The Philosophy Discussion Forum

Did God give Israel the land it now occupies? Are there really 72 virgins waiting in Heaven for martyrs of Allah? Will Jesus return someday? Or are these stories completely fabricated?

And if these stories are fabricated, then what?

Or what if they're not fabricated? Does anyone really know for sure?

The reason I ask is that I think God wants me to date a female supermodel because I'm not sexually attracted to ordinary women. And I'm wondering whether or not I've just fabricated the story that God wants me to date a female supermodel.

no more than Plato's Demiurge made the ancient Greeks homosexual...

-Imp

Gary Childress wrote: ↑Mon May 18, 2026 10:02 pm Did God give Israel the land it now occupies? Are there really 72 virgins waiting in Heaven for martyrs of Allah? Will Jesus return someday? Or are these stories completely fabricated?

You forgot: "did nothing create everything?" "Did we evolve from apes?" "Is the world morally and historically progressing?" "Can humans solve their own essential problems?" "Is meaning just something people have made up?"

There are plenty of "stories" around, and people hold them all with religious fervour. What criterial will you choose in order to judge among them?

Immanuel Can wrote: ↑Mon May 18, 2026 11:41 pm

Gary Childress wrote: ↑Mon May 18, 2026 10:02 pm Did God give Israel the land it now occupies? Are there really 72 virgins waiting in Heaven for martyrs of Allah? Will Jesus return someday? Or are these stories completely fabricated?

You forgot: "did nothing create everything?" "Did we evolve from apes?" "Is the world morally and historically progressing?" "Can humans solve their own essential problems?" "Is meaning just something people have made up?"

There are plenty of "stories" around, and people hold them all with religious fervour. What criterial will you choose in order to judge among them?

So are all of these beliefs on the same level? Should I believe that 72 virgins are waiting for me in heaven with the same "fervor" that I may hypothesize that humans evolved from apes? Should I stake my life on any of the "stories" you added? There's nothing about the "stories" I gave that seem suspicous or otherwise different than the stories you gave?

Gary Childress wrote: ↑Tue May 19, 2026 12:29 am

Immanuel Can wrote: ↑Mon May 18, 2026 11:41 pm

Gary Childress wrote: ↑Mon May 18, 2026 10:02 pm Did God give Israel the land it now occupies? Are there really 72 virgins waiting in Heaven for martyrs of Allah? Will Jesus return someday? Or are these stories completely fabricated?

You forgot: "did nothing create everything?" "Did we evolve from apes?" "Is the world morally and historically progressing?" "Can humans solve their own essential problems?" "Is meaning just something people have made up?"

There are plenty of "stories" around, and people hold them all with religious fervour. What criterial will you choose in order to judge among them?

So are all of these beliefs on the same level?

Why would you even think that? Almost nothing is "on the same level" as everything else. Some things are true, some are only partly true, and some are false. How much sense does such a question even make?

Immanuel Can wrote: ↑Tue May 19, 2026 12:37 am

Gary Childress wrote: ↑Tue May 19, 2026 12:29 am

Immanuel Can wrote: ↑Mon May 18, 2026 11:41 pm
You forgot: "did nothing create everything?" "Did we evolve from apes?" "Is the world morally and historically progressing?" "Can humans solve their own essential problems?" "Is meaning just something people have made up?"

There are plenty of "stories" around, and people hold them all with religious fervour. What criterial will you choose in order to judge among them?

So are all of these beliefs on the same level?

Why would you even think that?

Fair enough. I don't think that either.