Quote:
Originally Posted by Makarov
I don't mean to the move the goalposts. I've always been asking how one distinguishes between one supernatural claim (such as "God is speaking to me", or "I am the son of God", or "so and so was immaculately conceived" or "I am the reincarnation of such and such") from other supernatural claims ("I am the son of bigfoot" or "so and so is an alien"). Perhaps I haven't been expressing myself clearly.
|
Fair enough. It is a very difficult thing to do. Often people choose to use personal experiences to help them make the decision. The problem a lot of modern people have is that they demand explicit answers, which God nor the universe provides. Even if you chose to kick God out of the equation, determining the truth in this matter is difficult. I purposefully chose individuals that I didn't necessarily agree with however, to show that equating a crazy person and a person making spiritual claims is not really helpful. But determining if someone's claims are "valid" or not is one of incredible debate, one that continues for generations. The only reason those individuals or claims get to that point, is based significantly on the value one can and will derive from that claim. At least that's what I think. I find it difficult to explain myself sometimes, other times I find it very easy. Textcritic's post on the literature is a great starting point, however.