This is good, I think we're getting to the heart of the issue. (I mean us, I haven't been following Ron, Tex, and RM much)
7) Christianity speaks of an absurd, impossible history.
But the fact that they can't happen in the world, at least without God, is exactly the point: They imply that God must have had a hand in them. To say that their absurdness proves that the Bible is unreliable implies that the God of the Bible is not real, which is what you're trying to prove.
8) Christianity is based on feeling.
Christianity does not always make me feel good. In fact, there have been times when I was younger that my (limited) understanding of my faith drove me to feel quite hopeless. While I stand by Christianity's understanding of the human condition, there are parts of it that I could not accept for a long time without anger, shame, and resentment.If my faith was only based on feeling, I would have denied it many times over by now.
But this really says nothing about how true, or even how likely, Christianity is. Saying Christianity is false because it makes us feel free and hopeful is like saying atheism must be false because it makes us feel worthless and hopeless, or that you should be a Christian so you don't have to be afraid of Hell (again, Ray Comfort, I'm looking at you.)
7) Christianity speaks of an absurd, impossible history.
Zazzy Wrote:The stories in it are so absurd that I have never even seen why so many people find them so important and ennobling.This seems to be begging the question a little once we take a look at what exactly is so absurd. I assume you're mainly referring to the miracles that God/Jesus did in the Bible.
But the fact that they can't happen in the world, at least without God, is exactly the point: They imply that God must have had a hand in them. To say that their absurdness proves that the Bible is unreliable implies that the God of the Bible is not real, which is what you're trying to prove.
8) Christianity is based on feeling.
The Reality Salesman Wrote:Why don't you just say, “I don’t know if God exists, but I believe in Him because it makes me feel good.” Wouldn’t that me a more honest approach?OK, I know this was for Ron, and I can't speak for him, but let me answer this one for myself:
Christianity does not always make me feel good. In fact, there have been times when I was younger that my (limited) understanding of my faith drove me to feel quite hopeless. While I stand by Christianity's understanding of the human condition, there are parts of it that I could not accept for a long time without anger, shame, and resentment.If my faith was only based on feeling, I would have denied it many times over by now.
But this really says nothing about how true, or even how likely, Christianity is. Saying Christianity is false because it makes us feel free and hopeful is like saying atheism must be false because it makes us feel worthless and hopeless, or that you should be a Christian so you don't have to be afraid of Hell (again, Ray Comfort, I'm looking at you.)
