Tuesday, December 21, 2010

FacePalm of the Day #38 - Debunking Christianity: The Positivist Canard

John Loftus is at it again. I am dismayed every time I see John Loftus try to define "faith" and why it doesn't work. Every time there is chance to set the record straight about what the Bible says about "faith" or "pistas" it is never a waste of time. First, let's look at Loftus' most current fail:

Christian apologists keep crowing on about their criticisms of positivism as if that ends the matter. What best describes positivism:
Positivism refers to a set of epistemological perspectives and philosophies of science which hold that the scientific method is the best approach to uncovering the processes by which both physical and human events occur.Link
There is something to positivism these apologists have overlooked. We cannot offer a logical DEDUCTIVE proof that science is the only game in town. To criticize positivism as if it did is to knock down a straw man. Yes, the positivists did make sweeping statements so they fell prey to some criticisms. But what we really want to say is that it's very probable science is the only game in town. That cannot be refuted. And that is all we need to say. If they want to continue hanging their hats on what is "possible" time and again, have at it. That's the definition of faith. We will keep insisting on that which is probable not that which is possible.

No one really is born-again because they think that the claims the Bible make are at most "possibly true". That is not what faith is. If one "cannot offer logical deductive proof that science is the only game in town", then all John Loftus and other apostates have done is switch one ideology they thought was true with another "probable truth" for another. No wonder he misunderstands Biblical faith. He equates faith in the God with the faith he has in science. Moving the goal post to say that science is "probable the only game in town" is sad. Worse for his position it can be refuted easily. The only way it could be even likely to the only viable worldview if there was no example of anything being true that can't be scientifically observed or measured. And there are countless things. Simple example the mind and the brain are not the same thing, yet we all assume that the people come into contact with have minds and consciousness though no one really knows where such things emanate or rest within each person. The only canard I see here is the thought that faith is the antithesis of science and rational thought. So sad. So very sad.

Debunking Christianity: The Positivist Canard
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1 comment:

  1. Good post.

    I get tired of the athiest claim that faith is of necessity opposed to reason. It seems no matter how many sound arguments you offer, they don't seem to hear them.

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