Just in case anybody missed out, in the wake of the mega-seller "Your Best Life Now" book there is a board game to now compliment the book. This coming from a man whose message I watched on TBN this past sunday (I like to get fired up about bad teaching TBN keeps me on the edge...) Mr.Osteens entire message before his 30,000 plus congregation was about dieting. The entire Sunday message not one reference to God or Jesus throughout the whole thing...not a single Bible verse was quoted. Well, at the end Mr.Osteen did invite people to recite a prayer to accept Jesus into their hearts...but who is Jesus and why do I need to accept Him into my heart? If I knew nothing about Christianity and tuned into Mr.Osteen's message on sunday I would still know nothing, nothing salvific at least. The only thing I would know is that Christians (whatever that is) should diet. (sigh)
A board Game based on a psychologized self esteem book, do I really need to rant about this...
6 comments:
Austerity would be more of a rallying, recruitment drive for theists. Gameshows tend to elicit contempt even among the unwashed.
Michael:
Right on, you know you can make your own blog and put stuff like that on there...not that I am not interested in reading it, but that just didn't have anything to do with Joel Osteen's board game.
Mr. Dawkins:
Right? I mean its stuff like this board game that really makes American Christianity seem ridiculous to the unbelievers.
Michael,
Oh it's fine, and I indeed do welcome your comments. I just thought it didn't really fit the context and it was pretty long. I was just suggesting that you could put together your own blog because you have a lot to say...I was in no way upset and don't think you "overstepped your bounds" I do welcome your comments Michael.
Your reason for being does not require an overarching, supernatural deity, if metaphysics shapes your justification of life, and existence. Having a theological handbook is no better, or more substantiable, than accepting a political polemic like
Das Kapital, as a supreme basis for formulation of opinion regarding current, or historical events.
The most essential starting-point for attaining understanding is a realisation of the complexities of life per se, and an acknowledgement that no ancient texts can begin to explain or interpret what has occured and is occuring routinely without fallacious perceptions, both contextually, and specifically.
Mr.Dawkins,
You stated:
"The most essential starting-point for attaining understanding is a realisation of the complexities of life per se, and an acknowledgement that no ancient texts can begin to explain or interpret what has occured and is occuring routinely without fallacious perceptions, both contextually, and specifically."
This is what I have been saying is wrong with your statements all along. You from the outset rule out the Bible in an a-priori sense. In this instance you seem to say that no ancient text (Bible) can possibly account for the complexities we now see in life. Really?
I think quite the opposite, God's revelation of Himself in the Bible is the only way in which we can account for the complexeties we see. For instance take the fact that we are even talking about this subject, we take for granted several things:
1)That our reasoning faculties work in a sensible fashion. Also there are basic laws that govern right inferences from wrong (laws of logic). For example there are no married bachelors.
2)We can have a knowledge of the world around us and ourselves.
3)Communication of ideas to other rationale beings is possible.
These are only a few examples of the many things we all take for granted when we engage in dialogue. Unfortunatly, I dont think an atheistic worldview can account for any of these complexities as reliable. Take the first, that man is rational and we can tell a true argument from a false by the laws of logic. The atheist needs to give an answer as to where the laws of logic came from and how the laws of logic are universal and binding. How can the laws of logic be universal in an atheist worldview? I don't think they can be.
But when we turn to the Bible we see God has created man in His own image and on that basis I would say that the laws of logic reflect the thinking of God. Because the laws of logic are thus based upon the existance of God they are then universal and binding upon all men who are made in God's image. I could go on into the areas of epistemology, but my point is that atheism can not give a rational account of any universal because it begins with autonomous man.
I as a Christian start with God and His word. So I say quite the opposite, the Bible and the Christian God alone are able to account for the complexeties we see. I mean just a fundamental issue of morals is unable to be presented from a purely atheistic standpoint...yet the atheist (you) want to say that the Bible is unable to account for the complexeties we see?
Oh Michael,
It's cool to comment as much as you want. I really do welcome what you have to say don't feel wierded out or anything, I was just suggesting you could make your own page because you do have a lot to say...sorry if in any way I made you feel unwelcome here.
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