Faith as a means of knowledge - Craig Biddle and Paul Vanderklay

 

How do we know what we know?

PVK intro

1:00   Thinking out loud on YouTube

Jordan Peterson

2:00  The basis of understanding

How do we know what we know?

3:00  Worldview

4:00  Working top down, outside to inside and the other way round

Inside out and top down

Third generation minister born in NJ

5:00 Dutch immigrants

7:00  A loving God

Misery, Deliverance, Gratitude

9:00  How is God defined?

Sam Harris and Jordan Peterson

11:00  God No 1 and God No 2

13:00  Classical theism

15:00  "God is an arena and an agent."

16:00  Should people believe what they were raised to believe?

23:00  Should we check the premises we were raised with?

What is our means of knowledge?

26:00 Social justice - justice under socialism

29:00  Facts and truth

Definitions

32:00  Married people tend to believe in God.

33:00  January 7

34:00  The sheeple are cattle who are atheists and nihilists. 

35:00  January 7

37:00  Religion and philosophy

43:00  October 7

44:00  Faith, revelation and  reason

46:00  True and false, right and wrong

Religion is universal.

47:00 Greeks and Romans

48:00  Religious philosophy

October 7

57:00  Saving for a pension

1:01:00  We know the good, but choose the evil. 

1:03:00  Nietzsche

1:04:00  The spouse is always the first murder suspect.

1:05:00  Logic

1:08:00  False alternative

1:09:00  Why should I?

1:12:00  Faith

1:13:00  Self-control

1:17:00  Birth rate

1:18:00  Good parenting

1:20:00  Rational philosophy comes from theology

1:21:00  We trust before we believe. 

1:26:00  Resurrection

1:31:00  How do we know God exists?

1:33:00  Christian behaviour and Christian thinking

1:35:00  Aristotelian view of reality

1:37:00  Faith as a means of knowledge

1:40:00  Belief in God is natural and universal.

1:41:00  Belief in God is rational. 

Have Universalists become Boss of God and abolished Hell?

15:00  CLAIRE KHAW joins to discuss universalism.

https://thevoiceofreason-ann.blogspot.com/2026/05/theological-exclusivism-v-universalism.html

21:00  Our immortal souls are the vehicles to our allotted afterlife judged on a our performance in this life in being able to tell the difference between good and evil in theory and in practice.

22:00  No mention of the afterlife in the Old Testament.

23:00  Sadducees and Essenes are extinct, but the Pharisees who believed in the afterlife are still around. 

24:00  The 13 Principles of Judaism by Maimonides

25:00  Three categories of the afterlife: heaven, hell and purgatory

30:00  We want to believe that God's in heaven and all is right with the world. 

These famous lines come from "Pippa's Song" by English poet Robert Browning. 

Often sung by the naive, optimistic silk-mill worker Pippa on her one day off, the full stanza reads: 

The year's at the spring,

And day's at the morn;

Morning's at seven;

The hill-side's dew-pearled;

The lark's on the wing;

The snail's on the thorn;

God's in his heaven—

All's right with the world!

32:00  Sinless infants

33:00  Wheat and tares

37:00  Heaven will be big enough to accommodate all who deserve it.

The binary approach

39:00  The ideal and the pass mark

41:00   A good death

47:00  Burning bridges

50:00  Communication skills

51:00  What kind of Christian gets to heaven?

53:00  Purgatory and reincarnation

54:00  Southern Baptist

55:00  Priestly absolution

58:00 God is logical. 

1:01:00  Poolside bars in heaven

1:04:00  Methodism

Churches losing their denominational status

1:05:00  Half-Way Covenant 1662

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Half-Way_Covenant

"Penang’s only synagogue closed down in 1976 as the community could no longer fulfill a quorum of 10 or more adult Jews assembled for purposes of fulfilling a public religious obligation."

1:07:00  Being too strict or too lax

1:09:00  LUKE starts talking and I leave.

My big idea for suicide prevention

1:03:00  CLAIRE KHAW joins to discuss the definition of suicide, its prevention and what divides it from martyrdom.

1:04:00  Suicide caused by a broken heart

1:05:00  Parents and children of suicides

AI Overview

Before the Suicide Act 1961 decriminalized the act in England and Wales, suicide was a common law crime. Survivors who attempted to take their own lives could be prosecuted, imprisoned, or sentenced to hard labor, while those who died faced posthumous penalties. 

The exact consequences evolved over the centuries, but prior to decriminalization, they included:

Prosecution and Imprisonment: Attempting suicide was classified as a misdemeanor, punishable by fines, probation, or imprisonment. Records from the 1950s show that hundreds were prosecuted and dozens were jailed annually for failed attempts.

Property Forfeiture: Historically, completed suicide was considered a felony ("self-murder"). Up until the early 19th century, this meant the Crown could confiscate the deceased person's property and assets, leaving their families destitute.

Ignominious Burial: Until 1823, the law required those who died by suicide to be buried at crossroads, often without religious rites and sometimes with a stake driven through the body.

Denial of Rites: Because it was an illegal act, the Church of England often denied standard religious burial rites to those who took their own lives, a stigma that persisted for many years. 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-14374296 

AI Overview

Suicide was treated harshly in the UK before the Suicide Act 1961 because it was classified as both a mortal sin and a felony, categorized legally as "self-murder". This harshness was rooted in religious, legal, and economic rationales that sought to deter the act and punish the deceased’s family. 

The severe treatment manifested in several historical ways:

Theological Condemnation: Influenced by Christian theologians like Augustine and Thomas Aquinas, the Church viewed suicide as a rejection of God’s gift of life. Consequently, those who died by suicide were historically denied a traditional Christian burial and were sometimes buried at crossroads with stakes driven through their bodies.

Forfeiture of Property: Because the act was a felony, the Crown could seize the deceased’s property and belongings. This practice devastated the surviving family members, frequently plunging them into immediate poverty. While this law was formally abolished in 1870, the broader stigma endured.

Prosecution of Survivors: Anyone who attempted suicide and survived was considered to have committed a crime and faced the threat of criminal prosecution and imprisonment. 

Over time, attitudes evolved. By the mid-20th century, the medical and legal consensus shifted to recognize suicide as a tragedy and a symptom of mental distress rather than a willful, malicious crime. This eventually led to the Suicide Act 1961, which decriminalized suicide in England and Wales, shifting the official response from criminal punishment to medical and psychiatric support

1:10:00  A Noble Exit

1:11:00  Suicide by cop

Was Jesus suicidal?

1:12:00  Dangerous sports

1:15:00  300

1:16:00  When does suicide become martyrdom?

1:17:00  Form-filling before suicide:

1. Reason for suicide divided into established categories with a miscellaneous section
2. Message to loved ones or person prospective suicide feels to be most to blame for making this prospective suicide feel suicidal
3. Issues of property disposal dying intestate or testate

1:19:00  Feeling suicidal because we are not special

1:20:00  Romeo and Juliet

AI Overview

Globally, suicide rates vary by age and sex, but in the UK, adults aged 50 to 54 have the highest age-specific suicide rate. In the US, the highest rates are typically seen in adults 85 and older, while those aged 45 to 64 also face significant risk. 

Across almost all regions, males are significantly more likely to die by suicide than females, generally making up about three-quarters of all suicide deaths. 

UK Demographics

Highest Rate: Adults aged 50-54 have the highest suicide rate (17.0 deaths per 100,000).

Males: Men aged 50-54 are statistically the group most at risk, with rates exceeding 26 deaths per 100,000.

Females: Women aged 50-54 also have the highest age-specific rate for females (around 7.8 per 100,000). 

US Demographics

Highest Rate: Adults aged 85 and older have the highest rate overall.

Males: Older men (75 and older) have the highest rates among males (over 40 per 100,000).

Females: Women aged 45 to 64 consistently show the highest suicide rates among females. 

While the highest death rates are in middle-aged and older adults, suicide remains one of the leading causes of death for younger people (under age 35). Furthermore, while males have higher rates of death by suicide, females generally report higher rates of suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suicidal_ideation 

1:27:00  You are commanded to live. 

1:28:00  Early arrivals are not admitted. 

1:29:00  Having something to live for

https://youtu.be/hAw4-OCpCi4?si=K1DO08-rY9B592op from 14:00

6 reasons why you are not marriageable

 https://t.co/Gj3UKZmKnw

— Rob Cēmpa (@CempaBrecht) May 23, 2026

3:27:00  CLAIRE KHAW joins. 

3:28:00  Unmarriageability is evidence of dysgenics.

You are not marriageable if you are one or some or all of the following:

1. Already married
2. An unmarried mother with illegitimate offpsring
3. Gay
4. Past childbearing age
5. Don't want to marry
6. The illegitimate offspring of never married parents

Fake nationalists cannot agree that nationalism is government in the national interest

5:00  Representative democracy

A People's Democratic Dictatorship

A Dictatorship of the Bourgeoisie

6:00  Democratic Centralism is a one-party state.

7:00  Socialism with Chinese Characteristics

8:00  A one-party state is Washingtonian.

10:00  Caleb Maupin

11:00  Imperial reform

12:00  Washingtonian

Rehabilitating the reputation of nationalism

14:00   Sacred  cow

15:00  Empires consist of nations, nations consist of tribes.

16:00  Twelve Tribes of Israel

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelve_Tribes_of_Israel

18:00   Washington's farewell speech

22:00  Why was George Washington opposed to political parties?

https://www.americanmajority.org/blog-2/why-was-george-washington-opposed-to-political-parties/

24:00  Democratic Centralism

28:00  Punch and  Judy Show

31:00  China

32:00  The Koran forbids sectarianism.

33:00  Thomas Massie

34:00  Caleb Maupin said boomers Zionists did not vote for Massie.

35:00  Grievances aired and acknowledged

36:00  George Washington would have approved of Democratic Centralism. 

TLC.net

On reincarnation and the divine personalised curriculum

49:00  CLAIRE KHAW joins. 

50:00  Ron Copperman said heavenn would have murderers and sex offenders. 

51:00  Is God nicer to people than He should be?

52:00  Is it fair that only Christians get to heaven ie people who believe that Jesus is God?

54:00  Priesthood absolution

Chantries

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chantry

56:00  Non-denominational churches lack accountability 

57:00  Last rites

Baptists

58:00  John the Baptist

59:00  Selling of Indulgences

1:00:00  It's not fair. 

1:01:00  Galatians - boasting

The bare minimum

The pass mark

1:02:00  Predestination

Praying for and to people

1:03:00  Imposed morality

1:04:00  God probably operates a personalised curriculum.  

1:05:00  A corrupt and abusive priesthood

1:06:00  The Marian Cult

1:09:00  Which church can I bear to attend?

1:10:00  Primary and secondary Christianity

1:13:00  The Book of Deuteronomy

1:15:00  The Marian Cult

1:17:00  Judaism and Islam forbids anthropomorphism

1:18:00  13 Principles of Judaism

1:20:00  The Injustice of Grace

Purgatory is reincarnation.

1:21:00  Grade retention

1:22:00  Re-education, reincarnation, brainwashing

1:23:00  Snakes and Ladders

1:24:00  Only humans have immortal souls.