With Thinking Skills Like These No Wonder You Believe
In a recent post I had written this sentence: "Joe, my goal is to change the minds of one person at a time, alone as they read my book." Then a Christian named Neal responded: "Man, your opinion of yourself is quite deluded. The idea that after Hume, Nietzsche, Comte, Marx, Engels, Popper, Russell, Sartre, Schopenhauer, Ayer, Chomski, and the list could be multiplied on and on now suddenly a second-rate atheologian like John Loftus has the arguments that will demolish Christianity once and for all is more than just hubris, it is outright self-deluded narcissism. Your estimation of your own abilities is quite exaggerated."
Does anyone know what a non-sequitur is? Neal's response is one.
[Edit: Here is the link].
Nothing of what Neal wrote follows from what I had written--nothing [Edit: and this means anything I said in that post or anything I have ever written about myself]. It does not follow from what I said that I think I am superior to anyone at all. I'm just saying what my goal is, to change one mind at a time.
Neal, no wonder you believe. You cannot logically connect the dots nor make sound judgments. The thinking skills exhibited here are the same ones you use to evaluate your faith. You do not have them. You must therefore take seriously my claim that you believe what you prefer to believe.
Earlier Neal constructed several arguments he attributed to me concerning animal suffering, but none of them represented my argument or were even close.
Again, Neal, you cannot think critically. That being demonstrated in this case means you should take seriously my claim that you believe because you prefer to believe.
So many other Christians who believe exhibit the same lack of critical thinking skills. So here's my challenge: First demonstrate you have the needed critical thinking skills. Then and only then will I consider the possibility you do not believe merely because you prefer to believe.
Cheers
Does anyone know what a non-sequitur is? Neal's response is one.
[Edit: Here is the link].
Nothing of what Neal wrote follows from what I had written--nothing [Edit: and this means anything I said in that post or anything I have ever written about myself]. It does not follow from what I said that I think I am superior to anyone at all. I'm just saying what my goal is, to change one mind at a time.
Neal, no wonder you believe. You cannot logically connect the dots nor make sound judgments. The thinking skills exhibited here are the same ones you use to evaluate your faith. You do not have them. You must therefore take seriously my claim that you believe what you prefer to believe.
Earlier Neal constructed several arguments he attributed to me concerning animal suffering, but none of them represented my argument or were even close.
Again, Neal, you cannot think critically. That being demonstrated in this case means you should take seriously my claim that you believe because you prefer to believe.
So many other Christians who believe exhibit the same lack of critical thinking skills. So here's my challenge: First demonstrate you have the needed critical thinking skills. Then and only then will I consider the possibility you do not believe merely because you prefer to believe.
Cheers