Rationalism
Definition
Rationalism describes any philosophy that claims that beliefs and opinions should always be logical, deductive conclusions rather than being based on experience, observations, religious teachings, or divine revelation.
Keywords: Rationalism, Philosophy, Logical, Reasoning, Deductive, Experience, Observations, Religious, Revelation, Contradictory.
Veracity
Rationalistic claims are false .
Proof
All self-refuting or contradictory claims are deductively false.
Premise 1: Only deductive conclusions should be believed.
Premise 2: Premise 1, being the foundation or starting point of the philosophy, is not itself a deductive conclusion.
Conclusion: Therefore, premise 1, also known as "rationalism", should not be believed.
Rationalistic claims, when adhered to, require the rejection of rationalistic claims. To accept them is to reject them, making rationalism inherently contradictory and deductively false.
Gilbert Guttlebocker, Defender of Dragons
Riveting, yet absurd; romantic, yet innocent; Gilbert Guttlebocker, Defender of Dragons is a little Roald Dahl, a little Harry Potter, and a little Chronicles of Narnia, all rolled into one. Timothy McCabe collaborates with the great Benedict Ballyhoot to bring you the novel of the century!
In Printed Form
Along with numerous other authors including Don Landis, Bodie Hodge and Roger Patterson, Timothy McCabe contributes analyses of various world religions and cults in this volume from Master Books.
Other Writings
"Does Matthew 23:37 say that we have free will?"
Matthew 23:37 has Christ lamenting over Jerusalem, saying, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!" A claim frequently made is that Christ, God the Son, wants something in particular, and yet because the people of Jerusalem wanted the opposite, Christ does not get what He wants.
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"How does your belief system, and the authorities upon which it is based, guide your behavior?"
The Bible teaches in Matthew 22:36-40 that all of God's laws for humanity depend upon obedience to the following two commands: 1. Love God. ("Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.") 2. Love your neighbor. ("Love your neighbor as yourself.") The most important thing to note here is that love for God must always come before and have total priority over love for other people -- otherwise we fall into idolatry.
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"Why do Christians accept the Torah?"
Christians accept the Pentateuch and the rest of the Old Testament because Jesus, who is God in the flesh, accepts and teaches them (Matthew 4:4, 4:7, 4:10, 8:4; Mark 7:10, 10:2-3, 12:26; Luke 16:31, 20:37, 24:27, 24:44; John 1:45, 3:14, 5:45-46, 7:22). Jesus was born into the tribe of Judah, a legal descendent of King David of Israel, as a fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy (1 Kings 9:5; Luke 1:32).
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