Monday, November 9, 2009 #

The textual contradiction paradox



To my knowledge, only in Christianity does this happen. You point out direct contradictions in an account, and are immediately regaled with:

But that's evidence that it's true!

There is no other field, that I know of, where this could happen. In the context of a scientific theory, two conflicting sets of data are an indication that your hypothesis may not be correct. In jurisprudence, two conflicting testimonies mean that one or more of the parties are either lying or mistaken. In everyday experience, if one friend tells you they saw Britney Spears in the street and the other says "No that wasn't Britney, is was Christina!", you know at least one of them is wrong. If they say they saw Britney/Christina shopping at Coles when you know for a fact Britney is fiercely loyal to Woolworths, then it's likely they're both wrong. Or you are.

Why, then, do christians seem to think that direct contradictions in biblical accounts, such as the number of women present at the discovery of the empty tomb, whether the stone was rolled away, the final words on the cross, the culpability in handing over the messiah to the Romans, whatever. Why is it that christians feel they can throw away sense and claim that it's actually direct evidence for the truth of the accounts?

Discuss.
posted @ Tuesday, November 10, 2009 3:22 PM | Feedback (0)

Danny Nalliah: Paranoid Conspiracy Nut

From the man who brought us God's punishment in the form of bushfires, and satanic rites influencing Canberra, come some little gems:

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd about to betray Australia

and

3 very important links regarding the One World Goverment and President Obama

Some choice extracts from these ravings:

you will soon see and hear a very clear picture from President Barrack Hussein Obama himself that he is indeed a Muslim… I have not seen anything so clear before. Have you? Furthermore, President Obama is trying his very best to divide Jerusalem. I pray that the Benjamin Netanyahu the PM of Israel would stand strong and not let this happen.  Pray for Israel.

and

In particular what worries me is the key players behind it, the Rockerfeller family, Henry Kissinger, Mikhail Gorbachev, Prince Hassan bin Talal of Jordan and others, who are main representatives of the club of Rome. Communists, Muslims, and others are working together for a ONE WORLD GOVERNMENT. We all know that they despise Democracy.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, Daniel Nalliah is still a nutcase. I have no idea what is going on in this man's head, but I suspect it's not a happy place right now. Given Danny's pronouncements of "prophetic dreams", I'm starting to lean towards the idea that Danny fulfills the criteria for Paranoid Schizophrenia*.

And Nalliah is an "influential" pastor. It's hard to pin down exact numbers, but Catch The Fire's newsletter reaches over 10,000 Australians. I'm counting down the days until Nalliah completes the circle and joins forces with my other favourite nutbag conspiracy theorists, the AVN. That would be truly amazing.

Suffice to say I'm following Danny's ravings with interest, via Google Alerts, and will report in.

Oh, the one good thing to come of this story? I found the Group Sects blog. Recommended.

* I'm no psychiatrist, but hell, read the diagnostic criteria for yourself.
posted @ Monday, November 9, 2009 12:50 PM | Feedback (1)
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