waysider

3 hours ago, Mike said:

Jesus lined himself up with the written Word.

Did he, though? Much of what he expounded had been passed down through oral tradition. 

4 hours ago, chockfull said:

”For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others”

None Of Us Are Free

If the leotard fits, you must do the splits.

So, then, SIT is basically like freestyle dancing but with sounds instead of movement.

What's an earfoam?

6 minutes ago, penworks said:

Along these lines, for a while on my blog I wrote posts in a series called "Fundamentalist Fridays." Here's one about Christian Nationalism, which has become more front-and-center in this country than when I wrote this post in 2017.

Enjoy!

christian nationalism.pdf 92.72 kB · 1 download

Tread lightly, the ice is thin in spots.

1 hour ago, Mike said:

It was earbuds, not headphones; save your prayers.

You can use earbuds with a Walkman? Who Knew?

5 minutes ago, Mike said:

The point is, the correct lines don't come out. 
The actor is not "free" to emit them, speaking with the analogy.

If the actor wants the correct lines to come out, he must read and study and memorize them.  That is work.

Same with free will.  If we don't do the work of preparing our synapses for a free will "performance," then we will remain locked in our old, wrong way of deciding on this issue.

This... From a person who apparently does not understand the concept of improvisation or character immersion.

For the most part, this discussion has been an exercise in futility. The issue is not "black/white, yes/no, either/or" in essence. The real question is what potion and how much of our decision making is influenced by conditioning as opposed to what portion and how much is governed by conscious decision. Obviously, there are infinite combinations possible.  

1 hour ago, Mike said:

That story effectively shows how the NORMAL process of language evolution can be fed steroids by LARGE GOVERNMENT for great evil.

It seems you have either forgotten the primary theme or weren't paying close attention the first time you read it. I spent 20 years studying the Cliff Notes.

22 minutes ago, Mike said:

The angels have a budget, plus the angels themselves are God's budget here on earth, while God in heaven has no limitations.

scriptural reference?

26 minutes ago, Mike said:

When it comes to free will and the workings of the brain, Philosophy is to be regarded as folklore.   See Patricia Churchland's MacArthur Award winning book "Neurophilosophy."

 

Example:  Aristotle thought that the brain was like a car radiator, and  used to cool down the blood.

Where do I even begin?

2 hours ago, Mike said:

Breaking away from this mechanical norm, over to a different mechanical norm, is done in only in TINY increments called learning.

Learning doesn't necessarily have to occur in tiny increments. What you may be thinking of is the process of disciplined learning.

59 minutes ago, Mike said:

All the while, God has the infinite power.

I thought you said His power was limited by a budget. How can something that's infinite be limited (finite)?

44 minutes ago, Mike said:

Socrates has an impressive success record,
but not in the area of free will.

It wasn't me who claimed Socrates was an "impractical egghead".

1 hour ago, Mike said:

 Philosophers go bonkers on that one; impractical eggheads that are they.

Socrates would like a word with you.

12 minutes ago, Logicisgreatstuff said:

And his response was “it’s not for me.”

Brutal! 

2 hours ago, Mike said:

 

Yes, the VAST MAJORITY of the ancient peoples that produced the prophets of God, were told by those same prophets that "their beliefs about the origin, nature, and purpose of the world and humanity ..." were all screwed up, and that they needed to come back to the minority point of view, which is God's Truth.

Circular reasoning.

Well, ya know, it's spirchal, so it's more like Astroboy.

Go! Go! Go!  Astroboy!

16 minutes ago, penworks said:

Speaking of cherry picking definitions, what would happen if folks just quit doing "word studies" and let words sit in their own context where you can see how they are used? For those seriously interested in a radical change regarding "biblical studies," one enlightening book is The End of Biblical Studies by Victor Avalos. Give it a try. It shows how Bible companies keep the cycle going, and much more.

Description:

"In this radical critique of his own academic specialty, biblical scholar Hector Avalos calls for an end to biblical studies. He outlines two main arguments for this surprising conclusion. First, academic biblical scholarship has clearly succeeded in showing that the ancient civilization that produced the Bible held beliefs about the origin, nature, and purpose of the world and humanity that are fundamentally opposed to the views of modern society. The Bible is thus largely irrelevant to the needs and concerns of contemporary human beings. Second, Avalos criticizes his colleagues for applying a variety of flawed and specious techniques aimed at maintaining the illusion that the Bible is still relevant in today's world. In effect, he accuses his profession of being more concerned about its self-preservation than about giving an honest account of its own findings to the general public and faith communities. In a controversial conclusion, Avalos argues that our world is best served by leaving the Bible as a relic of an ancient civilization instead of the "living" document most religionist scholars believe it should be. He urges his colleagues to concentrate on educating the broader society to recognize the irrelevance and even violent effects of the Bible in modern life."

26 minutes ago, OldSkool said:

Definitely a relevant point. Folks in TWI, and I was no exception, love cherry picking definitions from these resources to suit their narrative.

This is why "word studies" can be the bane of understanding. You can't simply substitute one word for another like deciphering a code. It's why you sometimes find product instructions that have been translated with laughably disastrous results. To further complicate the matter, spoken languages often differ from written languages, sometimes in profound ways that can only be understood in light of cultural nuances.

I think, in some ways, what we did with these study aids is a bit like what people do today when they use the internet to self-diagnose a medical condition...sometimes correctly, often times not.

Knowledge is a deadly friend
If no one sets the rules
The fate of all mankind I see
Is in the hands of fools.... "Epitaph" (Peter Sinfield)

Rosamunde premiered in 1823, long before the 20th century. Not that it matters, though.

2 hours ago, Mike said:

I have thought of it as being some of the best music of the 20th Century.

 

Yeah, it's right up there with George Gershwin and Rachmaninov.

I DON'T CARE

WHAT WIERWILLE TAUGHT YOU,

UNLEARN THAT... SHTUFF.

6 minutes ago, Mike said:

I think it smells real bad when it burns

Having spent quite some time in the water industry, I'm well aware of what sulfur smells like. You'd be amazed at what people are willing to tolerate when their survival is in jeopardy.