Is Eru God?

[The Saucepan Man]

Now boreding at a platforum near you (again) ...

Originally Posted by lmp

if the evidence is most weighty
such that author's intention
and reader interpretation
ought to be one thing,
then the reader may think
what s/he wishes all the day long
and still be wrong.

Hmm. A recent opinion poll suggests otherwise.

[Roa_Aoife]

Originally Posted by The Saucepan Man

Hmm. A recent opinion poll suggests otherwise.

Opinion polls don't really prove much. After all, an opinion poll from the 1300's would say the world was flat. The opinion poll on this discussion says Eru is God, but I doubt that the numbers would change anyone's opinion.

[Fordim Hedgethistle]

Originally Posted by Roa_Aoife

Opinion polls don't really prove much.

*Fordim gasps, clutches his heart, and falls over dead*

[The Saucepan Man]

Originally Posted by Roa_Aoife

Opinion polls don't really prove much.

I would have to disagree. They provide, at a glance, the (stated) opinions of those polled, in this case a reasonably sized cross-section of Barrow-Downers.

You can make of such opinions what you will, but they can (depending upon the size and nature of the sample) be of use with regards to these kinds of questions where there is no definitive answer (or no feasible way of determining a definitive answer).

You can get up now, Fordim.

[alatar]

Originally Posted by The Saucepan Man

I would have to disagree. They provide, at a glance, the (stated) opinions of those polled, in this case a reasonably sized cross-section of Barrow-Downers.

You can make of such opinions what you will, but they can (depending upon the size and nature of the sample) be of use with regards to these kinds of questions where there is no definitive answer (or no feasible way of determining a definitive answer).

And of course I would disagree with that, though at this point I cannot even remember the original poll, let alone the question being asked .

In this poll, like many others, we are given limited choices. Assume a poll that asks, "Do you prefer vanilla or chocolate ice cream?" with the choices being *vanilla and *chocolate. Where does that leave me, a 'strawberry' fan? I could choose vanilla, as I prefer that over chocolate, but it's not really what I want to choose. Or do I not vote, as my choice is not available? And while I'm on the topic, I'm not even a big fan of ice cream, but prefer frozen yogurt. So if you can consider a preference for strawberry frozen yogurt to be a 'yes' vote for vanilla ice cream, then what is the poll truly measuring?

And actually, I'd pick coffee and a donut if I really had a choice of desserts, and so obviously I should have voted *chocolate.

And in regards to polls being a cross-section of the population, it should be obvious that only people who partake in polls...well...partake in polls, and so we leave a group completely out. Plus I would say that here at the Downs that only special people participate in these threads, mostly people with high pain thresholds...

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

Originally Posted by alatar

And in regards to polls being a cross-section of the population, it should be obvious that only people who partake in polls...well...partake in polls, and so we leave a group completely out. Plus I would say that here at the Downs that only special people participate in these threads, mostly people with high pain thresholds...

I agree with Al of the Tar-folks. In a truly comprehensive poll, there would be even the most random answers like "Well, if you consider God to be embodied by the campus squirrels where Fea goes to school, then heck yes!" even if that answer makes sense to only one person and hardly seems to pertain to the general group. Without the extra choices, a more serious one being "I don't know who God is, but when I find out, I'll tell you if he's the same dude as Eru", there will be a bunch of people left out of it.

And am I an extra special person, alatar, for participating in the thread without even having voted?

[Mithalwen]

Hear! Hear! I have clicked post reply umpteen times to justify my choice but the noise was making my ears bleed.

[alatar]

Originally Posted by Feanor of the Peredhil

And am I an extra special person, alatar, for participating in the thread without even having voted?

But of course Fea - or is it Fey - you are an extra special person, as one might note that I never vote in polls either (don't want to cause some worldwide catastrophe via the butterfly effect ) and people call me special...right before they run the other direction.

But anyway, I really see what the now-visible davem is saying. After receiving some criticism regarding the paganness of the LotR, JRRT continually points to 'similarities' and says, "See? There's yet another reference to Christianity."

Who can argue with the author? And if you all see something stellar in a post of mine that makes my point, surely I'll claim the accident to be intentional - diamond in the rough for those adept at digging, as it were, and not just some lump of compressed carbon.