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Originally Posted by
jlisenbe
This is what I hate about these discussions. When your allegory has no moral, then you deny that allegories have morals.
I HAVE NEVER DENIED THAT ALLEGORIES DON'T HAVE MORALS. WHY IN THE WORLD DO YOU KEEP INSISTING I DID SAY THAT? Yeah, I put that in caps for emphasis.
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"a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one." If that is not true, then what on earth is the purpose of an allegory?????
THAT IS TRUE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I NEVER SAID IT WASN'T. One of us (or both) has a real problem communicating.
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Try that in a court of law. "Your Honor, the defendant is innocent because my mind/brain/intellect/experiences say so."
THAT IS PRECISELY WHAT A DEFENSE ATTORNEY DOES IN A COURT OF LAW!!!! SO DOES A PROSECUTING ATTORNEY. EACH THEN DOES THEIR THING DESCRIBING WHY THEY BELIEVE WHAT THEY BELIEVE AND THE JURY VOTES ON IT. In effect, you insist on creating a scenario that isn't true.
An opinion is NOT absolute truth in every circumstance. Neither is what you or I believe about any particular circumstance, or philosophy, or belief, or ANYTHING. Thoughts, opinions, beliefs are ALWAYS subject to adjustment. You may have some beliefs that are always true - i.e., 2+2=4, but the truth is not because of your thought/belief/opinion, it is true because of the truth inherent in the equation. It's truth exists no matter what you or I think about it.
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It's that we realize that our own views can frequently be wrong due to a lack of knowledge that we appeal to higher sources.
Good! That's absolutely true! Of course our thoughts, views, beliefs, opinions can be wrong. And naturally we try to discover the truth by looking elsewhere. It's also possible that we DO believe our thoughts, views, beliefs, opinions, are NOT wrong, but right. In that case, we DON'T look elsewhere, although the truth can happen to us unbidden.
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You admit it above when you say I should be doing research to back up your assertions.
Of course I do. Why else would I suggest you research it yourself? I certainly wouldn't do it so you could prove my assertion false.
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It's an obvious admission that we are all subject to error.
No, it's not an obvious admission of error. Why would I do that? It doesn't make sense. What it is, is the exact opposite - a means (a link) for you to acknowledge that what I'm posting is correct!
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Even worse, you are saying that your source of authority is...Athos!
I think I'm beginning to see the confusion. My source of authority is my mind. That's true. It's also your source of authority. But you see "source of authority" differently than I do. I do NOT see it as the end-all and be-all of existence. I see it as WHAT THE SOURCE OF MY BELIEF IS. I acknowledge that it can be changed.
However, you see that source of authority for the Bible being the Bible itself. Why? Because that is what you believe. Is there an inherent truth in the Bible the way an inherent truth exists in the mathematical equation? No.
Here's one way of examining the premise (not the only way). Wherever you go, people will always without exception agree that 2+2=4. That is not true of the Bible. Wherever you go, you will find many beliefs about the Bible - from total disbelief to total belief. From literal to not literal. If you want to believe Genesis is literal, that is easily challenged as I have done here on these pages. Talking reptiles, world-wide floods, six days of creation, etc. -----------
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True enough. That being the case, you appeal to something other than your own powers of reasoning in your search for truth.
DEFINITELY, ABSOLUTELY TRUE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The key is MY OWN POWERS. I know they are limited. However, I do NOT appeal to another way of knowing other than reason. If something cannot pass the test of reason, I tend not to believe it.
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So aside from your own ideas, is there anything outside of you that can settle an argument?
Of course. By now I hope you realize that I can believe an argument based in truth and reason.
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Exactly. And why? Because I was confronted with that which is higher than I am.(Adjusting his idea about God from all love to a God of justice)
Not exactly. First you believed that God is all love. Then you read something that said God is also a God of justice. So you adjusted your thinking, and your adjusted belief is that God is a God of love and justice. God didn't tell you that. You said you read it somewhere.