
 
as in absolutely every historical event, you simply have to trust them. from the moonlanding, to the Virgin Birth.
First, we are talking about all those events to which we were not personally observing, regardless when they occurred. Second, “trust” is not an epistemological method.
we have all played the whisper game. but this isnt the same situation. not just a series of individuals, but entire communities transmitted what the Jesus and the Apostels had taught. those people and communities were easily alive through the recording of the Gospels. simply being oral tradition, does not mean there is any flaw in that transmission. especially considering the short time periods involved.
Forty YEARS (minimum) is a short time?
Matthew, Mark and John are eyewitness works. Luke is a contemporary historian.
So you say. What is your evidence? Textual analysis shows that each of these pen-names hide several persons.
hearsay testimony is not false simply because it is hearsay. for instance, when we have witness statement as to what a suspect said, and we have another 2 or 3 that agree with that, we have a case.
Your cognitive dissonance is shining through… I did not say “false” I said “dubious”. Don’t you understand the difference?
 
and what does that have to do with the problem of induction? nothing. you have no gauruntee, assurance, knowledge, or any other similar adjective that the next inductive observaqtion will comport with the previous.
I do not have absolute, 100% guarantee (and btw it is not spelled “gauruntee”) or certainty, but I sure have an excellent assurance, probability. So do you, so does everyone else. Your whole life contradicts your words.
not at all. im denying that the basis for rejection of Biblical claims is rational.
And just like in the case of those messianic prophecies, you have no evidence for your claims. When push comes to shove, you demand that I accept your unsaid arguments in advance. Guess what? No one is as stupid as you want them to be.
 
First, we are talking about all those events to which we were not personally observing, regardless when they occurred. Second, “trust” is not an epistemological method.
it surely is. you have no evidence or documentation of anything, where you are not trusting someone. if you didnt witness something then it is all a matter of trust.
Forty YEARS (minimum) is a short time?
yes, 40 years is well within the life time of a person. so is 60, 70, 80, 90…
So you say. What is your evidence? Textual analysis shows that each of these pen-names hide several persons.
which textual analysis are you refering to?

Your cognitive dissonance is shining through… I did not say “false” I said “dubious”. Don’t you understand the difference?

ok, but that doesnt change the point, oral history need not be dubious simply because its oral history. especially considering the short time frames involved.
 
I do not have absolute, 100% guarantee (and btw it is not spelled “gauruntee”)
thank you.
or certainty, but I sure have an excellent assurance, probability. So do you, so does everyone else. Your whole life contradicts your words.
as a mathematician, you should know, the dice have no memory. roll box cars a billion times and the odds for the next roll dont change. here comes a seven, and youre out.

its the basic problem of induction.
And just like in the case of those messianic prophecies, you have no evidence for your claims.
sure i do, they are documented by eyewitnesses in the various books of the Bible.
When push comes to shove, you demand that I accept your unsaid arguments in advance.
that, or to argue out the epistemology, but you refused both solutions. you dont really want a fair debate, you hide behind impossible to meet standards.

you could do either thing to get the ball rolling on that debate, but you havent and you wont, because you dont think you can win without a back door.
Guess what? No one is as stupid as you want them to be.
i dont think anyone is stupid, denigrating peoples intelligence has kind of been your tactic.:rolleyes:
 
Metaphysics? In other words an aspect of philosophy that’s constantly being criticized for being structured to give theologians references to when attempting to rationalize occurences that are unscientific, with a claim that they are supposedly above physics.

For that evidence to even be admitted one has to accept metaphysics as valid.
You are simply displaying your ignorance of philosophy. Logical positivism was abandoned precisely because the verification principle cannot be established empirically. Do you really believe **everything **can be explained scientifically? 🤷
 
that isnt what metaphysicis is.

metaphysics is the study of being. we study it by the logical forms of necessity, contingency, etc. whether by traditional, or modal logic.
I know what metaphysics is, I just gave a brief description of it. In short, as the name implies, it is what is above physics.
 
many atheist websites promote the idea that metaphysics is some strange philosophy divorced from the way other disciplines examine being. that is demonstrably false.
It is not just atheist “websites” it has been criticized by numerous atheist philosophers including Nietzsche.
there are no such things as occurences that are unscientific. there is no such thing as magic. there are only processes that we do not yet understand. this is easily demostrated by the advance of the physical sciences.
Then if I said I saw the flying spaghetti monster last night, you can’t call it unscientific then, you just haven’t understood my god, the spaghetti monster. :rolleyes: You don’t give the benefit to the various hindu gods do you?
thats true for every disciplines axioms. you have to accept that the axioms of math. you have to accept ‘empiricism’ for the scientific method. and you have to accept the rules of logical inference for metaphysics.
The only difference is, the mathematics and science can be proved. I am not stating that all aspects of metaphysics is wrong just for the sake of being metaphysics, certain logical inferences you are talking about also link to other areas of philosophy, or they make plain sense without the need for the grandiose title.
dont pay too much attention to those atheist web sites. they just gave you an incorrect immptression of what metaphysics is, right out of the gate. what else are they wrong about?
Yes, I should learn all about metaphysics from a seminary right? They’d set me straight :rolleyes:

As far as I know, I haven’t been reading much about metaphysics from atheist websites. Read the last section:

plato.stanford.edu/entries/metaphysics/
 
You are simply displaying your ignorance of philosophy. Logical positivism was abandoned precisely because the verification principle cannot be established empirically. Do you really believe **everything **can be explained scientifically? 🤷
How convenient it is when someone disagrees with an aspect of philosophy to claim that one is ignorant of it, very convenient, that way you can actually avoid the argument :rolleyes:

That’s exactly my point, because somehow the theologians can’t find an answer scientifically (and in many cases they never will), they resort to all sorts of cunning linguistics and useless semantics, this is not a case of me understanding the philosophy behind it or not, I just reject many aspects of it outright.

The problem with it is, if it can be used by christian theologians to supposedly “prove” some facets of christianity, it can be used by the hindus to supposedly also “prove” aspects of their religions, and it has been done so. In fact the hindus and buddhists may have had a head start with it along with the greeks. Of course, being the all wise philosopher you are, you would have known this.
 
It is not just atheist “websites” it has been criticized by numerous atheist philosophers including Nietzsche.

generally empiricists.
Then if I said I saw the flying spaghetti monster last night, you can’t call it unscientific then, you just haven’t understood my god, the spaghetti monster. :rolleyes:
 
Show me something that proves this.
it seems obvious to me, rationalism and empiricism have been duking it out for a very long time.

plato.stanford.edu/entries/rationalism-empiricism/
Why, have you seen Jesus and the Virgin Mary? etc.
no, i dont claim to have seen them though.
They exclude Christ because their religious documents fulfill their various prophecies and also provide sufficient evidence for them to believe in their Gods, where does this leave us?
no they dont.
If I were to read it, what exactly do you want me to focus on, you aren’t just merely pointing out to a book to read it for no apparent reason are you?
the history of the fights over the foundations of mathematics
“The problem of induction”
“it’s very useful”
“I like science”
“just a collection of techniques”
Yes, I will stick to that garbage called science, even though it’s grossly lacking apparently :rolleyes:
i dont see you denying that science doesnt ‘prove things’. i take it we agree then?
It doesn’t relate to specific quantities because it doesn’t deal with tangible properties, so what exactly are you flagellating about? You’ve just stated the same thing in two different ways and you still haven’t made a point.
specific quantities and tangible qualities are two different things. the point im making is that the only difference in the 3 disciplines is the way they explore reality
That may very well be so, but where did I say I was an empiricist or claim to adhere to any specific form of philosophy? Oh, I didn’t? That’s weird, so are you arguing with someone else in the same post where you responded to me?
where did i accuse you of saying that?
What self-refuting standard are you talking about? That doesn’t even make sense, if it met a self-refuting standard it wouldn’t be accepted would it now? You don’t even know what you’re talking about, you’re throwing around terms hoping to confuse me.
why would i want to confuse you? i dont even know you.

that said, i refer to the statement immediately above. specifically this.

**empiricists dont like it because it doesnt fit their idea that knowledge only arises from the senses, but then neither does the claim that knowledge only arises from the senses. **

see, the empirical claim that knowledge can only come from the senses, is itself knowledge that doesnt come from the senses. the philosophy of empiricism is self refuting, yet its wdely accepted. i chalk it up to a poor educational system.
Metaphysics is taught in philosophy because when you’re an educational institute you don’t discriminate between various schools of thought, you teach it all and allow students to choose their belief, I am all for it, but this doesn’t validate anything, just beacuse we learn about Nietzsche’s thoughts on various matter doesn’t mean you have to accept it as well right? Similarly, just because aspects of metaphysics are taught, I don’t have to accept it.
what basis do you not accept the metaphysics? empiricism is the stadard answer by atheists here. what is yours? maybe you just dont believe in anything?
Much like everything else in this post, you don’t know what you’re talking about.
😛
I did mention, look at the last part, the criticisms, or if you wish, look up criticism of metaphysics on the web.
yes, ive seen many of them, make a specific point you wish to discuss.
 
it seems obvious to me, rationalism and empiricism have been duking it out for a very long time.

plato.stanford.edu/entries/rationalism-empiricism/
Fair enough
no, i dont claim to have seen them though.
But you believe in them. Through what form of “knowing” do you attribute this belief to?
no they dont.
Oh, so what makes them continuously adhere to their beliefs still then?
the history of the fights over the foundations of mathematics
The evidence for the axioms lies largely in the practical applications of it. Regardless of the various debates, the commutative, associative laws etc. of mathematics are validated in practice, you still aren’t making any sense.
i dont see you denying that science doesnt ‘prove things’. i take it we agree then?
Yes, I agree, despite me disagreeing and giving counter-claims :rolleyes:
specific quantities and tangible qualities are two different things. the point im making is that the only difference in the 3 disciplines is the way they explore reality
I should have phrased it better, I agree, it’s not necessary a tangible quality, but something that can be measured. Specific quantities are items which can be measured.
where did i accuse you of saying that?
The implication, the rant of description.
why would i want to confuse you? i dont even know you.
Those two things aren’t related, there is nothing to stop anyone from attempting to confuse someone even if they didn’t know them. Non-sequitir fallacy much?
**empiricists dont like it because it doesnt fit their idea that knowledge only arises from the senses, but then neither does the claim that knowledge only arises from the senses. **
see, the empirical claim that knowledge can only come from the senses, is itself knowledge that doesnt come from the senses. the philosophy of empiricism is self refuting, yet its wdely accepted. i chalk it up to a poor educational system.
I won’t claim to adhere to all aspects of the philosophy of empiricism, but the practical application of this is science, what of this poor educational system? Let’s ignore the fact that for the last 400 years or so, religion, more specifically Christianity and Catholicism has always been opposed to scientific research, even in the case of Christian scientists, I don’t seen any poor educational system, that’s a delusional statement.
what basis do you not accept the metaphysics? empiricism is the stadard answer by atheists here. what is yours? maybe you just dont believe in anything?
Practicality mainly, what is Christian philosophy ultimately? The meaning of life, and how to live it, correct? The ultimate philosopher is Christ, because he provides all the answers and the correct way to live life apparently. The life that we live is based in reality, the sciences deal with reality.

To keep insisting that there is something above the senses, and we need something other that the sciences to prove it is ridiculous, that’s not founded in reality, if it DID existed and was outside of our sense or ability to technologically measure it, what difference does it make anyways? It still can’t be validated by our understanding of reality.

This is conveniently argued by claiming we can resort to reason to understand it, I think a better term for it is active imagination, so far the sciences have advanced our ways despite the many oppositions to it, that’s a practical example of a form of philosophy being validated, or should I say aspects of it through praxis.

Then there is the great question, if all of this did exist, I refer to the metaphysics and ultimately god himself, why won’t he just make it obvious to us mere mortals by appealing to the senses?
yes, ive seen many of them, make a specific point you wish to discuss.
How about the one I made just above? Is that a good starting point?
 
Ok, it is definitely time to put an end to this nonsense. Our resident villager, WSP, keeps on asserting that the evidence for virgin birth (a virgin giving birth to a male offspring) is exactly as valid and convincing as the evidence for the moon landing. He **never **gives any details, just keeps on repeating it, over and over again, whether it is applicable to the thread, or not, thus attempting to derail every thread.

So, come up to the plate, and vote on this issue, if you are so inclined.
I absolutely believe in the Virgin Birth and the Perpetual Virginity of Our Blessed Mother, but I’m not sure if it can be claimed that there is as much proof for it as the moon landing. If there was then more people would believe it. Many people question the Virgin Birth, but not many question the moon landing (at least comparatively).
I hope this isn’t taken the wrong way by anyone. It was not my intention to offend if I have offended anyone.
 
I absolutely believe in the Virgin Birth and the Perpetual Virginity of Our Blessed Mother, but I’m not sure if it can be claimed that there is as much proof for it as the moon landing. If there was then more people would believe it. Many people question the Virgin Birth, but not many question the moon landing (at least comparatively).
I hope this isn’t taken the wrong way by anyone. It was not my intention to offend if I have offended anyone.
Good answer. No argument against it. Thanks!
 
it surely is. you have no evidence or documentation of anything, where you are not trusting someone. if you didnt witness something then it is all a matter of trust.
You just postponed the question, instead of answering it. How do you decide whom to trust? If you would trust everyone, you would be hopelessly gullible. If you trust only those whose claim you happen to agree with, you are deluding yourself. If you trust those whose prior testimony you already investigated and found it correct, you rely on the inductive method (which you deny). Moreover, just because someone reported correctly before, it definitely does not guarantee that his current testimony is also correct. He may be mistaken or may be playing a practical joke on you.

If you meet someone, whom you never saw before, of whom you never heard before, and he tells you a really farfetched, out of the ordinary story, what epistemological method do you use to decide whether to trust him or not? Are you going to toss a coin? Is coin toss also a “valid” epistemological method? After all, coin toss actually “works” 50% of the time…
ok, but that doesnt change the point, oral history need not be dubious simply because its oral history. especially considering the short time frames involved.
Yes, testimonials are always dubious, if they are not supported by physical evidence. Why does the legal system exclude the second hand witness testimony? Your ideas about a “short” time frames are also weird. You admit that a whispered story can be distorted in a few minutes, and you say that the told and retold biblical stories cannot be distorted in many decades?
as a mathematician, you should know, the dice have no memory. roll box cars a billion times and the odds for the next roll dont change. here comes a seven, and youre out.

its the basic problem of induction.
The laws of nature are not random games of chance. Gravity does not happen randomly. If you would jump off from the tenth floor unto hard concrete you would have absolutely no chance of surviving. I tried to explain it to syntax before, but he did not understand it either. You just swallowed his nonsense hook-line and sinker. The funny thing is, that not all games of chance are without “memory”. Blackjack definitely has a built-in memory, until a new set of decks of cards are dealt.
sure i do, they are documented by eyewitnesses in the various books of the Bible.
And what epistemological method do you use to decide which parts are the Bible are you going to accept verbatim? I know… the infallible word of the Catholic Church. And what epistemological method do you use decide if the Church is right? I know… you accept the word of Jesus who entrusted the Church with his legacy. And where do these words are recorded? Wow… in the Bible. What a nice circle. 🙂

There was a joke about it, when someone was scolded for relying on circular reasoning, he said: “I prefer to view it as having no loose ends!”.
that, or to argue out the epistemology, but you refused both solutions. you dont really want a fair debate, you hide behind impossible to meet standards.
The only epistemological method you offered was the blind acceptance of your word, before you even opened your mouth. That was your alleged “even playing field”.
 
But you believe in them. Through what form of “knowing” do you attribute this belief to?
the documentation and evidence supporting the witnesses.
Oh, so what makes them continuously adhere to their beliefs still then?
no idea. it doesnt make sense to me to believe in something that you have no evidence of any kind for.
The evidence for the axioms lies largely in the practical applications of it.
thats a verification/falsification style statement. largely discredited in the philosophy of science as it too, self refutes. it was popular with the logical postivists, until that was pointed out however.
Regardless of the various debates, the commutative, associative laws etc. of mathematics are validated in practice, you still aren’t making any sense.
i was referring to logicism, intuitionism, constructivism, formalism, realism and platonism, the search for mathematical foundations

however you still have to accept the axioms you mentioned as true. just as one does the laws of logical inference. while we could easily say that verification breeds certainty and therefore some measure of truth, that would just be appealing to a vanity that our worldview is correct because we have induced enough examples. though, given the formal problem of induction, we know that is not true.

so it is simply safest and most accurate to say that all axioms are simply self evident.

I should have phrased it better, I agree, it’s not necessary a tangible quality, but something that can be measured. Specific quantities are items which can be measured.
Those two things aren’t related, there is nothing to stop anyone from attempting to confuse someone even if they didn’t know them. Non-sequitir fallacy much?
i was explaining why empiricists generally reject metaphysics. and how such rejection is based on not fitting into their self refuting worldview. thats all.
I won’t claim to adhere to all aspects of the philosophy of empiricism, but the practical application of this is science, what of this poor educational system?
i refer to an educational system that doesnt teach critical thinking. for instance all the science education, but never a whisoer that the basis, empiricism, is actually a false idea because it self refutes. the upshot of which is a generation of scientifically inclined people who shout that G-d ideas do not exist because it doesnt meet a standard that they dont know is false. even worse, given that lack in the education of critical thinking, they make the exact same mistake in defense of their wordview with the self refuting verification/falsification schemes.

ive seen some brilliant people who simply didnt know what they didnt know. 🤷
Let’s ignore the fact that for the last 400 years or so, religion, more specifically Christianity and Catholicism has always been opposed to scientific research, even in the case of Christian scientists, I don’t seen any poor educational system, that’s a delusional statement.
where did the Church oppose scientific research? the Galileo incident aside, i dont know this statement is true.
Practicality mainly, what is Christian philosophy ultimately? The meaning of life, and how to live it, correct? The ultimate philosopher is Christ, because he provides all the answers and the correct way to live life apparently. The life that we live is based in reality, the sciences deal with reality.
To keep insisting that there is something above the senses, and we need something other that the sciences to prove it is ridiculous, that’s not founded in reality, if it DID existed and was outside of our sense or ability to technologically measure it, what difference does it make anyways? It still can’t be validated by our understanding of reality.
This is conveniently argued by claiming we can resort to reason to understand it, I think a better term for it is active imagination, so far the sciences have advanced our ways despite the many oppositions to it, that’s a practical example of a form of philosophy being validated, or should I say aspects of it through praxis.
first, i should point out that Christain philosophy, Jesus who is G-d, not a philosopher, and metaphysics are all entirely separate ideas.

second, how is this different than empiricists who reject it on the same basis? if you are in fact an empiricist, or at least making the empiricists argument, than i would simply point out that, not meeting a false standard, is hardly a basis for rejection.

you seem to be implying that practicality is restricted to that which is empirically observable. i see no reason to think that, especially if we view it in light of theism, in which the non-empirical is of great utility, in that we expect to recieve a just reward for our earthly life.
Then there is the great question, if all of this did exist, I refer to the metaphysics and ultimately god himself, why won’t he just make it obvious to us mere mortals by appealing to the senses?
He did. He left a many witnesses. Jesus came down and suffered with us. He caused dozens of books to be written about Him by those witnesses. etc.

but if your asking about an eternal presence, i suppose that would kill the point of allowing people to freely love Him. it is easy for women to love a rich man, because they can see his value, it isnt real love, but love motivated by desire to be with the rich man. but only to enjoy his wealth. this way we have a chance to love G-d simply for his goodness.
How about the one I made just above? Is that a good starting point?
i suppose but its not really on the topic of the thread. in fact most of this post isnt, you should start a new thread for each different subject you wish to address.
 
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