Never Let The Facts Get In The Way of A Good Theory
I had another epiphany. You know, one of those “aha” moments when someone switches on a light.
The light on this occasion was Dr. Greg Bahnsen, and I was listening to the CD set Defending the Christian World View Against All Opposition. It’s a great set. No. It’s a brilliant set.
But what got me thinking was his comment about facts. Facts convince no one. You cannot start with the facts and end up with biblical truth. To attempt to reason that way is to reverse the process.
“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge” (Prov. 9:10).
I need to say this again. I am a slow learner. Duh!
Now, after 30 years of thinking I was a presuppositionalist, Dr. Greg Bahnsen has changed my mind. I was close, but not close enough.
There are two things that challenge all thinking: infallibility and omniscience.
Example:
Premise 1:The Greek (humanistic) mind is based on making conclusions, finding answers.
AAARRGGGHHHH! I Did It Again!
You would think I learned my lesson. No. Here I am making the same mistake . . . again!
Trying to make sense out of the confused and erratic statements of my friends, is one of the challenges of life. However, this time I walked straight back into the same issues that started these postings.
I had a return visit with my Reformed Baptist friends for a few days. And right on the first night, we got into a discussion. The topic? Localized self government.
The Australian (me): The American foundation was an attempt to put the Biblical pattern of localized self government into practice.
My American Friends: Where does it say in the Bible we should have localized self government?
Ad Hominem – Latin for “to the man.”
It’s a debating technique that is designed to avoid real argument by attacking the person with the express purpose of undermining his argument. In other words, it’s a debating tactic that can be very, very effective. Ad hominem arguments might be:
“The trouble is, he’s Australian . . .”
“He sounds just like a Roman Catholic”
“He’s dangerous . . .”
“He’s a Calvinist . . .”
It could even be, “He’s not a Calvinist . . .”
Get the idea? What has Australian got to do with in an argument, or being Roman Catholic, or dangerous, or being Calvinistic or even non-Calvinistic. It’s an attempt to slur the person’s character, thereby undermining the statements they make. It throws into question their character and integrity, so you begin to think, “well, if he’s like that, his arguments cannot be very good.”
If you want to know what’s wrong in the world today, it’s tempting to answer that with a single issue. In reality, there are many things that contribute to the state of the present world.
Not least of these, however, is critical thinking or, rather, the lack of it.
There are some who will make all kinds of excuses why logical thinking should be abandoned or denied. Some do it on the basis that this is “Greek” thinking and we should be “Hebrew” in our thinking, the implication being that “Hebrew” thinking somehow does not demand the same kind of logic. This view of Greek and Hebrew, however, has the wrong point in mind, for this is not the real distinction between Greek and Hebrew thought. It is the outcome of our logical thinking that illustrates our presuppositions, and these are either biblical or they are not.
Out of European Enlightenment thought came German Higher Criticism. Ferdinand Walter Bauer and Adolph von Harnack are two of its major proponents.
The essence of their theory? That the early Church Fathers were influenced by Greek and pagan philosophy, An outcome is the idea that the Trinity, for example, is based on Greek philosophy not the Bible.
Logical argument, right? Sure it is.
So you apply the test. The test that asks this question: Which part of Greek or pagan philosophy required the Trinity: one God, three Persons? No cheating now. You can’t use the Greek call for three gods – polytheism – as the foundation, for that is only a foundation for three gods, not the Trinity.
You get the idea. There is a confusion of two different ideas. The one from Greek philosophy that has multiple gods, and the other, the biblical idea of Trinity which is one God, Three Persons. In other words, the critics of Christianity are confusing their categories. Now this is not kosher logic.
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