Julian Haydon Writes to His Nephew

You have probably never heard of Julian but he is one of the unsung heroes among skeptics. Here we see him writing his nephew on Adam's supposed free choice in the garden.

By Julian Haydon:
Consider all that has gone into making you, you up to this time.

Your body and its state of health.
Your brain, of course.
Throw in soul, if that pleases you.
All of your past experiences.
All that you were ever taught.
All that you have ever read.
All your inter-actions with other people, ever: parents, Doug, me, your various wives, friends, priests, etc, etc.
All that you ever did.
All that was ever done to you.
All that you once believed that you no longer believe.
E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G without exception.

And then consider, how and to what extent all that is available to you through memory.

If you remembered nothing of all this, how could you still be you, except in body, brain and, of course, soul?

Now, consider Adam.

What did he have that made him, him?

Brain, body and soul - 1, 2 and 3.

What else?

What of 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11?

If he had anything else where did he get it? Of what could it possibly consist? Anything at all that might bear on his inclination to obey or disobey a voice with whom he had no experience?

How could he have had any capacity to know God was speaking to him, understand what God said, who God was, why he should believe God's command or have any comprehension at all of the dire consequences of disobedience?

How can you possibly believe God created Adam in a flash, that he was the first human being and yet he had nothing of 4 - 11?

Any child would ask.

Why should you not wonder about these questions? If the Adam story is true, there must be answers.

O, yes. "God works in mysterious ways."

0 comments: