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
"Given that some parts of the Bible are literally true and others are metaphors or parables, how do you decide which is which?"
It would be impossible to speak comprehensively to this, but there are certain factors that are fairly common that can be pointed to in answer to this question. First, it's important to note that this question not only applies to the Bible, but to absolutely any work of literature.
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"Is Buddhism compatible with Christianity?"
Buddhism is incompatible with Christianity. Buddhism rejects the concept of a permanent self, or an immortal soul. In Christianity, the concept of "self" and the immortal soul are pervasively important. In Christianity, it is "self" that sins (Ezekiel 18:4), is resurrected (John 5:29, Romans 8:11), and is eternally judged (Matthew 7:23, Revelation 14:11). It is "self" that is offered eternal forgiveness through Jesus Christ (John 3:16).
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"How did polar bears get from the middle east to the polar ice caps, and penguins to Antarctica, and all the strange Australian beasts to Australia, etc., without leaving populations behind?"
The Bible does not tell us the specific answer to this question, and neither does pure logic, therefore there is no official "Christian" answer. This means Christians are free to speculate about questions like this, keeping in mind that such speculations should not overshadow what is really important in our walk with Christ -- namely, what is clearly revealed in scripture.
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