Yes, I Am Pretty Certain I'm Right
I am as certain that Christianity is false as Christians are that people are wasting time and money on cold fusion. [I know someone is trying to make headway in that field so don't get me wrong]. I am as certain that Christianity is false as I am that Scientology or Mormonism is false. If I'm risking hell you would think I must be sure of it, right?
We are all justifiably certain that some ideas and theories are wrong. It's easy to do. We merely conclude the case has not been made.
But these are not beliefs of mine. I am not affirming anything. I'm denying something. I deny the cases have been made. Some cases I have never even considered before, but tell me of them and I'll deny them without further thought. We all do this. So I am not doing anything out of the ordinary when I do so.
Take what happened at Custer's last stand as one example. What happened? Well I know for certain what did not happen and I could name you off-hand about a hundred things that did not happen. Jesus didn't appear and kill Col. Custer and his company of men. THAT didn't happened. Nor did Satan do it. Nor did aliens. My great great great grandmother was not killed there either. And on and on and on I could go.
But once I switch to making a positive or affirmative case for what did happen at Custer's last stand I am on different territory. There is a great amount of debate about it and the cases made seem reasonable. It's hard to know what exactly did happen. But it's easy to know what did not happen. We do it all of the time. Christians are in the position of arguing what happened in the Bible, repeatedly, over and over. They must also argue that of the many different historically conditioned understandings of these texts theirs is the correct one. Coupled with the extraordinary claims found in the Bible that are similar to the ones we read in other ancient cultures--claims we deny when others make them--I can easily deny the case Christians make much as I can deny the case that Mormon's make.
We are all justifiably certain that some ideas and theories are wrong. It's easy to do. We merely conclude the case has not been made.
But these are not beliefs of mine. I am not affirming anything. I'm denying something. I deny the cases have been made. Some cases I have never even considered before, but tell me of them and I'll deny them without further thought. We all do this. So I am not doing anything out of the ordinary when I do so.
Take what happened at Custer's last stand as one example. What happened? Well I know for certain what did not happen and I could name you off-hand about a hundred things that did not happen. Jesus didn't appear and kill Col. Custer and his company of men. THAT didn't happened. Nor did Satan do it. Nor did aliens. My great great great grandmother was not killed there either. And on and on and on I could go.
But once I switch to making a positive or affirmative case for what did happen at Custer's last stand I am on different territory. There is a great amount of debate about it and the cases made seem reasonable. It's hard to know what exactly did happen. But it's easy to know what did not happen. We do it all of the time. Christians are in the position of arguing what happened in the Bible, repeatedly, over and over. They must also argue that of the many different historically conditioned understandings of these texts theirs is the correct one. Coupled with the extraordinary claims found in the Bible that are similar to the ones we read in other ancient cultures--claims we deny when others make them--I can easily deny the case Christians make much as I can deny the case that Mormon's make.