JESUS CHRIST
Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them. When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
Matthew 28:16-20 (c. 60-65 AD)
August 3rd, 2008 at 6:16 pm
John,
Preaching isn’t answering the skeptics.
August 3rd, 2008 at 9:29 pm
You consider the mere posting of scripture to be preaching?
I post these scripture verses because they are fascinating looks into the mind of Jesus Christ and the early Christians who preserved his teachings. You certainly don’t have to be a Christian to appreciate the historic value of these ancient writings.
I, of course, believe every word attributed to Him, but even if I didn’t, I would still enjoy studying His life and teachings. My journey to Christ included the study of many ancient texts, including the Hindu Vedas, Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita; the Bhuddist Diamond Sutra; Islam’s Qur’an; and many others, such as the Tibetan Book of the Dead, the writings of Confucius, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and the Nag Hammadi Gnostic library.
It is true that scripture verses are not apologetic arguments, but I’d hate to limit myself to just apologetic posts. Sometimes I like to share quotes, poems, songs, and scripture verses that mean a lot to me and my faith.
August 4th, 2008 at 12:53 pm
John,
Fair enough. It’s your blog, and your audience is clearly other Christians rather than skeptics. I would suggest that the name of your blog is a little inaccurate, though. Very little of your content would soothe the doubts of a Christian who is really trying to explain the logical flaws in Christian dogma. I think it would be more honest to just take the approach that Christian belief is not something you can arrive at through logic. That way you can blame the unbelief of skeptics on the “arrogance” of the skeptics, and you can bless the Christians for their faith-based decision to ignore contrary evidence.
Please understand where I’m coming from here. In talking with Christians at various times in my life, I’ve encountered a kind of smug condescension when giving reasons why I won’t convert. The attitude has been that the problem is mine for not seeing what is obvious to those who “see with the eyes of faith.” In religious discussions, this kind of banter is fine, but your brethren aren’t content to leave this kind of thing in the church. Instead, they strive daily to enthrone Christian dogma in our schools, courthouses, and governments, defying logic and belittling skeptics the whole time.
Sites like yours, with the word “skeptic” in them, allow those who never think about the beliefs they are trying to foist on the rest of us to believe they are in some way logical. If that is your intent, why not just say flat out that Christianity isn’t logical; you have to approach it through faith and ignore all contrary evidence?
August 4th, 2008 at 2:32 pm
Christianity is a personal relationship with God through His only begotten son, Jesus Christ. While that relationship is based on faith, it is certainly not blind faith, and I think the information posted on this site proves that.
Do you honestly think that C.S. Lewis, Peter Kreeft, Hugh Ross, Stephen Myers, Ravi Zacharias, and so many others are illogical people who follow Christianity merely as an exercise in wishful thinking? You may not agree with their conclusions, but that hardly makes them illogical. The exacting logic of C.S. Lewis, G.K. Chesterton, and Ravi Zacharias has helped many skeptics come to faith in Jesus Christ.
By the way, I understand your apparent disdain for arrogant Christians (I share that view), but you have to understand that many of us feel the same way about arrogant atheists and skeptics who boldly reject God (and belittle believers) as if they have all the answers to life’s mysteries figured out.
August 4th, 2008 at 7:30 pm
“Christianity is a personal relationship with God through His only begotten son, Jesus Christ. While that relationship is based on faith, it is certainly not blind faith, and I think the information posted on this site proves that.”
The information on this site proves that it is not an unthinking faith. Logic is different from thinking or intelligence, though. Logic requires that you continually submit your beliefs to new information and testing. It requires that you be willing, however reluctantly, to admit that the beliefs you have clung to may not be fact-based.
For centuries, the greatest minds in the world believed the world was flat. It was seen as a fact, but it ended up being a matter of faith. Faith was proven wrong.
“By the way, I understand your apparent disdain for arrogant Christians (I share that view), but you have to understand that many of us feel the same way about arrogant atheists and skeptics who boldly reject God (and belittle believers) as if they have all the answers to life’s mysteries figured out.”
I do understand, I think. Arrogance is a temptation we all are faced with, regardless of our beliefs or skepticism. If we’re lucky, we get proven wrong enough that we remember to hold our assumptions loosely.
August 5th, 2008 at 9:17 am
Perhaps your skepticism will be proven wrong one day, and like the greatest minds who believed the world was flat, your belief in the non-existence of a Creator will be verifiably wrong. This is a very real possibility.
At the end of the day, we both are operating on faith in either the existence or non-existence of God, and both of us believe our faith to be well-placed. Only time will tell which of us is correct.