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@Dr.Franklin
One of the more interesting myths is the idea that Darwin was the product of the Enlightenment, someone who challenged dogma according to reason.
Yeah, I suppose that myth resulted from the fact that he was the product of the Enlightenment, and he challenged dogma according to reason.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
Yeah, except for all the other interpretations being even further from the truth.
Darwin promoted the idea that the evolution of species on earth was due to chance and probability, and thus nature is inherently chaotic.
That is an unfair characterization of Darwin’s work, there is no reason whatsoever to conclude that Darwinism said nature is inherently chaotic. Recognize that Darwin’s theory is a two-step process, only the first step in natural selection, the production of variation, is a matter of chance. The character of the second step, the actual selection, is progressive and directional. The concept of natural selection had remarkable power for explaining directional and adaptive changes, it pretty much explicitly said that evolution was not chaotic.
The ENTIRE idea of the Enlightenment was to prove that the world was orderly, harmonious, and non-chaotic.
I don’t think that is a fair characterization of the Enlightenment either, “orderly, harmonious, and non-chaotic” certainly fits the point you are trying to make about Darwin, but it is more a characterization of the “resultant” ideas that emerged from the Enlightenment, particularly the Enlightenment’s development of the Newton’s physical sciences.
Darwin recognized the importance of the variations and their relationship to natural selection, but he did not know that chance mutation was the underlying mechanism. The scientific study of genetics, and the idea of random genetic mutations being the mechanism of variation came much later. He focused on the effects of natural selection and heritable variations, the idea that the underlying cause of those heritable variations was random genetic mutations didn’t really develop until the 20th century.
Previous taxonomies tried to prove that nature just worked in perfect harmony and, if anything, was naturally positioned to progressing. For some reason, every scientist of this period was obsessed with clock analogies, so it would be like all the reductionist parts of the clock coming together for a goal. The cogs of the machine working independently.
Darwin stood squarely in the tradition of Enlightenment science of applying reason and observation while challenging traditional authority and promoting a more secular and rational worldview. Enlightenment science had developed Newton’s physics into an overly mechanistic view of the universe, but Darwin rigorously applied the scientific method to life, and the result challenged the traditional authority of Enlightenment’s Newtonian physics.
Enlightenment science was at its peak of materialistic and deterministic hubris, and when Darwin applied the scientific method to life and found it did not fully conform to the mechanistic laws of matter that enlightenment science was uncompromisingly committed to.
Newtonian physics works with laws that apply to isolated systems and consequently arrives at a theoretically deterministic reality. By the time Darwin exploded onto the Enlightenment scene, Enlightenment science has ossified into a dogmatic belief in the mechanistic laws of deterministic isolated systems, but that just doesn’t characterize the reality of life.
What evolution contends about life is that life is contingent, probabilistic, and that it constitutes a unity, it says we are all interconnected to each other and to everything. In the study of life, there are no isolated systems and life is not deterministic
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Scientifically, evolution tells us that life is contingent upon the rest of creation, its growth and development are a mysterious interplay between nature and nurture, between the individual and the environment, between the part and the whole. It states that life is probabilistic as opposed to deterministic, that life is open-ended, with a history of endless variety and a future of infinite possibility. Most importantly, evolution contends that all life has ascended from one initial instance of life. It resoundingly and unequivocally proclaims all life to be a unity, that all life is one life, all life is interconnected, and we are all related to each other and to the rest of creation.
I mean look at geology, the two main clashes within that field during the 19th century were between uniformitarianism, in which the earth's geology formed over small, incremental, reliably predictable processes and catastrophism, in which earth's geological development was dominated by large-scale random disasters.
Darwin took Charles Lyell’s book with him on the Beagle, it was instrumental to Darwin’s development of the theory of evolution, especially his belief in gradual change. The two main clashes within biology were between chance or necessity, as far as biology was concerned, Darwin settled the question by demonstrating the dual nature of biological processes, it isn’t one or the other, it’s both in a two-step process, the variation step being dominated by randomness, the natural selection step by necessity.
Isaac Newton would have smacked Charles Darwin for even SUGGESTING that the natural world was probabilistic.
I don’t think so, I think Newton would have recognized that his physics is a predictive science of deterministic laws, and that evolutionary biology, in contrast with physics, is a historical science, it attempts to explain events and processes that have already taken place. He would have seen it as a different kind of science, one that constructs a historical narrative to explain observational evidence that the history of life was characterized by variation that progresses by the natural selection of favorable variations.
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@TheGreatSunGod
If you insist on continuing that argument you will probably get banned again.Why don't you just drop it pedo.I dropped it, but characters like WyIted keep trying to start it again. He is even intentionally misunderstanding my arguments to get me to debate it, but I really have no intention to debate it here. If he wants a debate on discord, sure, but he aint getting it here.
Bullshit, you haven't dropped it for a minute, you have done nothing but try to keep it center of attention, still desperate to get others to read and respond to your BS 700-point pedo post, you have stayed obsessed and then want to put it off on others, we aren't interested in your pedophile fantasies, shut the fuck up about it,
They should have just deleted your fucking pedo thread anyway, maybe then you'd stop being so desperate to get it read.
Nobody is interested in your pedo shit, just drop it and shut the fuck up about it.
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@Shila
"According to the majority viewpoint", Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible, known as the Pentateuch or Torah, which are Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.In Deuteronomy, Moses wrote the account of his own death and burial.We are talking about the Gospels in the New Testament .According to the majority viewpoint, the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, collectively called the Synoptic Gospels, are the primary sources of historical information about Jesus and the religious movement he founded
You worship a book.
Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
Exodus 20:3
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@TheGreatSunGod
You could probably respond to those 700 arguments I made. Your arguments are retarded, so now you have to ban yourself.
If you insist on continuing that argument you will probably get banned again.
Why don't you just drop it pedo.
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@Sir.Lancelot
Don't you quit the site on a regular basis?I always assumed that was a job requirement for this site specifically.Also hey Sidewalker, how you been!
Hey man, I'm OK, and you?
Long time no see, where you been?
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@WyIted
Don't you quit the site on a regular basis?
Wouldn't that make being a moderator problematic?
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@Greyparrot
Yes, I see now MAGA is the oligarchy, and that is why he made the message public.
LOL, nope, MAGA is not the oligarchy, they are just the losers and suckers that elected him, the people he represents are the billionaires, you gotta be able pay big bucks to play.
Very few of his MAGA voters can afford to buy the Presidency, under Trump only billionaires can afford to buy Presidents and Supreme Court Justices.
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China can halt our supply of rare earth metals and our military weapons, technology industries, and electric car production are all truly fucked over.
He'll relent like a whipped dog again, and he'll pretend it's a victory again, and the MAGA morons will believe the BS again.
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@Greyparrot
Trump tweeted publicly to "don't panic" and "buy stocks now"....right before he paused tariffs.Is that technically insider trading considering TDS people and America haters and China lovers would never listen to Trump?
Of course it is insider trading, he was telling his billionaire friends (his ruling Oligarchy) it's time to buy, they have him on retainer, it's the least he could do.
They are the ones that made him cower like a whipped dog with his tail between his legs because they lost billions, he was giving insider information about what comes next to help them recoup their losses.
The Presidents says it's time to buy right before he reverses his inane and senseless tariffs, that's the very definition of insider trading.
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@zedvictor4
So, if you are different, you have an obligation to make sure that people who have nothing to do with it are "satisfied"?So, if you think differently, you should not expect everyone else to unquestioningly think the same.
Of course not, diverse points of view are healthy. but the MAGA movement disapproves of "other" points of view, they define them as "the enemy" and seek to eliminate. My question is why?
Therefore, if you think differently, you should also expect and accept, that a large number of people will not be satisfied.
OK, and perhaps they should try to be satisfied with themselves, I don't see why a person's satisfaction is dependent on others thinking the same as you.
And Trump thinks that a somewhat corrupt autocratic businessman is the answer to The American peoples prayers.
"Somewhat corrupt' is an understatement.
And MAGA is his acronymic propaganda slogan.
Yes, and it's incredibly hypocritical.
And so I'm often told, the chief reason for all those millions of guns is to defend American core values against a rogue government.
Yeah, that's what they say, but it's really just a gun fetish, we have all those millions of guns because we love guns.
Trump told people that Putin is their friend, and the American people and their government are the enemy, and they believed him....and it's that kind of mentality that perpetuates the gun culture.
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@TheGreatSunGod
If you believe in tithing, you should join the fastest growing religion in the world, Sidewalkerism.I didnt know you are God. I will add you to the list of Gods I believe in, but dont expect any special worship unless you are a God of sex, alcohol, money, or magic and wish granting.
I'm not a God, just the person you tithe to in Sidewalkerism.
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@zedvictor4
I often utilise expressions and words that are defined as being profanities.Especially If I want to emphasise a point, or consternate when things don't go as planned.
Interesting, I just realized that the word "consternate" makes me want to use profanity.
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@TheGreatSunGod
I believe in all Gods 😊
If you believe in tithing, you should join the fastest growing religion in the world, Sidewalkerism.
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@FLRW
What about Aphrodite, goddess of love, sex, and beauty?
Yes, and don't forget about the Great Googly Moogly.
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@zedvictor4
Gender dysphoria is a state of mind and therefore a state of body and has therefore become an aspect of human evolution.
So wouldn’t that make it a matter of freedom and liberty, f it doesn’t affect you, then it shouldn’t matter to you, why do people feel the existence of people who are different is offensive to them?
What we should also be plainly aware of, is that generational data transfer is retrospective.
One in a hundred aren’t comfortable with their gender, I’m just glad I don’t have that problem to deal with, that’s how I know it is none of my business. My question is why people make it their business, why do they want to make something so personal, the Government’s business.
So, it's not only foolish, but also selfish to expect 8 billion people to instantaneously and unquestioningly be satisfied with a new psychosexual normal.
So, if you are different, you have an obligation to make sure people who have nothing to do with it are “satisfied”?
My rub isn’t necessarily about trans people, that is just an example, what I’m challenging is this explosive growth of “dissatisfaction” with other’s freedom and liberty. Our culture seems to be fighting against the core values of freedom and liberty, and none of these angry prejudiced people can, or will, explain how it affects their lives, and if it doesn’t, then it’s none of their business, so why do they make it their business.
The American people have a long history of expecting privacy and freedom in their personal lives, the fourth amendment said that what we do in our house is none of the governments damn business, it’s none of our neighbor’s business either,
I'll be the first to admit that "satisfied" is not how I feel when I see people who are different, I think most men think in images, and frankly, the idea of two men together sexually makes me go “EEWWWW”, but that doesn’t mean those two men should have fewer rights, they are still free to bump uglies if they want, it’s none of my business, and it’s clearly none of the government’s business. Do gay men have an obligation for me to be satisfied, do I have a right to not feel “EEWWWW”, of course not, my visceral response is on me, and it's on me to not let it translate into prejudice. If it makes you go “EEWWWW” the simple solution is don't fuck guys, hating isn't a solution, hating accomplishes nothing.
I’m raging about the explosion of intolerance, and I’m looking for one of the outraged to tell me how it affects them so negatively that they rage against it.
What ever happened to saying, “so what”, you be you and I’ll be me. I’d much rather say “EEWWWW” occasionally than see Americans lose the core values of freedom, liberty, and justice for all.
I’m especially incensed that MAGA is vehemently opposing the most cherished core values of this country, freedom, liberty, justice for all, while appropriating our symbols of these core values, turning our Flag into a symbol of this incredibly un-American movement, calling it patriotism, calling hate-mongering free speech, calling fascism a matter of freedom, it’s astoundingly hypocritical.
MAGA is attacking everything that made this country great under the bald-faced lie that they want to make this country great again.
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@Moozer325
Just making sure I'm going crazy and I'm not the only one who sees this.
There's only one way to be sure, pretend you are a nine-year-old boy and see if he hits on you.
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@Shila
The gospels are not eyewitness accounts.They are hand me down tales of what someone who might have been the character referred to as Jesus, might have said.You have absolutely no way of verifying that anything that is stated in the bible, were the exact words of Jesus.If I were to ask you to remember every detail of everything that you spoke yesterday, you would probably not remember anything.So what are the chances of an eyewitness remembering and recording in detail....Honestly and without exaggeration.And what are the chances of someone honestly and without exaggeration, translating and transcribing with any accuracy, several hundred years later?Jesus was a historical person.Are the Gospels historical accounts?According to the majority viewpoint, the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, collectively called the Synoptic Gospels, are the primary sources of historical information about Jesus and the religious movement he founded.
"According to the majority viewpoint", Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible, known as the Pentateuch or Torah, which are Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.
In Deuteronomy, Moses wrote the account of his own death and burial.
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@FLRW
The amazing part is that MAGA takes such great pride in being "stupid and low educated".Trump loved it when his professor said he was the dumbest student he ever had.
"I love the poorly educated" - Donald Trump
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@Greyparrot
Look, you don’t have to like Trump to see the overall big picture here. The very vocal frustration with the Department of Education isn’t all about hating public schools, it’s about years of massive spending with almost nothing to show for it. Instead of helping, the federal government has layered on red tape, forced schools into one-size-fits-all policies, and taken power away from local educators who actually know their students.
They will replace the Department of Education with the Department of Indoctrination, Sieg Heil!
This isn’t about being extreme, it’s about being honest. If you’re going to be spending billions and kids aren’t reading better, aren’t doing math better, parents are pissed, and teachers are burning out... something’s broken. That’s why 2025 people want local control or school choice. Not because they want to destroy education, but because they want it to finally work.
Sure, it failed the dumbasses, but maybe that is more the dumbass's fault,
You don’t need to be a Trump fan to admit the status quo isn’t cutting it.
Gee, are you saying democracy doesn't work, and Fascism will fix it?
LOL, that is only a strong argument if you're a dumbass.
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Maybe they just get offended when people say stupid shit and call it a joke, stupid shit isn't a joke, it's just stupid shit.
Sure, people might laugh, but they aren't laughing at the stupid shit, they are laughing at the person who said the stupid shit
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@Greyparrot
The amazing part is that LIBTARDIA takes such great pride in being "high educated and low elected".
Yes, dumbasses elect dumbasses, that is true.
Somehow, they think stupid and low educated makes them superior or something,Nope, just electable. Try swallowing your pride next time. Even if it is false pride.
Dumbasses don't understand that the rest of us don't take pride in not being a dumbass, we find just not being a dumbass to be satisfying enough.
Ironically, a Marxist virtue is to destroy the educated bourgeoise.
A Fascist virtue is to eliminate the Department of Education, thereby creating more dumbasses, which keeps dumbasses in office.
I wouldn't brag so loudly these days with all the far-left radical terrorists on the loose. They will gladly eat their own.
LOL, you mean those roving bands of radical terrorists who want crazy stuff like democracy, freedom, liberty, treat people with respect, and all that other "do unto others" bullshit?
I'm not afraid of all their "equality" crap, even if they are radical enough to extend it to black people, God forbid.
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@FLRW
Kamala Harris was appealing to the educated American people forgetting the majority of Americans are stupid and low educated.Tru-dat!
The amazing part is that MAGA takes such great pride in being "stupid and low educated".
Somehow, they think stupid and low educated makes them superior or something, instead of white supremacists, they should be called "dumbass supremacists".
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@FLRW
LOL, I thought it said Tomorrow you will wake up thinking you are a trumip.
He's already Trumpi....we just have to increase his intelligence to get up to turnip.
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@WyIted
LOL, you are really desperate to distract us from the catastrophe that is Trump.
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@WyIted
You dare to try to expose us?
Your tin foil hat cannot save you; we will turn our mind control rays on you at midnight tonight.
Tomorrow you will wake up thinking you are a turnip.
Bwaahahahahaha
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@Savant
The few times it's been explained to me, they talk about a trans "agenda" and the fact that it is growing, like they think it's contagious or something.
Are the outraged people out there afraid they could catch it, maybe wake up confused tomorrow?
I guess my real question is "What are they afraid of"?
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@Savant
why it is such a big issue for so many people, can anybody explain?Well, it's an issue for people with gender dysphoria, which isn't all transgender people but a significant number of them. No one with gender dysphoria seems to enjoy having it. Even among those who transition, dysphoria doesn't totally go away. Which indicates to me that we probably don't understand as much about it as we should.If asking "How do trans people feel about terms that distinguish sex?" is somehow triggering to people, I don't know how any progress is going to get made understanding this issue. Don't they communicate their preferences, like, all the time?
No, that's not what I was getting at, I'm questioning why so many people get upset about trans people, not the trans people themselves, that has to be a tough way to live, especially because of all the prejudice against them.
What I don't get is why people are so prejudiced against trans people, why all the hatred, what have they ever done to deserve it, in what way has a trans person affected the hater's life negatively? If they haven't, then what's all the outrage about?
There are so many real problems to be upset about, why do people choose this one?
I really don't understand it.
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They are around 1% of the population, I've met a few, never knew one well enough to say I had a relationship, more like there's been a few acquaintances. Every encounter was uneventful.
My question is why their existence upsets so many people, with a significant part of the population, it's almost an obsession. What is it about trans people that makes them a major issue for others? What effect on your life have they had to merit so much attention, outrage, etc.
Truth is, when I meet a trans person, at most I think "so what", whatever floats your boat", and don't really give it a second thougth, but when I see people obsessing about it, outraged and angry about it, I think "What's wrong with them"? Trans person, "meh", screaming about transpeople, "danger danger Will Robinson". That outrage strikes me a much weirder than the actual existence of trans people.
How is your life different because of trans people, how would it be better if there were no transpeople.
If every transperson in the world disappeared, or they all woke up cis tomorrow, would you even know it?
I sincerely don't understand why it is such a big issue for so many people, can anybody explain?
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U.S. stocks saw the biggest 2-day decline in history as market loses $6.6 trillion in value on Thursday and Friday, that brings the total loss since Inauguration Day to $11 trillion.
Was anyone spared, well, let's see...one of the only countries not on Trump's tariff list...wait for it....RUSSIA, of course.
"We’ll take the advice of Lao Tzu and sit by the river, waiting for the body of the enemy to float by. The decaying corpse of the E.U. economy." - Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev
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@Shila
This is not to challenge the prevalent contention that the Bible was divinely inspired, nor is it to deny the validity of popular understandings of the texts. But it is naive to think we have any knowledge about Jesus that does not come from what was said about him.The red letter Bible highlights the actual words spoken by Jesus in red to distinguish it from what others said about Jesus.What does the red letter mean in the Bible?In the first red-letter Bible, the words "universally accepted as the utterances of our Lord and Saviour" were printed in red. So were Old Testament passages that Jesus quoted or that were directly related to incidents to which he referred (with the relevant cross reference also printed in red).Oh, well, if it's printed in red then that proves it is a verbatim quote, Jesus probably spoke in English too.The red letter Bible highlights the actual words spoken by Jesus in red to distinguish it from what others said about Jesus.
Backed up by video?
Without video you can't be sure you know.
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@WyIted
The penguins are half black, but in all seriousness there is a breakaway civilization hidden in heard island and we do some secret trades with them for new tech
Ah yes, Unicorns for computers, top secret trades.
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@WyIted
Venezuela has already discussed dropping their tarrifs so we can drop ours. It appears the strategy is working.
Have the penguins on the Heard Island and the McDonald Islands group capitulated yet?
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LOL, I just love to see Trump's beloved "poorly educated" talk about economics, obviously studied Economics at Trump University.
MAGA clowns are just hilarious when they try to act intelligent.
I think my favorite is stock market crash is good because now poor people can afford stocks, bwaahahahahahaha.
Attending Trump University must have been a real hoot.
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Major U.S. stock indexes saw their worst one-day drawdowns since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The S&P 500 fell 4.8%, while the Nasdaq fell 6% — both their worst since 2020. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 4%, or more than 1,600 — its worst sell-off since 2022.
American buying power has dropped, the value of the United States dollar saw one of its biggest drops ever today, down 2.2%.
Canadian PM announces 25% auto tariffs on U.S., China promised to retaliate, most of our trade partners are now in a trade war with the US/
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"Trump’s tariff announcement was full-on crazy. Not only is he imposing higher tariffs than almost anyone expected, but he’s justifying them with completely false claims about other countries’ tariffs. I don’t know where his numbers are coming from, but they have nothing to do with reality. ... It’s a really bad day for the U.S. economy." - Nobel laureate Paul Krugman
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"Trump’s tariff announcement was full-on crazy. Not only is he imposing higher tariffs than almost anyone expected, but he’s justifying them with completely false claims about other countries’ tariffs. I don’t know where his numbers are coming from, but they have nothing to do with reality. ... It’s a really bad day for the U.S. economy." - Nobel laureate Paul Krugman
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@Greyparrot
I approve of taxing foreign supporters and rewarding American patriots. Buy American. Source American. Let's make "insourcing" a thing again. Let's see what a country can look like when Americans work to help other Americans first.
I see, so you see an America that makes and grows everything Americans need, cool.
Does your vision for America include unicorns?
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Today, Trump announced the largest tax increase in the history of this country.
Trade war with the entire world.
To think, he ran on a promise to bring down prices, and he said he would do it "day one".
Hardest hit will be his base, the rural areas are the most fucked, you MAGA guys are SUCKERS!
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@Shila
This is not to challenge the prevalent contention that the Bible was divinely inspired, nor is it to deny the validity of popular understandings of the texts. But it is naive to think we have any knowledge about Jesus that does not come from what was said about him.The red letter Bible highlights the actual words spoken by Jesus in red to distinguish it from what others said about Jesus.What does the red letter mean in the Bible?In the first red-letter Bible, the words "universally accepted as the utterances of our Lord and Saviour" were printed in red. So were Old Testament passages that Jesus quoted or that were directly related to incidents to which he referred (with the relevant cross reference also printed in red).
Oh, well, if it's printed in red then that proves it is a verbatim quote, Jesus probably spoke in English too.
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@zedvictor4
Jesus was a rather unradical old school mystic.
The Bible is a foundational narrative to half of the world’s people; this would be completely unaccountable if it were merely an account of “a rather unradical old school mystic”.
The legacy of such are still prevalent today in their millions, still preaching old school mystic stuff...Such is generational data transfer.
Especially if you consider His legacy, there must be a reason Jesus is the single most influential person who has ever lived, I think we need to consider the fact that the effect his life has had on the world is profoundly radical. It's pretty clear that within the social, religious, and political context of his day, Jesus was astoundingly radical; in fact, he was a revolutionary in every sense of the word.
Jesus was absolutely anti-establishment, radically liberal, and vehemently critical of the authoritarian establishment, aligning Himself instead with the poor, the oppressed, and others the establishment considered social outcasts. Jesus fiercely defied the ultra-conservative religious, political, and social power structures of the day, bringing a radically liberal theology to the masses, healing on the Sabbath, blessing outside of the rigid purity system, forgiving the sins of those condemned by the establishment, and calling for the liberation of women and minorities from their social, political, and religiously sanctioned oppression.
To the existing power structure, Jesus was a subversive that taught people that they do not need to conform to the strict and orthodox views of God, religion, and life that the corrupt establishment perpetuated. He condemned the ruling elite's greed, violence, their glorification of power, their amassing of wealth without social balance, their judging of others, their lifestyles, and their beliefs. He ferociously rebuked the religious right of His day for embracing the letter of the law instead of the Spirit, calling the Scribes and Pharisees hypocrites and vipers, and they assassinated Him for it.
I really don’t see how you can look at that and call it “unradical”.
And then their are those that put satellites into orbit and think Mars and beyond.
Do they wear cheese heads and play with toy chainsaws?
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@Shila
Are you following what Jesus actually spoke, or what his disciples said about him?You think you know the difference? You think you know what Jesus actually spoke?All we have are the Gospels, and the Gospels aren't straightforward historical records nor are they eyewitness accounts; and they were put into their current form slowly, over a period of about three hundred years. They contain details of events that had no one else present to record them and on a historical basis, they do not concur on all details, making them "historically" suspect.Consequently, the Gospels are certainly open to interpretation, they tend to conflict, and they certainly do not provide an independent historical narrative. They were "versions of His life" likely promoting the spiritual interests of different factions of a very diverse early Christianity. It is quite likely that the records we now have are tinged with denial or exaggeration by different interest groups who may have altered the records in an attempt to unify Christianity and support their claims to power.This is not to challenge the prevalent contention that the Bible was divinely inspired, nor is it to deny the validity of popular understandings of the texts. But it is naive to think we have any knowledge about Jesus that does not come from what was said about him.
This is not meant to discredit the Bible or the man the Bible is about, it is only to recognize that Christianity is based on what Jesus became after his death, it is about the Jesus of Christian experience. For two thousand years Christians have continued to experience Jesus as a living reality, as a contemporary presence and a spiritual living divine reality.
The foundational meaning of Christianity results directly from the fact that Jesus' followers have experienced his continuing presence as a living reality for two thousand years, so it is only the Jesus of this living tradition that we know, it is all we can know.
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@Shila
Someone as disturbingly radical as Christ, as powerful in actions, presence, and legacy as he was, could only be expected to incite widely varying interpretations of his life.Are you following what Jesus actually spoke, or what his disciples said about him?
You think you know the difference? You think you know what Jesus actually spoke?
All we have are the Gospels, and the Gospels aren't straightforward historical records nor are they eyewitness accounts; and they were put into their current form slowly, over a period of about three hundred years. They contain details of events that had no one else present to record them and on a historical basis, they do not concur on all details, making them "historically" suspect.
Consequently, the Gospels are certainly open to interpretation, they tend to conflict, and they certainly do not provide an independent historical narrative. They were "versions of His life" likely promoting the spiritual interests of different factions of a very diverse early Christianity. It is quite likely that the records we now have are tinged with denial or exaggeration by different interest groups who may have altered the records in an attempt to unify Christianity and support their claims to power.
This is not to challenge the prevalent contention that the Bible was divinely inspired, nor is it to deny the validity of popular understandings of the texts. But it is naive to think we have any knowledge about Jesus that does not come from what was said about him.
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Someone as disturbingly radical as Christ, as powerful in actions, presence, and legacy as he was, could only be expected to incite widely varying interpretations of his life.
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@Greyparrot
I won't shed a tear for traitors buying foreign shit.Enjoy being forced to support Americans.
But you went and got a foreign fiancé.
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