On 22 Jan, 11:51, Ian Pollard <[email protected]> wrote:
> 2010/1/22 Pat <[email protected]>
>
>
>
> > Then, to make an allegation that I'm an apostate, is,
> > from a standpoint of an educated individual, an EXTREME position and
> > one that you could never back up.
>
> You deny the existence of free will in the Bible: You're an apostate.
>
Nope. In order to be an apostate, one has, FIRST, to have
accepted the premiss and THEN rejected it. I never DID accept it
first, thus my refusal to EVER partake in the Eucharist/Communion
based on my own moral standards (between ages 5-12). I realised that
Christianity (Methodism), as it was presented to me, was misguided
when I was seven years old (once I realised that Jesus was Jewish and
those who supposedly follow him aren't). I, then, considered myself
to be agnostic. Then, I went through a period where I considered
myself to be atheistic, as I could find no evidence FOR God. Then I
ran across St. Anselm's ontological argument, realised his subtle
mistake in phrasing the argument, and realised that there must be a
God. Then went back to look at various and sundry scriptures,
teaching myself how to read Hebrew and Greek (I'm now learning Arabic)
so that I didn't have to rely on translations. And have studied many
non-Abrahamic scriptures as well. So, you're quite wrong about my
apostasy.
Nor have I ever denied the 'appearance' of free will in this world,
rather, I account for it due to our lack of access to the future
coupled with the ability to speculate in any given present. I can't
help it if that illusion isn't seen as such by others...As the Qur'an
says: "We (that's God using the royal 'we') guide those whom We will
and leave astray those whom We will." I think you'll find there's
little room for the usual view of free will in that statement. And it
doesn't take an extremist to see that.
> > My agenda is the truth and the
> > dispensation OF that.
>
> Can we have the old Pat back, please? I miss him.
>
The new Pat is no different than the old Pat; he just has stronger
convictions in what he already held to be true (because I've
discovered more evidence that backs it up)...and, isn't AS fearful of
making statements that might upset a few people. Apologies if you're
upset, but I stand by what I say. And I only say what I say because I
feel it's time that humanity take on board the philosophical
implications of certain scientific advances (Special Relativity, in
this case) that have been known for almost a century now, and have
been demonstrated empirically since then through time dilation.
> Ian
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