tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15860677.post2435476424090440135..comments2024-03-25T14:27:40.121-05:00Comments on Heart, Mind, Soul, and Strength: Overwhelming odds? Odds are 1 in 1,099,511,627,776Weekend Fisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10425001168670801073noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15860677.post-40611764317247611832011-05-10T17:11:52.636-05:002011-05-10T17:11:52.636-05:00On the people whose minds are made up, the work is...On the people whose minds are made up, the work is done in showing the cognitive dissonance needed to maintain that closed mind. Stats like that can stay at the back of the mind and do their work and maybe, eventually, make people ask: "If our nation (descended through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob) is supposed to have the scholars of the religious world, the reasoners of the religious world, the founders and establishers of justice in the religious world -- why is it that I don't actually know anything about Christianity other than hearsay and prejudice? Why is it I've never read Jesus' teachings for myself?"<br /><br />Take care & God bless<br />Anne / WFWeekend Fisherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10425001168670801073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15860677.post-28204136238299906122011-05-10T11:29:34.524-05:002011-05-10T11:29:34.524-05:00Now that's an interesting argument, or at leas...Now that's an interesting argument, or at least an interesting anecdote. I doubt that it would be persuasive to someone whose mind was made up, though. (As my mind is on some things.)Martin LaBarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14629053725732957599noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15860677.post-82356220209088733692011-05-08T22:07:05.920-05:002011-05-08T22:07:05.920-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.Aron Wallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10552077344304954390noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15860677.post-47282231148205320682011-05-08T22:04:31.121-05:002011-05-08T22:04:31.121-05:00Dear Anne,
Yes, it makes more sense in this conte...Dear Anne,<br /><br />Yes, it makes more sense in this context. I agree that the argument is reasonable for someone who already accepts the Talmud. Best wishes.Aron Wallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10552077344304954390noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15860677.post-85854082134650370092011-05-08T21:55:19.576-05:002011-05-08T21:55:19.576-05:00Definitely. I wonder if that played a part in his ...Definitely. I wonder if that played a part in his realizing that Jesus is from God? I'd hope so. <br /><br />Take care & God bless<br />Anne / WFWeekend Fisherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10425001168670801073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15860677.post-78178909114150166372011-05-08T21:49:10.278-05:002011-05-08T21:49:10.278-05:00A Jeweish rabbi/scholar turned Lutheran once told ...A Jeweish rabbi/scholar turned Lutheran once told me that also during those 40 years before the destruction of the Temple, the Shekinah (Glory) of the Lord had departed from the Temple, and that this is also in the Jewish tradition itself.<br /><br />-Anastasia (using Mark's computer)Markhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11582050653161429096noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15860677.post-63015534589969221692011-05-08T18:46:18.561-05:002011-05-08T18:46:18.561-05:00That would explain your response. Honestly it neve...That would explain your response. Honestly it never crossed my mind someone might take it from the standpoint of historical apologetics, but I can see (since I've done some work of that type) why you might assume it was meant as that. <br /><br />Thanks for pointing out that it could be taken that way, so I can make it plain how it was actually meant. <br /><br />I've added an introductory paragraph to show the perspective from which it's meant. <br /><br />Take care & God bless<br />Anne / WFWeekend Fisherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10425001168670801073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15860677.post-89371988635120358942011-05-07T12:41:40.273-05:002011-05-07T12:41:40.273-05:00Not cynicism. Accuracy. (I have plenty of other ...Not cynicism. Accuracy. (I have plenty of other good reasons to believe that Jesus loves me without this particular statistic.)<br /><br />I don't mistrust the story because it is "event of relgious significance". I mistrust it because it was written down 150 years after the fact from an oral tradition which had few scruples about passing on fictional stories (midrashim) as though fact. A very different situation from the gospels.<br /><br />While very interesting, I'm not willing to give the story any more than a 4 out 5 chance of being right, in a generous mood.<br /><br />In order to convince skeptics with the strong arguments, it is necessary not to be overcredulous regarding weak arguments. I only leave this comment because I have the highest respect for your careful reasoning in the area of historical apologetics, and I wish to see it retain its probabilistic integrity. Prov 17:10Aron Wallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10552077344304954390noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15860677.post-25214966260133733342011-05-07T08:31:30.041-05:002011-05-07T08:31:30.041-05:00LOL You are a cynic, aren't you?
The odds of...LOL You are a cynic, aren't you? <br /><br />The odds of being struck by lightning may be greater than 1 in a trillion. So while technically you're probably right that the odds of it being invented out of whole cloth are greater than that, there's no particular reason to think it was made up out of whole cloth. <br /><br />I know there are people who figure various things of religious significance simply must be made up. I'm not one to believe the worst of our predecessors without solid reason. <br /><br />Take care & God bless<br />Anne / WFWeekend Fisherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10425001168670801073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15860677.post-62133831393463062202011-05-06T23:27:51.138-05:002011-05-06T23:27:51.138-05:00Yes. Of course, the odds that this particular sto...Yes. Of course, the odds that this particular story in the Talmud was just made up out of whole cloth are a lot larger than 1 in a trillion.<br /><br />Harder to deny is the fact that the Temple was destroyed in 70 AD and then never rebuilt. This also requires a major change in the nature of the covenant, either 1) for the worse (as a punishment for sin) and/or 2) for the better (if the Temple was being replaced with some deeper form of intimacy between God and human beings). <br /><br />I believe that Rabbinic Judaism and Christianity each accept BOTH of (1) and (2) as part of their interpetations of the destruction.Aron Wallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10552077344304954390noreply@blogger.com