Friday, January 06, 2012

Appeals to “The Folks’” Intuition: A Call for Restraint, if not a Moratorium

http://analytictheologye4c5.wordpress.com/2012/01/06/appeals-to-intuition-a-call-for-restraint-if-not-a-moritorium/

5 comments:

  1. 1) Intuition can't bring all Christians together,
    2) Citing Scripture can't bring all Christians together.
    3) The supernatural power of the Holy Spirit can't bring all Christians together.
    4) Jesus' alleged prayer for "complete unity" was successful only in so far as relatively small groups calling themselves "true Christians" believe that they have achieved "complete unity." (According to John 17:21-23 Jesus prayed, ". . . that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one—I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.")

    But ever since the beginning Christians have challenged each other's beliefs to different degrees, and tried every means--from reasoning to spiritual power to baptizing and training children to worldly laws and power--to acheive "complete unity." Yet neither Jesus nor Paul saw complete unity in their day. In the fourth century there was the Arian-Athanasian controversy and great riots between both of those groups of Christian believers. There was the Donatist controversy over purity of faith (Donatists only accepted bishops who never offered sacrifice to the next to last pagan Roman Emperor), and many more. At the turn of the first millennium the Christian leaders of each half of the Roman Empire excommunicated the Christians in the other half. Disagreements and schisms continued for the following half millennium until another big schism, the Reformation. Reformation leaders spoke ill not only of the Catholic Church but of each other's theologies--and their conservative adherents still speak ill of each other today. Today there are 45,000 different Christian denominations, sects and separate missionary organizations, including individual church groups that continue to split. Islam arose after Christianity and conquered all of North Africa's Christian churches including Augustine's home town, claiming it was the supernatural successor to both Judaism and Christianity, and it too underwent divisions. Mormonism arose much later, expanding from Utah to the rest of the U.S. and the world, and it too underwent divisions.

    The whole religious world (not just Christianity) continues to multiply by dividing. Sounds pretty Darwinian--mutations in religious interpretations and points of view, and sometimes wholly new "holy books" lead to new major branches of religious beliefs, and the mutations continue, the process continues, the multiplication of different beliefs/interpretations, and some catching hold for a time, then being challenged by ever newer ones.

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  2. I'm afraid Edward T. Babinski's screed has precious little to do with Paul Manata's post. In fact the sole connection which I can discern is the mere mention of the word "intuition." It's as if Babinski simply saw the word "intuition" in Manata's post and decided this would be a fine time to veer off on to his own little rant or tirade.

    The word must have been like a magical word or spell to wake the oafish Babinski from his deep and dreamless slumber into his blissful fairy tale land where what Babinski mouths is always relevant to the conversation even if to everyone else it sounds something like "ooh ooh ahh ahh ahh"!

    Since this is hardly the first time I've noticed Babinski's off-topic diatribe on his topic du jour, I take it he is intentionally attempting to derail the conversation. In this respect Babinski is a troll. But the Babinski troll must be like the nonsensical jabberwocky galumphing and chortling its way straight through the hedges and smack into the woods. Certainly it's a far cry from the subtle and clever internet trolls with which many people online are acquainted and accustomed.

    Babinski's profile notes he's a librarian. Based on his behavior on this weblog, I'd expect if a patron asked Babinski for a book on literary criticism or the philosophy of mind, he would instead receive a stack of books on bananas.

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  3. EDWARD T. BABINSKI SAID:

    "1) Intuition can't bring all Christians together,"

    So what?

    "2) Citing Scripture can't bring all Christians together."

    That's not its purpose.

    "3) The supernatural power of the Holy Spirit can't bring all Christians together."

    Of course the Holy Spirit can do that. He chooses not to.

    "4) Jesus' alleged prayer for 'complete unity' was successful only..."

    Success correlates with intent.

    "The whole religious world (not just Christianity) continues to multiply by dividing."

    Each subsequent generation has to appropriate the Christian faith. That usually occurs through conversion or within preexisting denominations.

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  4. RWH said: But the Babinski troll must be like the nonsensical jabberwocky galumphing and chortling its way straight through the hedges and smack into the woods... Based on his behavior on this weblog, I'd expect if a patron asked Babinski for a book on literary criticism or the philosophy of mind, he would instead receive a stack of books on bananas.

    I LOLed.

    Hard to explain to my 5 yr old son what is so funny, but it certainly is.

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  5. Babinski posted this here I guess because his comment didn't get published at my blog. Sorry about that. FWIW, Ed, I set up a program so that the posts of trolls and village atheists and those who post lengthy off-topic screeds, are immediately consigned to the black hole of the blogosphere, forever.

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