Useful and Authoritative Writings on Theology and Religious Doctrine

[MineralMan]

are rarely found on popular religious blog websites. They're easy to access, easy to search, and it's easy to find someone who agrees with almost anything on places like Patheos and religionnews.com. But, when you look to see who the writers are, their credentials usually don't impress.

There is serious thought out there, but it isn't generally found as the #1 search result on Google for your search.

My recommendation is to start by looking at the source website before visiting it. If it's yet another blog site that deals with religion, look down the results page to find a different site, one that offers some credentials and doesn't just let anyone post on it.

That's my recommendation if you're looking for stuff to copy and paste into a post here in the Religion Group on DU.

[guillaumeb]

1. Thus speaks the definer.

And when definers insist that a literal interpretation of the Bible is the only acceptable one, the definers must, of course, reject anything that does not support a pre-determined conclusion.

[MineralMan]

2. You have found a new word to use.

I've seen it four times now, just this afternoon. Congratulations on your discovery.

I'm sure you're convinced it is a panacea for all discussions. It's not, my dear Guy.

Now, did you have any remarks on the content of my post?

[NeoGreen]

3. I believe...

...he may have forgotten to include a few of these...

Possibly.

[MineralMan]

4. Hmm...

I don't know...

[guillaumeb]

5. It applies to the reasoning behind your post.

There has long been a division in Christianity regarding who is qualified to interpret the Bible. I am certain that in your self-directed research you have read about this division.

[MineralMan]

6. No it does not. It is a shortcut

You are using to avoid any real discussion. Worse, you are applying it to multiple people and threads. It demonstrates a weak position and argument. I won't play your game. It is simply not worthwhile.

If you eventually decide to participate honestly in these discussions, please let me know.

[guillaumeb]

7. A short cut was your original post.

You attempted to define what constitutes a useful and authoritative guide. The historical record refutes your assertion.

[MineralMan]

9. ..

I will not continue to engage with you in this thread.

[guillaumeb]

11. You started the thread,

and you defined yourself as the judge of acceptable sources.

So there is that.

[Major Nikon]

13. Who cares about such divisions?

What’s being discussed is what passes as an authority and what does not. I can easily find a limitless number of bullshit artists that say the world is flat. That doesn’t do much to support an assertion that the world is flat. It just means some other idiots had the same idea.

[guillaumeb]

15. If you prefer simplicity.

and only one acceptable viewpoint on every position, that is your preference.

But in the real world, things are far more complex.

And you seem to use the word "bullshit" for nearly every source that does not conform to your own opinions.

[Major Nikon]

17. I call bullshit when it's warranted

Ad hominem is bullshit

Strawman is bullshit

Obsfucation is bullshit

Canned responses are bullshit

Refusing to answer others’ relevant questions while demanding answers to your own is bullshit.

If you don’t like the term, the obvious answer is to refrain from employing bullshit as a substitute for discourse.

[guillaumeb]

19. As I said previously,

you use it to attack those with whom you disagree.

[Major Nikon]

20. Bullshit

[Major Nikon]

14. Nah, it's just a lame attempt at ad hominem

[Major Nikon]

12. Notice how he uses it as a pejorative

Probably worth mentioning the next time he plays the victim.

[MineralMan]

16. How he uses it is meaningless.

All of us here deal in opinions. We decide nothing for anyone but our own selves. Opinions. Now, sometimes something is obviously true, like someone calling three different people the same name. There it in in the threads.

The funny thing is that the person calling others "deciders" wants to be the only decider. Ridiculous, when talking about supernatural myths,and legends. Either there was a miraculous creation or there was not. Either a deity committed genocide or did not. It can not be both ways, but some want to decide that is both ways.

Logic and consistency are missing in some. For me, that does not lead me to accept opinions from such folks.

I am a decider for myself. My opinion is my decision. But it is only mine. I can decide for nobody else. It's in my signature line on every post. Can't miss it. But, somehow, it gets missed...

[Major Nikon]

18. Of course it's meaningless nonsense

Pejoratives always are. It’s still worth noting the one who whines incessantly about being a victim frequently employs personal attacks as a substitute for discourse and then complains about the lack of discourse.

[msongs]

8. all you need to know about theology - I'm right and you're wrong nt

[MineralMan]

10. Sadly, that is,so.

[guillaumeb]

21. Is your Chinese colleague an acceptable and reliable source?

Speaking of sources and all.

[MineralMan]

22. Actually, yes.

[guillaumeb]

23. OK.

That explains much.

[MineralMan]

24. Look, his parents,and other family members are still in China.

He does not write about any of this because of that, but he and I have discussed it at length. You have no idea what you are talking about. Your source is not an expert on China, either...Just a writer. You trust sources that know little and belittle sources who lived though repression. How are you not ashamed? Amazing, Guy. Uncloud your mind, won't you?

[guillaumeb]

25. Fortunate for you.

Validate what he said with outside sources and post the results.

So, this unnamed person, is he:

fluent in the Uighur language?
informed about what is going on there?
has he spoken to Chinese Uighurs?


Here is another source for you:

https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/aug/07/why-uighur-muslims-across-china-are-living-in-fear

And another:

As the Chinese authorities continue a brutal crackdown in Xinjiang, the northwest region of China that’s home to the Uighur, Islam has been one of the main targets. Major mosques in the major cities of Kashgar and Urumqi now stand empty. Prisoners in the camps are told to renounce God and embrace the Chinese Communist Party.
Prayers, religious education, and the Ramadan fast are increasingly restricted or banned. Even in the rest of China, Arabic text is being stripped from public buildings, and Islamophobia is being tacitly encouraged by party authorities.

https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/07/24/islamic-leaders-have-nothing-to-say-about-chinas-internment-camps-for-muslims/

[cachukis]

26. Scholarship is an art based on science.

You deserve credit for presenting thoughts that are not easily contained. Your patience and sticking to topic and facts is strong. Your foe is intransigence. Enjoying the perspective.