John_Mann

Joined

• started 11 topics
• posted 1,225 times   see topics posted on
• send a message

Posts by John_Mann

• 
  583

  What is the purpose of life?

  by slimboyfat in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  while reading the magazines the other day it occurred to me that jws never really had a very good answer to that question.

  because it was aimed at young people and it said something along the lines, "if you believe in god you have a purpose, but if you don't believe in god your life has no purpose or meaning".

  i think that is a faulty analysis of the situation.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  John_Mann

  Here's some reasoning of mine about the cause of human mind:

  Premise A: No animal can conceive infinity.
  Premise B: Human mind can conceive infinity.
  
  Conclusion 1: The origin of human mind cannot be traced to any animal.
  
  Premise A: The human mind must have a cause.
  Premise B: Only infinity can contain infinity.
  Premise C: The cause of human mind must be infinity.
  Premise D: This cause must possess the intentional ability to manipulate infinity.
  
  Conclusion 2: Human mind was caused by an infinite mind.
  
  C1 + C2: Human mind have no natural cause. It's cause must be supernatural.
  
  
  
• 
  583

  What is the purpose of life?

  by slimboyfat in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  while reading the magazines the other day it occurred to me that jws never really had a very good answer to that question.

  because it was aimed at young people and it said something along the lines, "if you believe in god you have a purpose, but if you don't believe in god your life has no purpose or meaning".

  i think that is a faulty analysis of the situation.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  John_Mann

  That's not at all what faith is. It's certainly not logic of any kind.
  Do you know what logic is?

  Yes, faith is more than reason alone. But faith seeks reason. But some articles of faith cannot be reasoned. For example, I have faith my soul will be saved in my particular Judgement.

  Here's some reasoning of mine about the cause of human mind:
• 
  583

  What is the purpose of life?

  by slimboyfat in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  while reading the magazines the other day it occurred to me that jws never really had a very good answer to that question.

  because it was aimed at young people and it said something along the lines, "if you believe in god you have a purpose, but if you don't believe in god your life has no purpose or meaning".

  i think that is a faulty analysis of the situation.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  John_Mann

  It sounds to me like you are describing a process whereby 'God' has been created in man's image...

  Good point, I understand what you mean. And this impression can also be said if someone was describing a statue of you. The description of you and one statue of you could be hard to differentiate.

  And by the way...belief in such a god as you describe requires 'faith', not rationality.

  To believe universe itself can be understood with human reason requires faith too.

  And that's what we do.
  

  There's no warranty or proof of ANY kind I will be alive tomorrow but my plans and my thoughts are made upon faith that I'll be alive in next years.

  Faith itself it's not a bad thing, but I agree with you that faith in some premises can be harmful.

  The premise of faith is that our rational minds can't be traceable to any animal and our minds can bear the concept of infinity. It's logical to conclude our rational minds came from something higher.
• 
  583

  What is the purpose of life?

  by slimboyfat in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  while reading the magazines the other day it occurred to me that jws never really had a very good answer to that question.

  because it was aimed at young people and it said something along the lines, "if you believe in god you have a purpose, but if you don't believe in god your life has no purpose or meaning".

  i think that is a faulty analysis of the situation.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  John_Mann

  How do you know that? And please don't reply with quotes from an old book...I want to know how YOU know what you claim you do

  Because our rational soul, responsible to our reasoning, was created directly by God to reflect his image.

  And our rational minds hate paradoxes. Every system of thought created by humans tries to avoid paradoxes. So it's a very well established universal trait in human reasoning.

  Doesn't matter if someone is trying to make a good or evil system of thought. Paradoxes will be avoided by both sides.
• 
  583

  What is the purpose of life?

  by slimboyfat in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  while reading the magazines the other day it occurred to me that jws never really had a very good answer to that question.

  because it was aimed at young people and it said something along the lines, "if you believe in god you have a purpose, but if you don't believe in god your life has no purpose or meaning".

  i think that is a faulty analysis of the situation.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  John_Mann

  Erm... what about the Book of Optics byAlhazen, a muslim?

  Science is a method not books. A book about optics is not about the scientific method.

  Some books are validated by the scientific method and assimilated to scientific knowledge.

  One idea from a Catholic friar became directly a part of the very scientific method, for example.
• 
  583

  What is the purpose of life?

  by slimboyfat in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  while reading the magazines the other day it occurred to me that jws never really had a very good answer to that question.

  because it was aimed at young people and it said something along the lines, "if you believe in god you have a purpose, but if you don't believe in god your life has no purpose or meaning".

  i think that is a faulty analysis of the situation.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  John_Mann

  John Mann would it have been impossible for God to create a world with free will, but without suffering? If you say that would be impossible it does seem to set a limit on God.

  God doesn't like paradoxes.

  Our rational soul is an image of God's attributes. Some attributes we reflect in fullness like liberty. We perceived liberty in its infinity form.

  So we can approach the problem of limiting liberty.

  If God had limited our freedom just to one thing someone could object the possibility of God had limited something more. And that's would be a valid question ( related to our sense of justice).

  We know we have infinite freedom inside our minds. Our souls are total free to think anything and make judgements based on these free flights.

  What would be if you reached a wall in your free will?

  Automatically your sense of justice would protest about it and in a valid way.

  Suffering is a consequence of choice of evil. If the majority of humanity chose not to do evil I think we would be able to solve almost every physical problem. Imagine using all the military research in science to cure diseases... I think (even in our fallen condition) we could cure any disease and prevent any accident.
  

  
  
  
• 
  583

  What is the purpose of life?

  by slimboyfat in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  while reading the magazines the other day it occurred to me that jws never really had a very good answer to that question.

  because it was aimed at young people and it said something along the lines, "if you believe in god you have a purpose, but if you don't believe in god your life has no purpose or meaning".

  i think that is a faulty analysis of the situation.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  John_Mann

  Catholics wrote the Bible?
  Maybe Catholics re-wrote the Bible (St Jerome and others) but without a time machine I don't know how you could credit any Catholic with writing any of the Bible.

  I'm talking about the New Testament. And the first Christians were former Jews, they can say they inherited the Jewish tradition in first hand too.

  But that's another very long discussion...
  
  
• 
  583

  What is the purpose of life?

  by slimboyfat in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  while reading the magazines the other day it occurred to me that jws never really had a very good answer to that question.

  because it was aimed at young people and it said something along the lines, "if you believe in god you have a purpose, but if you don't believe in god your life has no purpose or meaning".

  i think that is a faulty analysis of the situation.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  John_Mann

  I agree that it seems impossible for us to reconcile God's almightiness and his goodness in our mind amid a world with so much suffering.

  
  Yes, the problem of evil is the hardest problem to theists. It's the "something ex nihilo" to atheists. Why there's something instead of nothing?
  
  But there's some light about the problem of evil.
  
  The possibility of evil is a requirement for infinite free will. In our minds we can choose anything freely. Even things with hard consequences (like defy gravity by jumping from a building).
  
  God is infinite liberty and infinite good.
  
  If He's good why there's evil?
  
  There's no choice in infinite liberty. Because nobody would freely choose involuntary slavery instead infinite liberty. Doesn't matter if one is good or evil.
  
  But good and evil are choices. God chose to be good. And He created our sense of infinite liberty like His image.
  
  If God had put a barrier to evil, infinite liberty would be damaged.
  
  It's just like an architect designing a balcony in a high building. The goal is to achieve a free view but at the same time someone can jump from there. Jumping is not what's intended but is an intrinsic possibility.
  
• 
  583

  What is the purpose of life?

  by slimboyfat in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  while reading the magazines the other day it occurred to me that jws never really had a very good answer to that question.

  because it was aimed at young people and it said something along the lines, "if you believe in god you have a purpose, but if you don't believe in god your life has no purpose or meaning".

  i think that is a faulty analysis of the situation.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  John_Mann

  Is JM more of a bible writer.

  I was referring to Catholic Church. I'm Catholic and Catholicism is ancient. And Catholics wrote the Bible.
• 
  583

  What is the purpose of life?

  by slimboyfat in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  while reading the magazines the other day it occurred to me that jws never really had a very good answer to that question.

  because it was aimed at young people and it said something along the lines, "if you believe in god you have a purpose, but if you don't believe in god your life has no purpose or meaning".

  i think that is a faulty analysis of the situation.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  John_Mann

  Untrue. Scientists came from ancient Greece. Thales of Miletus, 624 BC to 545 BC is considered to be the very first scientist although he did not leave a written record. Aristotle, 384 BC to 322 BC was also a scientist. Both men lived well before the Christian Era.

  C'mon, Greeks hated empiricism. They thought only abstract ideas were valid. Experimentation was related to slaves.

  Science as we know today was invented in a recent time by Christians.

  
  

  Aristotle maintained that women have fewer teeth than men; although he was twice married, it never occurred to him to verify this statement by examining his wives' mouths.

  Bertrand Russell