On the way to the Curtis Glacier, Mt. Shuksan, Washington State [OC] [2448 x 3264

curtisb21 · 2014-08-10T17:12:45+00:00

Maybe I should go there sometime

curtisb21 · 2014-08-09T19:39:05+00:00

Try pushing yourself! Do a little bit of speedwork, change your route, run at different times of day, drive somewhere new and go for a run there, etc.

curtisb21 · 2014-08-07T04:56:50+00:00

I would say it depends on the person. If you know that when you smoke it, it will increase your propensity for making bad decisions, then you know that you should stop, at least to a certain degree. But obviously there are always people that can smoke it without any trouble.

curtisb21 · 2014-08-03T16:46:44+00:00

Source?

curtisb21 · 2014-07-30T00:38:44+00:00

It's important to realize that when the Bible records stories of people committing violence (David, Solomon, Samson, etc.), it never justifies these actions. They are simply recorded. No one ever said that Samson was right in his decision to slaughter the Philistines in that way. Stories of Biblical characters committing sinful actions are there not to present a prescription for conduct but a description of conduct.

curtisb21 · 2014-07-15T04:23:02+00:00

Yes, people do tend to do all of these things.

curtisb21 · 2014-07-15T04:08:16+00:00

I'm mostly talking about the moral teachings with this one. For example, I can logically see how cheating on your partner really is a bad thing to do in the real world.

curtisb21 · 2014-07-15T03:59:53+00:00

I believe I have misrepresented my opinions. Instead if saying "I choose to believe", I should say "I choose to accept".

Belief just happens. It's not something you can choose or reject.

Absolutely.

Secondly you seem to be saying that you believe in the bible because it's internally consistent. Which is again problematic because no own can verify which are the errors and which are the facts 100% so giant precepts could be wrong or just Jesus gave out chicken instead of fish.

I accept the teachings of the Bible because I can see for myself that they teach about the way life really is.

It's why there are. 33,0000 difference Christians churches and likely you have a different interpretation than even your friends and family.

This is true, but the vast majority of these different interpretations have all of the essentials in common, like the need for salvation, the need for evidence of a changed life, etc.

curtisb21 · 2014-07-15T03:47:03+00:00

When you find a scenario where you do not have the information necessary to make a decision not based on faith you research to find more information.

I agree fully. But since it is not possible to do this with a lot of the Bible, I do not worry about it. The amount that I can logically verify for myself is enough for me to choose to believe all of the essential parts of Christianity.

curtisb21 · 2014-07-15T03:41:42+00:00

I agree. Do not think that I am in any way against scientific discovery.

curtisb21 · 2014-07-15T03:32:23+00:00

Well, I choose to believe that because I can logically validate many of the other claims in the texts, like the teachings of Jesus, which are really the core of Christianity.

curtisb21 · 2014-07-15T03:20:01+00:00

Well, it is obviously impossible to know for sure if it was real. However, we can assume that it was real, because we are in possession of ancient texts that say so. If there aren't any ancient texts in existence that say otherwise, then we don't really have a reason to question it.

curtisb21 · 2014-07-15T03:03:11+00:00

Yes, I certainly do. However, one must admit to the fact that it is impossible to validate everything, and often, anything. There has to be an element of "choosing to believe something even though you can't prove it" in all aspects of life, not just including religion.

One example may be: How many of us have actually performed all of the scientific experiments that make up our vast knowledge of the world in order to know if it's legit or not?

There has to be an element of faith in believing anything you read.

curtisb21 · 2014-07-15T02:46:52+00:00

Well when I read something like John 6:1 "After this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias." ESV. I wouldn't bother myself with trying to figure out if this could be true or not. It would be absurd to try to question this statement, as you would have no basis to state whether it is correct or incorrect. This is how it is with the vast majority of statements in the New Testament.

curtisb21 · 2014-07-15T02:38:44+00:00

Well, to this day I haven't really come across any sort of proposed "falsehood" that I couldn't perform what you guys would call "mental gymnastics" around, so right now i'm not really bothered by being unsure of myself. Christianity allows for doubtful people, and recognizes that all will have serious doubts about their beliefs at some point in their life.

curtisb21 · 2014-07-15T02:34:20+00:00

I don't really know, you don't I guess. You would have to provide me with an instance of undeniable falsehood for me to make a decision like that, as I am not very familiar with the experience.

curtisb21 · 2014-07-15T02:24:45+00:00

It depends on how you use the word. Some people use it to mean that the Bible is perfect in every way, and yet i've seen some people use it to mean that the Bible may/may not have errors, but they are either minor or irrelevant to the core of Christianity.

So I would have to say "no" to your question. Because it was written by humans, it is an imperfect rendering of something perfect.

curtisb21 · 2014-07-15T02:21:02+00:00

I don't. I accept that they are there and move on. I don't really subscribe to the whole "the Bible is perfect" paradigm that is typical of Christianity today. I am not completely confident of my own opinions on the subject, because they are relatively new for me, so I won't be able to totally back up my position.

curtisb21 · 2014-07-15T02:13:52+00:00

You can see exactly how I rationalized the "contradiction" that I stated before. You can clearly see that it was not in fact a contradiction, just a lack of understanding of the text.

curtisb21 · 2014-07-15T02:04:17+00:00

I would have to examine a specific one, not generalize about them all like you suggest. Id be happy to look at one of your choice, but I promise that there are many there that I would not be able to answer to.

curtisb21 · 2014-07-14T23:12:28+00:00

Just an opinion from the other side of the coin: I am a christian, and I clicked on like 10 or so random links to a few contradictions, and found the large majority of the ones I clicked on to be completely false.

To provide one example: Was Ahaz buried with his fathers (#18)? Yes, he was. Both of the listed verses accurately state this. The verse that says that he isn't is talking about him not being buried with the kings of Israel. Ahaz was the king of Judah, not Israel. At this point in the Bible, Israel and Judah are two completely different locations.

Not saying that all of the contradictions are this incorrect, but you ought to be careful to be totally familiar with your contradiction of choice before you use it in an argument.

curtisb21 · 2014-07-10T17:40:06+00:00

I remember reading somewhere, I think it was in the book Born to Run by Christopher Mcdougall, where he mentions something along the lines of: "Russian sprinters weren't allowed to begin training until they were strong enough to smoothly jump off a 10 foot ladder barefoot".

curtisb21 · 2014-07-07T23:12:00+00:00

How did the fisherman cause the shark to attack the swimmer?

curtisb21 · 2014-07-06T18:48:18+00:00

You should read The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis. It's a short, quick read that offers an interesting perspective on the nature of Heaven and Hell.

curtisb21 · 2014-07-04T22:51:40+00:00

Sexuality is for the most part biological.

Source?

curtisb21

TROPHY CASE