One thing that I have noticed, during my time answering questions on Quora, is the foundational error of presumption. People will critique the Christian worldview as foolish, ridiculous and fantastical. They will say things like, "People who believe in 7 day creation have serious mental problems, they should probably be committed."
Despite just being rude and arrogant, they are making one, of many, logical errors. Imagine if one argued that Beethoven's symphonies were garbage because they were too musical. You couldn't even really give a response or even discuss it. The best response would be simply to walk away, feeling only pity.
One cannot critique Beethoven this way because the foundation for the criticism is wrong headed.
Secular philosophers make the same mistake. In judging the bible as ridiculous or fantasy, the critic is starting from the premise that God is not whom he says he is.
If God is whom he claims to be, then a literal interpretation of creation makes perfect sense. It is not unbelievable. If God is who the bible says he is, then reading the bible as actual history is not at all unreasonable.
So it really comes down to one thing. Who do we believe God is? Is he the Triune God who created and sustains all things? Who took on human flesh and saved man so as to restore a relationship of love and communion?
Or is he a figment of someone's imagination, a mere opiate for the masses? A means to control a bunch of mindless pathetic sheep, who cannot think for themselves.
That is the question that needs to be answered first. Then we can begin to engage the skeptic. Otherwise none of it will progress at all.
A foundation must be solid, otherwise the building will fail.
Wednesday, January 4, 2017
Starting off level
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I note that many, if not most, criticisms of Christianity are founded on misinformation and disinformation. Especially the notion that Christianity is contrary to science, in which the secular wear science as a pin-on badge and invoke its name as if to lend themselves a façade of credibility. This might have seemed plausible to me in the days when I, like many, presumed that fantasy and blind faith were the bricks and mortar of the religion. Having read several books observing the fusion of Christianity and science, I am quite certain I now know which ideology is founded upon fact and which is founded upon empty posturing, and it's not what most people assume. This foundation is the epitome of solidity, even if some choose not to admit it.
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