Christianity - True or Not?

Does the self rely on external input for existence?

How are you defining external input?

What would make seperate identities 'justifiable' (whatever that means)?

I don't know how to answer such a question. I'm just another one of those 'delusional' christians who does'nt have all the answers to........any subject.

I'm a simple guy really. I did'nt realize my identity needed justified and if so....justified to whom?

I know alot about little.....and little about alot.

I trust the the accounts of eyewitnesses in the NT. Just as I trust the accounts of eyewitnesses regarding ....Christopher Columbus.

Every account in the NT is slightly different than the others which is exactly what you would find in various eyewitness accounts of a burglary in progress.....today.

No two accounts will be seen in exactly the same way.

If the burglary accounts differ from one another....did the burglary not occur?

Is the burglary true or not? Christopher Columbus...true or not?

Does an engine that needs fuel added to it to function have any value without the fuel?

Similarly, an entity that relies on both external energy sources and external sensory perception for it's continued existence isn't really separate from these external inputs. It may be that the self is nothing more than the sum of these inputs at any given moment.

Physically speaking we all need air, water, and food for continued existence.(in that order)

I'm not sure if that is what you meant by the 'self'.

The self needs external impressions to confirm itself. Without them it's nothing. We know self because we know about things that is not self.

The self needs external impressions to confirm itself. Without them it's nothing. We know self because we know about things that is not self.

Self is a sense, derived from all outher human senses.

The question is, what do you mean?

"Self" is a belief. It is not true.

There are no lines of separation, as the concept of "self" suggests.

This sort of misconception is reinforced by the words we use. As JLN stated (in his improvement on Schopenhauer),
" Grammar is the metaphysics of the masses."

but self only exists in you. you can't see know somebody elses self because its not self anymore its them... is that right?

Does the fuel have value without the engine?

They both have value.....no?

When you find a car (with an empty tank of gas) that is being given away for free.....let me know. I will value the engine and the car believe you me.

When you find a place giving away free or valueless fuel.......let me know. I will value the fuel believe you me.

The value of the fuel is the thing it may become. Propuslion. If there were things that needed fuel, it would of no use. Without value.

And I suspect that when the access to fuel runs out as natural recources are consumed, cars will fall in price. With no fuel they would be useless, and therefore of no value to anyone.

New technology will probably replace combustion engines by then, but conventional cars would be an historical remnant in abundance. An annoyance.

well all of this fuel/cars/engine/value thing is really interesting and all, but don't you think we've gone ever so slightly off topic?

You are right rockpie. Sorry about that

I'm not a big blogger so I hope I do this right... If this turns out it will make sense. I wanted to take some time during the wee hours of the morning to comment to Cyracuz's questions and statements:

[QUOTE] How so? I've seen none of these facts. Would you mind showing me or something. A link perhaps?

Further, you list all the good things christianity has given the world. I agree. That is a good thing. But on the other side, so many of the problems our societies face today are created by christianity that the balance is still crooked.

Discrimination of the female sex, that's a result of christianity. And in the past there were crusades, witch hunts, the inquisition...

If you ask me christianity is a religion of blood, envy and cruelty. Why good people want to associate their names to it I don't know.

But Jesus is another matter. That's quite a fellow. Only, modern christianity is a perversion of everything he stood for. I'm with Jesus, and therefore against christianity.[/I]

You bring up some valid points. There has been a lot of horrific things done in the name of God across all spectrums of faith and religion. I can not deny that. But if you read the Bible, your claim that Christianity discriminates against women is completely false. Jesus was a radical of his day. In fact the Jewish rabbis and priest would pray, thanking God that He did not make them (the priest) a dog or a woman (since to them women and dogs were equal). But Jesus went out of his way to talk to women (which he was not "supposed" to do), to bring them into his circle, to give them honor. In fact, the Old Testament is one of the first ancient writings to give rights to women.

With that aside... the whole point (I think) rp is making is that Christianity is based on Jesus, and a relationship with Him, putting your faith in Him. It is not based on anyone else. So when seeking out if Christianity is true or not, look to the person it is based on, Jesus, not the people who were in the crusades, not the wackos who are out protesting in the name of Christ using hate and condemnation as their tools. Are those people modeling Jesus? Is that how he was in the New Testament?

The thing is, you can't be "with Jesus, and against Christianity". Christianity is Jesus. By definition, a Christian is a follower of Christ. If someone is not following Christ, they are not a Christian. But here is another thing; people have been perverting and distorting Christianity since Christ came to this earth. But people have also been perverting our purpose here on Earth since creation and the fall of man. We all sin. None of us are perfect. We have all turned against God in some way or another. And neither are those who claim to be "Christian" perfect. Nor is everyone who claims to be a "Christian" truly a follower of Christ.

And it is interesting to me that you are down with Jesus. And that you think He is quite a fellow. This coming from a guy who wants proof/evidence that there is a god; that Christianity is true. Jesus said that He is THE way, THE truth, and THE life, and that NO ONE get's to the Father, but through HIM. Jesus claimed to be the only way to heaven. He claimed to be able to forgive sins. He claimed to die for the sins of the world so that we might have a relationship with Him, and the Father. He claimed to heal. And He claimed that He was going to come back again someday to bring home all those who believed in Him. So if Jesus wasn't God--than He was the craziest man to walk the face of the planet--or He pulled off the most amazing and unbelievable hoax in the history of mankind, which would make him the greatest liar of all time.

So if you are down with Jesus, if he is quite a fellow, than you must think he is God. Because how could he be quite a fellow if he was the craziest man or the greatest con-artist and liar ever to live? According to today's standards and cultural philosophies, Jesus would be the biggest closed minded, inclusivist you would ever see.

But that is the greatest question everyone must wrestle with: Who is Jesus? Lord, Liar, or Lunatic. He can't be all three. He can only be one.

Here the links you asked for:
http://www.crosssearch.com/Science_and_Social_Science/Theology_and_Issues/Apologetics/
http://www.rzim.org/resources/resource_links.php
http://www.carm.org/evidence.htm
http://www.carm.org/questions_skeptics.htm
http://www.ex-atheist.com/
http://www.str.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=5350

I choose option 4;Literary invention.

You invented a God too, "Doctor". Yourself.

Aw, snood. Now, why'd ya hafta go and do that for?

Haven't you noticed? snood hangs off my ballsack every chance he gets.
He is my biggest fan

Mind the sticks, kids ... poke at the arguments, not at one another.

Timber, do you think its a fair statement, in a discussion about the reality of a deity, to make note that someone has named themselves as their own deity? Do you think that is a personal attack on the same level as "He hangs on my ballsack"?

If you haven't noticed, bro, it's you that lay's snide remarks about me every time I post, not vice versa. Continue swinging, fanboy.

I think overlooking the fact that christ might just be a work of fiction was relevant to the conversation and worth pointing out, while, as usual, your comment directed at me was completely off topic.