GODS: The Fabrication of a Theistic Mind

I guess so . . . however, this does avoid any HARD QUESTIONS in the Here & Now
Religious adherents are probably NOT going to make the effort to discuss/reply to any difficult questions or comments from another forum

Fair enough
This is coming from the guy who runs away every time I ask him to provide facts for his claims. You are NOT one to criticize others for not answering "hard questions". New account I see. But same old song and dance.
 
As human societies became more complex ...
This section I find too general to get involved with ...

Proto-man was just one of many animal species locked in the struggle for survival over millennia. While his brain evolved through natural selection, the question arises: why did the brains of other creatures not similarly evolve, even to a lesser extent?
That's a huge question, again with a lot of generalisation.

Short answer: Who knows? Why have our brains got smaller over the millennia ... evolution is a very complex case.

The reality is stark: while man's brain has evolved considerably, those of other creatures have remained largely unchanged. By the law of averages, some species should have evolved intelligence approaching humanity's level, but none have.
I'm not sure that's a definitive reason ... ?

So, what accounts for this disparity?
The answer points to a deliberate cause.
Well as a Christian, I'd agree. But if that means Intelligent Design, then I disagree.

For proto-man, natural selection favored physical traits—strength, toughness, speed—over brain development. By this logic, we should resemble gorillas.
Well, gorillas is the path gorillas took in evolution. Nature tried a different path with us, clearly ... Just nature's way of trying all sorts.

Yet, our intelligence has paradoxically made us physically weaker but mentally stronger.
Well not entirely paradoxical. Were we ever that strong?

Again, the question persists: what caused this shift?
God?

Remove our extraordinary intelligence, and humanity would struggle to survive. Our intelligence seems to defy natural laws.
No, I think that's an over-statement. Remove our intelligence and we'd have reached an evolutionary dead-end ... and perhaps there are those species, very much like ours, without that intelligence, who did just that and vanished without trace?

"We are left with the explanation: Deliberate Cause."
That's an explanation. There are others.

This suggests an isolated intelligence influencing our physical selves—something distinct from the objective universe and its laws. This psyche or soul isn't merely a product of the brain's functions; it imbues us with identity, uniqueness, and a sense of separation from the world.
OK

We each perceive something within ourselves that defies explanation by physical laws alone. We resist being reduced to electrochemical equations; we sense a deeper essence, essential to our being.
Yes, but that can be explained by our capacity for reflection and a fear of the unknown ...

Human intelligence, as a violation of objective universal law ...
Where did that come from? What actual universal law has been violated?

You're simply making huge statements without proper argument.

... suggests the existence of an intelligent entity beyond the physical universe. It allows us an external perspective and the creativity to act deliberately.
...

This greater self, or GodSelf, often misunderstood throughout history, allows us to tap into extraordinary potential repeatedly throughout life.
...

You're sounding very much like a theist here, and an advocate of Intelligent Design.

Human consciousness doesn't evolve passively like nature ...
There are those who regard consciousness as something of an 'aberation', but there are those who would strongly argue that consciousness is natural.

We can defy nature's course.
Well, King Canute can place his throne on the beach and order the tide to go back ... but it seemed the moon was not to be defied.

But the crux is, you've determined something as 'super-natural' purely on the basis of your own argument. I think a lot of people would not find that argument compelling or convincing. It's certainly not irrefutable.
 
This is coming from the guy who runs away every time I ask him to provide facts for his claims. You are NOT one to criticize others for not answering "hard questions". New account I see. But same old song and dance.
Ask away, I don't run
This section I find too general to get involved with ...


That's a huge question, again with a lot of generalisation.

Short answer: Who knows? Why have our brains got smaller over the millennia ... evolution is a very complex case.


I'm not sure that's a definitive reason ... ?


Well as a Christian, I'd agree. But if that means Intelligent Design, then I disagree.


Well, gorillas is the path gorillas took in evolution. Nature tried a different path with us, clearly ... Just nature's way of trying all sorts.


Well not entirely paradoxical. Were we ever that strong?


God?


No, I think that's an over-statement. Remove our intelligence and we'd have reached an evolutionary dead-end ... and perhaps there are those species, very much like ours, without that intelligence, who did just that and vanished without trace?


That's an explanation. There are others.


OK


Yes, but that can be explained by our capacity for reflection and a fear of the unknown ...


Where did that come from? What actual universal law has been violated?

You're simply making huge statements without proper argument.


...


...

You're sounding very much like a theist here, and an advocate of Intelligent Design.


There are those who regard consciousness as something of an 'aberation', but there are those who would strongly argue that consciousness is natural.


Well, King Canute can place his throne on the beach and order the tide to go back ... but it seemed the moon was not to be defied.

But the crux is, you've determined something as 'super-natural' purely on the basis of your own argument. I think a lot of people would not find that argument compelling or convincing. It's certainly not irrefutable.
If someone believes in a 'god' wouldn't that imply Intelligent Design?
Unfortunately for myself and others, my Belief System is complex in that I could be considered theistic because I believe in a god, but that god is my Greater Self, not necessarily an external deity of someone else's design.

It seems you agree with much/some of what I have put forth, this is a good [interfaith] start.
 
If someone believes in a 'god' wouldn't that imply Intelligent Design?
No. Not Intelligent Design as capitalised – maybe you're unaware of it?

The idea that a deity is 'intelligent' is a given, and the 'argument from design' in philosophical terms is an old one.

But when capitalised, 'Intelligent Design' refers to the mid-90s US movement, supported by the Discovery Institute among others, generally right-wing conservative Christians, and is the argument in support of creationism against evolution. It's generally considered pseudoscience.

That was my main concern. I can accept the 'argument from design' as a philosophical argument for some order of transcendence, but do not accept the theories of the Intelligent Design Movement.

Unfortunately for myself and others, my Belief System is complex in that I could be considered theistic because I believe in a god, but that god is my Greater Self, not necessarily an external deity of someone else's design.
Does each self have its individual Greater Self?

It seems you agree with much/some of what I have put forth, this is a good [interfaith] start.
Well, I've also disagreed, so a response to those questions would also be good interfaith ... but no hurry.
 
Just to wonder ... the question is "GODS: The Fabrication of a Theistic Mind" –

Are you reflecting a question in regard to your own Theistic Mind?
 
No. Not Intelligent Design as capitalised – maybe you're unaware of it?

The idea that a deity is 'intelligent' is a given, and the 'argument from design' in philosophical terms is an old one.

But when capitalised, 'Intelligent Design' refers to the mid-90s US movement, supported by the Discovery Institute among others, generally right-wing conservative Christians, and is the argument in support of creationism against evolution. It's generally considered pseudoscience.

That was my main concern. I can accept the 'argument from design' as a philosophical argument for some order of transcendence, but do not accept the theories of the Intelligent Design Movement.
Usually when I choose to capitalize something it is to bring importance to the word(s), sorry for the confusion
Intelligent Design: the theory that life, or the universe, cannot have arisen by chance and was designed and created by some intelligent entity.
Does each self have its individual Greater Self?
I believe so
 
Question to the Admins . . . just as I am not allowed to 'bother' the DIR Groups of Faith, Why are they allowed to 'bother' me in my own DIR Forum?
 
The Æ0N 0f IBLIS are not one person, we are Legion
If you ban one of us another will come
I didn't ban you. Is that what happened? I had nothing to do with it. But you can come back to the other thread and answer the hard questions you failed to answer. Otherwise please stop criticizing others for having the same behaviors as you.
 
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