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From: "Uncle Davey" <noway@jose.com>
Newsgroups: alt.fan.uncle-davey
Subject: Re: Another Augustine quotation
Date: Tue, 7 Dec 2004 19:14:39 +0000 (UTC)
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> Uncle Davey wrote:
>
> > news:31kckeF3c9f8bU1@individual.net...
> >
> >>
> >>"Uncle Davey" <noway@jose.com> wrote in message
> >>news:cp06k6$s5v$0@pita.alt.net...
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>>
> >>>>Uncle Davey wrote:
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>>news:cov1r0024b8@drn.newsguy.com...
> >>>>>
> >>>>>
> >>>>>> In Augustine's book "De Libero Arbitrario" (which is mostly about
> >>>>>>the problem of evil and free will) he spends chapter 21 of book 3
> >>>>>>talking about the origin of a human's soul. He mentions four
> >>>>>>different theories, and says that he has no strong evidence for
> >>>>>>any of them. He then goes on to say that it is not a matter of
> >>>>>>importance for the Christian:
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>>"So what does it matter to me if I do not know when I began to
> >
> > exist,
> >
> >>>>>>since I know that I exist now, and I do not despair of existing in
> >
> > the
> >
> >>>>>>future? There is no great harm done if I have false beliefs about
> >
> > the
> >
> >>>>>past,
> >>>>>
> >>>>>
> >>>>>>since the past is of no concern to me; I direct my course toward
> >
> > what
> >
> >>I
> >>
> >>>am
> >>>
> >>>>>>going to be, guided by the mercy of my Creator."
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>
> >>>>>>from page 113 of
> >>>>>
> >>>>>>Augustine: On Free Choice of the Will
> >>>>>>translated by Thomas Williams
> >>>>>>Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing, 1993
> >>>>>>
> >>>>>
> >>>>>
> >>>>>I am sure there is a certain wisdom in these words and that's why I
> >>
> >>have
> >>
> >>>>>never said here that you have to believe in a literal six days to be
> >>>
> >>>saved.
> >>>
> >>>>>I happen to believe them, and in the Flood and Babel and a lot of
> >>
> >>other
> >>
> >>>>>stuff but I am not dogmatic about them.
> >>>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>Only dogma can make you believe in those things, against the
> >
> > background
> >
> >>>>of the overwhelming evidence that they did not happen.
> >>>>
> >>>>Tom
> >>>
> >>>Not really. To me there is a structure of thought and internal
> >>
> >>corroboration
> >>
> >>>that makes the whole of my system which is coherent to me, and answers
> >>>questions that other systems cannot to my satisfaction.
> >>>
> >>>Uncle Davey
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>
> >>So you are saying that you do not care wether something is real or
> >
> > not....as
> >
> >>long as you get a warm fuzzy feeling ?
> >>
> >
> >
> > No, the evolutionist system is the one that gives the warm, fuzzy
feelings.
>
> I don't get you. On the one hand you have evidence-based explanations
> that say nothing about going to heaven but tell us that the bible is not
> literal truth. On the other hand you have faith where you do go to
> heaven if you adopt a fairly minimal set of requirements. Very
> comforting surely? These two sets of beliefs aren't even necessarily
> mutually exclusive as long as you don't cling to irrational biblical
> literalism. But you are saying that the evidence-based beliefs that
> don't get you to heaven are the "warm fuzzy ones". Bizarre.
>
> >
> > What I believe makes you left outside alone.
>
> I find the word "you" in that sentence hard to parse. Are you concerned
> for us rationalists/non-literalists or for your own soul?
>
> > It's not okay, I don't feel safe, I need to ... pray.
>
> From this sentence I take it that its the latter. Remember to pray for
> guidance, not for the strength to continue to believe in nonsense.
>
> Tom
>
All my life I've been waiting for you to bring a fairy tale my way, but the
evolution story is just too unbelievable.
Uncle Davey
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