afazio - Spiritual Authority

[Trapped]

Originally Posted by Drake

Trapped,

This may seem like a minor point in this discourse but it isn’t. The reason that it is a very important point is that many posters in this forum fall into the same false argument from silence. What do you consider countless? You said numerous posts. Numerous is not countless. Was it 5? 10? 100? Even if you point to a 1000 passerby’s that is not countless. The fact is you, I, nor anybody else can point to countless anything. I would not even use the descriptor “countless” to describe the total number of members in the local churches worldwide. Would you? If there are not countless members, current and former, in the local churches, then one cannot reasonably argue that there are countless current and former members coming to this forum! The countless argument fails on the math alone.

Now, if one argues that countless means any number beyond what could be counted on one’s fingers and toes then i’ll concede the point. However, countless in the context of this topic is simply an exaggeration used for underscoring one’s point. I get that but beyond that it is simply an argument from silence. I’ll yield to your “numerous” though frankly I can only recall a dozen or two at the most.

Drake

The meaning I had assigned to "countless" is more like "many but uncountable", mostly by virtue of it being an internet forum. Not countless in the sense of the sheer number who have been helped is so vast it is impossible to count, which I don't believe is the case, even though its impact is not insignificant to those who it has helped, and I believe it has helped many. If I'm not mistaken, I think in the U.S. there exists an approximate count of saints, so as you said, if the whole is countable, then the lesser part who leave cannot therefore be "countless" or "uncountable". I had interpreted "countless" as "unable to be counted", since really, we don't have a way of counting, which I think is evident from my posts where I reference people being helped who never spoke a peep here.

But yeah, I don't think we disagree on this, just maybe a slightly different interpretation of a word that once discussed is made clear.

Thanks.

[Drake]

Originally Posted by Trapped

The meaning I had assigned to "countless" is more like "many but uncountable", mostly by virtue of it being an internet forum. Not countless in the sense of the sheer number who have been helped is so vast it is impossible to count, which I don't believe is the case, even though its impact is not insignificant to those who it has helped, and I believe it has helped many. If I'm not mistaken, I think in the U.S. there exists an approximate count of saints, so as you said, if the whole is countable, then the lesser part who leave cannot therefore be "countless" or "uncountable". I had interpreted "countless" as "unable to be counted", since really, we don't have a way of counting, which I think is evident from my posts where I reference people being helped who never spoke a peep here.

But yeah, I don't think we disagree on this, just maybe a slightly different interpretation of a word that once discussed is made clear.

Thanks.

The difference in viewpoint explains the disconnect. I had the Abrahamic view -" look at the stars and see if you count them", or "your seed will be as the sand of the sea".. yours was the view of many but unable to count.

Thanks for that clarification.

Drake