Merged (edited) General thoughts about Christianity and the bible

[P.J. Denyer]

Yes, I found that an interesting form of words. It implies that there is some non-evidentiary form of evidence, that has to be taken as seriously as evidentiary evidence while not being subject to the same scrutiny.

The answer, of course, to why there is no compelling evidence for supernatural phenomena is that, if there were, they would be natural phenomena.

Dave

It's like "What do you call Alternative Medicine that has been proven to work? 'Medicine'."

 

[Rusty Tyler]

The problem I have is that from where I'm sitting, "you must have faith" must also mean "you must be able to guess correctly which of the many things that all rely on 'you must have faith,' you should actually put your faith in." And how are you supposed to do that? With feels?

Yes, with "feels".
The decision to follow a faith practice is often made while one is at the end of their rope, so to speak.
The NEED to do life better.

Although, I suppose most just inherit it through their family.

 

[catsmate]

Why is there little evidentiary evidence for supernatural events?

Because the didn't and don't happen.

 

[catsmate]

:Why are some beliefs impervious to all evidence and reason?

Because people don't want to admit they're wrong, believing in nonsense.

 

[theprestige]

Yes, with "feels".
The decision to follow a faith practice is often made while one is at the end of their rope, so to speak.
The NEED to do life better.

Although, I suppose most just inherit it through their family.

People come up with all kinds of coping mechanisms, in extremis. Why wouldn't NDEs be in that category of experiences?

 

[welshdean]

I only need 'The bible is the inerrant word of god' for a line on my bingo card.

 

[Rusty Tyler]

People come up with all kinds of coping mechanisms, in extremis. Why wouldn't NDEs be in that category of experiences?

Maybe they should be. Although getting in a life-threatening accident is hard to plan. (typically)

 

[Rusty Tyler]

I only need 'The bible is the inerrant word of god' for a line on my bingo card.

Did you mean crossword puzzle? - LOL

 

[theprestige]

Maybe they should be. Although getting in a life-threatening accident is hard to plan. (typically)

Hence the extreme coping mechanisms.

ETA: But I wasn't asking you if you thought maybe NDEs could be best explained as coping mechanisms. I was asking you what you had learned in your studies, that led you to believe they might be evidence of a supernatural afterlife.

 

[Rusty Tyler]

Because the didn't and don't happen.

Just because you REFUSE to believe it doesn't mean it can't happen.
The miracles of Jesus and the Apostles are an historic fact.

The miracles of Jesus and the Apostles are widely regarded as historical events,
supported by the unanimous testimony of the four Gospels and other ancient writings.
Many scholars assert that these accounts are reliable historical documents
that describe miraculous acts beyond human capability.
fatima.org
dialoguejournal.com

 

[Rusty Tyler]

I was asking you what you had learned in your studies, that led you to believe they might be evidence of a supernatural afterlife.

Several aspects align with the Bible.
The spiritual realm is supernatural.

 

[Rusty Tyler]

Hence the extreme coping mechanisms.

What's to cope with?
You were hit by a car and rendered unconscious.
While you were out, you had an experience in the spiritual realm.
You remembered all of it and returned a changed person.

 

[Rusty Tyler]

... listened to a lot of JS Bach...

Agh... sounds like a wasted life to me. - LOL

 

[theprestige]

Several aspects align with the Bible.

The Biblical narratives have permeated western culture for over a thousand years. Even if NDEs are entirely hallucinations, we'd still expect some of their aspects to align with those narratives.

There's also the problem of aspects that don't align. The simplest explanation is that people who have an incomplete or inaccurate knowledge of the Bible would imagine things that only partially align with the the Bible.

The spiritual realm is supernatural.

If it exists. So far, your only argument for its existence is that sometimes people in extremis imagine something like it exists.

 

[Olmstead]

Just because you REFUSE to believe it doesn't mean it can't happen.
The miracles of Jesus and the Apostles are an historic fact.

The miracles of Jesus and the Apostles are widely regarded as historical events,
supported by the unanimous testimony of the four Gospels and other ancient writings.
Many scholars assert that these accounts are reliable historical documents
that describe miraculous acts beyond human capability.
fatima.org
dialoguejournal.com

All of what you wrote is wrong. The gospels are myths that might include some non-supernatural historical events and figures, but even that is debatable. No proper historian will argue for the historicity of the supernatural parts.

 

[welshdean]

unanimous testimony of the four Gospels

FFS
List the four accounts of the first to see the opened tomb.

 

[theprestige]

Agh... sounds like a wasted life to me. - LOL

Then what do you call an appeal to superstition, on an Internet backwater where nobody agrees with you and nobody else will notice what is said?

How many hours of your life have you wasted here already? How many more will you waste, before you get on with the real work your God demands of you?

 

[Rusty Tyler]

The Biblical narratives have permeated western culture for over a thousand years. Even if NDEs are entirely hallucinations, we'd still expect some of their aspects to align with those narratives.

Some (many?) of the testimonies are from people with no Christian upbringing. Or even from other religions.
Yet their experience still aligns.

 

[Rusty Tyler]

Then what do you call an appeal to superstition, on an Internet backwater where nobody agrees with you and nobody else will notice what is said?

How many hours of your life have you wasted here already? How many more will you waste, before you get on with the real work your God demands of you?

If I didn't know better, I'd say you are trying to get rid of me.

Maybe God sent me here to do the real work. The fields are ripe unto harvest.

 

[theprestige]

Some (many?) of the testimonies are from people with no Christian upbringing. Or even from other religions.
Yet their experience still aligns.

So? Like I said, the Biblical narratives are part of our cultural DNA, whether we were raised in the religion or not.

And what about the parts that don't align? Have the nearly-dead seen a truth the Bible got wrong? Or have they hallucinated something the Bible rightly contradicts?