In my world miracles like virgin births and resurrections do not happen. What world do you live in? If they do not happen now then they did not happen in the ancient past either. And that's how historians must view the evidence. Yesterday's evidence has lost all of its power to convince. We do not believe in miracle claims in today's world and we live in this world. So how much more so is it the case that we cannot believe they took place in the ancient past! We can interview people in today's world and we still don't believe they happened. How much more so is this the case in the ancient past where we cannot interview the people involved! The overwhelming numbers of Jews in the days of Jesus did not believe he resurrected even though they believed in a miracle working God named Yahweh and the Old Testament. How much more so then is it the case in our world that we cannot believe when miracles are supposed to establish that Yahweh did a particular miracle in the past! Again, if they do not happen in our day then they did not happen in the past either. What world are YOU living in?
When people say something like this, I wonder if they ever look past their own nose. I think that classifying everything you don't understand as a miracle is overkill and not realistic but it is just as stupid as saying miracles never happen. I know people who have been healed of cancer. I know people who have miraculously spared death and seen the hand of God intervene in my life and the lives of others. Just because John Loftus has not consciously experienced the hand of God intervening is his life and has been blind to God's intervention in the world around him - partly because he thinks God should behave and act in particular ways - does not mean that God does not exist or worse is indifferent to the sufferings and needs of people today. That simply isn't true. It's offensive to suggest that if you think that God still intervenes today (or ever) that one is not living in reality. This isn't true either. Loftus talks as if he can prove that God does not act today and therefore assume that he never has and then prove that he does not exist at all. This is totally silly and rests on presupposition he can't prove in the slightest.
Debunking Christianity: Quote of the Day, One More Time
No comments:
Post a Comment