Philosophy Now Forum

Dontaskme wrote: ↑Thu Nov 02, 2023 9:43 am Which Supreme Being?

"Supreme Being" means, by definition, there's only one.

Gary Childress wrote: ↑Thu Nov 02, 2023 4:03 pm

Immanuel Can wrote: ↑Thu Nov 02, 2023 3:39 pm

Gary Childress wrote: ↑Thu Nov 02, 2023 2:25 am Strange how laws and rules seem to fluctuate and change in religious societies as well.

That's because "religions" is a vague, secular, collective term for "things people can believe...other than Atheism." So naturally, there's great variety there.

Fair, enough, then all those sects of Christianity that practice some things differently from each other must be understanding "objective" laws and rules in their own personal "objective" ways that differ from each other.

If you're actually interested in the degree to which what you call "sects" of Christianity differ, and more importantly, where they do not, you should perhaps take the time to read C.S. Lewis's famous book Mere Christianity. By "mere," Lewis doesn't mean "only," but rather "stripped down the the basic areas of agreement; devoid of peripherals". His book is very, very readable, understandable, yet profound. And I think you'll find it answers your question rather well.

Immanuel Can wrote: ↑Thu Nov 02, 2023 4:27 pm

Dontaskme wrote: ↑Thu Nov 02, 2023 9:43 am Which Supreme Being?

"Supreme Being" means, by definition, there's only one.

Good grief. On behalf of DAM I apologize for such a stupid question.

Very simple. Whenever people like IC and Walker are talking about God, they mean Allah. Supreme Being = God = Allah

Atla wrote: ↑Thu Nov 02, 2023 4:38 pm Very simple. Whenever people like IC and Walker are talking about God, they mean Allah. Supreme Being = God = Allah

There's only one supreme being and since I know how things truly are, I understand what the supreme being wants from me.

Atla wrote: ↑Thu Nov 02, 2023 4:38 pm Very simple. Whenever people like IC and Walker are talking about God, they mean Allah. Supreme Being = God = Allah

So...you really do know nothing about it?

Immanuel Can wrote: ↑Thu Nov 02, 2023 4:51 pm

Atla wrote: ↑Thu Nov 02, 2023 4:38 pm Very simple. Whenever people like IC and Walker are talking about God, they mean Allah. Supreme Being = God = Allah

So...you really do know nothing about it?

About what?
I was a Christian until like age 7-8, you know that funny belief system where they pretend that they have a 'god' that's not Allah.

Atla wrote: ↑Thu Nov 02, 2023 4:38 pm Very simple. Whenever people like IC and Walker are talking about God, they mean Allah. Supreme Being = God = Allah

Immanuel Can wrote: ↑Thu Nov 02, 2023 4:51 pm
So...you really do know nothing about it?

Oh yes for sure, nothing really knows all about it.

You must be nothing to know nothing.

Immanuel Can wrote: ↑Thu Nov 02, 2023 4:09 pm

But they're only hints, of course. And they're broad things, like that which tends to flourishing, for example. The problems with them are twofold, at least: first, that they have to be deduced, and something's not always right with the deducer. The second is that even when they are correctly deduced, they tend to cover only very broad cases, leaving too many details to be worked out for us to generate a code of behaviour out of them. But what they do give us is a starting point: the realization that we live in an orderly, purposeful, teleological universe, and hence there is a God who has designed it. This "natural law" kind of knowledge is universal: all ancient cultures throughout history have had it. And even today, the vast majority of people (96% of the world's population, according to CIA Factbook) thinks it's at least possible, and more often likely, that there's a God.

I am not among that 96%, but trying to see from the point of view of someone who is, I could go in various directions from there, but, knowing where I will inevitably end up, I may as well save time and head straight in your direction.

I can't claim to have read the Bible, but I have attempted to read parts of it, and have never managed to get very far. I find the archaic language hard to understand, and far too tedious to have much patience with. Even when I get the gist of what the words are saying, I find very little sense in what I am reading. Left to my own devices, I wouldn't stand a chance of arriving at a coherent impression of what morality is supposed to look like according to the Bible. The Bible would be useless to me without someone who understands it to interpret it for me. I would then have two problems; how do I know that the Bible is a reliable source, and how do I know my interpreter is not filtering what he passes on to me through his own biases?

So there's another course: God, presuming He exists, would be capable of being more explicit with his instructions than what we have in nature, and could give us the criteria for judging among the gurus, and could impart to us standards that would allow us to judge when our own subjective feelings or consciences were leading us right or wrong. So the question, then, comes down to a simple one: has God spoken? If He has, where would it be, and how would we know it when we found the right source of moral information?

I am assuming that the only account of God and what he has spoken of is in the Bible, is that correct? Maybe we could look at some sample moral issues and see what God has to say about them, but I would be entirely dependent on you to tell me what to look at, and how to understand it. What do you think?

Atla wrote: ↑Thu Nov 02, 2023 4:56 pm

Immanuel Can wrote: ↑Thu Nov 02, 2023 4:51 pm

Atla wrote: ↑Thu Nov 02, 2023 4:38 pm Very simple. Whenever people like IC and Walker are talking about God, they mean Allah. Supreme Being = God = Allah

So...you really do know nothing about it?

I was a Christian until like age 7-8...

So you have the knowledge that a "like 7-8 year old" might have, and became an Atheist at the ripe old intellectual age of 8?

I wouldn't boast about that, were I you. But it explains a lot...particularly, your last statement.

Immanuel Can wrote: ↑Thu Nov 02, 2023 6:03 pm

Atla wrote: ↑Thu Nov 02, 2023 4:56 pm

Immanuel Can wrote: ↑Thu Nov 02, 2023 4:51 pm
So...you really do know nothing about it?

I was a Christian until like age 7-8...

So you have the knowledge that a "like 7-8 year old" might have, and became an Atheist at the ripe old intellectual age of 8?

I wouldn't boast about that, were I you. But it explains a lot...particularly, your last statement.

Which last statement?

Atla wrote: ↑Thu Nov 02, 2023 4:56 pm

Immanuel Can wrote: ↑Thu Nov 02, 2023 4:51 pm

Atla wrote: ↑Thu Nov 02, 2023 4:38 pm Very simple. Whenever people like IC and Walker are talking about God, they mean Allah. Supreme Being = God = Allah

So...you really do know nothing about it?

About what?
I was a Christian until like age 7-8, you know that funny belief system where they pretend that they have a 'god' that's not Allah.

Atla wrote: ↑Thu Nov 02, 2023 6:16 pm

Immanuel Can wrote: ↑Thu Nov 02, 2023 6:03 pm

Atla wrote: ↑Thu Nov 02, 2023 4:56 pm
I was a Christian until like age 7-8...

So you have the knowledge that a "like 7-8 year old" might have, and became an Atheist at the ripe old intellectual age of 8?

I wouldn't boast about that, were I you. But it explains a lot...particularly, your last statement.

Which last statement?

That you have no idea of the difference between God and Allah.

I would have expected that even a Sunday School dropout would know at least that much. Apparently not.

Immanuel Can wrote: ↑Thu Nov 02, 2023 6:18 pm

Atla wrote: ↑Thu Nov 02, 2023 6:16 pm

Immanuel Can wrote: ↑Thu Nov 02, 2023 6:03 pm
So you have the knowledge that a "like 7-8 year old" might have, and became an Atheist at the ripe old intellectual age of 8?

I wouldn't boast about that, were I you. But it explains a lot...particularly, your last statement.

Which last statement?

That you have no idea of the difference between God and Allah.

I would have expected that even a Sunday School dropout would know at least that much. Apparently not.

Oh but there is no difference, God = Allah. Did you even pay attention to the Qur'an?