Meghan Sullivan - Theological Epistemology: How Can We Know God? (Part 1)

[@BradHolkesvig]

Without hearing the voice of God during this temporary generation, you can only wonder if he's real. The promise is that all created men will hear his voice in the next generation. John 5: 25: "Truly, truly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. 26: For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself, 27: and has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of man. 28: Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice.

[@BradHolkesvig]

@Zeke Bean Hello Zeke. I hope you like your new place.

[@soldieroftruth77]

Relax guys, it’s only part 1. I’d like to hear more though.

[@gv1lle]

If I may add to this conversation... I think she is being obtuse because she wants to do the quistion justice as a trained theologian. Some people may want simple, straight to the point answers. I get that, and I think that she does too. However, I believe that she is trying to avoid answering directly because is a actually a complicated theological and philosophical question. And her training as a theologian has groomed her to treat is as such. And particularly to engage in the kind of conversation that encourages further thinking, rather than shutting down discourse. Jesus may have done the same thing at times when telling a parable and them leaving his listeners to ponder the story rather than giving the moral outright. Het interviewer is satisfied with the conversation because he is looking for conversation and engagement rather than answers. I am fairly certain that a person in need of pastor care and counselling, or a simple Bible study, would receive a more concrete answer if they asked her the same question.

[@uremove]

I like the idea that our word “God” is just a pointer to something beyond any concept, and hence the prohibition in Judaism of speaking the name. Do we really know the nature of anything we refer to, even in Science eg. “Gravity”? Newton’s idea was vastly different from Einstein’s, and still the thing we point to changes meaning as we discover more...

[@LJ7000]

She didn't really say anything?

[@frederickj.7702]

Here's yet another example to ponder of why some smart, educated people have called theology an academic discipline without a subject. You'll find Jimmy Hoffa before you find a useful conception of God in this. You might as well call this theological "epistemology" [sic] the Sergeant Schultz philosophy: "I know nothing. Noth-ing!"

[@chewie8]

God is money and power... end of.

[@bobwalshywalsh2307]

Do these people know how insane their ideas are ? What i hear is " IM GONNA LIVE FOREVER" I'm sorry to tell you your parents lied to you.

[@kjustkses]

Prove it.

[@kjustkses]

Rod Veles Asura You made the claim. Prove it. We know who invented Spiderman. We also know that it was made up since the author said so many times.

[@BradHolkesvig]

Revelation 21; 1: Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2: And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband; 3: and I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling of God is with men. He will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself will be with them; 4: he will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain any more, for the former things have passed away." 5: And he who sat upon the throne said, "Behold, I make all things new." Also he said, "Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true."

[@paultorbert6929]

ha ha ha ha ha hah........ loads of funny stuff........ ego's needing validation and searchers searching.... pearls tossed at swine arent an investment. no one here needs to convince anyone of anything...............

[@kjustkses]

Rod Veles Asura Don’t run away from your claim. You say that you know who made up God. Who was it? Please cite your source. You are dishonest.

[@sigmata0]

So you simply presuppose there is a god then? You also presume the claims about it's properties can occur in reality, rather than only within your imagination, and you operate as if you can know these claims are accurate? You have to presume that belief itself is a reasonable process to engage in, as well, without checking what the consequence of invoking a belief is? You top this off by simply accept every claim there has ever been made at face value first, rather than attempting to determine if reported experiences can be misinterpretations of non-supernatural experience. If a person has an experience and they claim it's supernatural, how is that specifically different to a delusional person's reports of their personal experience? If you claim there is a omnipotent entity in existence, that claim includes the ability to directly alter your personal experience of reality. In other words one of the consequences is there is no base line unaffected experience that you can rely upon to then make pattern claims about the nature of experience. All experiences are subject to this omnipotent deity's whim. You can no longer apply reason to any experience because you can't tell if it's authentic or a manufactured one for you personally (or even a select group). Reason depends on sufficient order in our experience of reality. When your perception of order is compromised you can't know if you are experiencing is accurate in any fashion at all. It gets worse as the existence of such beings include the possibility of lesser beings with the ability to alter your personal experience to such an extent that you can't tell what is real as well. This is exactly the same kind of problem as a mind which has only ever experienced a simulated reality. This problem is completely insurmountable. In such a case, any claims about truth are automatically false because the assumptive foundations for truth cannot be established or made distinct from your personal interpretations of personal experiences. All deities which have reports about them that include claims they "know everything" or they are "the truth" are false because they cannot know themselves whether they are subject to illusion or simulations and they should know enough to know this. In that sense they know they can only claim something is consistent with their experience rather than it be an absolute "truth". They too could be existing within a simulated environment for instance. Similarly if there is some framework in which they don't use interpretations of their experience to know what is happening they are so alien to living beings that their motivations and moral outlooks are completely incompatible to us. It certainly doesn't make reports about their moral system or moral evaluations valid without the method these deities are using being made available to us for examination. If we were, as some claims about deities state, a created sentient life, then our inability to examine the method by which this deity evaluates it's knowledge and makes moral assertions, is a design flaw of a profound kind and equivalent to being directly evil.

[@salmansoofi1247]

She is not coming to the point 🙄

[@reenatai75]

If I believe in a diety that created the universe but I dont believe in the abrahamic god then I'm an athiest!!!!!! Doesnt make sence to me

[@kjustkses]

reenatai75 No, that would make you a deist.

[@Mastermindyoung14]

You're an atheist about many gods

[@kjustkses]

Mastermindyoung14 I am also a bachelor to many woman except my wife...

[@myopenmind527]

She’s just dancing around avoiding the question. Why are these theists so obtuse?

[@myopenmind527]

Tony DC how does one come to know anything theologically? Is that method epistemologically sound?

[@myopenmind527]

Tony DC I came here to watch a video based on the title and and somewhat disappointed with the content. Judging by the other comments here, I’m not alone.

[@johnbrowne8744]

She never answered the question. Pitiful.😥

[@blackwolf3488]

Why don't he just pick a side? This dude just goes in circles. He never has an answer only questions.

[@flickedbic]

Maybe he is more interested in finding the truth rather than "just picking a side".

[@blackwolf3488]

@@flickedbic how many years have you followed closer to truth? because he's been going in circles for years with the same questions. It's like the lottery, every number has come out already it's coming around again. His questions are like the lottery just pick a number and it will come. I've heard every question he's asked and I'm speaking in time not right away, I've noticed his pattern.

[@flickedbic]

@@blackwolf3488 Of course he may ask the same questions, but by asking different people he is getting more viewpoints and information on the questions at hand.

[@blackwolf3488]

@@flickedbic True however that would be an endless journey. Take the (A picture is worth a thousand words) scenario, there is not one solid end all perspective. Going in circles is one hell of a rabbit hole.