Supernaturalism and reason.

by Narkissos 36 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  Inquisitor

  Ditto what Rapunzel said

  INQ
• 

  Narkissos

  Jeffro'sand Spaznik's posts nicely illustrate the starting point of my opening post, which was indeed related to Bible exegesis (go figure).

  I do believe that most who resort to the "supernatural" as an explanation for certain Bible texts (either for dramatic "miracles" understood as "historical" or long-term "predictions" of historical details before the fact) would never think of it should they find a similar text out of their Bible... they would, too, use their supernatural-free "reason" and reach its abhorred "naturalistic" conclusions (i.e., that the text is a fiction, or that it was written after the fact). Check about any Evangelical introduction to the apocrypha (not to mention the middle-ages stories of the Virgin and saints) and you'll see what I mean...
• 

  SPAZnik

  Jeffro,

  yeah, i figured that would be the response, after i posted. wuz too tired last night to bother fixin' it.

  besides, i figured there is a slight difference, if only in intent.
• 

  Jeffro

  spaznik

  besides, i figured there is a slight difference, if only in intent.

  Yes, there may be a difference in intent. Some people think that 'allegorical' is much more noble than 'fabricated', but in the end it's still made up. Of course, many of the stories in the bible might indeed have been intended to be taken as literal, particularly in times when ignorant readers might have thought the events were plausible; only later when the impossibility is revealed, someone can come along and claim it was only ever meant as allegory, which sometimes seems a little too convenient.
• 

  hmike

  I don't know about Reefton Jack's experiences, but I'll bet there are people out there who, with what they've seen and been through, would shake their heads in amusement at our parlor discussions because none of us really knows what we're talking about.
• 

  hmike

  I do believe that most who resort to the "supernatural" as an explanation for certain Bible texts (either for dramatic "miracles" understood as "historical" or long-term "predictions" of historical details before the fact) would never think of it should they find a similar text out of their Bible... they would, too, use their supernatural-free "reason" and reach its abhorred "naturalistic" conclusions (i.e., that the text is a fiction, or that it was written after the fact). Check about any Evangelical introduction to the apocrypha (not to mention the middle-ages stories of the Virgin and saints) and you'll see what I mean...

  Reason and conventionality would be the general way to understand things, but I wouldn't automatically rule out the unexplained, unusual, or "supernatural." Each case would have to be evaluated on its own merit
• 

  Homerovah the Almighty

  The human imagination can believed just about anything if it wills itself so, as others have stated inner fear is a protagonist to beliefs when it is placed in the sub-conscience

  mind and the marketers of the WTS have known that for decades. There two parts to organized religion one are the people who seek answers and direction for themselves and the other

  part are the people that are willing to offer that direction, the bible is just that medium that can accomplish that very effort.

  History has shown us that the belief in gods or a god were mainly structured and developed on the basis of human ignorance or the lack of knowledge of the world we live in.

  In a counter balance to that known ignorance, scientific discovery and established facts derived from those discoveries has swayed modern man to stop thinking that there are

  invisible but powerful spirits swarming around causing climactic damage to humans and inciting fear to the detriment to the population. It does seem to me and probably many

  others thats it's better for man to live in a world of continuing knowledge and to work with this knowledge with the intent to better the human experience. It also seems in an

  unfortunate way that religious men like the JWS. have utilized and exploited that ancient ignorance and fear to cultivate their own source of power and control, negating the advancement

  of man to better his existence along with it. So the question we have to ask are selfs would it be better to let the gods or the men that say they are gods governed and control us or are we

  better off to do it are selfs ?

  My vote is on the humans !