Comments on: “If a tree falls in a forest” riddle: Answered http://www.whyfaith.com/2006/08/30/if-a-tree-falls-in-a-forest-riddle-answered/ Please read, ponder & comment Tue, 07 Feb 2012 22:56:57 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: zen buddhism|meditations techniques|brainwave entrainment|brain entrainment|deep meditation|brainwave|relaxation music|stress and anxiety relief|stress management|anxiety symptoms|anxiety disorders|anxiety disorder|stress relief|relieve stress|stress symp http://www.whyfaith.com/2006/08/30/if-a-tree-falls-in-a-forest-riddle-answered/comment-page-1/#comment-87635 zen buddhism|meditations techniques|brainwave entrainment|brain entrainment|deep meditation|brainwave|relaxation music|stress and anxiety relief|stress management|anxiety symptoms|anxiety disorders|anxiety disorder|stress relief|relieve stress|stress symp Tue, 08 Nov 2011 06:44:11 +0000 http://www.whyfaith.com/2006/08/30/if-a-tree-falls-in-a-forest-riddle-answered/#comment-87635 <strong>zen buddhism|meditations techniques|brainwave entrainment|brain entrainment|deep meditation|brainwave|relaxation music|stress and anxiety relief|stress management|anxiety symptoms|anxiety disorders|anxiety disorder|stress relief|relieve stress|stress...</strong> [...]Why Faith » “If a tree falls in a forest” riddle: Answered[...]... zen buddhism|meditations techniques|brainwave entrainment|brain entrainment|deep meditation|brainwave|relaxation music|stress and anxiety relief|stress management|anxiety symptoms|anxiety disorders|anxiety disorder|stress relief|relieve stress|stress…

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]]> By: Darren http://www.whyfaith.com/2006/08/30/if-a-tree-falls-in-a-forest-riddle-answered/comment-page-1/#comment-15986 Darren Sat, 02 Aug 2008 06:40:34 +0000 http://www.whyfaith.com/2006/08/30/if-a-tree-falls-in-a-forest-riddle-answered/#comment-15986 Hi David! I think I addressed your arguments re the Buddhist koan in my original post ... I wasn't implying that the waves "make sound", I was suggesting that the waves ARE the sound; the waves are the phenomenon produced by the tree falling. In the slapping analogy, pain=hearing, slap=sound. Re the copycat stuff, I have looked into it, quite a bit actually. One of the chapters in my <a href="http://whyfaith.com/nt" rel="nofollow">eBook</a> is on this subject. You've equivocated the OT stories with the NT so we should be careful to separate them. Re the OT, there are indeed many parallels to be found, ex there are several other flood narratives. But often there is no causal connection to be found between the flood stories; that is, the stories are thought to have been developed independently of eachother. This suggests that perhaps there really was an actual event that such stories were based upon and recorded by several different cultures. Re the NT stuff, you mentioned Horus in particular, there's a decent discussion of him (and Osiris) here: http://www.tektonics.org/copycat/osy.html Generally speaking: - The parallels given in such cases are either overstated (ex. equating a blood-drenching ritual with Christian baptism) or entirely made-up (there's some examples of that given at the link above) - Often many of the legitimate parallels are unsurprising (ex. were both great teachers, had disciples, traveled a lot, etc) - Even if there were legitimate and specific parallels found, that doesn't necessarily prove copying occurred, especially among the Jews who wrote most of the NT - Finally, in terms of the resurrection and other Christian beliefs/doctrines, the parallels with other religions start to appear *after* the NT documents were written (as I note in my eBook) A couple good books on this subject are: The Case for the Real Jesus (Lee Strobel et al) Unmasking the Pagan Christ (Stanley, E. Porter & Stephen J. Bedard) The Gospel and the Greeks (Ronald H Nash) Boyd & Eddy's book The Jesus Legend also talks about this subject quite a bit. Hi David! I think I addressed your arguments re the Buddhist koan in my original post … I wasn’t implying that the waves “make sound”, I was suggesting that the waves ARE the sound; the waves are the phenomenon produced by the tree falling. In the slapping analogy, pain=hearing, slap=sound.

Re the copycat stuff, I have looked into it, quite a bit actually. One of the chapters in my eBook is on this subject. You’ve equivocated the OT stories with the NT so we should be careful to separate them.

Re the OT, there are indeed many parallels to be found, ex there are several other flood narratives. But often there is no causal connection to be found between the flood stories; that is, the stories are thought to have been developed independently of eachother. This suggests that perhaps there really was an actual event that such stories were based upon and recorded by several different cultures.

Re the NT stuff, you mentioned Horus in particular, there’s a decent discussion of him (and Osiris) here:
http://www.tektonics.org/copycat/osy.html
Generally speaking:
- The parallels given in such cases are either overstated (ex. equating a blood-drenching ritual with Christian baptism) or entirely made-up (there’s some examples of that given at the link above)
- Often many of the legitimate parallels are unsurprising (ex. were both great teachers, had disciples, traveled a lot, etc)
- Even if there were legitimate and specific parallels found, that doesn’t necessarily prove copying occurred, especially among the Jews who wrote most of the NT
- Finally, in terms of the resurrection and other Christian beliefs/doctrines, the parallels with other religions start to appear *after* the NT documents were written (as I note in my eBook)

A couple good books on this subject are:
The Case for the Real Jesus (Lee Strobel et al)
Unmasking the Pagan Christ (Stanley, E. Porter & Stephen J. Bedard)
The Gospel and the Greeks (Ronald H Nash)

Boyd & Eddy’s book The Jesus Legend also talks about this subject quite a bit.

]]> By: David http://www.whyfaith.com/2006/08/30/if-a-tree-falls-in-a-forest-riddle-answered/comment-page-1/#comment-15458 David Tue, 29 Jul 2008 18:51:43 +0000 http://www.whyfaith.com/2006/08/30/if-a-tree-falls-in-a-forest-riddle-answered/#comment-15458 Oh, and Jesus is just a copy of Horus, an Egyptian God... you should look into it. Cultures took other religions all the time back in the day. Also, the jesus story, like Horus, was based off astrological movement, not to be taken as a literal story. Rather, a spiritual journey myth, kind of like the epic of Gilgamesh. He tryed to eat from the tree of life, but a serpent stopped him... Notice any connections? The epic of Gilgimesh was written long before the old testament... so basically, you have stories copied from one generation to the next... oh well! Oh, and Jesus is just a copy of Horus, an Egyptian God… you should look into it. Cultures took other religions all the time back in the day. Also, the jesus story, like Horus, was based off astrological movement, not to be taken as a literal story. Rather, a spiritual journey myth, kind of like the epic of Gilgamesh. He tryed to eat from the tree of life, but a serpent stopped him…
Notice any connections? The epic of Gilgimesh was written long before the old testament… so basically, you have stories copied from one generation to the next… oh well!

]]> By: David http://www.whyfaith.com/2006/08/30/if-a-tree-falls-in-a-forest-riddle-answered/comment-page-1/#comment-15456 David Tue, 29 Jul 2008 18:47:01 +0000 http://www.whyfaith.com/2006/08/30/if-a-tree-falls-in-a-forest-riddle-answered/#comment-15456 "the idea that a someone must be present at an event when it occurs for it to truly have happened is ridiculous." Oh really? You mistake your senses for reality, the same way a dreamer mistakes a dream for reality. If you do not hear the "dream tree" falling, then it never made a sound, because it your dream and if you don't sense it, it does not exist. Reality is the same way, consciousness contains all things, if no one is there, there are simply waves made through space. Waves don't make any sound, our brain does. Thus: our ears pick up MOVEMENT, and our brain interprets it. Sound is an experience, nothing more. “the idea that a someone must be present at an event when it occurs for it to truly have happened is ridiculous.”
Oh really? You mistake your senses for reality, the same way a dreamer mistakes a dream for reality. If you do not hear the “dream tree” falling, then it never made a sound, because it your dream and if you don’t sense it, it does not exist. Reality is the same way, consciousness contains all things, if no one is there, there are simply waves made through space. Waves don’t make any sound, our brain does. Thus: our ears pick up MOVEMENT, and our brain interprets it. Sound is an experience, nothing more.

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