Response to Sam Harris on the Dangers of Religion

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Here is an article in my series on Responding to Sam Harris on the "dangers" of Religion.




In this video, Harris is talking about how much (if not most or all) of the violence in the world can be traced back to people's competing ideas about God. I can agree with that assessment. Any time you base you ideas and life on something that is not true then you have a problem. I also agree that people do not confront the issues head on and will not criticize and evaluate the truth claims of other people's religions let alone their own. Harris seems to suggest the best solution is just to get rid of religion. I strongly disagree.

Why throw the Baby out with the bath water? If there is a true worldview shouldn't we adopt it and abandon all others? Shouldn't each religion be evaluated and critiqued to see if any of them is true? I mean what if you reject all of them and missed the true one? Or what if you pick the wrong one? I think too many people just go through the motions and never really bother to think if what they believe is true. All of the examples that Harris cites have nothing to do with what I believe or with what the Bible says. I would suggest that the truth claims for each religion should be verified where it can be and if its not up to snuff, it should be rejected. I've done this, and it could be done over and over again in different levels of detail. And when you do this, you find that Biblical Christianity where the Bible is honestly, logically, and consistently interpreted in it's own context can pass this test. All it would take is one contradiction or falsehood for a religion to fail the test. For example if there had never been a nation called the Philistines, then we know the Bible is false, but we know that they did exist. that does not prove that Christianity is true, but it does mean more research is needed. Islam says that Jesus was not crucified and died, but the Bible says He was and did. They both can't be true. History however tells us that Jesus was crucified and he did die. Some scholars say that it the most well attested fact from the first century AD. Therefore under the rules I had set, I've got to reject Islam. and it goes on like this. God ahead and try it. You may find some of these other links useful.

What If I Am Wrong

YouTube - Bart Ehrman VS Atheist The Infidel Guy

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Before I started writing this blog, I heard a clip of an interview of Bart Ehrman on the Infidel Guy podcast. Dr. White played it and responded to it because he thought it really shows Bart Erhman's thought processes and beliefs when he was faced with a person who is even more radical and atheistic than himself. Re call that Ehrman does not consider himself an atheist. He identifies himself as an agnostic - saying that there is not enough evidence to establish or deny that God exists. the interview becomes a debate over whether or not Jesus existed. Infidel Guy is shocked that although Ehrman does not believe the Bible is the word of God, he does recognize that there is enough historical evidence to say that Jesus did exist as a fact of history. This is awesome. Here we have a non-christian respected scholar that teaches that Jesus was a real person and that all "serious historians" agree and that we can say something about historical truth. Robert M Price's names was brandished as someone who is a scholar but does not believe in the existence of Jesus and Ehrman all but laughed at his work. Who knew that for all the different things I disagree with Bart Ehrman that there is somethings we do agree on.

I just found out that Dr. James White will be debating Robert M. Price in early May. Boy, is this one going to be good! You can listen to Dr. White interacting with the above clips at the following links:

Patrick Madrid, Bart Ehrman, and the Infidel Guy on the DL...oh My!
The 33,000 Protestant Denominations Lie Again, Plus Ehrman with the Infidel Guy

Dr. Claude Mariottini - Professor of Old Testament: The Election of Israel

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Dr. Claude Mariottini has posted an excellent article about the Election of Israel from a from the point of view of the Old Testament. I agree with everything He wrote on it and my favorite thying i must quote is when he said:

The history of Israel’s relationship with God is the central reality of the Old Testament. The choice of Israel to be God’s people has a universal dimension. No other nation in the history of the world has influenced humanity more than Israel. Israel’s religious contribution to humanity is greater than any other nation, for it was to Israel that God introduced himself in the greatest act of unselfish love ever demonstrated to humanity. To comprehend Israel’s religious contribution to our understanding of God, one is compelled to understand the concept of God’s election of Israel as his special people.

Like it or lump it. It's true. I think that jealousy is the underlining reason for antisemitism. Their attitude is "Why can't I be special. Why can't I be elect?" The New Testament does not change what was laid in the Old Testament. When we, even gentiles, put our faith in what God has revealed - salvation through faith in Jesus Christ -  we join Israel in that promise to Abraham. Paul wrote in Galatians 3:6-9:

⁶Consider Abraham: "He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness." ⁷Understand, then, that those who believe are children of Abraham. ⁸The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: "All nations will be blessed through you." ⁹So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. 

As far as God is concerned, believers today are just a justified and righteous by faith as Abraham  was by his faith. Dr. Mariottini did an awesome job breaking down what the election of Israel means and how it was due to God's unmerited favor. Neither Abraham, nor his descendants, and most certainly not us did anything to deserve to be gifted by God. No way. Just like Israel was chosen out of many nations - some that we would consider were better than they - to become His people - God has chosen to save those who believe and pout their faith in Jesus and we don't deserve it. I'm going to leave aside the debate about if we were personally chosen to have faith or we chose to have faith and just say that it is by that faith in the promise that we become children of  Abraham - slave or free, Jew or Gentile alike.

 ⁴For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love ⁵he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— ⁶to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. ⁷In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace ⁸that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. ⁹And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, ¹⁰to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.
 ¹¹In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, ¹²in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. ¹³And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, ¹⁴who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession—to the praise of his glory. - Ephesians 1:4-14

Much more could be said about how God took it upon himself to reveal Himself to us and we can take no credit, but for now I want end this with Ephesians

Dr. Claude Mariottini - Professor of Old Testament: The Election of Israel

Apologetics 315: Is Atheism Is Dead, Is God Alive? MP3 Audio by Ravi Zacharias

Apologetics 315 has a great  resource. It is a lecture by Ravi Zacharias on the question that if Atheism is false, does that mean that God truly exist? Take a listen.

Apologetics 315: Is Atheism Is Dead, Is God Alive? MP3 Audio by Ravi Zacharias