And a little more, by the numbers..gemli
11 days ago
I'm here because I ran across Dr. Peterson's blog when he was mocking Christopher Hitchens, which is something up with which I will not put. I responded with a comment, and the rest is history.
While reading some theistic screed might convince you, I'm afraid I have a higher standard of evidence. Until they are shown to exist, there are no gods or angels or anything else of that nature that is worth believing in. They're just stories that use other stories to create new stories. If there really were gods and angels, everyone would believe in them. If the Pope doesn't believe that an angel was in the United State not that long ago, then why would I believe it?
I'm claiming that the origin of you theology was made up by a con man. If you can prove that it wasn't, then everyone would believe it. But there are scores of theologies that all contradict in ways that are sufficient to create new religions. If theists can't stay on the same page, why would anyone have confidence in what any of them have to say?
If only Peterson hadn't mocked Hitchens...gemli
10 days ago
1. I'd rather be blind than see things that aren't there.
2. Historiography refers to things that happened in history. Lots of religions have historiographical origins, and virtually all of them make claims that are not made, or are contradicted by, the others. Does that mean that conflicting stories in history are both true?
3. There were no golden plates because there was no angel sent by a nonexistent god to direct Joseph Smith to them. They were not translated by magic stones in a hat, which is so ludicrous that one hardly knows what to say. That some townsfolk in the early 1800's might have been scammed is very believable. Golden plates, not so much.
4. The story of an alternative American history in the Book of Mormon is not confirmed by historians.
5. There are no gods and angels. The Romans believed in many gods, and they weren't stupid. They were doing what humans do, which is to project their own fears and desires into the void and imagine that those fears and desires are personified in the form of ethereal spirits. Illness becomes a consequence of some god's wrath. Wealth and good fortune are personified by a benevolent god that favors the believer. It's all a pleasant crock.
6. If Joseph Smith could invent an entire religion out of thin air, I assume he could talk his way out of tight spots with the law.
7. Everyone doesn't have to believe some theological tale. There are scores of such tales from ancient times to the present, and they're all invented by people. There are no gods, angels or any supernatural whatsits. If they appear, they appear in stories, not reality.
And as a warning to Peterson, himself:
gemli >> DanielPeterson
11 days ago
One should keep and open mind, but not so open that one's brain falls out.
--anon.
