> ear and said he thought it was a giant featherless bird. But when they all
> got together, they figured out it was an elephant. OK, this is what
> FACTOR ANALYSIS does.. it takes many small random measurements on an
> unknown mysterious object, and tells you what it is. In the case of
Actually, factor analysis does not interpret the result ("tell you what it
is"). It simply attempts to reduce data comprised of many variables, to fewer
variables, which then must be interpreted based upon the investigators
knowledge of the problem. There is also another step (beyond reducing the
data) which is called "rotation". In this step the eigenvectors are rotated
to change the way they project upon the original variables so that the results
are<more>interpretable. The rotation and interpretation can be quite
subjective and thus must be very carefully examined. Many statisticians have
problems with rotation. I think it can be useful, but only if done very
carefully. I haven't seen enough details in the work being presented to judge
it(for the devil is in the details). For example, the selection of the number
of factors in often based upon variance (only extract up until a certain
percent of variance is explained). This number can make a big difference in
certain cases...my point is that the analysis is not so cut and dry as it is
being portrayed. I'm seeing none of the details
necessary for a replication (even in the peer reviewed article), only bold
claims about the implications of the results. An association does not
necessarily imply causation, but this is not even mentioned.
BUT THE BOTTOM LINE (IMHO) IS:
Finally, it seems to me that this work is completely naturalistic. The
Bible is reduced (a priori) to complete metaphor...including any
of the miracles in scripture. His definition of God is not consistent with
the God of Christianity. He simply claims to have found a way to
explain all the miracles of the Bible in a scientific, naturalistic way. The
way He discusses the Bible is not consistent, IMHO, with Christianity in any
way, shape, or form and reveals a naturalistic approach to God. These
findings could perhaps be used as another example of Romans 1 (God's general
revelation through creation).
To Hammond: If you are on this list then you agree with a statement saying
you confess the Triune God affirmed in the Nicene and Apostle's creeds. Based
only upon those creeds, the God of Christianity is distinct from the God of
any other world religion. Not only that, but His Son, Jesus, provides the
only possible reconciliation to this God (based upon Christ's statements).
He, in His great love, provides all of humanity with acceptance through
Christ if they but accept what is made available to them. I do the science
that I do as a Christian who loves God because He first loved me. What do the
findings you present tell us about the God of Christianity?
Just my two cents...(sorry to keep the discussion going...I'll stop now)
For His Glory,
VDC
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