pics on Sodahead John Loftus recently posted a blog post summarizing his arguments against Dr. William Lane Craig's appeal to the inner witness of the Holy Spirit in convincing him that Christianity is true. Follow the link at the end of this post to read the whole argument. I want to focus on one of paragraphs to see where Loftus really goes off the reservation.
Listen up, God spoke to Moses privately, and privately to Paul, and likewise to Joseph Smith, and to Mohammed, and to many Pentecostals, and to David Koresh, and to many of the prophets we read in the Old Testament. Why does God always speak to people privately? Why do most people claim to know God in a private way? A private subjective experience has no more evidence for it than none at all. Given that most people are delusional when they make such claims it's extremely probable Craig is too. The ONLY reason evangelicals buy into this is because they need to believe. They would never entertain Craig's claim if they were a Mormon, or Muslim, Catholic, or Jew.
Loftus writes as if we don't know what God revealed to Moses, Paul, Joseph Smith, Muhammad, David Koresh, or anyone else because they were private and subjective experiences. I disagree. It stays private if no one speaks publicly about what as revealed. And in the cases Loftus points to we know what they said they got from God and we can lay them beside each other and compare. Interesting enough the Bible writers agree but contradict Joseph Smith, Muhammad, Koresh and many people today. This means at the very least they can't all have heard from God. Someone's wrong. As long as someone's experience does not contradict what has been revealed before there is no reason to assume they are wrong, however if there is contradiction then you know for sure someone is lying or has been lied to. The Standard. The Bible - Old and New Testaments. That's not an arbitrary standard. It is the best attested and stands up to scrutiny. If you disagree with that standard, you either have to point to a better one and/or show how the Bible is not a good standard. Loftus has failed to do either.
Debunking Christianity: Private Subjective Experience is No Evidence At All: Against William Lane Craig's Inner Witness of the Spirit
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