tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5325145031187510736.post7098925626840957684..comments2023-10-15T03:59:53.104-07:00Comments on Empires and Mangers: The Life, History, and Unparalleled Sufferings of John Jea, The African Preacher. Compiled and Written by Himself (1811)Anthonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17422741111661150588noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5325145031187510736.post-9582527318278748672021-07-23T06:54:03.122-07:002021-07-23T06:54:03.122-07:00You have declined to provide any evidence of Jea’s...You have declined to provide any evidence of Jea’s claims. Instead you defend your world view of the supernatural based on evidence you contend is “robust.” It as if I contend that I have evidence that a murder occurred. When pressed for evidence, my defense is that there is “robust” evidence that other murders occurred (while refusing to admit that I have no evidence for the murder that I alleged). What a sham. Maybe you should read a little about Henry Louis Gates who rediscovered Jea’s writings and what he says about Jea’s claims and the African American oral tradition. Maybe you have more credibility on African American literature than Henry Louis Gates, but I kind of doubt it. With respect to “robust” evidence of miracles, I challenge you to write one post about one miracle and provide your “robust” evidence. Perhaps you could provide the evidence for a talking donkey, dead people leaving their graves and walking around, the earth ceasing to rotate etc. (I'm not picky). I doubt you will, but I’d like to see that.Alexhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15927971252256355559noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5325145031187510736.post-48591482960924533402021-07-13T20:10:21.983-07:002021-07-13T20:10:21.983-07:00I unabashedly embrace a supernatural worldview. I ...I unabashedly embrace a supernatural worldview. I believe that type of thing can happen. I don't incredulously believe everything - stay turned for a long post on all the false prophets purporting to have words from God today - but I do at least entertain the possibility of the miraculous, as there is robust evidence throughout history. In this case, I am fascinated by the fact that slaves, in the midst of terrible violence and horrible distortions of the Bible, claim experiences that cause them to see through the BS of their slave masters and the masters' puppet preachers to draw them toward belief in the God of the Bible - against all odds. You may find it worth your time to read the book from which that story came, if for no other reason than to see the consistent narrative that emerges. Certainly, there is room for skepticism, as I experienced on more than one occasion.. Surely, there is room for entertaining belief. Anthonyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17422741111661150588noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5325145031187510736.post-36418006917923520612021-06-02T15:35:52.683-07:002021-06-02T15:35:52.683-07:00Other than Jea's claim made in his own narrati...Other than Jea's claim made in his own narrative, what evidence do you have that his claims of a miracle are true? In terms of verifiable evidence, how are Jea's claims different from Q'Anon's claims? Being open to the miraculous (or dualist using your fancy term) is very different from accepting miraculous claims without evidence. You answered my specific questions about Jea's claims with a general argument that miracles are possible. This is a classic dodge. That's not a defensible answer when it comes to John Jea's claims anymore than it's a defensible answer when it comes to Q'Anon. Why don't you either admit that you don't have the evidence supporting Jea's claims or produce the evidence? That would be the honest approach. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5325145031187510736.post-85775571047558757492021-05-31T19:41:30.036-07:002021-05-31T19:41:30.036-07:00Perhaps this represents a key difference in our wo...Perhaps this represents a key difference in our worldview. I am a dualist: I believe in natural and supernatural realities that together make up the realities of the universe. As such, I am open to realities that are often described as miraculous. If you are open to that possibility, I'm curious what would convince you that something like that occurred. If you are not, I assume we will not consider the veracity of these accounts in the same way. <br /><br />I would also note that I am quite incredulous concerning many claims Christians make to supernatural events or encounters. I am not inclined to adhere to a supernatural explanation when a natural one is obvious. I am, however, inclined to consider the supernatural when the natural fails to provide compelling explanations. <br /><br /><br /><br />Anthonyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17422741111661150588noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5325145031187510736.post-32824273496259872962021-05-31T19:40:57.044-07:002021-05-31T19:40:57.044-07:00Perhaps this represents a key difference in our wo...Perhaps this represents a key difference in our worldview. I am a dualist: I believe in natural and supernatural realities that together make up the realities of the universe. As such, I am open to realities that are often described as miraculous. If you are open to that possibility, I'm curious what would convince you that something like that occurred. If you are not, I assume we will not consider the veracity of these accounts in the same way. <br /><br />I would also note that I am quite incredulous concerning many claims Christians make to supernatural events or encounters. I am not inclined to adhere to a supernatural explanation when a natural one is obvious. I am, however, inclined to consider the supernatural when the natural fails to provide compelling explanations. <br /><br /><br /><br />Anthonyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17422741111661150588noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5325145031187510736.post-86989109742408457502021-04-26T10:45:24.940-07:002021-04-26T10:45:24.940-07:00Jea, himself, claimed that an angel miraculously t...Jea, himself, claimed that an angel miraculously taught him to read only the Bible. If Jea said it, then it must be true. It is interesting to me that you purport to examine objectively the factual claims of numerous different beliefs (q'anon, covid, child abduction etc.) in this blog. BUT, when it comes to your own religion, unquestioning credulity seems to govern. This blog post undercuts the credibility of your previous post on Covid vaccines. Why should a reasonable person accept your purported objective analysis of Covid vaccines when in the very next blog post, you state without qualification that "[u]ntil he died, the only book [Jea] could read was the Bible?" The dramatic shift from objective factual analysis to dogmatic religious credulity in subsequent blog posts is jarring and disconcerting. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com