Who Wrote The Gospels?

[headinhands]

"Matthew contains 606 of Markâ??s 661 verses. Luke contains 320 of Markâ??s 661 verses. Of the 55 verses of Mark which Matthew does not reproduce, Luke reproduces 31; therefore there are only 24 verses in all of Mark not reproduced somewhere in Matthew or Luke."

A good diagram here

Cannot see or have not defined

How about non-existent. You show me one piece of actual evidence for either side. You don't have any do you.

Neither do you head, for what does not exist.

My evidence is anecdotal, not empirical. You would still need Faith to believe the causal elements in situations. My beliefs affect the way I live my life. I am content with what I believe.

As I have said before I believe context changes much in life, hence referring frequently to relativism, diversity, brain plasticity, biological and environmental effects on perception etc.

So I need Faith, empiricism doesn't hold enough sway, for me to trust it completely. There are too many exceptions.

oh no. BigDorrit is too.

rabbitrisen - are you having a little game with us? You don't really believe that most of the non-religious on this thread are witches, do you?

rabbitrisen You said that we know very well that the spiritual realm exists..

I know no such thing. It's only ever been advanced as fiction or from some very dodgy sources with an agenda.

Back

How far does your lack of knowledge of the spiritual realm go?

Do you recognise the phenomenon of Zeitgeist?
Are you ever aghast?
Do you recognise the term lifting the spirit?
Do you ever say that's the spirit?
Do you refer to the spirit of the law?
Do you understand how the English language and books can be described as 'living'?
Do you understand how Propaganda works and subliminal messages work?
Do you understand that sometimes we have to base our decisions on Faith, as we do not know everything and that our cultural heritage / common culture can affect this process?

I believe all these items could be defined in terms of spiritual phenomenon. However in the modern sense people mainly associate spirits / ghosts with the dead.

empiricism doesn't hold enough away for me

When it comes to stuff that actually matters and can have proper physical consequences empiricism holds just as much sway for you as it does me caps, of that I'm certain.

Know all about me now do you caps?

I mean head! Typo.

Empirical research only tell you about trends within the group studied. I and people close to me have been exceptional too many times, to consider exceptions do not matter.

Empirical reseach allows you to communicate via the internet though- it's not something you have to believe in. It affects everyone.

for what does not exist

Absolute nonsense. Do I have to assume that anything I can't prove doesn't exist, does exist? And that's the approach you take for every claim you have, or ever will hear? Nope. The burden is on you because you are making a claim, not me. You don't sacrifice to Zeus everyday do you? You're happy to live as though he doesn't exist even though you don't have evidence for it.

caps you're clearly alive. Life tends to weed out people who don't look when crossing roads, or don't wear seat belts, or don't call an ambulance if they're bleeding heavily or who think they can fly... When it really matters, empiricism matters. You pay your bills, eat, don't stick wet hands in plug sockets, fill you car with petrol, brush your teeth, don't poke wasps nests, the list goes on of stuff you do because we know empirically that bad stuff happens if we don't. You don't go 'oh facts are sooo boring and passé, no, I'm going to not bother changing my bald tyres'.

Neither does the Bible advocate any of those things, not changing tyres etc. The Bible does talk about us being given sound minds and using them. There is balance.

You don't seem to have a sense of scale head, like a clicky / stiff switch which is only on or off, when it should be able to operate with a sliding function, you seem to be thinking in terms of extremes.

I do not worship at the feet of empiricism, it is not what I live my life by, it is not the thing I hold in highest regard. That place I reserve for God.

However I do see some value in empirical research, I bear it in mind - remember I do not fear Cognitive Dissonance because I believe in balance, considering possibilities, and how much in life is contextual.

...and I have poked a wasp's nest (didn't heed a warning, I was a stubborn child) in my time and survived. Not particularly pleasant, stung a great number of times, but I did not require hospital treatment.

Where are my views extreme or extremist? Is your rejection of the reality of fairies extreme? I don't see that rejecting something that has no evidence as extreme or on/off. However there are huge areas of thinking that are very grey for me like the issue of euthanasia, but you see euthanasia actually exists but a spiritual realm? No, because there is no evidence for it. Should I keep an open mind about mermaids or the abominable snowman? Werewolves? The monster in my sons wardrobe?

But caps most religious texts would promote a certain amount of sound common sense of the religion would probably die out pretty quickly. A text containing human wisdom says nothing for its supernature, it just means it was written by humans.

head only because you assume I reject so much because I believe in God. I have explained before how the only area my view is remotely dichotomous is regarding believing in Jesus. Everything else I see in terms of context. There is a right action for the right context but only God has knowledge of all the contexts and which are the right actions for each one because He knows everything, sees all. I relate to God through Christ.

I even believe that faeries were real for the people who believed in them. They were not good either, they were 'amoral'. This is because I believe belief can change perception / physiology and as such manifest physically. Fairies would fit into the bracket that I term spirit.

...and rejecting something that you do not have evidence for as just not existing..well how far do you go with this? As far as the Piraha have?

"I even believe that faeries were real for the people who believed in them."

This is an interesting concept, since there are any number of things which can seem very real in one person's experience, but not another's.

For example hallucinations, perception of danger, auras, ghost sightings - I would say they are perceived as being real, but are ultimately the internal product of the human brain, an incredible organ of which no two are the same.

Of course external experience shapes the brain, but that's not the same as things which exist independently outside the human brain.

Shipping beliefs, patterns of thinking do affect the brain physiologically, though. In terms of a thought experiment try thinking of the belief, especially cultural belief, as an external agent causing physical manifestation.

www.psmag.com/magazines/magazine-feature-story-magazines/joe-henrich-weird-ultimatum-game-shaking-up-psychology-economics-53135/

www.newscientist.com/article/dn24677-fear-of-a-smell-can-be-passed-down-several-generations.html

Shipping I say this because beliefs exist beyond an individual. Cultural / group beliefs can take on a life of their own, especially as the effects can be inherited.

"Cultural / group beliefs can take on a life of their own, especially as the effects can be inherited."

Absolutely, but ultimately they still only exist within the brains of those who hold the belief. They don't exist externally - although of course their effects might manifest physically.