DrDon Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 I jumped into all of this feet first and with my usual over-eager enthusiasm. I'm certain that in those first busy exploratory days of mine, when I had a lengthy opinion about several topics, I must have been like an exhausting toddler in a room full of well seasoned adults. I do have the source material to draw upon from a number of years of my own steady journey through faith issues, religious issues (to me they are not one and the same) and social issues. I've read lots- including my discovery of the good Bishop a few months ago. It is all so alive to me that I am quite certain that I can grate on a few nerves. I hope not too many. I've spent a good deal of time following debates on You Tube with various Christians (Spong included), Agnostics (Mostly Ehrmann) and Atheists (Dawkins, Hutchins) squaring off with such Christian Apologeticists as William Lane Craig and RC Sproul. I've been interested to see the methods that men like Craig use to discredit and attack others. A constant feature has been an unending barrage of quotes from both Christian and Scientific authors to seemingly humiliate into submission the opposition with the image, 'See, men much smarter than you support me!'. To me they merely come off as persons who have not really formed their own opinions and use the razor sharp statements of others. I carry that with me, most likely unfairly, and respond to the same quoting by others to me in much the same way. I would love to ask 'But what do YOU think?'. Maybe it's much more innocent than that. Maybe a satisfaction arrives when a quote from another seems to sum things up and that's all there is to it. I'm not wired that way. Such things as another person's opinion or quote my support something I'm putting together but I rarely find a kind of 'finished' satisfaction to it. I'd like to begin a process of exchange, via topics, that must be kept, to the greatest extant possible to what each of us personally think. I hope this can proceed. Silence is as good an answer as any and must be accepted. Best to you all. Donald Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeorgeW Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 I carry that with me, most likely unfairly, and respond to the same quoting by others to me in much the same way. I would love to ask 'But what do YOU think?'. Donald I can't speak about the specific situations you mention, but I have a someone different view in general about "quoting others." When it comes to certain subjects, like biblical history, authoritative sources are very helpful, maybe necessary. It is one thing to have an opinion about historical events, but it is better, I think, to have an informed opinion based on good sources. And, it is appropriate to cite the sources. One of my problems with Bishop Spong's essays, which I subscribed to for several years, was the lack of cited sources. He tended to state many historical issues as received wisdom which I knew to be the product of other scholars. He also tended, on occasion, to present facts as settled issues when I knew there was scholarly disagreement. I would like to have known the source of his assertions or statements 'of fact' to be able to read and evaluate for myself. When it comes to theology, I think it is different. There is no reliable, authoritative source for our faith beliefs. So, good, reasonable personal views are very worthwhile. George Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JosephM Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 Hi Donald, I think quotes are sometimes necessary to those who may require such so i myself have used them because of that opinion but i put no authority to them myself nor does it to me personally seem to add weight in discussing religious or spiritual differences or matters. So, while quoting sources may mean little to me, we are all different in that respect and so i have used quotes many times as an aid in getting past stumbling blocks i perceive by the other,. Joseph Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
murmsk Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 Quotes are appropiate when the quoted does a better job of reflecting my thoughts than I can or I want to give credit for a novel idea. steve 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tariki Posted December 11, 2012 Share Posted December 11, 2012 Such things as another person's opinion or quote my support something I'm putting together but I rarely find a kind of 'finished' satisfaction to it. Hi Don (if I might be so informal) Well, as a Zen master once said......."A single fitting statement is an eternal donkey tethering stake." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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