Happy Easter and a belated Happy Passover!!

DonP said:
Unfortunately there is not a single piece of contemporary evidence, so we can really only regard it as a story.
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True, there is no proof but I think something went on.
I'm not saying anything supernatural happened but there was probably a catalyst.
Major religions don't get founded out of thin air for no reason (or do they?).
 
Tony M. said:
True, there is no proof but I think something went on.
I'm not saying anything supernatural happened but there was probably a catalyst.
Major religions don't get founded out of thin air for no reason (or do they?).
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I've never heard of one that didn't. This one in particular didn't exist in any form until generations after the purported events, so the likelihood that there is even a non-magic basis for it is exceedingly slim.
 
DonP said:
Unfortunately there is not a single piece of contemporary evidence, so we can really only regard it as a story.
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Well me being a sucker to post as the devil's advocate...

The bible is words written by someone that claims that the words are true, but we have no evidence. Using this same logic, I have never met Don and have no proof that Don is real. On the internet a 10 year old boy could post a picture of someone claiming to be them. With Don all the way across the pond and having never actually met him... I think it is possible that Don is not real due to the lack of evidence to the contrary.

:pound-hand:
 
WavMixer said:
Well me being a sucker to post as the devil's advocate...

The bible is words written by someone that claims that the words are true, but we have no evidence. Using this same logic, I have never met Don and have no proof that Don is real. On the internet a 10 year old boy could post a picture of someone claiming to be them. With Don all the way across the pond and having never actually met him... I think it is possible that Don is not real due to the lack of evidence to the contrary.

:pound-hand:
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You could claim you have a sister called Maisie, and I would believe you. But if you told me you had an invisible dragon I would not believe you unless you showed me some pretty extraordinary evidence, and even then I would be more inclined to think it was some conjuring trick and I was mistaken. So you proportion your beliefs not just according to the evidence, but to the credibility of the claim.
 
I would be happy to introduce you to my invisible dragon, but I can't see him right now.... he's invisible.
 
I can vouch for the existence of Wav's invisible dragon.
The alpha of that particular litter of dragons lives in my home.
My avatar is actually a photo taken with my theoretical camera.
<---<<
 
I guess this would be the time to admit that I am purely theoretical. Please do not replace your hard drives or unplug your internet cables, for the Matrix is fragile and I am really enjoying myself.
 
DonP said:
Absolutely not. If I find myself believing something for which I have no evidence, I stop believing it.
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Perception is (or at least can define or shape) reality. Be careful not to be too rigid. While it is true that we are all simply organic material destined to be broken down into the sum of our parts one day, at the moment we are more than the sum of our parts. I think you owe it to yourself to allow your mind to venture where facts dare not go. Whether granted by divinity or science, it is still a marvelous attribute of the abstract thinking being.
 
RVA said:
Perception is (or at least can define or shape) reality. Be careful not to be too rigid. While it is true that we are all simply organic material destined to be broken down into the sum of our parts one day, at the moment we are more than the sum of our parts. I think you owe it to yourself to allow your mind to venture where facts dare not go. Whether granted by divinity or science, it is still a marvelous attribute of the abstract thinking being.
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Nothing is more stupendous than actual reality, and the idea that perception can define reality is a dangerous fallacy. Anyone is welcome to his own opinions, but nobody gets to have his own facts. Facts are things of objective reality. By all means use imagination to dream up worlds and creatures as you wish, but never lose sight of the fact that these are creations of the imagination. The danger comes when people try to pass off these imaginations as facts to others - particularly vulnerable children - or make laws on their basis, or kill other people because their "facts" do not match ones own.

Take a look at the images from the Hubble telescope or from electron microscope and you will see the incredible majesty of actual reality.
 
DonP said:
Nothing is more stupendous than actual reality, and the idea that perception can define reality is a dangerous fallacy. Anyone is welcome to his own opinions, but nobody gets to have his own facts. Facts are things of objective reality. By all means use imagination to dream up worlds and creatures as you wish, but never lose sight of the fact that these are creations of the imagination. The danger comes when people try to pass off these imaginations as facts to others - particularly vulnerable children - or make laws on their basis, or kill other people because their "facts" do not match ones own.

Take a look at the images from the Hubble telescope or from electron microscope and you will see the incredible majesty of actual reality.
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I am not referring to dogma or control, merely personal experience. I beleive any journey, including a spiritual one, is an individual journey.

But facts must still be processed. It is when the visual data that is collected by the Hubble telescope hits the wonderous thing that is your mind that the real magic happens.

Your own statements are telling. To you the images of the Hubble are wonderous. To others, they are but colors in a lense and they seek their wonders in a painting.

In tne Deep Space photo captured by the Hubble, we are reminded that we are a rather insignificant part of the greater whole. But everyone is the center of the universe that is the expanse of their mind and thought process. It is the choice of each to what degree the universe of thought expands by effort, education, inquisitiveness and a lust for self actualization.

Psychology is inadequately explained by science. I submit that there is great validity to the concept that perception is reality.
 
All sort of ok up to the last. There is absolutely no validity to the concept that perception is reality. Reality exists, perception interprets. Do you really think that a tree only exists if someone is looking at it? Will the entire universe vanish when you die? I know these things sound like fun to say, but if you really are a solipsist then all conversations are meaningless.
 
DonP said:
All sort of ok up to the last. There is absolutely no validity to the concept that perception is reality. Reality exists, perception interprets. Do you really think that a tree only exists if someone is looking at it? Will the entire universe vanish when you die? I know these things sound like fun to say, but if you really are a solipsist then all conversations are meaningless.
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Agrees. It is a loose term. How about perception defines reality.

In earnest, I think of it in terms of the so called "psychological construct". The functioning of the construct goes a long way to defining our thoughts, perceptions and feelings. Of course, then there is chemibal imbalance and structural deficiencies of the mind and the body that can have a great or greator effect. I do not mean to try to sum this up or over-simplify. My over riding principle is that if your construct makes you happy and does not hurt others, it is ok. If it helps others, well then, now we have something special!!
 
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