Scholar Interview: Peter J. Williams - Apologetics 315
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Scholar Interview: Peter J. Williams - Apologetics 315
Scholar Interview: Peter J. Williams - Apologetics 315
FacePlant of the Day Not Even an Omniscient God Could Convince Me That I Willfully Reject Christianity Against the Overwhelming Evidence
I cannot conceive of an omniscient God being able to do this given all that I know about Christianity, the Bible, theology, philosophy, science, and the history of the church.
Think about what he is saying: an omniscient God is incapable of convincing him that Christianity is true because he knows too much. In order to even think of such a thing, one would have to imagine that their own level of knowledge must border on omniscience - all knowledge. I mean does he really think that if God knows everything God does not know what would convince him....I mean Loftus claimed that he once was convinced. Was Loftus ignorant then? How can he be so sure now if he thinks he was so wrong then?
For God to do this he would have to re-create this universe and basically rewrite history itself.
God isn't just omniscient. God is also omnipotent therefore he could if he wanted to, but why would he have to. In effect, Loftus is suggesting that if God wanted to convince him God would have re-create everything in a way in line with how Loftus thinks reality should be. Does that make sense? Not to me. If there is a God, so far above and beyond myself, I wouldn't expect that God to do anything in which he must align His purposes with me, but that I should align myself to him.
But what is done is done. If however, it takes omniscience (or near omniscience) to show the Christian faith is true, then God should also know that without it I could not think otherwise.
It's been stated over and over again - many atheists like Loftus demand a standard of evidence that they would not demand regarding anything else. The Bible does not tell us that it takes omniscience in order to find Him. It's not about just proving that Christianity is ontologically true its about knowing and relating to God. I agree that Christianity is true, but without knowing Jesus for yourself, what good is that knowledge? None.
I might be wrong. But not even an omniscient God can show me that I willfully reject Christianity against the overwhelming evidence given that I am not omniscient and given what I find in this world. What the evidence leads me to think is that the Christian faith is wildly improbable.
I find it amazing that "improbable" is good enough for John Loftus to turn his back on Jesus - and admitting that he could be wrong. He has written many times that "improbable things" happen with an astounding frequency., and therefore gambling that the Bible is wrong (and given that he can't prove that it is) is a fool's bet.
Debunking Christianity: Not Even an Omniscient God Could Convince Me That I Willfully Reject Christianity Against the Overwhelming Evidence
Debate: Craig Evans & Bart Ehrman 2012 - Apologetics 315
Debate: Craig Evans & Bart Ehrman 2012 - Apologetics 315
Alan Moore And 'Before Watchmen' Creators Comment On The Ethics Of 'Watchmen' Prequel - ComicsAlliance | Comic book culture, news, humor, commentary, and reviews
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J. Michael Straczynski, via Comic Book Resources:
We are all being very meticulous in how we tie in the events of our stories with the original "Watchmen." The first time we all met secretly in New York to discuss all this, we kept copies of "Watchmen" close at hand and whenever a question was raised about what happened to whom and when, we'd flip through looking for the slightest clue. I joked at the time that it looked like Saturday afternoon Bible Study.
I was very careful to stay within the parameters of what Alan created for Dr. Manhattan. But at the same time, you need the elbow room to create a story worth telling, which means something new has to be created. In this case, it came through looking at what Alan had done and asking the next logical question within that framework. As one example: it's always bothered me that someone as brilliant and precise about time as Jon could just blithely walk into the intrinsic field test chamber as the time-lock closed. He'd know better than that. But since it did happen, you now have to say, "Okay, that being the case, how did it happen? Is there something we don't know? Or more to the point, was there something he didn't know?"
Read More: http://www.comicsalliance.com/2012/02/01/alan-moore-dave-gibbons-before-watchmen-creators-quotes-ethics-prequel/#ixzz1lCW1hTZX
Alan Moore And 'Before Watchmen' Creators Comment On The Ethics Of 'Watchmen' Prequel - ComicsAlliance | Comic book culture, news, humor, commentary, and reviews