@Alan McDougall,
Krumple;124298 wrote:Deuteronomy 13:7-12 & 1Samuel 15:3
Have you actually studied or even read the Bible Krumple? There is a bit more to the context than you give it credit for when quote mining to make a point.
I refuse to get suckered into defending against a barrage of quote mining. There are dozens more verses you could toss out and I'm just not here to defend the Bible against ignorance. Whatever you pick out of scripture next should be weighed against the context of the situation for those people, in that violent arena, at that violent time. Quote mining only serves to deceive the minds of modernity.
You forget that God was answering 700 years of prayers against brutal enslavement and fulfilling prophecy of his own promise a thousand years beforehand. You do not see the difference in the Law of God and the Law of Moses. One was to govern the hearts of Men. The other was for governance of Israel, in regards to what had been set aside and promised to them. Both were set forth as guidelines for purity to their respective purposes. Neither set of Laws were successfully accomplished by those they were intended for.
You may quote mine all you want to serve the purpose of any argument you put forth. But keep in mind that a peaceful solution was always paramount in all pursuits of reclaiming what had been set aside for the Israelites. They were either passing through to get to their Promised Land, or clearing out the occupiers of their own territory. Resistance was dealt with according to the end goal.
If you don't study the Bible enough to put your accusations in context, then please at least weigh any further quote mining against this verse.
Deuteronomy 20:10
"When you draw near to a city to fight against it, offer terms of peace to it."
On Inconsistent NDE
Krumple;124298 wrote:There are just as many stories that people experienced nothing too. One is a close friend of mine, who was a believer, but after having his accident and dying said he experienced nothing? I guess he didn't qualify
Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. I cannot speak to why your friend did not experience his NDE. I can only consider the consistency of those who have, and weigh their uniformity against multi cultural bias of geography, upbringing, and time.
On Justifying Suffering
Krumple;124298 wrote:This is battered syndrome. You are justifying suffering because there will be a reward at the end of it.
You're on the verge of regressing this discussion back to assuming that pain and suffering are synonymous with evil. I justify nothing here.
A poor use of the word "justify" is nothing more than an excuse hoping to be misunderstood as Justice. That is an unacceptable conflation.
Justification attempts to offer a reason. It leapfrogs over the one who is actually responsible for the torment, and points the finger at another who apparently is giving orders and has good reason behind the tormenters actions, as if the tormenter is following the will of another. I certainly do not suggest that God or Paradise is the justification (reason) behind the tormentors actions. Let's please not be tempted to read into it as such.
jus?ti?fy vt
1. to serve as an acceptable reason or excuse?
2. to give somebody an acceptable reason?
3. to give a reason?
6. to provide a good reason?
Encarta? World English Dictionary ? 1999 Microsoft Corporation.
Thus, your comment "You are justifying the actions or inaction because there is something you think will make it better later." reveals that it is you who are attempting to justify the tormentors actions by accusing God or a rewarding afterlife in Paradise of somehow being ultimately responsible for them. That may be an assumed and errant justification for the Jihadist, but nothing could be further from the truth. I will not be snookered into, or accused of, justifying the actions of a tormentor by claiming God or Paradise as the reason. That is a mental disorder at best.
I didn't offer Heaven as justification or reason. I offered it as an unwitting default outcome.
On NDE Life Review and Silliness
Krumple;124298 wrote:Yeah sounds like a pretty good way to get someone to regret their actions but wouldn't it have been better to do that while they could have done something different? I mean it's like correcting someone on a mistake but never letting them correct it? That is silly.
Silly? Again Krumple, we are not puppets and God is not our Puppet Master. We have free will. God does not control us.
Aside from an abundance of apparent and consistent word of God wisdom across all world religions that we are all privy to in advance of our choices, and beyond the suggested NDE life review from the perspective of the victim, how else would you suggest that we retain our free will, not become puppets, and still be able to regret our actions before the action has been taken? Would you suggest God have created us all Clairvoyant?
Clairvoyance is the only other possibility to address your concern. And that only demonstrates the God complex of those unwilling to accept things the way they are in lieu of detailing how a God should behave and how we should have been created in the first place. Nothing will satisfy the skeptic until God acts as they deem he should, or until we are created as Gods ourselves? That my friend, is silly.
More on NDE Life Review and Perspective from the position of the Other
Krumple;124298 wrote:Nope that is dishonest. This assumes that they actually care, but what about those who actually enjoy watching people suffer?
If they are experiencing the transgression from the point of view of the victim, then they will experience the suffering for themselves. Do you think they'll enjoy suffering themselves, and by their own hand? Do you think they'll care then?
Krumple;124298 wrote:They would get enjoyment out of such an experience.
I thought you previously understood the premise I put forth. Now I wonder if you really understood the notion of Life Review from the perspective of the Victim. How exactly will they get enjoyment out of experiencing their own evil upon themselves?
Krumple;124298 wrote:Not everyone experiences reality the same as you.
So true. That's exactly the point of Life Review from the perspective of the Victim. It demands we do exactly what we cannot do in this physical life, to experience reality from all perspectives, especially from the Victim's point of view.
On Buddhism and the Enlightened One
Krumple;124298 wrote:No, you got it all wrong. No Buddhist would ever accept that definition or interpretation. You miss something
Yes, I missed the commonly bastardized Western interpretation of Buddhism. How would you interpret the story of the Student enduring wickedness and evil set upon him by others? Beyond what I've suggested, what do you think the true meaning is behind the story? Will you enlighten me please?
Krumple;124298 wrote:?if hurting themselves was what they were doing, then they would do something to prevent them from hurting themselves.
What true Buddhist takes action against the actions of others? Is not "setting an example" the only true Buddhist methodology of Action without Acting? What Buddhism do you speak of exactly? I'm unfamiliar with this brand.
Krumple;124298 wrote:No Buddhist stands aside for their own salvation at the expense of others.
Is that the interpretation you crafted from the story? What exactly was the benefit the Student pursued for himself? Was it pursued or was it simply the result? Did the Student set out on his journey for self benefit? How exactly was it at the expense of others? What true Buddhist does not practice "standing aside"? Is that not the entire philosophy, removing the self in order to make way for The Way? What true Buddhists stands in the way of The Way? Did not the student overcome his ego successfully in this story? What Buddhism are you speaking of?
Please enlighten me as to this strange new Buddhism you speak of. I'm very interested in all religions and philosophies and this brand you suggest is quite new to me. I'm intrigued to say the least.
On War and Catalysts
Krumple;124298 wrote:What about who constructs the catalyst for war? What about the book that promotes going to war? Shouldn't they also be held accountable? God has been quoted from the bible?1Samuel 15:3
Deuteronomy 20:10
"When you draw near to a city to fight against it, offer terms of peace to it."
Hey! You've got some **** that belongs to me. Give it back please or I'll have to take it back. Doing anything less is allowing impurity to exist. Doing anything less is allowing evil to rule supreme. Doing anything less is accepting Entropy as Truth. Doing anything less is accepting Deception as Master.
On Apparent Inconsistency
ACB;124335 wrote:The above two replies are inconsistent. The Student would give thanks both for being killed and for not being killed. How can killing and not killing both be right?
The Student is Enlightened. His perspective seems nonsensical to those who are not so.
The Student only sees the Good in people. That Goodness will never do him harm. He understands Evil for what it truly is? a ghost, a phantom, a specter, a toothless paper tiger? nothing more than a harmless thought from a darkened ignorant mind.
What will he fear when all he sees is Goodness?
On Benevolence and Intention
Pyrrho;124349 wrote:You are wrong. People can kill others with the intention of sending them to heaven. So it can be benevolently motivated.
Apparent Benevolence only? not genuine. Only genuine Intentions exist in this scenario. If you wish to use "benevolence" and "intentions" synonymously, then you are correct. But they are not synonymous. Benevolence is a type of Intention, and it could easily be misguided... thus, a misguided Intention. If this synonymous relationship is possible, then your above comment could change to "People can kill others with the benevolence of sending them to heaven." When in fact it should read? "People can kill others with the erroneous benevolent intentions of sending them to heaven."
Benevolence cannot "motivate", only Intention can motivate.
Benevolence cannot even exist without an Intentional Thought from a mind to exist upon. Intentions can exist without Benevolence. But Benevolence cannot exist without Intentions.
On the Greatest Gift
Pyrrho;124349 wrote:And if, as you claimed earlier, "Leaving this Physical Realm is the greatest gift of all", then it would be the best thing that people could possibly do.
Bingo! But that does not suggest that it is our right to claim our apparent benevolence over the free will capacity of another. And it certainly doesn't suggest that there is nothing else to do by being here in the physical realm while we wait for departure.
BTW? Death is not something that people "do", as if it is an activity. Killing is something that people "do". Death happens. It is an end result. A simple reaction to a cause. There are many causes that lead to the same reaction. But death is not an action. Cause/Reaction is not the same as Thought/Action.
Pyrrho;124349 wrote:The simple fact is, you say things that entail things that you reject, and then you pretend that what you said does not entail those things.
Fact? Are facts acquired by skimming the surface only, never delving deeper into the definition of words or the essence of meaning underlying any given lesson?
Truth is earned my friend. And like an onion it has many layers to peel away slowly. Going straight for the core, we often cry and reject.
Pyrrho;124349 wrote:You are not being consistent, which means that you are not only wrong, but necessarily wrong.
And skimming the surface gives you the "means" to make that claim?
Dare not the shark to dive so deeply low. Into the coldest dark waters. Tis' best to look up, tasting the soft round bellies above. Beneath the fa?ade we find ourselves cannibal. Yes, there are hungry shark eaters down here. Tis' best to look up.