Society & Culture - 12 November 2006

A good friend of mine presented me with an idea that intrigued me. She said she has talked to some little kids who seem wise beyond their years and thought "you've been here before." I kind of believe in reincarnation, and I kinda like the idea but I haven't made up my mind yet. I was wondering if anybody else has ever had the same experience with a kid before. Have you ever met a kid who seemed to know more than a kid their age should and thought maybe this isn't the first time they've been here?

2006-11-12 17:22:14 · 10 answers · asked by Reject187 4 in Religion & Spirituality

Hypothetically speaking of course. I assure you that God kills a kitten every time someone answers "Uh, I don't have to worry because my religion is, duh, the one true religion." God told me this. So please think of the kittens.

2006-11-12 17:21:54 · 16 answers · asked by Anonymous in Religion & Spirituality

What if I have been saved for a long time but I continue to struggle with sin. I believe in Christ, and have accepted him, but I still struggle against temptation, often giving in even though I hate myself for it and feel constant guilt. Does this mean I was never saved even though I have confessed Christ and confessed my sins? Or does it mean that maybe I am just really weak and a slow progressor? I find myself worrying that maybe I'll never get it right. I know that I can't earn my salvation, but can I un-earn it? How many times can I say I am sorry and mean it but continue to defy my own intentions and interrupt God's will in my life? Am I the only one who has felt this way?

2006-11-12 17:20:36 · 22 answers · asked by ? 4 in Religion & Spirituality

Is there a real life Academy Of Witchery of some kind...that someone can really go to...like a real building and everything??

2006-11-12 17:20:05 · 14 answers · asked by spin spin devi 1 in Mythology & Folklore

2006-11-12 17:18:38 · 13 answers · asked by montralia 5 in Mythology & Folklore

the name should have a meaning and better if religious

2006-11-12 17:15:52 · 2 answers · asked by its_happy79 1 in Religion & Spirituality

In a study of logic, there is something which we call “undecidable propositions” or “meaningless sentences”, which are statements that cannot be determined because there is no contextual false. One of the classic examples cited is the Epiminedes’ paradox. Saul Kripke says:

Ever since Pilate asked, “What is truth?” (John XVIII, 38), the subsequent search for a correct answer has been inhibited by another problem, which, as is well known, also arises in a New Testament context. If, as the author of the Epistle to Titus supposes (Titus I, 12), a Cretan prophet, “even a prophet of their own,” asserted that “the Cretans are always liars,” and if “this testimony is true” of all other Cretan utterances, then it seems that the Cretan prophet’s words are true if and only if they are false. And any treatment of the concept of truth must somehow circumvent this paradox.[1]

Epimenides was Cretan and he said that “Cretans always lie”. Now, was that statement true or false? If he was a Cretan and he says that they always lie, is he then lying? If he is not lying then he is telling the truth and therefore Cretans do not always lie. We can see that since the assertion cannot be true and it cannot be false, the statement turns back on itself. It is like stating “What I am telling you right now is a lie”, would you believe that or otherwise? This statement thus has no true content. It cannot be true at the same time it is false. If it is true then it is always false. If it is false, it is also true.

Well, in the New Testament, the writer is Paul and he is talking about the Cretans in 1 Titus, as follows:

A prophet from their own people said of them “Cretens are always liars, wicked brutes, lazy gluttons.” This testimony is true. For this reason correct them sternly, that they may be sound in faith instead of paying attention to Jewish fables and to commandments of people who turn their backs on the truth. (Titus 1:12-14)

Notice that Paul says that one of their own men – a prophet - said that “Cretans are always liars” and he says that what this man say is true. It is a small mistake, but the point is that it is a human mistake. It cannot be a true statement at the same time that it is a false statement. Thus, how can Christians claim that the writers of the New Testament - in this case, Paul - had “inspiration” from God?

Some Christians have taken the position that a strictly logical approach to Epimenides’ statement can result in it not being a paradox after all. If it is not a paradox, one may argue that Paul’s calling it “true” was a subtle bit of mockery with tremendous foresight regarding later developments in logic. If that is the case, then maybe Paul’s statement actually was inspired. For example, while discussing Paul’s comments in the epistle to Titus, one Christian theological periodical concedes that “one of the very greatest of Christian thinkers enters the logic books wearing a dunce’s cap”[2] but then argues that Christians can find recourse in the fact that the statement might not be paradoxical. To back up this claim, the article calls to witness Quine, one of the greatest logicians that ever lived, thus it is important that we consider what Quine wrote:

There is the ancient paradox of Epimenides the Cretan, who said that all Cretans were liars. If he spoke the truth, he was a liar. It seems that this paradox may have reached the ears of St. Paul and that he missed the point of it. He warned, in his epistle to Titus: “One of themselves, even a prophet of their own, said The Cretans are always liars.” Actually the paradox of Epimenides is untidy; there are loopholes. Perhaps some Cretans were liars, notably Epimenides, and others were not; perhaps Epimenides was a liar who occasionally told the truth; either way it turns out that the contradiction vanishes.[3]

The question that arises now is how Quine was able to figure out that maybe other Cretans were liars or maybe Epimenides sometimes told the truth. Epimenides is clearly saying that Cretans are always liars. Every time a Cretan speaks, he is lying, so how could the statement ever allow for a Cretan (be it Epimenides or some other Cretan) to speak the truth? The reasoning is genius, and goes as follows: the obvious assumption behind the belief that the statement is paradoxical is that if all Cretans lie, then Epimenides is lying, so if his statement is true, it is false. In that sense it seems like any other pseudomenon. From here, if we consider the statement false, we are no longer forced into the kind of paradoxical vicious circle that a true pseudomenon (like “this sentence is false”) pushes us into. Commenting on a similar line of argumentation, Schoenberg writes the following:

We may feel intuitively that the argument is paradoxical; yet, from a formal logic point of view, it does not really have the look of a paradox. It looks simply like reductio ad absurdum proof of the falsity of ‘All Cretans are liars.’[4]

Thus, as Quine noted, it is not inconsistent to assume that some other Cretan does not always lie, or that some other statement by Epimenides was true. Prior explains this quite well:

If we treat the Cretan’s assertion as true, and so assume that nothing true is ever asserted by a Cretan, it follows immediately that the Cretan’s assertion is false. If, however, we treat it as false, there is no way of deducing from this assumption that it is true. We can, therefore, consistently suppose it to be false, and this is all we can consistently suppose. But to suppose it false (considering what the assertion actually is) is to suppose that something asserted by a Cretan is true; and this of course can only be some other assertion than the one mentioned.[5]


A paradoxical statement has no discernable truth value, but the statement by Epimenides can be seen as having a truth value (i.e. it is false), and if that is the case we can reinterpret the statement as not being paradoxical. However, establishing a truth value for the statement does not escape the problem with Paul’s claim since the saying of Epimenides is false. As Prior noted above, we cannot consider the statement true (as Paul did). If sophisticated analysis determines after all that this statement by Epimenides is not paradoxical, and thus has a truth value, the only consistent supposition we can make is that it is false.

Conclusion

In the end, the following seven-point syllogism completes our argument:

Paul claims a Cretan uttered a certain proposition.
The proposition is not true.
Paul claims the proposition is true.
Paul’s claim is an error.
Paul’s writings are errant rather than inerrant.
Errant scripture is not inspired scripture, as held on by Muslims.
Therefore, Paul was not inspired.
Hence, whether the statement is meaningless or false, the basic argument which we have raised still stands. The conclusion of the seven point syllogism given above still rings true: Paul was not inspired.

And only God knows best!

2006-11-12 17:15:27 · 14 answers · asked by Anonymous in Religion & Spirituality

2006-11-12 17:14:46 · 27 answers · asked by Anonymous in Religion & Spirituality

I can't see how people manage to find their way through all the pain. Its incredible really but i really cant see why i should live in this world if its full of pain and misery. Why should the good suffer? I know life isn't fair but can someone please give me a break? I've lost my bestfriend a little over a year ago(she didn't die she just doesn't care bout me anymore) and i've been moving on. Then i lose another good friend of mine that apparently doesn't give a crap bout who i am. Then i lose another person and its just driving me crazy i just can't see why i have to lose this many people that have been close to me. And on top of that im a really shy person and i mean REALLY shy person. It gets hard for me to meet people that i don't know and i can't see how its so easy for other people to just talk to people they don't even know with ease. Can someone please help me?

2006-11-12 17:14:39 · 6 answers · asked by ballin4life 1 in Other - Society & Culture

Ok, I have seen infinite posts of people comlaining about religious beliefs and differences, and seen many people post many different opinions, often suggesting that we should all just put aside our religious differences and let everyone serve whatever god they like. But the truth of the matter that nobody wants to say is that, ultimately, SOMEBODY is right and for whoever IS right according to many religious doctrines, mostly everyone else would be wrong. Following this line of logic, wouldn't you want to make sure that you have done everything you can to know the truth? Well, what if you did know the truth, but most people complained when you try to share it? What if by my preaching at you I am trying to Introduce you to the best thing that ever happened to me; salvation, and a restored relationship with our creator.

2006-11-12 17:14:35 · 13 answers · asked by ? 4 in Religion & Spirituality

i am obsessed with hippies!! btw im 17. i made a shirt with a peace sign and written peace at the bottom in bubble letters and its all colorfuL!!

2006-11-12 17:14:14 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous in Other - Society & Culture

2006-11-12 17:13:57 · 1 answers · asked by lilbuggers3 2 in Languages

According to the bible, the first human pair Adam & Eve were created perfect. After sin they lost that gift, but they were closer to perfection than you and me. So did Cave Men come after that? Did they exist?

2006-11-12 17:10:31 · 12 answers · asked by M G 2 in Religion & Spirituality

2006-11-12 17:09:33 · 20 answers · asked by ? 5 in Religion & Spirituality

the pastor didnt quote any scripture from his head, he read everything, shouldnt a pastor have scripture memorized thats what im used to

2006-11-12 17:09:10 · 6 answers · asked by Anonymous in Religion & Spirituality

Some background info:

He is a 22 year old bisexual guy who has only ever dated girls. We've been casual friends for about three years, and this summer we hung out quite a bit. Over the past few weeks we spent more and more time together, almost getting to that 'well should we date' point, but suddenly he stopped all participation. I do not want to bother him if he is not interested, but I don't want to let this go if there's still a possibility of a relationship.

Any advice is welcomed.

2006-11-12 17:07:44 · 7 answers · asked by TtD 1 in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender

i watched the end of a show on A&E called 'hell' & a clip about the church of satan was in it. One thing about this 'religion' is that they try to base all of their teachings 100 percent opposite of christianity. Example: 'do unto others as you'd have done to you'- christianity. so 'do unto others as they DO unto you- satanism. how would this religion even be in existence without God making the Christian Bible, how? :o}

2006-11-12 17:07:17 · 12 answers · asked by Nikki 5 in Religion & Spirituality

And if Anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire" (Revelation 20:14,15)

What about those who were never given names?

2006-11-12 17:04:59 · 6 answers · asked by Anonymous in Religion & Spirituality

nobody goes out so far out of there way to disprove somethin they know in there heart doesnt exist it seems to me like some people are so angry because there having doubts on where they stand

2006-11-12 17:04:52 · 14 answers · asked by Anonymous in Religion & Spirituality

What places are the salvation army people banned from? The people who stand outside and ring the bell in the winter.

2006-11-12 17:00:27 · 6 answers · asked by Anonymous in Community Service

This is of a life or death situation, a fifth step is desperatley in need of being taken.

2006-11-12 16:58:45 · 8 answers · asked by SLWhitman 1 in Other - Cultures & Groups

Eternal servatude to a petty, cruel, egotistical but all-powerful God, or eternal pain and suffering?

2006-11-12 16:57:11 · 27 answers · asked by Anonymous in Religion & Spirituality

I work with two lesbians they are a couple. I have seen them play around at work as you would see any couple do. I was just wondering do lesbians check each other out like guys check out girls. Do boobs really matter since they both have them? What is it that lesbians like in the other girl? Second in a lesbian relationship how would one of the women feel if a guy started hitting on her girl? Is their jealousy, is it the same thing if a guy was hitting on another guys girlfriend. I know I almost hit on this girl when she first started until I found out she was a lesbian

2006-11-12 16:56:49 · 10 answers · asked by Raven 2 in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender

Why did religion allow slavery to exist. History writes that religion gave justification to slavery and segregation. I am not saying that all religions supported these crimes, but a good amount did. Not to pick on the good ole' South, but during the times of slavery religion was very much, and still part of culture. So here is my question. How did religion justify slavery and segregation?

2006-11-12 16:55:10 · 39 answers · asked by M G 2 in Religion & Spirituality

2006-11-12 16:54:22 · 3 answers · asked by mandy21 1 in Languages

If you sad, what kind of activities you do to lighten up your feeling or to reduce the pain?
I am serious, please give me real and applicable hints.

2006-11-12 16:53:37 · 11 answers · asked by orchid palace 2 in Other - Society & Culture

and it you want to make a word looks smaller and cuter you can add- ito or tia at the end, right ?

2006-11-12 16:53:12 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous in Languages

In light of tendencies for some white people to be racist, what do you think of the growing population of Latin Americans? Do you share the same comraderie with Latinos/Hispanics as you do with your African American friends, or do you even perhaps feel hostility towards them? Or something else?
The first time I wrote this question, I think it may have been misunderstood. I didn't mean for it to be offensive at all. I'll give an example of what I'm trying to convey:
I once had a conversation with a man who identified himself as African American who explained that he felt a sort of comraderieship with Latinos that he didn't feel with typical Caucasian Americans because both ethnicities are commonly discriminated against. In contrast, I once met another African American who told me she thought Hispanics needed to go back home and then aftern naming some reasons why said she felt no more welcome among a group of Hispanics as around whites. I was wondering what the consensus opinion was.

2006-11-12 16:52:18 · 7 answers · asked by Amy 4 in Other - Cultures & Groups

If someone asks a question, why do people always flame that person? Stupid question or not. Why do they always have to be smarta**es and come up with something to say? WHY ARE PEOPLE SO MAYNNEEE.

2006-11-12 16:52:01 · 15 answers · asked by Grace 1 in Other - Society & Culture

Why do they need to be told what to do around the house!

2006-11-12 16:50:32 · 8 answers · asked by CANDICE R 1 in Other - Society & Culture