Comments on: TIA Tuesday: Twisting in the wind

By: mike

mike — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 17:07:22 +0000

But if God exists, it is a basic theological error to attempt to place the blame for earthly tragedies on Him. In fact, it is not only a theological error, but also a fundamental error of logic to conclude that God, even an all-powerful God, must be to blame for every evil, accident, or tragedy that befalls us.

But if God exists, it is a basic theological error to attempt to place the credit for earthly blessings on Him. In fact, it is not only a theological error, but also a fundamental error of logic to conclude that God, even an all-powerful God, must be responsible for every good thing that befalls us.

I wonder how we’re supposed to decide when God gets the blame/credit…

By: John Morales

John Morales — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 13:06:06 +0000

Deacon, you’ve done remarkably well. Be assured I’ve been following your TIA posts from the beginning.

I stand in awe of your acumen and perseverance (and I’m sure it’s shocked VD that you’ve critically slogged your way through that dreck); one tiny careless moment counts as nothing compared to your achievement.

PS Thanks for taking the criticism in the spirit in which it was intended. And for your little joke in the acknowledgement thereof

By: Deacon Duncan

Deacon Duncan — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 11:22:37 +0000

John –

Whoops, you’re right, I took that part too fast. Despite owning a copy of TIA and reading it up through this portion of Chapter 15, it seems I did not possess the knowledge contained therein after all. XD

By: pboyfloyd

pboyfloyd — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 20:15:53 +0000

If you refuse to go along with Vox’s compartmentalized thinking here, well, you’re just not ‘his’ audience.

Vox KNOWS that we don’t automatically understand the contents of a book by owning it and possessing it. You just have to be willing to step into that ‘compartment’ (no doubt spiritual!) for the sake of agreeing with him.

It’s ‘all’ just opinion really, isn’t it?(but that’s another compartment)

By: valdemar

valdemar — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 13:52:38 +0000

Another excellent post, and another reason to award yourself some kind of medal – perhaps a nice chocolate coin or something? – for wading through what seems a very flimy work. If god has friends like Voxy boy, well… I suppose we can still applaud his choice of enemies.

Roll on 2009 and those lovely Darwin debates.

By: John Morales

John Morales — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 11:17:42 +0000

One quibble (see my bold):

I paid cash for it at the bookstore prior to reading it through in its entirety, so I now possess the book in a very real and legally binding sense, and I feel sure that the reader will readily acknowledge that I therefore possess all of the knowledge contained within it in every relevant meaning of the term.

Yep, no need to go to college. Just buy the textbooks, and you’ve got all the knowledge other people spend years of study and hard work to acquire.

However, to claim that merely reading a book imparts to the reader “all of the knowledge contained within it in every relevant meaning of the term” is not a convincing claim, especially when VD admits to a less than perfect memory.

As an aside, I now have this amusing mental image of VD typing one-handed whilst hoding a book in his other hand Not that I believe it, of course.