Some girl claiming god talks to her does not prove that god exists. First of all, Joan of Arc had a well trained army behind her and several great generals and other officers that actually ran the army. All Joan of Arc did was right with them. The French army at the time was full capable of fighting the English. Joan of Arc's claims that god was on their side certainly gave them confidence, which would have lead to them being better in combat, but it does not prove that god exists. It just proves that the idea that god was on their side gave them a moral boost that allowed them to fight better, which has been proven. Moral does indeed effect capability.
Nothing shows the nature of religion in such an illustrious way than when gods are used to win wars with.
The fact that you believe that France loses every war shows that you probably shouldn't be commenting on history.
They probably wouldn't have if the "God ordained" French king who oppressed the bejesus out of them wasn't supported vehemently by the Church.
Question is - which God or Goddess? It is possible that the reason Joan could raise and control an army was because she was considered the Pagan Fairy Priestess. The army was mostly Pagan. Joan of Arc Joan of the Bow Joan the Huntress and The Maid, are all titles of a Priestess of the Fairy-religion in that area. She herself said she received her mission at the tree of the Fairy-ladies, which is a center of the Dianic cult at Domremy. She tells us that she, along with other women and girls, danced and chanted around this Sacred Oak as a child. Did she while at the Sacred Oak, feel a need to free her kin who were besieged in Orleans? Lets not forget we have a struggle going on between the Armagnacs and the Burgundians, and eventually the English. Her mother retained her own name after marriage, Isabelle Romée. The church tries to say MAYBE she got that name because she MIGHT have visited Rome! Right! Like people called themselves Rome after visiting it! We are talking about the Gaul, and Roma or Romany. The real Gypsies (Romany) still make pilgrimages to these ancient cult centers. Remember, Mama Romée took her to the Sacred Oak to dance! Her mother's name more likely meant Isabelle of the Roma.
You say that like it is a good thing?!?! I thought he was OUR God. Not the cheese eating surrender monkey God
She was into chicks too. Probably. I saw it in a movie. Well, at least I saw a movie with lesbian. I think one was French. It was awesome.
Believing that our reconstructions of Joan of Arc's life are accurate - Fine. Believing that the sources we reconstruct it from are accurate - Fine. Believing that God spoke to her - Fine. Believing that she wasn't insane, despite even wikipedia admitting that there is not enough information to say anything accurate - Fine Believing that her presence helped France win - Fine Believing that this story proves the existence of God - Fine Claiming, without hesitation, that it is proof, without even consulting anyone with the opposite view - Dishonest.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NMjdmWTTgM"]The Hunger - Deneuve Sarandon Tribute Lesbian Love Kiss - YouTube[/ame]
The movie with Lili Sobieski is quite flattering of Joan. To think faith isn't required to believe in the supernatural blessing of Joan is intellectually crippled. One still must believe to see this as the work of God. If proof of God is realized, in any form, the need for faith will cease, and the Bible states faith to be the most essential part of the Christian's life. The substance of things UNSEEN.
World War I: French victory Crimean War: French victory Franco-Austrian War: French victory Pastry War (French invasion of Mexico): French victory And so on. I could literally find dozens more wars that the French were victorious in if I were so inclined. Not to mention a global empire resulting in French being the second most studied language on this planet. Yes there is: women can be good tacticians and strategists as well, especially in the Medieval era. Yeah they do: she saw and heard things no one else could. There's more than one type of insanity, you realize. Hallucinations and delusions are not necessarily schizophrenia, which is not bipolar disorder, which is not obsessive-compulsive disorder. Just because the Dauphin had an insane father does not mean he would necessarily recognize insanity in another person, especially during an era when insanity was thought of as demonic possession (and where corresponding insanity that would garner good results would be thought of as divine intervention). Why would YHWH intervene for the existence of a regime that would later brutally oppress hundreds of millions of people and directly influence the course of history that would incite 3 of the deadliest conflicts of all human history (Taiping Rebellion, World War I, and World War II), while simultaneously allowing for France's most hated enemy, England, to survive and thrive in such a manner as to decimate North America's native population? If this is your evidence for YHWH, it certainly doesn't make me want to worship YHWH anymore than I would want to worship Saddam Hussein or Muamar Qaddafi. No it wouldn't; the English had a smaller base of manpower and had to get enough boats to ship them across the channel, while France could levy a larger number of peasants, knights, etc. while moving them over land. Further, it would be easier for the French to extract food from their own peasants, while the English would have to maraud for their food. That's because Jeanne stopped the French from doing the stupid things they did at Agincourt, such as throw away their cavalry in stupid charges. Whee, she made an accurate guess and a bunch of superstitious people who believed that the sun rotated around the earth and that lead could be transmuted to gold found her to follow the catechism to some arbitrary degree; what does that prove? Only in the popular vernacular; the Church does not consider her one because she was not killed for her faith by unbelievers, she was executed in error by a legally assembled Canon court. If you're an actual Catholic, you would recognize that. And Sam Berkowitz sincerely believed that Satan was speaking to him through a dog; doesn't mean that's true. If she was such a good predictor, why didn't she tell someone about Gilles de Rais's brutal crime spree that was going to occur shortly after her death?
Mental disorders are diverse, and even different cases of one type of disorder can have a variety of symptoms. Ruling out a disorder is far too premature. The whole thing could have been a legend. Or Joan could have been a fraud. Why does God care if France exists? It just seems like another European country to me. Did you know what France was like back then? Their leaders were a bunch of crooks, just like the English leaders. Why would God care who won? And second, who says that England would have held on to France. European politics was very dynamic with one nation conquering another, and then losing it. England did lose most of its empire in the 20th century. Who says it would have also not lost France? France actually has lost some wars and then won some. Modern day France is week, back then France was a powerhouse. France may have won through strategy or luck, or just plain spirit. England was fighting on their turf you know. That could have just been a legend. And anyway, she had a 50% chance of getting her prediction right by chance. She may also have had some knowledge of both forces. Who knows what other predictions she made that she got wrong. The idea that she died before renouncing her voices may have been a myth. I believe she did recant and admit her guilt (that doesn't mean she is guilty). Anyway, if she did renounce her voices, she would have been killed anyway, which she was. She may have been insane and believed her voices. Joan was never tortured, only interrogated. Joan of Arc wore male clothing which is against the bible.
I think the story of Joan is obviously proof of Thor. I too will attempt (for a moment) to implement a "no standard of evidence" methodology in determining what is true and false.