Christian Faith

[DBT]

Isn't it possible that people have reported a lot of things, experiences, events, that may not be true?

Yes. Of course.
Global warming might be false

Whether it is, or it isn't, doesn't come down to a matter of faith.....

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Am I crazy and deluded or did I talk to god?

If I misheard what someone told me I might need my hearing checked but that doesn't make me deluded. Your first and most basic claim is that you heard someone's voice.

If that is true then I don't think the default response should be no you didn't hear anything
...you liar/lunatic

It may be a trick of the mind. The brain can be highly suggestive.

 

[steve_bank]

Am I crazy and deluded or did I talk to god?

If I misheard what someone told me I might need my hearing checked but that doesn't make me deluded. Your first and most basic claim is that you heard someone's voice.

If that is true then I don't think the default response should be no you didn't hear anything
...you liar/lunatic

Maybe god is testing your faith through me? Maybe it is all in your head?

Maybe it is all a test by god. He really wants people who can think for themselves in heaven and the blind faithful face oblivion. God would be bored with mind numbing worship.

 

[steve_bank]

Isn't it possible that people have reported a lot of things, experiences, events, that may not be true?

Yes. Of course.
Global warming might be false

Global warming is an observed fact. Oceans are rising from melting ice.

Islands are going under.

In science there are no absolutes. No one claims otherwise. The term X Factor came out of aviation flight testing. It derives from x in algebra being an unknown factor. The X Factor represents the idea in sconce that no matter how good the analysis and theory and preparation for an experiment may be, there is always the potential for an unknown unaccounted for factor.

We are comfortable with uncertainty. Those who reject human causality for warming are a small percentage.

 

[T.G.G. Moogly]

We bypass science all the time. You know from experience what is going to break under your feet and what will likely support you. Do you trust your judgement? That's faith. You don't know the density of the log.. if it is rotten on the inside.. the exact diameter or even your own exact weight.

You can choose to use faith (in yourself, in your god, in your family, whatever) to fill the gaps of knowledge, so as not to be paralyzed by an absence of information.

Holy fuck is that the stupidist thing I ever heard. Are you maybe 13 or something? You are equating faith with learned behavior. They are hardly the same thing.

 

[skepticalbip]

You approach a swiftly flowing river and need to cross it. You notice a tree has fallen across the river, forming a natural bridge. You must determine if it is safe to cross. You do not have any tools... just your senses.
How do you judge if the tree will support your weight?

You use faith in your judgement, based on experience.

We bypass science all the time. You know from experience what is going to break under your feet and what will likely support you. Do you trust your judgement? That's faith. You don't know the density of the log.. if it is rotten on the inside.. the exact diameter or even your own exact weight. Would you have enough faith to cross on that log if it was obviously too small and rotted to support your weight? Now that would take faith.

You can choose to use faith (in yourself, in your god, in your family, whatever) to fill the gaps of knowledge, so as not to be paralyzed by an absence of information.

You are confusing faith and judgement. We develop our judgement by past experiences and those past experiences allow us to judge the strength of that log and our weight. It is the same as the judgement that a squirrel uses to determine if the limb it is leaping to will support it, the distance to the limb, and the amount of force to exert to clear that distance. The squirrel is not acting on faith but judgement the same as the judgement we make before walking across that log. Would you have enough faith to cross on that log if it was obviously too small and rotted to take your weight? Now that would take faith.

 

[steve_bank]

In the absence of a clear physically mathematical solution we use experience. All science reasoning need not be mathematical. Over time we learn by observation using the senses to know the likelihood of rain. Judgment based on objective observation is not faith.

There is WAG for wild ass guess.

An old theist argument on the forum has been science I as much faith as religion therefore religion is as objectively valid as science.

There is SWAG for scientific wild ass guess, a choice made with some science behind it to improve the odds.

I did some contact work for a fundamentalist Evangelical entrepreneur. They substituted prayer for business planning and scheduling. Don't now how it turned out. Glen Beck had the same problem with his TV network. Faith over business expertise.

 

[DBT]

Guessing does not necessarily involve faith....we are not convinced that our guess is the truth, we allow for the fact that our guess can be wrong. We have no emotional investment in our guess, so do we cling to our guess in spite of everything, or get upset if it proves to be wrong.