Epistemology by Ready2Rapture .....
How do you know what you know?
Date: 7/18/2005 10:57:27 AM ( 19 y ago)
e`pis`te`mol´o`gy
n. 1. The theory or science of the method or grounds of knowledge.
I'd like to elaborate on the description of this blog, where I say everyone has a belief system based on a foundational assumption.
Have you ever stopped to ask yourself why you believe as you do? Most people don't realize the extent to which everything they hold to be true is based on things they assume-- really, on nothing at all. We just accept things without question, so most people believe what they were told as children. If they do come across a new foundational belief system, they either reject it without a reason or accept it, frequently without a reason other than the "missionary"'s persuasive speech (and I'm not just talking about Christian missionaries here).
So should you base your life, here and later, on what someone told you? Is there a way to find Truth beyond feelings or philosophies or peer pressure?
No, yes. :-)
Your soul is of great value, so don't leave your destiny to chance. But you must choose a method of finding facts that does not depend solely on emotion or experience or sensation or popularity. Many religions claim that your brain is the obstacle to enlightenment, but they used their brains to decide that! There is no escape; you are at the mercy of your brain. Use it for what it's best at: evaluating evidence and drawing conclusions.
We find ourselves in a physical universe, one which screams Design with every molecule and atom. From this we must conclude the existence of a Designer, who transcends the space-time continuum, who is not bound by the laws of physics (which couldn't be laws if the universe were chaotic). Through observation of all we see, and by thinking about what it would take for it all to come into being, there must be a First Cause who is more than a force, more than a principle, more than a cosmic bean counter who tracks karma for people who can't be sure (beyond emotions) what they ever did in an alleged past life.
Those who claim they reject God because they cannot sense him are really saying they can't see or hear or feel anything at all, because our senses are what tell us about our orderly universe. To sense the physical is to know that a Designer exists; anyone who can call it all a cosmic accident is in denial of even the most basic science.
So both the atheist and the spiritualist are without excuse. Any way you look at it, there must be a God who is personal and powerful. Check back on previous blog entries for the details. If your belief system is based on nothing, then you need to decide whether that nothing is worth gambling with your eternal destiny.
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