On 12/30/2012 11:09 PM, Jojo Jaro wrote: > OK, since you asked, do not call me a troll by answering this. > > > Genesis chapter 6 is the source of this. This passage is the reason > why God destroyed the Earth
I think this is the source of the conflict: Epistemology dictates that all knowledge comes from observation. When we converse with each other in an attempt to exchange knowledge, we use the Universe around us as a reference point in the exchange of truth. There is no such thing as communication without this common reference point. Words refer to existents and communication is act of exchanging observations about the Universe. There is no other source for knowledge since the Universe is all that exists, by definition. This epistemology is at the foundation of science. Using a book, such as Genesis, as a source of information is not valid. It is heresay from an unverifiable source. Likewise, faith is not a means of cognition, since there is no independent way of ascertaining which faith is correct -- and what correct even means without a reference to the Universe. So Jaro, what you're seeing as insults, are challenges to your epistemology. They are not insults, but you may interpret them as such since such challenges rip at core beliefs. I also see a problem with definitions you use. You use terms like 'God' and 'Angels' without defining these terms. When I've spoken with Christians before on such terms, they have never provided a definition. With 'God', they will typically say that he is all-knowing, all-powerful, and all-present, but such descriptions defy definition. To define something is to delimit it from other existents. Without a way to delimit its characteristics, it simply cannot exist. There is no difference between something that is 'everything' and something that is 'nothing'. Which characteristics would be different? There can't be a difference when there are no identifiable characteristics. Craig
