tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21212024.post2446368770822092480..comments2024-03-10T10:40:32.319-07:00Comments on Pyromaniacs: Is Christianity rational? (Re-post from 2006)Phil Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00649092052031518426noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21212024.post-14071654891567400772012-01-14T09:15:03.992-08:002012-01-14T09:15:03.992-08:00Schleiermacheranian
My advice: get the rights to ...Schleiermacheranian<br /><br />My advice: get the rights to this word right now. I can see it really catching on.Gordanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14527530618839981892noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21212024.post-37294137898009655252012-01-13T12:46:08.213-08:002012-01-13T12:46:08.213-08:00Roger that and thanks for the clarification. :^)Roger that and thanks for the clarification. :^)Mr. Fosihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17652392944938128012noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21212024.post-80492241922780068552012-01-13T06:20:01.109-08:002012-01-13T06:20:01.109-08:00It was off-topic, they were a pair, and we general...It was off-topic, they were a pair, and we generally remove clean like that unless there's some admonitory purpose. Readers would have assumed <i>you</i> had done something wrong warranting administrative action, which you didn't.DJPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16471042180904855578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21212024.post-41296695613248445832012-01-13T06:04:08.358-08:002012-01-13T06:04:08.358-08:00Why'd the Portuguese comment + translation get...Why'd the Portuguese comment + translation get removed?<br /><br />And without the usual "Removed by amin" message?<br /><br />Too off-topic?Mr. Fosihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17652392944938128012noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21212024.post-91885126974640693912012-01-12T13:59:13.704-08:002012-01-12T13:59:13.704-08:00"A man with an experience is never at the mer..."A man with an experience is never at the mercy of a man with an argument."<br /><br />I am shocked - shocked! - to hear of this phrase being abused in this way. And by a charismatic, no less. Inconceivable!<br /><br />The saying, like many quips, has a perfectly cromulent application, and is also susceptible to abuse. Basically it means that someone who has a neat idea or theory has nothing on the guy who's been in the trenches putting it into practice.<br /><br />A related common churchy saying is "I like the way I do it better than the way you don't." Or as noted theologian Mike Tyson explained, "Everyone has a plan until he gets punched in the face."<br /><br />The saying is not anti-intellectual, as the dude used it. Rather, it's about the greater value of theory put into practice and refined by experience than mere theory alone. This little quip assumes that the 'experience' is based on sound theoretical principles - unlike the charismaticism this guy's promoting, in which the 'experience' is independent from the knowledge, and is superior in and of itself.<br /><br />If he can't handle a simplistic, 16-word pithy saying, I can only imagine the mincemeat he makes of God's Word. Which might explain how he got to be a charismatic elder.trogdorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11452996348717802065noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21212024.post-3482121873114502932012-01-12T13:30:53.266-08:002012-01-12T13:30:53.266-08:00Interestingly, I blogged about J. Gresham Machen a...Interestingly, I blogged about J. Gresham Machen as recently as Monday. Great writer. And yes, quite rational!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11367012840719617546noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21212024.post-25111739986376103822012-01-12T11:21:08.548-08:002012-01-12T11:21:08.548-08:00Well, that is the most encouraging news I've h...Well, that is the most encouraging news I've heard all day - by a wide margin!Nash Equilibriumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06528684112014026512noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21212024.post-37434039899194282272012-01-12T10:57:54.163-08:002012-01-12T10:57:54.163-08:00"Put another way: if it isn't rational, i..."Put another way: if it isn't rational, it isn't Christianity."<br /><br />Amen! I just had this conversation with a coworker the other day as we were discussing some things in "The World-Tilting Gospel." The fact that God is sovereignly in control over everything, including salavtion, as chapter 5 thoroughly talks about, my friend was realizing that none of that makes any sense. But now that he is a believer, most likely due to reading this book, it was making so much sense to him.<br /><br />It occurred to me then, and even now, that to the worldly minded, the things of God really don't make much sense, like in 1 Cor 2:14. However, to those who are in Christ, it all becomes much more clear because we have the mind of Christ (1 Cor 2:16). Obviously we are still in the flesh and therefore can't fully understand every little detail of all the difficult doctrines, but we have no problem accepting them as true because they make so much sense, since we are in Christ. And on the flip side, because before we were in Christ, they made so little sense. <br /><br />I hope that is biblically accurate. If not, correct me. <br /><br />But my friend, who I believe has just come to a saving knowledge of faith in Jesus Christ by the sovereignty of God through Dan Phillips new book, is starting to realize that for the first time Christianity is the only worldview that actually makes any sense at all. What a joy it was to have that conversation with a newly converted man. <br /><br />Thanks Dan for your true love for the Lord and by being faithful in presenting the true Gospel of Jesus Christ so that those who hear it might be saved. And trust me, they are being saved!Jared T. Baergenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07934502836422481775noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21212024.post-77925386256159569972012-01-12T08:59:31.067-08:002012-01-12T08:59:31.067-08:00Christianity is not irrational, but man is -- that...Christianity is not irrational, but man is -- that is, the unregenerate natural man will reject the rational to excuse his nature, until he is born again.<br /><br />Or to put it another way, the natural man cannot understand spiritual things, even if they're rational (1 Cor. 2:14).<br /><br />Until one is born again, he cannot even SEE the Kingdom, let alone truly believe in the King, making a book title such as "How To Be Born Again" an absurdity (John 3:3).<br /><br />Still, as a believer, I LOVE the rationality of the Word. It's truly a thing of beauty, as it's Author is.Terry Rayburnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00888533194435826837noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21212024.post-11127280223801771542012-01-12T08:26:11.344-08:002012-01-12T08:26:11.344-08:00If there is one Church with many members then why ...If there is one Church with many members then why can’t there be one God with three members. I understand the Trinity to be three beings that are one in being. As a family is one entity while existing (at least) as husband and wife thus two individuals. God in three persons. They are unified in every way and in every thing. They are not distinct in purpose, thus manifesting themselves as One.Neal Dosterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15406513625542595561noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21212024.post-50215982395633244172012-01-12T07:18:30.218-08:002012-01-12T07:18:30.218-08:00"Try to follow out some thinking to its uncom..."Try to follow out some thinking to its uncomfortable conclusion, and you get a shrug and a dismissal."<br /><br />OH how many times I have experienced that - frustrating!Nash Equilibriumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06528684112014026512noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21212024.post-75867217642097412802012-01-12T07:15:51.320-08:002012-01-12T07:15:51.320-08:00"Or, we could say that God is one "what&..."Or, we could say that God is one "what" (i.e. one as to His essence), and three "who's" (i.e. three as to His persons)."<br /><br />Been listening to Hank Hanegraaf (Bible Answer Man), I see? Or even if great minds think alike, I think the phrase is an excellent way to clear up the logical fog in which many Trinity doubters wander.Miltonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08077866845635921855noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21212024.post-51854605575777410822012-01-12T06:08:56.364-08:002012-01-12T06:08:56.364-08:00For materialists, "rational" and "e...For materialists, "rational" and "empirical" must be the same thing.Andrew Lindseyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06543222209236040112noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21212024.post-8226428625302025722012-01-12T05:16:13.195-08:002012-01-12T05:16:13.195-08:00And there's a difference between something bei...And there's a difference between something being "irrational" and something being "absurd."James Scott Bellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07641370124346172648noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21212024.post-11507888217140240112012-01-12T05:00:27.403-08:002012-01-12T05:00:27.403-08:00+2 for Tom's remark.
In addition, jestoning r...+2 for Tom's remark.<br /><br />In addition, jestoning rational thought seems make the American version of "Christianity" more irrational every year. God has become something you prove with miracles or some feeling in your heart. Ironically this god only starts with man, not Revelation.Scothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16573138499478048502noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21212024.post-68142584523130208142012-01-12T04:57:06.863-08:002012-01-12T04:57:06.863-08:00A hearty amen and thanks for the link to your post...A hearty amen and thanks for the link to your post about "What is Faith?" (and for suggesting that I read it) and Machen. I finished it recently and now think that both it and "Christianity and Liberalism" should be required reading for all Christians. I know I'll have both of my sons read it when they are a few years older.<br /><br />I'll add that my wife got me the best gift ever in this Nook tablet...so many books available for free on such a wonderfully portable device with a screen that is easy on my eyes.Roberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13987985549747283669noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21212024.post-58916905929745291812012-01-12T04:24:50.077-08:002012-01-12T04:24:50.077-08:00I dare say that in this age of philosophical ignor...I dare say that in this age of philosophical ignorance the problem is largely a matter of failing to discern the difference between "rational" and "empirical."Tom Chantryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02485908616177111150noreply@blogger.com