Posts by cofty

169

Universal sovereignty on trial

by Factfulness in

i just had a thought of clarity regarding the jw explanation for this doctrine.

they explain that satan challenged god regarding his right to rule.

god failed to prove his right to rule.

cofty

The bottom line is since one persons morals are not really any more legitimate than the next person what right do we have to judge each other or God for that matter? - Perry

Morality is not simply a matter of personal opinion. Objective morality - as opposed to capricious ethics by divine fiat - is only possible by first leaving god out of the discussion.

'Morality' is simply what we mean when we worry about how our actions affect the flourishing of conscious beings. That doesn't mean that all moral questions are easily resolved or that intelligent, well-intentioned people won't disagree but it does mean that we can base our moral judgements on objective facts.

'Divine morality' leaves us in a conflict between our 'god-given' conscience and 'god-given' laws. When god commands his followers to commit genocide or to kidnap and rape vrgins or to take slaves what are we to do?

The materialist will simply assert that they just “know”.

No that is a strawman as I just explained above.

The believe this even though they are not all-knowing or all-powerful and make no claim as such.

Nobody believes that. If you are going to challenge people who disagree with you at least try to honestly present their position. Christian apologists never do that.

169

Universal sovereignty on trial

by Factfulness in

i just had a thought of clarity regarding the jw explanation for this doctrine.

they explain that satan challenged god regarding his right to rule.

god failed to prove his right to rule.

cofty

Some reasons people have for believing in God in the first place include: 1) the fact that anything exists at all rather than nothing - SBF

This is wrong for at least two reasons. Firstly it requires wilful equivocation regarding the word 'god'. If the fact that anything exists did suggest a pre-existing being that leaves us a very, very long way from anything theists could call god. You would still have all your work ahead of you.

Secondly the mystery that anything exists rather than nothing is only exacerbated by positing an equally mysterious pre-existing being.

2) personal experiences or encounters with the divine

So the apologist whose argument rests on the fact that humans are frequently mistaken and misled by everyday personal experiences of the natural world, thinks that personal experiences count as evidence for a supernatural being. Don't you see the irony?

And which 'god' is personal experiences evidence for? If it counts as evidence for the god of christians then it must equally be valid as proof of every other god - and of alien abductions for that matter.

3) indications of God acting in and through human history

Every single detail of history and of the living world screams that there is nobody in control.

169

Universal sovereignty on trial

by Factfulness in

i just had a thought of clarity regarding the jw explanation for this doctrine.

they explain that satan challenged god regarding his right to rule.

god failed to prove his right to rule.

cofty

Scenario 1 - Compelling evidence for the existence of god but there appears to be a contradiction between some of the claims made for god and evidence from the real world.

Rational solution - Keep an open mind and consider that there may be facts we don't understand.

Scenario 2 - No evidence for the existence of god AND blatant contradictions between fundamental claims made for god and evidence from the real world.

Rational solution - Dismiss god-talk as superstition.

169

Universal sovereignty on trial

by Factfulness in

i just had a thought of clarity regarding the jw explanation for this doctrine.

they explain that satan challenged god regarding his right to rule.

god failed to prove his right to rule.

cofty

It is rational to at least leave open the possibility that God has a better grasp on the nature of reality, goodness and justice than we do.

That would be irrational unless you can first provide evidence for the existence of this god.

Since nobody ever has, and since the claims made for god contradict reality, we can safely dismiss the whole thing and get on with life.

169

Universal sovereignty on trial

by Factfulness in

i just had a thought of clarity regarding the jw explanation for this doctrine.

they explain that satan challenged god regarding his right to rule.

god failed to prove his right to rule.

cofty

Contradictions are not 'mysteries'.

169

Universal sovereignty on trial

by Factfulness in

i just had a thought of clarity regarding the jw explanation for this doctrine.

they explain that satan challenged god regarding his right to rule.

god failed to prove his right to rule.

cofty

there is at least the possibility that the creator of the universe knows better than we do

That is not an excuse that is open to NT christians. It is central to christianity that god hasn't left us to figure it out. God revealed himself mankind through Jesus. Reality proves beyond ALL doubt that Jesus' revelation was a delusion.

To continue repeating the excuse 'it's a mystery' in the face of reality is pathetic.

291

Evolution is a Fact #1 - Protein Functional Redundancy

by cofty in

i intend for this to be one of a series of bite-sized ops on the evidence for evolution.. introduction to dna genes are sequences of dna made up of words (codons) each of which are three letters (bases) long.

there are only four letters in the genetic alphabet (acg&t) each word or codon is the recipe for one amino acid.

there are 20 different amino acids in living organisms.

cofty

Clicking ''Dislike' is not equivalent to defending your argument Hooby.

169

Universal sovereignty on trial

by Factfulness in

i just had a thought of clarity regarding the jw explanation for this doctrine.

they explain that satan challenged god regarding his right to rule.

god failed to prove his right to rule.

cofty

Sometimes we see idiots who think they can disprove god with facile logical puzzles like 'can god make a rock so heavy that he can't lift it?'.

We rightly cringe at such foolishness.

Then we get apologists like you SBF who ask us to accept a contradiction of such magnitude, by dismissing it as a mystery, that you make the 'heavy rock' argument sound intelligent.

169

Universal sovereignty on trial

by Factfulness in

i just had a thought of clarity regarding the jw explanation for this doctrine.

they explain that satan challenged god regarding his right to rule.

god failed to prove his right to rule.

cofty

Bible writers had the same access to suffering that you do. They were not ignorant of the fact that we live in a world of suffering. And yet they described God as a God of love anyway.

And they suffered from cognitive dissonance, myopia, wishful thinking, delusions and hypocrisy just as much as any modern day apologist.

169

Universal sovereignty on trial

by Factfulness in

i just had a thought of clarity regarding the jw explanation for this doctrine.

they explain that satan challenged god regarding his right to rule.

god failed to prove his right to rule.

cofty

I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous... Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. - Matt.5

Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Matt.6

But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. - Luke 6

Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. - Luke 12

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. - Jas.1

"Love ... always protects" - 1 Cor.13

Bollocks!