tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2376937841692070856.post3209257846842125972..comments2023-10-24T06:23:53.008-04:00Comments on Saint Brian's Chronicles: Schizophrenia and ReligionSaint Brian the Godlesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14902151482640409544noreply@blogger.comBlogger193125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2376937841692070856.post-89835348698329998022012-09-01T17:30:05.053-04:002012-09-01T17:30:05.053-04:00PS: Well supported? SERIOUSLY?
HA HA HA HA! ...PS: Well supported? SERIOUSLY? <br /><br />HA HA HA HA! Funny joke, dude. Supported by WHAT exactly? <br /><br />Please post reply on new post.... :-)Saint Brian the Godlesshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14902151482640409544noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2376937841692070856.post-92117213574506144862012-09-01T17:28:47.928-04:002012-09-01T17:28:47.928-04:00NEW POST IS UP!
Eric, I hope that you will join u...NEW POST IS UP!<br /><br />Eric, I hope that you will join us there... it's all about your former demigod Dinesh D'Souza. <br /><br />And of course I hope this present conversation with pboy continues there as well. I'm interested! <br /><br /><br />NEW POST IS UP!Saint Brian the Godlesshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14902151482640409544noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2376937841692070856.post-79372178593852308122012-09-01T15:38:42.587-04:002012-09-01T15:38:42.587-04:00"Anyway, moving on and off topic, I was think..."Anyway, moving on and off topic, I was thinking about how a lot of apologists lately have been trying to use probability to argue for the resurrection. I think the basic idea is that if theism is true (IF???) then the probability of the resurrection increases, but if theism is not true, then it decreases (vanishingly so?)."<br /><br />Well, that's a part of the argument, sure...<br /><br />"I can give them that, it's logical."<br /><br />Good.<br /><br />"But wouldn't it be the case that if theism is true then not just the resurrection story, but every cockamamie story that makes divine claims would be more probable?"<br /><br />Yes! Well, to the extent that they're consistent with the form of theism that's defended, of course...<br /><br />"And this may be where there enormous amount of time between now and the last time I had a statistics class is causing me to fail, but since Christianity makes exclusive claims (i.e. basically if Christianity is true, then no other religions can be true), wouldn't each and every additional cockamamie story that makes divine claims reduce the probability that any individual cockamamy story that makes divine claims be true? So do they actually net anything with this?<br />"In short, the apologist make the probability argument as if the resurrection is the only cockamamy story that makes divine claims ever told.<br />"So do they actually net anything with this?"<br /><br />Absolutely. The point you've raised here is a good one, which is probably why I've encountered it so many times. But I've noticed that each time I give the obvious response, the atheist/agnostic/skeptic abandons this objection! And what is the obvious response? Well, just this: once we concede that the probability of some set of claims (in this case, miracle claims X, Y and Z) is increased given specific background information (in this case, the truth of some form of theism), then we must evaluate each claim on the basis of the evidence we have for it. So, compare the evidence for the Resurrection with the evidence for any other supernatural claim that's central to other religions. Can you think of *one* that comes even close to being as well supported? (N.B. I said 'as well supported,' which may not be well at all as far as your concerned; the point here isn't whether the evidence is sufficient to justify the claim, but how one set of evidence for one claim compares with other sets.)<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2376937841692070856.post-31986449536610744222012-09-01T15:38:30.198-04:002012-09-01T15:38:30.198-04:00"Anyway I tried summing up Eric and W.L.Craig..."Anyway I tried summing up Eric and W.L.Craig's stuff:-<br />There is the philosophy. If you can be talked into imagining 'The Act of Being' as an entity, if you can be razzled by the Brain-in-bucket thought experiment and dazzled by the "Aquinas said it, it must be true" premise, then you're well on your way to imagining how real God must be, realer than real!"<br /><br />Wrong on every count, but hey...<br /><br />"And if you can't buy that yet, start with the Kalaam Cosmological Argument. "Everything that begins to exist has a cause!", but be sure to discount material cause since that's basically what they're trying to slip in unnoticed."<br /><br />No, the point is that there is no material cause; how, then, can anyone be trying to "slip it in unnoticed"? <br /><br />"So, it's the efficient cause we're focusing on, the cause of material being altered..."<br /><br />Not 'altered,' but created. You can't alter it if it ain't there.<br /><br />"...if you're determined to spoil the argument by insisting on some account of material that isn't a magical 'poof' at the conclusion of the syllogism."<br /><br />It certainly doesn't "spoil the argument," though it may spoil any confidence one has in your ability to follow an argument if you think it does. But that aside, there's no more 'magic' involved here than there is when the physicist says that there's no efficient cause involved in the generation of virtual particles. <br /><br />"The final diversion there is to claim that the efficient cause is actually a metaphysical cause, so now you're ready for the Act of Being thing!"<br /><br />No, you don't understand the argument. The claim is that causation as such is a metaphysical category -- period. And, of course, it is. Science presupposes causation, it doesn't establish it. So when you attempt to limit talk about causation to the sorts of things that can be scientifically established, you're reasoning fallaciously. Think about it: (a) Science must presuppose X, pre-theoretically (I sure hope you agree with this uncontroversial claim); (b) Science can explain specific instances of X (again, I hope you agree with this); (c) only scientifically established instances of X can be justifiably appealed to in an argument (this is what you want to say when you reject the notion that, say, causation is a metaphysical category). Surely, Floyd, you can see the problem with those three claims.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2376937841692070856.post-29086123894731741702012-09-01T15:01:07.113-04:002012-09-01T15:01:07.113-04:00Love that compass of sadness! But the door was ope...Love that compass of sadness! But the door was open and he was just laying there looking all sacked out staring at the door at the end of his nose. Weird.<br /><br />Anyway I tried summing up Eric and W.L.Craig's stuff:-<br /><br />There is the philosophy. If you can be talked into imagining 'The Act of Being' as an entity, if you can be razzled by the Brain-in-bucket thought experiment and dazzled by the "Aquinas said it, it must be true" premise, then you're well on your way to imagining how real God must be, realer than real!<br /><br />And if you can't buy that yet, start with the Kalaam Cosmological Argument. "Everything that begins to exist has a cause!", but be sure to discount material cause since that's basically what they're trying to slip in unnoticed. So, it's the efficient cause we're focusing on, the cause of material being altered if you're determined to spoil the argument by insisting on some account of material that isn't a magical 'poof' at the conclusion of the syllogism. The final diversion there is to claim that the efficient cause is actually a metaphysical cause, so now you're ready for the Act of Being thing!<br /><br />If you're not buying this at all, it's time for the derision, you obviously lack the schooling, mental capacity or both to not understand this!<br /><br />That's about it isn't it?<br />pboyfloydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01475980562742243007noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2376937841692070856.post-78968178982933203132012-09-01T14:55:53.709-04:002012-09-01T14:55:53.709-04:00Wonder what dogs are thinking when they are laying...Wonder what dogs are thinking when they are laying on the floor staring at the door right at the end of their nose? <br />----------------------<br />I WANNA GO OUT THAT DOOR!<br /><br />My dog often lays down with his body aligned perfectly straight and his nose on the floor but pointing at his food dish. We call it 'the compass of sadness.'Saint Brian the Godlesshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14902151482640409544noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2376937841692070856.post-60559444171304317402012-09-01T02:45:57.056-04:002012-09-01T02:45:57.056-04:00LOL.. just turned on Colbert.. didn't know the...LOL.. just turned on Colbert.. didn't know they were on tonight. Of course he's doing the 'chair' bit, what else? That there is comedy gold!!! <br /><br />Picture the Republican convention going for weeks and Clint Eastwood having to do multiple 'bits'. It's not a matter of 'whether' but 'when', when will he do the 'OH-WHA-TA-GOO-SIAM!!' bit! pboyfloydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01475980562742243007noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2376937841692070856.post-46666698775387762492012-09-01T02:20:16.727-04:002012-09-01T02:20:16.727-04:00Alas, learning to control irrational anger is a ra...Alas, learning to control irrational anger is a rational mind attribute. I feel you pain, sir. <br /><br />Watched both Stewart and Colbert.... it's 2:19 AM and it was worth it. <br /><br />Still thought seeing Dinesh getting his ass handed to him by Bill Maher was even better though... but hey, it was close. Saint Brian the Godlesshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14902151482640409544noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2376937841692070856.post-81496726351833667632012-09-01T02:03:02.119-04:002012-09-01T02:03:02.119-04:00So there I am, out there throwing 'bits' t...So there I am, out there throwing 'bits' to the dog so she can eat without feeliing guilty. Meanwhile I'm explaining to her intuitive mind that the dog is, how can I put this, a DOG!!! She's happy as Larry 'cos, well, I'm distracting the dog now. But now I'm getting slighty miffed since she doesn't feel the need to learn anything that I know about dogs, no, she's handled the situation perfectly intuitively, she's got me fending the damned dog off while she eats!!!<br /><br />Mother of CHRIST that's annoying though. "I don't see the problem, I've got you schlepping, (and this is where I'm thinking about laws and guns and stuff), no problem for ME now, right?", I can almost feel her neck in my hands as I squeeze the 'intuitive' out!!! <br /><br />Wonder what dogs are thinking when they are laying on the floor staring at the door right at the end of their nose? pboyfloydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01475980562742243007noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2376937841692070856.post-60301706120951103182012-09-01T01:51:57.588-04:002012-09-01T01:51:57.588-04:00Emma was mad at me for the dog begging for her chi...Emma was mad at me for the dog begging for her chicken dinner. This is 'the intuitive mind', she's mad at me, for the dog being a fucking DOG! <br /><br />Earlier she was mad at me because our kitchen tap seems to be fucking up and I suggested it might be her grand-daughter doesn't know how it works! Apparently knowing how kitchen taps work are in their genes! I caught her niece in the act of trying to wrench that same tap out of it's 'moorings' 'cos she didn't know how to turn it on! Same genes! My LORD, it is confusing, it's one of those left to right = cold to hot, and down to up = off to on.pboyfloydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01475980562742243007noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2376937841692070856.post-81307673230659198672012-09-01T01:14:12.395-04:002012-09-01T01:14:12.395-04:00Meanwhile...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ax15X...Meanwhile...<br /><br />http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ax15XRL1URQpboyfloydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01475980562742243007noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2376937841692070856.post-74496493799396773772012-09-01T00:01:19.331-04:002012-09-01T00:01:19.331-04:00Tomorrow I'll try to post the video if it'...Tomorrow I'll try to post the video if it's out yet, but it was just amazing. Saint Brian the Godlesshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14902151482640409544noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2376937841692070856.post-77318461069978655792012-09-01T00:00:29.380-04:002012-09-01T00:00:29.380-04:00I haven't seen them yet.... they're om my ...I haven't seen them yet.... they're om my DVR... <br /><br />BUT!<br /><br />Did you guys catch Bill Maher tonight? <br /><br />Oh My God, he DISSECTED Dinesh DaSouza IN PERSON, face to face... even managed to call him a rat in a way that was hilarious! Bill had set a trap for him as it turned out you see, and Dinesh's EGO led him into it by his solenodonesque nose. A WIPE OUT! I never saw Dinesh look so weak and ineffectual. It made my fucking week. Saint Brian the Godlesshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14902151482640409544noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2376937841692070856.post-86355316669448055872012-08-31T23:44:11.466-04:002012-08-31T23:44:11.466-04:00Yeah, but Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert were awe...Yeah, but Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert were awesome tonight!GearHedEdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09288513835630145996noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2376937841692070856.post-22503620412415648902012-08-31T22:55:02.231-04:002012-08-31T22:55:02.231-04:00Couldn't you, just for a second, see a very ti...Couldn't you, just for a second, see a very tiny black man standing on that chair, shouting in a tiny, tinny voice, "Fuck off Romney!"? I know I couldn't, but then again, I can't see how slashing revenue could possibly balance a budget, like that entire audience can. pboyfloydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01475980562742243007noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2376937841692070856.post-5561334188186051062012-08-31T21:01:15.413-04:002012-08-31T21:01:15.413-04:00Clint Eastwood did well... in the sense that he w...Clint Eastwood did well... in the sense that he wasn't wearing a diaper on the outside of his pants. Saint Brian the Godlesshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14902151482640409544noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2376937841692070856.post-82708985808545474002012-08-31T21:00:44.421-04:002012-08-31T21:00:44.421-04:00Where is everyone? Glowing in the rapture of the ...Where is everyone? Glowing in the rapture of the aftereffects of the Republican Convention, I'll wager.... <br /><br />I didn't even know that they gave a national convention for professional liars. How silly am I? Saint Brian the Godlesshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14902151482640409544noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2376937841692070856.post-48017990831451714392012-08-30T10:10:56.104-04:002012-08-30T10:10:56.104-04:00I don't think that it's so much intelligen...I don't think that it's so much intelligence that they're lacking as it is culture that they're yearning for. The churches defend local cultures and traditions, bigotry, what it means to be a (fill in your locale here), since they're right in there, have been since as early as possible! <br /><br />Part of the local culture is who controls it, for example our Feds were giving away flags and we're always hearing how great Canada is.<br /><br />Apparently Canada was great because it jumped right in to Afghanistan, it's great 'cos 'we're' going to buy the latest fighters, it's great 'cos the CRTC is there, stopping us watching too much good television and forcing us to watch Canadian content. <br /><br />Of course taking away freedom is often disguised as 'a country's greatness', just propaganda. ".. the True North strong and free..", not so strong, and not hardly free, but it's one of those 'our country' memes that, culturally, everyone loves to think of themselves as, one of those 'everyone knows' "truths" that don't bear much scrutiny at all.pboyfloydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01475980562742243007noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2376937841692070856.post-152043505964595642012-08-30T00:08:34.797-04:002012-08-30T00:08:34.797-04:00Their religion and their politics of hatred has br...Their religion and their politics of hatred has bred the intelligence out of them, if they ever had it to begin with. They can't question authority. Their religion teaches them not to. They just have to believe it, and shut their little mouths and wait for Jesus to come back. Saint Brian the Godlesshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14902151482640409544noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2376937841692070856.post-61345282107717719762012-08-29T21:25:17.366-04:002012-08-29T21:25:17.366-04:00How can so many 'not so well off' people b...How can so many 'not so well off' people be sucked in to believing that giving extremely wealthy people big tax cuts is going to help anyone but those extremely wealthy people?<br /><br />Shouldn't the candidates be on their knees begging the ultra-wealthy to forgive them for putting the onus on them to create jobs? <br /><br />"Dear filthy rich people, we know that you're already rich, but please vote yourselves a huge tax cut so that you can work hard to create jobs somewhere! We know it wasn't you investing in India and China since you are true Americans, the only 'real' Americans we have actually! To prove that we believe this, we're in the process of disenfranchizing as many of those not-rich people as possible, since who is less deserving of having a voice if not them? <br /><br />I know that the faithful are on board with our plan for you to spread wealth around the country with charitable works such as soup kitchens for as the Scripture says, ".. the poor will always be among us..", and since the deficit is so high and someone has to pay, why not them, they outnumber us 99 to 1!"pboyfloydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01475980562742243007noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2376937841692070856.post-31533581282859109082012-08-29T14:02:51.483-04:002012-08-29T14:02:51.483-04:00I don't believe in unicorns, and yet I do not ...I don't believe in unicorns, and yet I do not hate them. <br /><br />I do not hate god either. But some of the people that say they love god, are haters of men like me. So there's that. Saint Brian the Godlesshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14902151482640409544noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2376937841692070856.post-60959476792863283302012-08-29T13:59:16.237-04:002012-08-29T13:59:16.237-04:00MI, it really doesn't matter what you say now....MI, it really doesn't matter what you say now. You've proven yourself.<br /><br />I don't believe that you are a pharmacist. I don't believe that your husband is a doctor. I even doubt that you are married. And I don't believe that you're dying, although you are definitely mentally ill. I simply cannot believe anything that you say, not ever. Too bad you ruined any trust that I might have had of you. But that's what you get for being such a total lying psycho, over and over, for lo these many years.<br /><br />If you were to die, I would not celebrate. However, I would not mourn, either. It would be like a fly dying on a windowsill to me... that's how you've endeared yourself to me over the years. Frankly, I'd probably feel worse for the fly. Saint Brian the Godlesshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14902151482640409544noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2376937841692070856.post-6520038152950969992012-08-29T06:57:16.466-04:002012-08-29T06:57:16.466-04:00Brian, what can I say to you to make you feel bett...Brian, what can I say to you to make you feel better about the situation? You know that I agree with you 100% on the politico/religious stuff. Of course it's nonsense to us. Who, in their right minds would be voting to cut all aid to themselves since 'the country' is so in debt? Who in their right mind could imagine that they personally are responsible for what happens in the World, imagining themselves as the U.S. Armed Forces policing the World?<br /><br />Well, it turns out that quite a large percentage of people are like the fans of a sports team when it comes to U.S. military supremacy.<br /><br />A fan may feel fantastic when the team wins, well same thing with war, the U.S. just HAS TO WIN, if only so the 'real Americans' among us can feel superior! <br /><br />So for many people it comes down to believing in myths. Not just the Christian myth, the American myths. Sure the average American is struggling to get by these days, but, to use that cliche, 'at the end of the day', Americans WILL sacrifice their own well-being for the sake of these myths! <br /><br />And of course there are always going to be people who will use this against their own population.<br /><br />Look at Atheism+. Seems to me that Richard Carrier, P.Z. Meyers, Jen McCraight and them are buying into their own myths, convincing each other that they ought to be fighting all fights at once under this banner. <br /><br />I can't remember that quote which went something like, "If you want to find out who owns you, find the one that you can't joke around with, or can't make fun of." <br /><br />Well, the Atheism+ guys feel that they are the bosses, and with their 'secret' emails and whatnot, they keep convincing each other that they are! Actually I think it's Atheism plus radical Feminism!<br /><br />So there you go, it can happen under the 'best of circumstances', the takeover of a non-movement into a purified movement!<br /><br />And yes, we ARE nuts, all of us, from the laziest bum, through the fool who works himself to death for a pittance, to the richest asshole imagining he must be the smartest person in the World! pboyfloydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01475980562742243007noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2376937841692070856.post-6385934972776935772012-08-29T06:25:33.301-04:002012-08-29T06:25:33.301-04:00MI, D'Souza is part of the problem. You read h...MI, D'Souza is part of the problem. You read his blog and how in his mind atheists are God-haters. He is well educated and understands that a person cannot hate what they believe is a fiction.<br /><br />I can understand someone of modest education assuming that everyone believes that God's there, you know 'really', in their heart, but just want to sin, or go on sinning. But that's ludricous, since every Christian will tell us, we are all sinners, they all feel that they need to confess their sins and that the main thing, for eternal 'life' is to believe that Jesus died on the cross to save us.<br /><br />This means that there is no point at all in just saying, "There are no gods, not even one!", unless, well let's make this about me, unless I was 100% sure of it. We can go into word games about not ever being able to be 100% sure of anything, sure, but that means nothing to me, since, I could suggest that there is an entire world of microscopic beings in my head, and yours too, making up our consciousnesses and we'd have to go with the less than 100% sure on that one too. <br /><br />But we 'know' it's not true.<br /><br />I know that D'Souza's movie is 100% propaganda without even watching it, and I look forward to hearing through the blogs how disingenuous the whole thing is, much like that Ben Stein crap against evolution.pboyfloydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01475980562742243007noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2376937841692070856.post-77251260705998439652012-08-29T02:03:15.572-04:002012-08-29T02:03:15.572-04:00Thanks, Floyd!
Hey, Brian, don't blame anyon...Thanks, Floyd! <br /><br />Hey, Brian, don't blame anyone for your actions- man it up. It is of no consequence to me what you think. I had a tumor in my pancreas and some neurological disease that debilitated me until I had a series if tests, procedures and surgery. I've been through physical therapy and swimming therapy and that has helped, though, I do get fatigued. <br /><br />I will need aggressive therapy and lab tests every so often. No biggie: just some nausea and a significant loss of my hair.... <br /><br />As for my son: we took him to the CLINIC at Hershey Medical Ctr. His right kidney needs to come out. <br /><br />So, Floyd, thank you for your kindness. Timmy thanks you and wishes you well!<br /><br />We'll get through this one way or another.....<br /><br /><br />Seriously, if you can watch 2016, you'll learn much -- from an historical perspective- as long as you can get over your feelings about Dinesh. MInoreply@blogger.com