[Vision2020] The Benefits of Polarization

Doug Jones credenda@moscow.com
Thu, 6 Feb 2003 09:05:13 -0500


Bob Hoffman wrote: 

> I learned (at a private college) that the justification of religion on
> rational grounds is a fallacy.  Religion is at its base a matter of
faith,
> not a matter of science.  

You should be aware, Bob, how this translates: it's like a Christian
saying "I learned that 
justifying modernity on biblical grounds is not possible. Modernity is
at base unjustifiable
because it's not in the Bible." The sort of distinctions between
reason/faith you invoke are inherently geared to preclude justifying
anything outside your own view. 

In the same way, Ted Moffett speaks of the "logical difficulties
involved in rationally defending Christianity" as if logic were some
neutral common ground and not the special "Bible" of modernity. Ted's
claims would sound like this coming from a confused Christian: "the
biblical difficulties involved in biblically defending modernity are
profound." Not very helpful is it? It just assumes what's in question
and misunderstands the whole disagreement.


Doug Jones