Addiction By Definition

Perhaps that's why God has both Jesus and The Holy Spirit on the committee.
The majority opinion always wins, but there is always a third opinion that may see it from a different angle.

Perhaps only a religious addict would claim to knowhow God is supposed to be.
A better question is whether a Creator Of All Seen & Unseen can be thought of the rational mind without evidence. Pros & Cons?

Can Belief be rational if unevidenced?

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I believe so. Others would disagree. Which then leads down several rabbit trails.

Am I addicted to religion?

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ENJOY

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Edited by Phat, : subtitle

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Chance as a real force is a myth. It has no basis in reality and no place in scientific inquiry. For science and philosophy to continue to advance in knowledge, chance must be demythologized once and for all. ~RC Sproul
"A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes." ~Mark Twain "
~"If that's not sufficient for you go soak your head."~Faith

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You can "get answers" by watching the ducks. That doesn't mean the answers are coming from them.~Ringo

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Subjectivism may very well undermine Christianity.
In the same way that "allowing people to choose what they want to be when they grow up" undermines communism.~Stile

This one is for you, ringo. Consider in what context each book is read, however. The Bible never became a bestseller because of its thrilling stories. There are literally thousands of stories, legends, and adventures more exciting and compelling.
The Bible likely became a bestseller because many were ordered to distribute. One could argue that such behavior as mass distribution equated to propaganda. We certainly accuse the Mormons of doing the same.I bought Spiderman to read when I was ten for 25 cents at the drug store. I never planned on doing anything but making believe that I was him. (sometimes I wanted to be Superman instead.) One could argue that comic books have their own symptoms of addiction. If one took the time to study the patterns of each, there would be a differing correlation.

We have discussed this rather common alternate belief before.
Upon researching the two subtopics, I found this: Did The Snake Tell The Truth?
But The Snake Told The Truth! How & Why Did A Snake Have The Ability To Talk?

THE SERPENT’S LIE
Did Mankind "Fall"?
So why do the apologists all lie and why do Ringo and company tell the truth? Sounds like the snake to me. Edited by Phat, : No reason given.

Obviously, not everyone agrees. Is there but one interpretation?

Let's speculate. What might be their agenda? And I noticed that you lumped them all together. What is it that "they" have in common?

Let's discuss the whole RR thing from a fresh perspective. Here is a page that I compiled--

quote:

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Clear your mind of everything you "know" about substance addiction.(Alcoholism)

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For now, forget about:

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the recovery group movement,

the disease concept of addiction,

brain chemistry, (I disagree, by the way)

lousy recovery statistics, and nonsense-jargon like:
denial,
powerlessness,
relapse,
triggers,
enabler,
alcoholic,
addict,
hitting bottom,
and other recovery group movement concepts.

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Focus only on your use of alcohol and other drugs, and the painful consequences of drinking/using. Focus on the obvious.

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If you're doing something harmful to yourself, wouldn't it be good to stop it?

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If you have trouble with moderation, why stop just one-day-at-a-time?

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Wouldn't it be wise to quit altogether?

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Right now, experiment with the idea of never drinking or using again.

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Never!
Think of the pros and the cons.

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Listen! Listen to your own thoughts about quitting for good,
and notice the mixture of feelings you have.

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Notice that you feel both ways about quitting.
This is the meaning of the word, "addiction."

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On the one hand, you want to quit.
But on the other hand,
you would like to continue drinking or drugging as much as you want.

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Forever.

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You are ambivalent,
feeling both ways.

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Your Addictive Voice (AV) is your body talking to you.
(Your primal urges talking to your rational mind)

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In thoughts and feelings,
your AV tells you to drink or use drugs.

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Your AV is the sole cause of your substance addiction.

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Your AV is the expression of your appetite or your desire for alcohol or drugs.

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That appetite originates in the biological,
animal side of human nature,
so we call it the Beast.

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It's like there are two of you,
at cross purposes,
in conflict.

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In mortal combat.
Your Beast is ruthless.

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It cares for nothing you love.
It wants only one thing.

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The high.

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Any reason will do --
good, bad, or indifferent. (thinking with the primal urges rather than the rational approach)

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It will exploit any tragedy,
take advantage of any good fortune,
or ask for no reason at all.

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It drinks or uses for its own sake. (The animal brain is selfish and stupid)

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To get high.

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To feel real good all over, from head to toe.

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Your Beast hides in the dark.

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You cannot see it, any more than you can see your own eyes.

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But you can feel it. Beasts have strong feelings!

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AVRT puts light on the Beast as it hides in the dark.

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It cannot tolerate for you to see it.

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It fears being seen for what it is: a rogue, animal desire.
It knows that you can kill it --
once you see it.

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It fears you, and you can feel its fear.

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Your Beast is a rogue appetite for pleasure,
born of synthetic drugs.

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Your Beast expresses itself through your thoughts. It uses mental images you can see, and it uses the same thinking voice that you hear reading these words.

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It speaks with great authority because it is a survival drive.

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But it cannot act on its own.

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It needs pronouns.
It needs you, your precious "I."

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Your Beast's favorite word is "I."
Without that word, it is paralyzed.

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When your Beast wants a drink, you hear,
"I want a drink."

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In AVRT, "It, not I, wants a drink/fix."

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Too bad for it.

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Do you want to continue drinking/using?

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Or, is that your Beast?

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DOUBLE-MINDED

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dipsuchos NT:1374 lit. means "two-souled" (dis, "twice," psuche, "a soul"), hence, "double-minded," James 1:8; 4:8.
(from Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words, Copyright (c)1985, Thomas Nelson Publishers)

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James 1:2-8 NKJV
My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
James 4:7-10
8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.
NKJV

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Thus, let's rephrase the pronouns to model the AVRT: Q: Do I suffer from addiction?
A: It rather enjoys the ride! The question becomes whether I decide that my addiction is rational. I and I alone have the choice. I and I alone are responsible. It would have me believe that I deserve the pleasure. Only I can make the final decision.Edited by Phat, : No reason given.Edited by Phat, : continued fixings

I may not know You but I can spot It a mile away.Edited by Phat, : No reason given.

I may not agree with all of your premises, but my rational mind can respect them.What is it about the RR AVRT theory that your mind finds so illogical?Edited by Phat, : better phrasing

Again I ask the question. Who is "we"?Rephrase what you just said and pretend that you are saying it to yourself. after all, there is only one ringo. Thus your sentence should read:

quote:

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As I said, the "rational mind" is not always of one mind. When I "rationalize" my bad habits, it's the rational mind that's doing it, not the "animal mind".

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The next question would then be "Why am I allowing my rational mind to allow me to drink excessively? (for example) Note the excuses that come up in your internal dialogue. We will then discuss what you found.

Scripture disagrees.

quote:

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DOUBLE-MINDED

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dipsuchos NT:1374 lit. means "twosouled" (dis, "twice," psuche, "a soul"), hence, "double-minded," James 1:8; 4:8.
(from Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words, Copyright (c)1985, Thomas Nelson Publishers)

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James 1:2-8 NKJV
My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

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James 4:7-10
8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.
NKJV

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Edited by Phat, : No reason given.

I think you like to argue with yourself, yet you end up agreeing.

I would argue that the scripture clearly says that having (or holding) two minds (or two opinions) at the same time makes one unstable.But my point was that this whole nonsense of having two different minds which agree sounds more like Leviathan than any rational human I know.Of course, to be fair, your argument about differing minds agreeing sounds a bit like the consensus of politics. I would in fact agree that some politicians have a reptilian beast mind. They could care less about rationality. Edited by Phat, : No reason given.

Lets get deeper. I would tell the emotionally immature brain cells that while it may be true that they promise one little drink, evidence shows that it often leads to 3, 4, or even 5 drinks. Given that new information, can both opinions still be rational?Keep in mind that RR theory states that the Addictive Voice will lie to you in order to have its way.