Quote:
Originally Posted by OBW
I have offered many things. And that was among them. It was not intended to be a centerpiece or to suggest anything about what I think is actually true. I sure don't think that I can prove it, and wouldn't care to try. Neither can I prove that there is a primary place of residence that is man's heart.
Now in the above quote you say "but we choose not to believe them anyway." You mean to say "choose to believe them" — right? Otherwise, I am confused.
(Not trying to get into the now dead discussion. Just making sure that I am following your intent here.)
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Not it wasn't a typo (though I know I'm the typo king). What I meant was that most things that have potential for being believed are false. Just like most numbers are irrational numbers.
What I meant was as we gaze out on all the potential things we can believe in, we naturally don't believe in most of them, not because we can prove (deduce) that they are false, but because we induce that they are probably false. I think we make most of our decisions based upon what is probable, rather than upon what is provable. This is why I was encouraging you (if that's the right word) to not place so much stock on what can be proved, because most things can't be proved, and what can be proved is still based on first principles (axioms) that cannot be proved, that we take on faith (as self-evident). So the foundation of all knowledge starts with faith.
Proof is overrated. Faith in what is likely is much more valuable. We are to live by faith, not by proof. In a way proof is boring, because it's just a formula. There's no more wonder once it's done. And no more need for faith.
I'm not saying proof is useless, just that it's too hard to come by in the real world. Atheists want proof of everything, and they think they have everything over a barrel because of lack of proof. But the question is not what one can prove, but what first principles one took on faith on which one's proofs were based. Because everyone takes some first principles on faith. They cannot be avoided. So, I think, everyone will have to answer to God for what they had faith in, because everyone has faith in something.