Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Begging the Question: How can non-Christians condemn Christians for anything?
A poster by the name of "Mephistopholes" asks, on the Philosophy Forum, "How can Christians possibly rationalize these things?" whereupon he lists a litany of bad things found in the Bible, some of them either commanded by or apparently acquiesced to by God. But isn't it just as logical to ask, "How can nonChristians possibly condemn these things?"
3 comments:
You are welcome to post at this blog. You are asked, however, to refrain from the following:
1. Name-calling;
2. Questioning the motives or integrity of people you have never met just because you disagree with them;
3. Using obscenities or other expressions not appropriate or necessary to civilized discussion;
4. Taking disagreement personally;
5. Demeaning or insulting remarks.
The host will attempt to abide by the same rules and only asks that you not provide him with the temptation to do so in return by violating them.
Failure to comply with these rules can result (depending solely on the arbitrary and inscrutable will of the host) in the deletion of offending posts and suspension of posting privileges. Such measures are more likely if you post anonymously.
Hi Martin,
ReplyDeletePerhaps Mephistopholes is simply seeking answers to questions. I ran across this list of book recommendations:
If you are interested in this area of study, here are a few recommended titles: William Arndt, Bible Difficulties and Seeming Contradictions, rev. ed. (St. Louis: Concordia, 1987); Norman Geisler and Thomas Howe, When Critics Ask: A Popular Handbook on Bible Difficulties (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2002). This book has been republished under the title The Big Book of Bible Difficulties; Gleason L. Archer, Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1982); John W. Haley, Alleged Discrepancies of the Bible, Geology, and Archeology (various editions). Because I am not a dispensational premillennialist, I have some disagreements on how books like these deal with prophecy and other interpretive issues. For example, my comments on Matthew 12:40 do not follow the typical “scientific” approach to the problem. See my article “Cut the Bible Some Slack.” While I can’t go into detail here, I would recommend reading George M. Marsden, Fundamentalism and American Culture: The Shaping of Twentieth Century Evangelicalism—1870–1925, 2nd rev. ed. (New York: Oxford University Press, [1980] 2006), especially his section on “Dispensationalism and the Baconian Ideal.”
Oh, sorry. I should have noted the source:
ReplyDeleteGary DeMar on The American Vision
http://www.americanvision.org/
http://74.255.56.30/blog/?p=116#comment-1741
(And, sorry, I didn't realize my Google name is the silly webname I use with my friends when we are blogging about what our children eat.)
Debbie Long
I think that Mr Cothran may have been also suggesting that nonChristians can not condemn others since they (nonChristians) have no absolute morality (all morality has to be externally defined).
ReplyDeleteThere was a building near here (since fallen down) that had painted on the side,
"My people are the people of the dessert." T E Lawrence
jah