Sabbath for Skeptics

Jews are religious believers too. At least the ones who are not atheists.

Rumor has it that there are more atheist Jews in Israel than religious Jews.

And thank G-d Jews in the US aren’t allowed to vote.

“The Skeptical Zone” is decidedly anti-Christ.

Is it equally anti-Jewish?

If not, why not?

571 thoughts on “Sabbath for Skeptics

  1. Reciprocating Bill: We are making progress. In this discussion we have learned a great deal directly from FMM:

    How did you learn it? Oh that’s right I revealed it.
    Is it knowledge? Well that depends on whether it is true.

    In my worldview truth exists necessarily so knowledge is possible.
    What about you how do you know stuff in your worldview?

    peace

    peace

  2. fifthmonarchyman: I think I have been pretty consistent in saying that your worldview is a parasite to mine

    Saying it ain’t showing it.

    That is the case whether we follow 666 or the variant 616

    But the point is if I’d asked you what it was before we knew about 616 you would have been absolutely sure it was 666. Right?

  3. fifthmonarchyman: Oh that’s right I revealed it.

    You are not god. Things other then god can reveal knowledge, as you have demonstrated. Therefore god is not required for knowledge.

    Glad we sorted that out.

  4. fifthmonarchyman: The Greek word logos can be translated logic. Please explain (using logic) how logic can not exist by definition

    Please explain why you’re equivocating.

    Presuppositions are not the result of reason they are the basis by which you reason.

    Presuppositions are not conclusions to consider they are the basis by which you consider conclusions.

    No, your presupposition is nothing more than a prejudice.

    We have already covered this.

    Yes, but you’ve never justified inserting a meaningless prejudice into epistemology.

    The Logos is my presupposition what is yours?

    I use no more presuppositions than you, I just leave the meaningless “Logos” out of it. And my presuppositions are not considered to be infallible.

    Glen Davidson

  5. FMM:

    How did you learn it? Oh that’s right I revealed it.

    Has anyone claimed that people can’t reveal things to one another?

    What about you how do you know stuff in your worldview?

    Same way you do. By observing, reasoning, hypothesizing, predicting, testing, replicating, sharing, challenging, revising, modeling, and onward.

    We try to keep resort to circular fictions and fallible experiences of divine revelation out of it, however.

  6. GlenDavidson: Please explain why you’re equivocating.

    There is no equivocating the Logos is precisely Logic and reason and truth.

    The Logos became flesh.

    GlenDavidson: No, your presupposition is nothing more than a prejudice.

    No it’s a valid grounds for knowledge. Truth exists because the Logos exists.
    Since truth exists I can know stuff

    How do you know stuff in your worldview?

    GlenDavidson: you’ve never justified inserting a meaningless prejudice into epistemology.

    Presuppositions are not insertions they are axioms

    GlenDavidson: I use no more presuppositions than you, I just leave the meaningless “Logos” out of it. And my presuppositions are not considered to be infallible.

    Please detail your presuppositions here so we can compare.
    I only have one…….. The Christian God exists

    peace

  7. Reciprocating Bill: Same way you do. By observing, reasoning, hypothesizing, predicting, testing, replicating, sharing, challenging, revising, modeling, and onward.

    That is a merely method I’m looking for a grounds
    What is your grounds for knowledge?

    IOW

    How do you know stuff in your worldview?

    Reciprocating Bill: Has anyone claimed that people can’t reveal things to one another?

    Cool

    So if I was to ask you how you know that FMM believes Jesus is Lord you would say something like “FMM revealed it to me”.

    If you were to say

    By observing, reasoning, hypothesizing, predicting, testing, replicating, sharing, challenging, revising, modeling, and onward.

    That would be completely beside the point. And I would respond with “How do you know those things will help you discover what FMM believes”

    Now do you understand what I’m asking?

    peace

  8. FMM:

    So if I was to ask you how you know that FMM believes Jesus is Lord you would say something like “FMM revealed it to me”.

    If you were to say

    By observing, reasoning, hypothesizing, predicting, testing, replicating, sharing, challenging, revising, modeling, and onward.

    That would be completely beside the point. And I would respond with “How do you know those things will help you discover what FMM believes”

    People frequently make false and/or mistaken claims about themselves. If there is doubt about such a claim, I can gather much more reliable and dispositive information about their claim by observing, reasoning, hypothesizing, predicting, testing etc. their behavior than I can by listening to more of their testimony.

  9. Reciprocating Bill: People frequently make false and/or mistaken claims about themselves.

    Correct, But unlike people God is not mistaken and does not lie

    quote:
    God is not man, that he should lie,
    (Num 23:19a)
    end quote:

    Reciprocating Bill: I can gather much more reliable and dispositive information about their claim by observing, reasoning, hypothesizing, predicting, testing etc. their behavior than I can by listening to more of their testimony.

    You don’t have to speak to reveal something people often reveal stuff with their behavior. The point is you can never know what I actually believe unless I truthfully reveal it to you whether I reveal it verbally or through my behavior is beside the point

    Surely you would agree with this

    quote:

    these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God.
    (1Co 2:10-12)

    and

    At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
    (Mat 11:25-27)

    end quote:

    peace

  10. FMM:

    Correct, But unlike people God is not mistaken and does not lie
    quote:
    God is not man, that he should lie,
    (Num 23:19a)
    end quote:

    Now you’ve returned to the circular application of your presuppositions to support the claim of revelation.

    Earlier you cited revelation (about which you may be mistaken) in support of your presuppositions.

    Round and round it goes!

  11. Reciprocating Bill: Round and round it goes!

    Yep the Father loves the Logos from eternity and the Logos reflects that love back to the Father……………….. world with out end.

    amen

  12. Reciprocating Bill: Earlier you cited revelation (about which you may be mistaken) in support of your presuppositions.

    not quite

    I might mistakenly believe something not from God is revelation. But if God chooses to reveal something to me I can’t be mistaken

    Do you understand the difference?

    peace

  13. ffm,
    The reason you seem to be doing well is that if you are making it up as you go along, it’s impossible to be wrong.

    According to you the number of the beast is both 616 and 666. How convenient. Yet before the 616 was discovered, you’d have sworn it was revealed knowledge and true.

  14. OMagain: Not really, why don’t you illustrate with some examples?

    Ok here you go.

    Just recently I thought I knew that it would really easy for me to embed my tool in a website so that I could start some hypotheses testing but the process is turning out to be harder that I thought it would, That would be an example of something I thought I knew but really did not. The error as always was mine and not Gods I made a wrong hasty assumption based on incomplete information.

    On the other hand I know for sure that I exist right now. This is actual revelation and not a unwarranted assumption on my part.

    Does that help you to understand?

    peace

  15. fifthmonarchyman: Just recently I thought I knew that it would really easy for me to embed my tool in a website so that I could start some hypotheses testing but the process is turning out to be harder that I thought it would

    Post your code here: http://pastebin.com/ and perhaps someone will do it for you.

  16. OMagain: Yet before the 616 was discovered, you’d have sworn it was revealed knowledge and true.

    1) It was “discovered” long before Irenaeus discussed it c. 175-185 CE..
    2) Ive already pointed out that I can me mistaken and think something is revelation when it’s not but God will not reveal something that is false. There is a huge difference between the two statements

    The first one is about me the second one is about my grounds for knowledge
    surely you can see the difference.

    By the way what’s your grounds for knowledge? IOW how do you know stuff in your worldview?

    peace

  17. OMagain: And when and where was that revealed to you?

    It’s continually revealed every instant that I am conscious of my existence.

    peace

  18. RB:

    Earlier you cited revelation (about which you may be mistaken) in support of your presuppositions.

    FMM:

    not quite.

    I might mistakenly believe something not from God is revelation. But If God chooses to reveal something to me I can’t be mistaken.

    Do you understand the difference?

    Of course I understand the difference. But “If God chooses to reveal something to me I can’t be mistaken” doesn’t help you.

    Accepting arguendo “If God chooses to reveal something to me I can’t be mistaken,” here is your dilemma:

    You have a set of propositions you believe God revealed to you. Because you can mistakenly believe something not from God is revelation, some of those propositions may be mistaken, and you can’t know which or how many. It is possible that God has never actually revealed anything to you at all. But even if God has chosen to reveal some things to you in a way that you can’t be mistaken, you nevertheless can’t know which of your beliefs are from God and can’t be mistaken and which are not, and may be mistaken.

    Among the things not from God you believe to be revelation may be those revelations you take to support your presuppositions.

    Given that, and given (as you have already acknowledged) your presuppositions are circular, neither your presuppositions nor stuff you believe you know due to revelation are grounds for ultimate truth at all.

    Welcome to the human predicament.

    ETA: Minor edits for clarity.

  19. Reciprocating Bill: You have a set of propositions you believe God revealed to you. Because you can mistakenly believe something not from God is revelation, some of those propositions may be mistaken,

    incorrect
    I begin with one presupposition (the Christian God). I accept it a priori because without it knowledge is impossible.

    Only later does God reveal that it is actually true

    The Logos became flesh but I needed the Logos to reason long before I knew that

    peace

    Reciprocating Bill: Given that, and given (as you have already acknowledged) your presuppositions are circular, neither your presuppositions nor stuff you believe you know due to revelation are grounds for ultimate truth at all.

    1) we are not “given that”
    2) it’s broadly and not narrowly circular there is a difference
    3) How exactly do you know that circular is bad
    IOW what criteria did you use to determine that circular is bad and how do you know that determination is correct?

    peace

  20. RB:

    You have a set of propositions you believe God revealed to you. Because you can mistakenly believe something not from God is revelation, some of those propositions may be mistaken,

    FMM:

    incorrect

    I begin with one presupposition (the Christian God). I accept it a priori because without it knowledge is impossible.

    Only later does God reveal that it is actually true

    The Logos became flesh but I needed the Logos to reason long before I knew that
    peace

    None of which addresses the point you state is incorrect. So I’ll repeat it:

    You have a set of propositions you believe God revealed to you. Because you can mistakenly believe something not from God is revelation, some of those propositions may be mistaken.

    How is that incorrect?

    FMM:

    1) we are not “given that”

    It follows from your prior statement “I might mistakenly believe something not from God is revelation” that “revelations” you cite in support your presuppositions may be mistaken. If you disagree, you’ll have to show us where that reasoning is mistaken.

    I begin with one presupposition (the Christian God). I accept it a priori because without it knowledge is impossible.

    “Knowledge is impossible without the Christian God” is a tenet of your brand of Christianity. Therefore this too is circular.

    ETA: removed “argument” from last sentence.

  21. Reciprocating Bill: None of which addresses the point you state is incorrect. So I’ll repeat it:

    Ok I’ll answer point for point

    Reciprocating Bill: You have a set of propositions you believe God revealed to you.

    no I have one presupposition that I assume a priori. Before I even begin to reason

    Reciprocating Bill: Because you can mistakenly believe something not from God is revelation, some of those propositions may be mistaken.

    Because it is not at this point a revelation. It is a presupposition.

    It is only much later from my perspective that it becomes a revelation

    hope that helps

    peace

  22. Reciprocating Bill: “Knowledge is impossible without the Christian God” is a tenet of your brand of Christianity.

    Right that is why I treat the “impossible” part as a hypothesis and not a presupposition.

    My presupposition is simply that the Christian God exists. That presupposition says nothing directly about the impossibility of knowledge in other worldviews. That is why I am so interested in what your basis for knowledge is.

    How do you know stuff in your worldview?

    peace

  23. RB:

    You have a set of propositions you believe God revealed to you.

    FMM:

    no I have one presupposition that I assume a priori. Before I even begin to reason

    Please note that I said “propositions,” not “presuppositions.”

    You don’t hold a set of propositions you take to be true because God revealed them to you?

    If you do, some of those propositions may be mistaken, because you can “mistakenly believe something not from God is revelation.”

  24. Reciprocating Bill: You don’t hold a set of propositions you take to be true because God revealed them to you?

    I gave the example of my own existence. This is true because God revealed it to me. There is no way I personally can be mistaken about it.

    don’t you agree

    Reciprocating Bill: If you do, some of those propositions may be mistaken, because you can “mistakenly believe something not from God is revelation.”

    All that God reveals is true
    Some of what I believe to be revelation might not be.

    Notice the difference in the two sentences is the subject and the object. One is about me the other is about the grounds of knowledge.

    What is at issue in this discussion is not my certainty but the ground for knowledge.

    can you understand that?

    By the way what is your ground for knowledge? IOW how do you know stuff in your worldview

    peace

  25. FMM:

    I gave the example of my own existence. This is true because God revealed it to me. There is no way I personally can be mistaken about it.

    The worst possible example you could have selected – as the cogito works independently of whether or not it has been “revealed.”

    All that God reveals is true
    Some of what I believe to be revelation might not be.

    How about an example of something you believe to be revelation that might not be?

    Notice the difference in the two sentences is the subject and the object. One is about me the other is about the grounds of knowledge.

    What is at issue in this discussion is not my certainty but the ground for knowledge.

    A “ground for knowledge” that provides no certainty about anything you “know,” whether you believe it to be revealed or not, well, that’s a fail.

    By the way what is your ground for knowledge? IOW how do you know stuff in your worldview

    Can you adjust the ‘bot so it refrains from mindlessly appending the same question at the end of each of your posts? Seems like an awful waste of bits.

    ETA: “you believe it to be”

  26. RB, to fifth:

    Can you adjust the ‘bot so it refrains from mindlessly appending the same question at the end of each of your posts?

    And turn on the spelling and punctuation options, while you’re at it?

  27. fifth:

    Some of what I believe to be revelation might not be.

    In fact, all of what you believe to be revelation might not be.

    Ponder the implications of that.

  28. GlenDavidson: you could never reason from sound premises to anything that simplistic, you just have to make up your definitions and pretend that they have something to do with reality.

    it’s one prime example of how a person can reason without a single sound premise, hence end up at a conclusion that isn’t worthy of consideration in the slightest.

    Nice to find someone here who believes in reason as a means to certainty.

  29. Reciprocating Bill: We are making progress. In this discussion we have learned a great deal directly from FMM:

    Do you mean to say that you now know things you did not know before? Were these things revealed to you?

    That would be real progress.

  30. Reciprocating Bill: The worst possible example you could have selected – as the cogito works independently of whether or not it has been “revealed.”

    Actually no, If truth does not exist then I can’t even know I exist.

    Reciprocating Bill: How about an example of something you believe to be revelation that might not be?

    here are a few

    1) I believe that Christ will not return until after the Millennium
    2) I believe that the world is more than a couple thousand years old
    3) I believe that there is a connection between vocal atheism and the autism spectrum
    4) I believe that my tool is a way to make the Design inference more objective

    All of these are things that I think I know to varying levels of certainty. Since the only way to know stuff in my worldview is through revelation they would each be revelation
    It is possible however that in each case I may be mistaken.

    Reciprocating Bill: A “ground for knowledge” that provides no certainty about anything you “know,” whether you believe it to be revealed or not, well, that’s a fail.

    Why is it a fail? Certainty is not a prerequisite for knowledge. Surely you agree with this

    Reciprocating Bill: Can you adjust the ‘bot so it refrains from mindlessly appending the same question at the end of each of your posts? Seems like an awful waste of bits.

    The way to make the questions stop is to simply answer them or to acknowledge that you have no answer. You have the power to do that with just a few words

    keiths: In fact, all of what you believe to be revelation might not be.

    This is simply not the case.

    That I exist right now is one piece of revelation that can’t not be the case. There are others we could discuss as well as soon as you tell me how you know anything at all

    peace

  31. fifthmonarchyman: incorrect
    I begin with one presupposition (the Christian God). I accept it a priori because without it knowledge is impossible.

    Only later does God reveal that it is actually true

    Without the presupposition that you exist there is no one to make the presupposition that the Christian God exists , you seem to be saying that you presuppose your presuppositions are true therefore your presuppositions are proved true

    Actually you presuppose that only later that your presupposition reveals it is true, since possibility does not prove actuality.

  32. FFM:

    4) I believe that my tool is a way to make the Design inference more objective

    Fifth! This is a family blog!

  33. fifthmonarchyman: I believe that there is a connection between vocal atheism and the autism spectrum

    Ah, yes, of course. Those who disagree with you must be mentally ill. And we must keep ourselves safe from those people, by force if necessary. And we don’t have to listen or give value to what those people might say, after all they are mentally ill.

    What color badge would you like those you have identified as “other” to wear? I believe yellow has already been taken.

  34. Mung: Inbred. Obviously.

    Funny how you are still hanging around. It says plenty about you that you hang somewhere full of inbred, atheist idiots.

  35. fifthmonarchyman: There are others we could discuss as well as soon as you tell me how you know anything at all

    You’ve been told. But no doubt you can’t accept what you’ve been told, despite being told the same thing many times.

    Your behaviour seems to lie somewhere on the autism spectrum.

    frequent repetition of set words and phrases
    speaking in pre-learned phrases, rather than putting together individual words to form new sentences
    seeming to talk ‘at’ people, rather than sharing a two-way conversation
    taking people’s speech literally and being unable to understand sarcasm, metaphors or figures of speech

    Yep, case closed!

  36. OMagain: Your behaviour seems to lie somewhere on the autism spectrum.

    I doubt that fifth is autistic. However, he does seem obsessive-compulsive about his religion.

    ABE: I am not a psychologist nor a psychiatrist. The above comment was not intended as a diagnosis, only as a description.

  37. OMagain: Ah, yes, of course. Those who disagree with you must be mentally ill.

    I don’t think that the autism spectrum as a mental illness except maybe at the most extreme end of the spectrum. Mostly it just describes a set of related characteristics and behaviors.

    I would think that most “nerdy” folks including probably myself are somewhere on the spectrum.

    As far as the association between atheism and autism Check it out

    https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/psyched/201205/does-autism-lead-atheism

    peace

  38. newton: Without the presupposition that you exist there is no one to make the presupposition that the Christian God exists

    This is not correct. I can presuppose that God exists without assuming anything about my own existence. In fact that is exactly what I do. I simply start with God and not with me.

    for instance In order for me to know anything at all unchanging truth has to exist and there has to be a way for me to access that truth.

    Later I discover that the God who reveals himself to me just happens to meet those requirements.

    hope that helps

    peace

  39. OMagain: You’ve been told. But no doubt you can’t accept what you’ve been told, despite being told the same thing many times.

    No Ive been given methods for acquiring knowledge when I’m looking for a basis for knowledge

    Do you understand the difference?

    It’s like me asking you how you afforded the nice car you just bought and you responding “with money”.

    What I’m looking for is where the money came from.

    peace

  40. FMM:

    Here a a few

    1) I believe that Christ will not return until after the Millennium
    2) I believe that the world is more than a couple thousand years old
    3) I believe that there is a connection between vocal atheism and the autism spectrum
    4) I believe that my tool is a way to make the Design inference more objective

    All of these are things that I think I know to varying levels of certainty. Since the only way to know stuff in my worldview is through revelation they would each be revelation

    It is possible however that in each case I may be mistaken.

    I have to admit that it had not quite sunk in how bizarre your sense of “revelation” is. But your list makes that more clear.

    So, you know with some confidence that there’s milk in the fridge. That’s a revelation from God, although you could be wrong (maybe there is no milk and it’s not a revelation from God). The only way you can determine whether it is actually a revelation is to look for yourself. You look in the fridge and the milk is gone. Turns out it wasn’t a revelation from God after all. Nor did God reveal to you that your kid brought laundry over in the middle of the night and polished off the milk.

    Interesting to consider your view of “knowledge” in each instance (milk present, milk not present). The cognitive process is identical in each case, deriving the same conclusion from the same information (the night before there was milk in the fridge). What differs is the state of affairs in the refrigerator. Yet it is your claim that In the instance of “milk present” God also reveals to you that milk is present (you can’t know anything otherwise). In the instance of “milk not present” there is no revelation. Given that the underlying process and resulting belief is identical in each case, what, exactly, does revelation contribute?

    The way to make the questions stop is to simply answer them or to acknowledge that you have no answer. You have the power to do that with just a few words

    No, I don’t seem to have that power.

    Reciprocating Bill:

    By observing, reasoning, hypothesizing, predicting, testing, replicating, sharing, challenging, revising, modeling, and onward.

    We try to keep resort to circular fictions and fallible experiences of divine revelation out of it, however.

    By the way, it is my presupposition that a method for acquiring knowledge is also a basis for knowledge.

    We know you like my answer because you poached it for yourself. So please adjust the ‘bot.

  41. Reciprocating Bill: By the way, it is my presupposition that a method for acquiring knowledge is also a basis for knowledge.

    Hallelujah

    Now we are finally getting some where.

    So just to be sure we are understanding each other, You simply assume with no prior evidence whatsoever that your chosen method is a valid way to get to the truth.

    IOW your method is established a priori. It’s a nonnegotiable axiom

    Is this correct?

    peace

  42. Reciprocating Bill: Given that the underlying process and resulting belief is identical in each case, what, exactly, does revelation contribute?

    I would not agree that the resulting belief is identical without revelation my belief would be

    “It seems to me that there is milk in the fridge.”

    With revelation my belief would be

    “There is milk in the fridge unless I’m mistaken.”

    The first sentence is about me the second is about actual reality outside my mind

    Revelation provides an actual basis for knowledge it replaces my subjective impressions with objective concrete reality.

    peace

  43. fifthmonarchyman: This is not correct. I can presuppose that God exists without assuming anything about my own existence. In fact that is exactly what I do. I simply start with God and not with me

    Who can presuppose?

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