Endercreeper01

There is clearly an orderly distinction between past and future. The universe is moving from a high entropy to low entropy state. The big bang event was the highest entropy state of the universe. The motion in the present is happening as a result of the event. This distinction exists to create the motion in the universe that would allow the observer to exist. This would be how it relates to a higher power.

The event I am refering to is the big bang. By uncaused I mean that there is no physical cause that brought matter into the high entropy state. It doesn't rule out any higher power.

Yea it does, because all of the motion in the present is caused by an uncaused event in the past. It can't be an accident that the universe has an orderly distinction between the past and future.

The existence of a starting point in the universe that all motion in the universe can be traced back to suggests that this motion is being intentionally created as the result of this event. The classical view is that matter is obeying the laws of physics as it travels through space-time. What is really happening is that a starting point is being created in order to lead to the motion in the present.

If you accept witness sightings of UFOs, there is no reason not to accept witness sightings of other phenomena. Acknowledging witness sightings of UFOs opens the door for other phenomena to be acknowledged based on witness sightings. Once witness sightings become valid for one phenomena, they become valid for other phenomena as well. There must either be credibility to many phenomena based on witness sightings or no credibility for any of them.

Yes, we can... It has been a long 18 pages of discussion. You're right, it shouldn't exclude knowledge of the natural world. The purpose of looking inward is not to prevent one from looking outward. Although, the focus should still be inwards rather than answers. When trying to find answers about the inner reality, it only makes sense to look inwards towards it, for answers about it. The external reality has different answers to different questions, although it can certainly help in answering the internal questions by looking outward.

I'm only trying to make communication easier between us... It's alright....

I was trying to respond to a question. When the self is central to it's existence, there is some sense in placing faith in the self. It's more fundamental than egocentricity. Oneself can trust oneself that it exists. Once that is accepted, it can lead oneself down a path of faith. You do realize that I was only trying to answer your question... Sometimes, certain ideas are inherently difficult to explain or understand, or to communicate through words.

"Your" self is always yours. As long as "you" are observing from the perspective of "your" self, then "you" are the self. When you observe from yourself, then yourself is not separate from the self. So in this sense, one can place faith in the self rather than exclusively towards one's self.

I'm not entirely sure, if that's what your asking. I don't consider myself anything other than a thinker.

There's a difference between one's own self and the self. One can place faith in the self rather then one's own self.

Yes. It is one way to have faith.

Yes, by putting faith in the self.

I can't find any truths with absolute certainty, although I can try to develop answers based on my own understanding. There are some leaps of faith that have to be made in order to make any progress.

That's not a straw man, I was making a statement....

Where you say that "they' think they are special, I would say it a different way. I would say that they see themselves as the conscious observer as being special in some sense. In this sense they would be driven towards faith as a result of such thinking. I don't know what you want me to do if you can't understand my sentences besides trying to explain it again or in a different way... You could say that there is no ground for my personal faith. I would disagree because I see my faith as grounded in a particular set of beliefs, as part of a world view. Faith has a basis in a personal worldview. Actually, my idea of faith does not involve a belief in anything higher than the self. In my idea of faith, it does not require a higher power to be distinguished from the action or influence of the self. Nice thinking, although it hardly defeats my statement....

To put it another words: It's about looking inwards rather than outwards that leads one down a path to faith.

That is not what I am taking about. I am taking about questions about the inner world as in the inner self, the observer. It does not make sense to research the external reality to discover the answers to certain questions about the innermost reality of the self. There's a lot to be said about this topic. Quantity of answers does not determine quality.

Certain existential questions concerning the inner world of the self cannot be answered with research about the outside world.

The truth can't be reached without attempting to reach it through answers.

Does the idea of faith have any legitimacy to you? Or do you consider faith to not have any value in any situation?

Faith can lead a path that can lead one to answers. It is a path that can be considered on a personal level in this way.

You don't understand that my behavior is the result of my defending of faith against claims made against it. I am thinking on a different level than we are communicating on, and that makes it less simpler to communicate. If we could find common agreements on certain ideas, it would be easier to communicate on this topic, going forward in from those accepted ideas.

Yes, I understand that a dictionary always helps to explain, as sometimes certain concepts or ideas are not so simple to explain.

The only way to show that faith has any grounds in any sort of reality is by communicating through a certain human understanding and perspective. Some things can only be understood through a human understanding. If we think in and communicate with a certain or general human understanding of things, it would be easier to see what I am trying to communicate through words.