The ironic challenge of all of this kind of questioning and reasoning, to the person who seeks logical and rational answers, is that what conclusions you may come to, depend more on your base collection of inexplicable beliefs, than on factuality and careful use of logic.
What I discovered in my own questioning of such things many years ago, is that any answers one can arrive at, are direct results of the starting point one chooses.
If you begin with the assumption that stories such as the Tree Of Life are factual, one set of logical conclusions is possible. If you instead decide that the stories are allegories only, then another set of conclusions arise. If you decide that the stories are millennially muddled hand-downs, who's original truths have been lost in translation, then still more conclusions can be drawn.
It is not possible to be sure that any of those possible starting points is the correct one.
It is also possible, as some theologians have said, that NONE of the stories were ever really intended to be tested for truth. The goal was always to have them be cheerful self-contradictory mysteries, to teach the ultimate act of faith, which is to believe, despite being unable to KNOW.
The basic idea is that the religious leader responds to such questions by saying "of COURSE it makes no sense to YOU, you are only a finite human. Gods may not even USE reasoning, as understood by mere humans."
Excellent comment Igor. As usual,a logical well reasoned analysis of the subject matter.Thank you for significant contribution to making the forums more interesting.
I second that. Igor is someone I respect for having the maturity and logical aptitude to give consistently logical answers without emotionalism or ego. Even when I dont agree, I really respect your style Igor.
as a Christian, I always equate life experience in relation to God as a child's existence in relation to a parent. There are so many similarities, it makes me chuckle actually, especially with the questions children ask parents and people ask about God.
Why cant I do this?
Why must I do that?
Why don't you just want me to be happy?
How come you can do this, but I cant?
If its not hurting anyone, than why cant I?
If its making me happy, than why cant I?
et cetera, et cetera
I know as a child there was plenty I didnt understand about why my parents did things, but I did find as I got older that I understood better. I happen to be of the belief, as a child of God, that I have the same type of existence. I will not understand all of God's ways because I am only a child in comparison. The similarity is, like with my parents, I trust that those ways do have reasons and come from a place of love and protection. The difference is, I may never grow to understand God's ways, because I am not growing up to be a God, the way I grew up to become a parent.
But that is just MY frame of thought.
Edited by
msharmony
on Sat 03/16/19 12:51 PM