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| Yeah, baby! Let's help the people who are helping the people in Japan. |
The situation in Japan remains grim. Millions of people desperately need food, water, shelter, and other aid. Please give what you can to the organizations you trust will bring relief.
But if you want something in the line of funny, here's Mike Myers:
Do you want to debate Kuzari once again? I am interested in engaging in a debate about the matter (but I would like to focus solely in the historicity of the Sinai miracles, including biblical criticism, and including the archaeological arguments -- both for and against the Exodus -- but I don't want to focus on evolution, age of the universe, etc.
ReplyDeleteabele,
ReplyDeleteFrankly, I don't have the time to debate. My exams are coming up and I'm focusing on that.
Besides, what's to debate? Do you know of some evidence that indicates a specific Sinai "miracle" actually happened as reported in specific passages of Exodus?
If so, please share and explain the basis from which you connect the evidence to the reported event.
The evidence is a hearsay form of evidence, national hearsay. We have report of a large number of people who claim to have about these miracles from their father etc. etc. all the way back to the Sinai events. Hearsay is evidence.
ReplyDelete"We have report..."
ReplyDeleteWe do, huh? Please identify this report and explain how you have verified its authenticity.
If you wish to hang your hat on "hearsay," that's fine by me. I tend to want more than hearsay, even (maybe even especially) if the hearsay is claimed to be "national."
Can I ask why you even want to have a debate with me? Does it offend you that I think Kuzari is a lot of bollocks?
I am not offended by the fact that you don't believe in Kuzari. But I want to debate for three reasons: 1) I'm bored; 2) You have gone on a public offensive against Kuzari -- and others might be influenced by your irrational skepticism; 3) I think I can win browny points from God if I can convince you.
ReplyDeleteHow have I verified this report? I haven't. Like most reports about specific phenomina, all we have is someone's word. If I tell you that I ate cookies for breakfast, that would be evidence -- unverified evidence -- that I did indeed eat cookies.
I heard about the report of national miracles from my father, who claims to be part of a chain going back to Sinai. Just like the report of the existence of the Temple in Jerusalem. I heard about it from my father, who is a member of the Jewish people, and many people heard about it from their ancestors going all the way back to the Temple. That's the evidence for the existence of the Temple; and its the same evidence that we got for the miracles of Sinai.
So what are the elements of this event:
1. Number of people: millions.
2. Over 35 everslasting commemorations (for the exodus alone) and 613 in total which are quite burdensome. The most striking is the Sabbath -- since all the Jewish people agree which day is the Sabbath. It is unlikely that this uniform belief evoloved over time.
3. The duration of the events -- 14,600 days -- and the numerous types of miracles. This prevents the skeptic from claiming that it was the product of a hallucination or that the miracles were actually natural events.
4. The Jews are a) highly-intelligent, b) highly-skeptical (monotheism is, after all, a form of skepticism, at least relative to paganism), c) highly-literate, d) historically-astute, e)genealogically-astute, f) highly-moral. WE WOULD LEAST EXPECT THE JEWS TO BE DUPED INTO ACCEPTING A FALSE HISTORY. Yet, that's exactly what you skeptics claim.
This:
ReplyDeleteBut I want to debate for three reasons: 1) I'm bored; 2) You have gone on a public offensive against Kuzari -- and others might be influenced by your irrational skepticism; 3) I think I can win browny points from God if I can convince you.
is perhaps the most ridiculous thing I have ever read, assuming you are serious.
Go ahead and believe your fucking father. I could care less and won't waste my time.