Dead Wrong (A Tolerance for Ambiguity)

by TerryWalstrom 22 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

• 

  Hanged Man

  People say there are two sides to the coin.....there is also the edge/rim though.

  Each of the two sides cannot see the other side.....yet the rim of the coin sees both sides
  
• 

  Hanged Man

  The rim is the "narrow path" of the bible....the "broad road" is extremism.
  
• 

  sparrowdown

  Religion is actually very good at making the ambiguous concrete. I think religion loves ambiguity it does snow angels in all the ambiguity that abounds around anything "unprovable." Religion, whilst appearing black and white, and, some religions are more black and white than others, actually makes very clever usage of grey areas in people's minds, gaps in knowledge and the general uncomfortableness people have with ambiguity actually serves religion, scammers and confidence tricksters very well.

  I was reading only recently about the "raven paradox" and I thought to my nutty little self wow stuff should make sense backwards and forwards of course it should. I always knew that and didn't know I knew that! Applying this to religious "theory" would help clear up any of the ambiguity religion likes to hide in and clear up any falsified "theory" put forth by black and white religions.

  Generally speaking -of course 😊😉😆
• 

  _Morpheus

  Ironically saying nothing is black and white is itself a black and white statment 😏
• 

  Perry

  Much more succinctly put than my previous post Morpheus!

  Lots of ideas have inherent falsehoods integrated into their thesis and do not need an empirical apparatus with which to test it.
  
  The statement "nothing is black and white" is either true or false. It cannot be said that some things are black and others are not, and still preserve the thesis.
  

  Terry says:
  
  

  I cite the above example not to rebut your reasoning, only to represent the nature of "grayness" in outcome possible in black and white reasonableness.
  
  So it does sound like at least you are suggesting that some things are "gray" when they appear black or white. So do you also make room for absolutes?
  
  Cofty says:

  Perry - That is a silly semantic trick.

  If you say so. Highlighting the illogicality of denying the usefulness of black and white thinking is beneficial, because I believe logic to be useful.

  We all use use this kind of reason everyday to try and benefit ourselves and improve our circumstances.... all perfectly normal.
  
  As previously pointed out the statement "nothing is black and white" is an inherently false statement, no doubt believed upon in a misguided attempt to improve a persons life in some way.
  
  The question is not whether or not some things are black or white (true of false); but rather which things are so.
  
  
• 

  Perry

  In a national Barna poll, among teenagers: 83% said that moral truth depends on the circumstances and only 6% said moral truth is absolute.

  In The Closing of the American Mind, Professor Allan Bloom makes the obser­vation that “There is one thing a professor can be absolutely certain of: almost every student entering the university believes or says he believes, that truth is relative…The students, of course, cannot defend their opinion. It is something with which they have been indoctrinated” (p. 25).
  
  Indefensible and illogical non-religious beliefs about the nature of reality has been thoroughly indoctrinated into our society.
  
  Excellent subject. Thanks for posting this.
• 

  OnTheWayOut

  Your view is not the only one.
  The glass is always full. Even when it is half water and half air.

  I still tire of you insisting that it's EASY PEASY as long as we see it the way YOU DO!!!
  
  You ask "DO YOU INSIST ON ONLY ONE interpretation?" right after you insist on your one interpretation.
  
  Terry, you do that most of the time, so I don't get how you are lecturing us on it.
  
  

  In a Court of Law, you might swear to tell the Truth, the Whole Truth, and Nothing but the Truth, but then in reality, you are asked to limit your answers to YES or NO sometimes and are cut off on trying to tell "the whole truth" part.
  
  The Jury verdict in the O.J. Trial was not WRONG. O.J. was guilty of murder, but it was not proven sufficiently to the jury due to sloppy police work and other stuff.
  
  I agree with you about Jehovah's Witnesses, but you may need to continue your self examination a while longer.
• 

  venus

  Much depends on the context. Henry Ford is right when he said: "'Whether you think you can, or you think you can't--you're right."

  Hence I don't worry much about this; I transcend everything--then life becomes humorous. For example, if you keep going to North, you would reach South. Even conflicted isms end up in harmony. Christianity teaches a virgin (Mary) gave birth to a child; Hinduism teaches a virgin (Kunti) gave birth to 6 children; atheism teaches that matter (virgin) gave birth to 8.7 million life forms.
• 

  Perry

  Ooops
• 

  WhatshallIcallmyself

  "Indefensible and illogical non-religious beliefs about the nature of reality has been thoroughly indoctrinated into our society" - Perry

  Well we are doing our best to rid ourselves of the indefensible and illogical religious beliefs about the nature of reality which have been thoroughly indoctrinated into our society from millennia ago...