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Originally posted by Wandering Scribe
reply to post by LesMisanthrope
Point at anything, because all of the ideas espoused are vague.
Anything can be god. Point to a crucifix, or the Kaaba in Mecca. Point at my avatar because it is an idol of a goddess, and idols, as far back as Sumer and Egypt, were believed to house the deity itself.
Even consciousness can be pointed to if you undergo a brain-scan. Different lobes of the brain light up depending on what element of consciousness you use. You can point at consciousness.
Love can be pointed at in an incalculable number of ways. A child kissing his mother goodnight. A policeman giving a homeless man his shoes. Rescue workers rebuilding homes for hurricane victims.
Good as well: a vaccine to treat disease. Clean water, fresh fruit, and plentiful food delivered to starving nations and individuals. Just like with love, you can point at all of those activities and say "these are good."
The same goes for evil. Point to a man who murders people because they are different from him. Point to a Church who deems homosexuals to be degenerate and less than human. Point to a man who beats black men for being lesser-citizens. Point at a man who kills someone for believing in a different god.
We can point to an action, just as easily as to an object. Except for "soul," I cannot point at a soul because I don't believe souls exist.
~ Wandering Scribe
Originally posted by SpreadLoveNotHate
Pointing at consciousness is like using a knife to cut itself... The pointing occurs within consciousness, not at it
God doesn't exist in the sense of other objects, people, or things. "God" is just the Absolute, the eternal. That which is ineffable and any words I could use to describe would simply fall short of what "God" actually is.
Maybe some people kill for things they can't point at because its the things that don't have physical being that mean more (to an individual anyways) than things you can point at.
Originally posted by D1ss1dent
1) A synonym of god is "the absolute". If you point me everything, it will take you an eternity.
2) A synonym of consciousness is awareness. Everyone is aware that they're aware. Point me awareness.
3) Define soul.
4) Pointing a scene where a mother loves his child is feasible.
5) Pointing a scene where someone perform a good action is also feasible.
6) Pointing a scene where a murder happens is feasible, if you're unlucky enough.
I'll add another one: 7) Point me your thoughts. You can't be they are there....
Playing with words will lead you nowhere.
edit on 3-12-2012 by D1ss1dent because: typo
Originally posted by Damsel
Are you trying to imply that because we can't measure these things, they don't exist? Or they don't matter if they do? You yourself gave the examples of consciousness and love in your opening post. Obviously those things exist and they matter.
This "Pointing Game" is a terrible argument, else I don't understand your point.
Originally posted by Wandering Scribe
reply to post by LesMisanthrope
I disagree.
Imagine if a visitor from another world, or universe, were present beside you on Earth. If they asked you: "what is God? What is consciousness? What is love? What is good? What is evil?" and all you could do was point, then every one of my examples would suffice. At the end of the day the visitor could define love as an act of kindness; good as the result of beneficial actions; evil as the absence of love and good; god as an anthropomorphic collection of earthy material; and consciousness as the activity of the brain when we think, feel, and dream. The only difficult one is "soul," because "soul" isn't really anything.
~ Wandering Scribe
Originally posted by LesMisanthrope
The Pointing Game
Whenever a person points, he always points at something. That person can never and cannot point at nothing. If one cannot point at nothing but only at something, whatever he points at must be something and not nothing.
What would you point at when I ask you to show me:
God?
Consciousness?
The Soul?
Love?
Good?
Evil?
Or any other abstract terms you can easily prove exist by pointing them out?
edit on 2-12-2012 by LesMisanthrope because: (no reason given)