The other day I read the recent Newsweek piece in which Rick Warren (Purpose-Driven Life—like you didn’t know) debated the eminently rational and mind-bogglingly articulate Sam Harris (The End of Faith, Letter to a Christian Nation). In that “debate,” I thought Mr. Harris waxed the floor with Mr. Warren. For one, nobody out-rationalizes Sam Harris. The guy has a brain the size of Europe—and all of it is connected to his mouth. He also seems entirely compassionate and utterly Pro-Human, two qualities I know I enjoy in a person. I think Sam Harris stands as pretty much the ultimate example of what a person can be and think when they insist that rational thought, above all, should be respected. And I can respect that. It’s certainly not the worst thing for a person to stake their claim on.
The capacity for rational thought being core to all humans means that sooner or later every human must decide whether or not there’s a God. Everything is either created by some sort of Divine Overseer, or the universe is the result of purely mechanistic coincidences. Those are our two choices. It’s not like there’s a third one. (Unless you count the decision not to decide whether or not there’s a God—which, to my mind, is a “choice” entirely too spineless to take seriously.)
There either is a God, or there isn’t. And everyone definitely wants to know which of the two it is. Not a one of us wants to exist in a system that’s grounded in pure unknowable mystery.
So people do what they must: They choose either God, or No God.
We Christians, of course, have chosen God. It’s what our hearts tell us is true. More: It’s what God tells us is true. To be perfectly accurate, we didn’t choose God at all. God chose us.
But we Christians have got to understand that once we decide, for whatever reason, to Vote God, we necessarily mark ourselves, in the eyes of someone who’s gone with option No God, as extraordinarily irrational. At that point we can’t help but seem to them as fundamentally (so to speak) bonkers.
Which is not to say that we cannot fully justify our faith: My first book, Penguins, Pain and the Whole Shebang, proved (if I say so myself) that the entirety of the Christian belief system is nothing if not rationally supportable. Once anyone decides there is (or must be) a God, Christianity makes as much sense as opening an umbrella in the rain. It’s actually difficult to posit a God, proceed logically from that assertion, and end up anywhere but at the Christian cross.
God became human to right us with himself. It’s … well, perfect.
But as rationally sound as the Christian theological system is, the essence of what makes Christianity real and alive is a mystical, deeply personal phenomenon that has no more to do with reason or logic than fins and gills have to do with koala bears.
Rick Warren lost his Newsweek debate with Sam Harris because Sam Harris can take rational thought and language all the way down to the base of what he believes, while Mr. Warren, struggle though he might, can only take rational thought and language down to the point at his belief where language become useless.
So Rick Warren lost his debate with Sam Harris. Big whoop. In the end, we Christians will always lose the debate with atheists. Because they’re using the language of logic. And there are no words for the essence of the Christian experience. And there never will be, thank God.
******************************************************************************************************************************
Email: johnshore@sbcglobal.net
Follow: http://twitter.com/johnshore
Befriend: http://www.facebook.com/john.shore1
Be Fan: http://www.facebook.com/pages/John-Shore/89494795412?ref=s
Just out: UNFAIR: Why the “Christian” View of Gays Doesn’t Work (softcover edition; Kindle edition; NookBook edition). You’re invited to check out my Facebook page, and my group Unfundamentalist Christians, the motto of which is “Above all, love.”
![John Shore on The Huffington Post](http://johnshore.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/huffpost.jpg?w=120 "John Shore on The Huffington Post\")
{ 41 comments… read them below or add one }
← Older Comments
FYI: Sam Harris has a new book out that I just ordered on Amazon. I look forward to reading The Moral Landscape: How Science Can Determine Human Values [ http://www.amazon.com/Moral-Landscape-Science-Det... ]. It addresses an old argument of non-overlapping magisteria . As is typical with publishers; the title is more overreaching than Harris' actual thesis. The subtitle should read How Science Can HELP determine human values.
I've been looking forward to reading this book since Sam's TED talk.
Now to the important question: Why is the used hardcover more expensive than the new hardcover?
Amazon, like god, seems to work in mysterious ways.
A similar sentiment, from the naturalist viewpoint, expressed by Owen Flanagan in The Problem Of The Soul: Two Visions Of Mind And How To Reconcile Them:
"…If you or your friends believe in God because of these arguments, you believe in conclusions that logic will not support and in arguments that no decent logician will accept.
I must admit to an urge to stop writing. The urge is not caused by fear of offending people, although this is what I'm about to do. The reason is this: I've explained why the arguments don't work to many smart students over the years. They almost always see why the arguments are abject failures. But many of them don't seem to care. I sometimes suspect that people don't really care if some of their most cherished beliefs are rationally groundless. This is sad, if true. Or bad, since we should want our beliefs to be true."
Ditto.. thank God!
Taryn, I don't know about you, but when I was a child I loved asking "why?" and I loved learning how things worked. I was curious. I liked asking questions. And I wasn't satisfied with adult answers like "because" or "I know better and someday you'll grow up and understand."
I just don't see a child-like mentality in Christians. Instead, I see frightened and tired adults who have retreated from that initial playful curiousity. I see people who just want an easy answer to the hard questions, no matter how intellectually unsatisfying those kinds of answers are. People who got worn down by life and just want something to go along with. People who freak out whenever anyone questions the path they've taken because they've got doubts down deep inside but they are too afraid to do anything else.
Does this make sense to anyone else?
http://braindump.parachutemind.com/index.php?entry=entry070920-131436
Karen, I hope you can hear the applause.
michael ,
“…every theory/hypothesis requires faith.”
For the n-th time this is not the case.
The first thing that I do when I start up with a new theory or hypothesis is to try to prove it wrong. Or to see in which cases it does not apply. And if can’t prove it wrong and nobody else can than i continue work on it. Recall popper who said (simplified) that a good theory is one that is falsifiable.
Creationism isn’t , the flying spaghetti monster isn’t and superstring theory isn’t. That’s why i don’t bother with any of them.
man way to sell out and bump your own post…jk
i really like your last few posts, as i just came upon them. i’m often taken back at the fear of science many of my fellow christ-followers display. i’m currently reading “being a christian in a brave new world” by joni eareckson tada and while it highlights some areas of concern, it also embraces many advancements that have to be god-given in my opinion.
it is interesting to witness the pure pride on both of these sides in terms of absolutes and the lack of acknowledgment that every theory/hypothesis requires faith.
MA:
"Seems to me that when I get all up in my head, I ignore the straightforward simplicity of nature and thinking and humanity and, well, God. Whether or not people believe Jesus is who He says He is, you gotta admit He had a point when He talked about receiving the kingdom of God as a little child."
Sorry to be skeptical (not cynical) but, this is why religion insists on people being submissive and accepting revealed truths from ancient holy books as "divine right" that's not to be questioned. This is how children are taught to obey parents, and how believers are taught to obey a divinity represented by priests and other authority figures.
When you start to look at things more logically, objectively and "get all up in your head," you do start to see the flaws and illogic and contradictions of religious doctrine. The blinders come down and the questions start to fly. For instance, if the holy spirit is really at work in believers' hearts, as I was taught as a Christian, why is there no measurable distinction in their actions? Why is Christianity the "right" way to god and all other religions are wrong (as others have asked)?
This is why de-conversion is an intellectual process and conversion is for the most part a highly emotional process that encourages turning off the brain, and "becoming like a little child" (i.e., obedience without question).
I'm still waiting for a good explanation of why Christians (or any other religion, denomination, cult, etc.) think theirs is THE truth and all the other guys are wrong. When I was a child, if my mom or my minister said "Because I said so," that was reason enough. I'm not a child anymore (haven't been for a long time), and I need a better reason now.
← Older Comments