Philosophy Now Forum

Belinda wrote: ↑Sun Feb 19, 2023 12:32 pm

Gary Childress wrote: ↑Sat Feb 18, 2023 5:25 pm

Belinda wrote: ↑Sat Feb 18, 2023 11:25 am
But in the story, Abraham did not know that God was capable of evolving from the old demander of human sacrifice into a being of mercy and justice. God demonstrated to Abraham that this is what God had evolved into.

I don't know. Sounds more like a good way to really mess up someone's head to me. I'd think if my father told me one day that he wanted me to kill my (hypothetical) son it'd be pretty unnerving. A guy could come unglued over something like that. If God were human, he would have been committed to an asylum. Just saying.

There must surely have been a better way to save humanity than trying to universalize someone's tribal god. Looking at humanity's historical record that followed, it isn't pretty by any stretch of the imagination. The Axial age was one big failure at attempted human pacification.

So your still prefer your old interpretation of the Abraham and Isaac story.

Do you agree that the God idea has a history? Do you understand that sometimes ideas are explained by myth?

In the Abraham Isaac myth God shows Abe that the old tribal tradition of human sacrifice is the status quo and that God has changed the status quo . The theme is a very simple one, and the story is part of the canon because it's meant to show how the God of Abe has become a God of mercy and justice.

You don't understand how myth works. I am sorry about that so I will try to explain that myth is a story that superficially takes place in time but is intended to explain a situation that is not temporal, in this case how the God of Abe and Isaac is not to be mindlessly obeyed but is to be considered merciful and just.

You may consider the Axial Age a failure and I can see your point of view. You seem not to be an active fighter but instead you choose to hopelessly wring your hands in a state of permanent defeat.

Gary Childress wrote: ↑Sat Feb 18, 2023 1:02 pm
I just want my life to end soon.

Belinda wrote: ↑Sun Feb 19, 2023 12:36 pm

Belinda wrote: ↑Sun Feb 19, 2023 12:32 pm

Gary Childress wrote: ↑Sat Feb 18, 2023 5:25 pm

I don't know. Sounds more like a good way to really mess up someone's head to me. I'd think if my father told me one day that he wanted me to kill my (hypothetical) son it'd be pretty unnerving. A guy could come unglued over something like that. If God were human, he would have been committed to an asylum. Just saying.

There must surely have been a better way to save humanity than trying to universalize someone's tribal god. Looking at humanity's historical record that followed, it isn't pretty by any stretch of the imagination. The Axial age was one big failure at attempted human pacification.

So your still prefer your old interpretation of the Abraham and Isaac story.

Do you agree that the God idea has a history? Do you understand that sometimes ideas are explained by myth?

In the Abraham Isaac myth God shows Abe that the old tribal tradition of human sacrifice is the status quo and that God has changed the status quo . The theme is a very simple one, and the story is part of the canon because it's meant to show how the God of Abe has become a God of mercy and justice.

You don't understand how myth works. I am sorry about that so I will try to explain that myth is a story that superficially takes place in time but is intended to explain a situation that is not temporal, in this case how the God of Abe and Isaac is not to be mindlessly obeyed but is to be considered merciful and just.

You may consider the Axial Age a failure and I can see your point of view. You seem not to be an active fighter but instead you choose to hopelessly wring your hands in a state of permanent defeat.

Dontaskme wrote: ↑Sun Feb 19, 2023 12:48 pm

Gary Childress wrote: ↑Sat Feb 18, 2023 1:02 pm
I just want my life to end soon.

It will end soon enough when it's time for you to end, and not one second before.

Gary Childress wrote: ↑Sun Feb 19, 2023 3:18 pm
It doesn't seem to me to be ending soon enough. But who cares about my preference?

Dontaskme wrote: ↑Sun Feb 19, 2023 3:58 pm Put your hand on a stove for a minute and it seems like an hour. Sit with that special pretty girl for an hour and it seems like a minute. That's relativity. ~ Uncle Albert.

Gary Childress wrote: ↑Sun Feb 19, 2023 3:17 pm

Belinda wrote: ↑Sun Feb 19, 2023 12:36 pm

Belinda wrote: ↑Sun Feb 19, 2023 12:32 pm

So your still prefer your old interpretation of the Abraham and Isaac story.

Do you agree that the God idea has a history? Do you understand that sometimes ideas are explained by myth?

In the Abraham Isaac myth God shows Abe that the old tribal tradition of human sacrifice is the status quo and that God has changed the status quo . The theme is a very simple one, and the story is part of the canon because it's meant to show how the God of Abe has become a God of mercy and justice.

You don't understand how myth works. I am sorry about that so I will try to explain that myth is a story that superficially takes place in time but is intended to explain a situation that is not temporal, in this case how the God of Abe and Isaac is not to be mindlessly obeyed but is to be considered merciful and just.

You may consider the Axial Age a failure and I can see your point of view. You seem not to be an active fighter but instead you choose to hopelessly wring your hands in a state of permanent defeat.

You're referring to myth. I understand how myth works. However, most Christians don't refer to their religion as a "myth". If it's myth, then it's not literally true which is my suspicion to begin with.

Belinda wrote: ↑Mon Feb 20, 2023 11:33 am

Gary Childress wrote: ↑Sun Feb 19, 2023 3:17 pm

Belinda wrote: ↑Sun Feb 19, 2023 12:36 pm

You're referring to myth. I understand how myth works. However, most Christians don't refer to their religion as a "myth". If it's myth, then it's not literally true which is my suspicion to begin with.

But literally true is not the same as historically true. Literally true modifies the interpretation as factual in each detail; therefore certainly the story of Isaac and Abe is not literally true.The story is a narrative for sure but it's a narrative about the history of God. If people think the narrative reports a real life event of Abe and his son then they are like children who believe Santa Claus lives in Reindeerland and makes toys with the help of elves.

The history of God is properly a history of love.

If it's a concern what "most Christians" believe then that is down to education or lack of it. Indeed myth is being neglected as an art form, a literary device. This lack should be attended to by educators because there are some evil popular myths being circulated.

promethean75 wrote: ↑Tue Feb 21, 2023 12:44 am "He must have miscalculated with the first quake."

I dunno how good god is at calculating earth quake fatalities but he does have pretty decent timing.

Dontaskme wrote: ↑Sun Feb 19, 2023 8:33 am “With or without religion, good people can behave well and bad people can do evil; but for good people to do evil - that takes religion.”
~ Steven Weinberg

Religion is an insult to human dignity. Without it you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things.


The effort to understand the universe is one of the very few things that lifts human life a little above the level of farce, and gives it some of the grace of tragedy.

The more the universe seems comprehensible, the more it also seems pointless.

I think the world needs to wake up from its long nightmare of religious belief; and anything that we scientists can do to weaken the hold of religion should be done, and may in fact be our greatest contribution to civilization.


I suppose that this is a rather melancholy view of human life, but melancholy is one of the distinctive creations of our species, and not without its own consolations.

Dubious wrote: ↑Tue Feb 21, 2023 1:40 am

Dontaskme wrote: ↑Sun Feb 19, 2023 8:33 am “With or without religion, good people can behave well and bad people can do evil; but for good people to do evil - that takes religion.”
~ Steven Weinberg

Religion is an insult to human dignity. Without it you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things.


The effort to understand the universe is one of the very few things that lifts human life a little above the level of farce, and gives it some of the grace of tragedy.

The more the universe seems comprehensible, the more it also seems pointless.

I think the world needs to wake up from its long nightmare of religious belief; and anything that we scientists can do to weaken the hold of religion should be done, and may in fact be our greatest contribution to civilization.


I suppose that this is a rather melancholy view of human life, but melancholy is one of the distinctive creations of our species, and not without its own consolations.

I think of it rather as an antidepressant. What's depressing are the lies and subterfuges of religion, which as history shows, more often than not, has made life miserable for a lot more people ever since god came on the scene. To make up for it, you're promised a great afterlife...or so the story goes. For me, I'd rather go for the bird in the bush than a whole flock flying to heaven. I'd also really like to believe in god or Jesus or any other relative in order to get to heaven and inquire where in the heavenly hierarchy is the main fuck-up expert that caused it all.

I AM THAT I AM, won't do! Sounds like a multilayered ham sandwich excuse to me!

attofishpi wrote: ↑Tue Feb 21, 2023 2:12 am

Dubious wrote: ↑Tue Feb 21, 2023 1:40 am

Dontaskme wrote: ↑Sun Feb 19, 2023 8:33 am “With or without religion, good people can behave well and bad people can do evil; but for good people to do evil - that takes religion.”
~ Steven Weinberg

Religion is an insult to human dignity. Without it you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things.


The effort to understand the universe is one of the very few things that lifts human life a little above the level of farce, and gives it some of the grace of tragedy.

The more the universe seems comprehensible, the more it also seems pointless.

I think the world needs to wake up from its long nightmare of religious belief; and anything that we scientists can do to weaken the hold of religion should be done, and may in fact be our greatest contribution to civilization.


I suppose that this is a rather melancholy view of human life, but melancholy is one of the distinctive creations of our species, and not without its own consolations.

I think of it rather as an antidepressant. What's depressing are the lies and subterfuges of religion, which as history shows, more often than not, has made life miserable for a lot more people ever since god came on the scene. To make up for it, you're promised a great afterlife...or so the story goes. For me, I'd rather go for the bird in the bush than a whole flock flying to heaven. I'd also really like to believe in god or Jesus or any other relative in order to get to heaven and inquire where in the heavenly hierarchy is the main fuck-up expert that caused it all.

I AM THAT I AM, won't do! Sounds like a multilayered ham sandwich excuse to me!

Wow. Talk about taking everything for granted and not appreciating it, like a spoiled brat child.

Fuck there are some miserable cunts on this forum.