I'm going to merge the "Violence, Death, Destruction" thread into this one (not officially, since I'm not a moderator, but you know what I mean), since they are both about the same thing now...
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Fliguy2772
Fats Schindee:
It's not my job to persuade or convince you. Only to spread the truth and share the message. It's up to you and everyone else to decide for themselves.
Truth is truth. Plain and simple. It is not truth "for me", it is the truth... period. You can decide to believe it or not. It's up to you. Be aware that you will be held accountable someday for it, is all. I pray you make the right one.
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Okay... so tell me how you know all this is the "truth". I disagree that "Truth is truth. Plain and simple." It's not really that simple (if it was, I doubt we'd be having this discussion right now).
I mean, maybe our definitions of truth are different, maybe not. You sound like you adhere to the correspondence theory of truth in this matter (i.e. if something is true, it accurately represents objective reality). I think that, in this case, what you believe is more of a constructivist theory (i.e. truth is constructed by social processes, is historically and culturally specific, and that it is in part shaped through the power struggles within a community) and/or a consensus theory (i.e. truth is whatever is agreed upon, or in some versions, might come to be agreed upon, by some specified group) of truth.
I, myself, am more of a relativist when in comes to any kind of absolute truth (I say "absolute" because I don't believe that "truth is truth". There are many different definitions and views about this one little word...). I think that for you, God and everything you believe about him/her/it are true. But I don't believe the same thing. My ultimate truth in this matter differs from yours. It's all relative to the person doing the believing.
Im glad that you say that you are not trying to persuade or convince me. I appreciate that. I'm not trying to make you stop believing what you believe either. But by you saying you are trying to "spread the truth and share the message", where does that leave me and my beliefs? You must assume they are untrue, if they do not agree with what you see as true, no? If you feel like praying for me will make you feel better about the world, than by all means, do so. But I don't believe that I "will be held accountable some day" for not believing the same thing that you believe. To me, it is not the "truth".
Which brings me back to my original question: How do you know that all this is the truth? Because a book written a couple millenia ago tells you that it is? Because some guy with a microphone tells you every Sunday that it is? Because your parents told you that it is? Because God told you that it is? Or because it just "is"? Just wondering...