What say you all?

Question

Animals obviously have no need for our truths or laws. If we differ from the others only insofar as we can think and use tools, then we have no need to seek the truth of anything, least of all our origin, for we remain rooted in that origin. But are we ?
The answer is simple. Man differs from the lower animals, not in terms of compensating, rule making, tool making, or in any way you can think of, other than or aside from, his possession of consciousness. We alone have a consciousness that is capable of choosing between right and wrong, or realizing God, Truth, and the Absolute-or of going the other way and denying God in order to preempt His power for ourselves.
The Pride that denies the existence and power of God separates us from the Truth. We will be charged and found guilty until we succeed in finding the perfect Truth, or the perfect excuse.

Which would it be for you ?
Now, what say you all?

walter e, true. Animal cannot stray from their predestined course because they have no consciousness, and therefore, no power to conceptualize a non-instinctive, creative way to go, much less choose to go that way. But the consciousness of man endows him with the power to believe and to choose, to accept or deny the prompting of his conscience, and to change his destiny as the result of his choice.
What say you all?

Answer 1

there are no "simple answers" to complex questions



but, as a Christian, of course I agree with you CommonSense (pun intended =)

Answer 2

With all due respect, your eloquence masks an actual lack of knowledge.

Man differs from the lower animals because of our cognitive abilities. As I have explained before, the animal kingdom is ripe with examples of societies within species (dog packs, lion prides, murders of crows, ant colonies, etc.), each with its own basic hierarchy (the alpha) and rules. These societies/groups are formed, for one simple fact: it helps the group, and therefore the species, survive.

Humanity is no different.

You mistake consciousness for cognizence. Every complex organism has a rudimentary consciousness. It's a part of the survival instinct. Ants will move away from fire; some animals will chew their foots off to escape traps; some species of shark actively seek out certain creatures that will stimulate the sensors in their noses which causes pleasure...the examples are too numerous to list further. Cognizence is the ability for higher thought, which is something that only few creatures have developed, via evolution: dolphins, whales, and humans.

However, this is where you devolve into rhetoric. Right and wrong are dictates of society, not a divine being. There is no such thing as a universal law, nor is there a universal morality. One doesn't 'realize' (your own word) a god. A god is something that is believed, without evidence to realize. Truth, can be fluid, and open to interpretation. Pride is what causes the mistaken belief that man is special in a deity's eyes, denying his place in nature.

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Answer 3

False. Animals are quite as conscious as humans; they merely lack the ability to do sophisticated reasoning. The ability of h. sapiens to reason its way out of a jam is an overwhelming evolutionary advantage, far more important than any physical size, strength, or endurance. As for god, that is a silly fiction for which there is not the slightest evidence; see:

Answer 4

and as the only species that kills in the name of a god as well consider the ability of a well trained police dog to make judgements .our larger brain is not always right obviously.
if you could say one thing you were not told as a pat answer I would not feel like im wasting my time here . Ever think of anything on your own without repeating another ?
just what is the difference of having pride in oneself for good reason and taking pride vicariously for a god that is not right .

Answer 5

The wolf will live with the lamb. the leopard will lie down with the goat. the calf and the lion and the yearling together. and a little child will lead them. ISAIAH 6:11

Answer 6

I like puppies.

Answer 7

free will