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
"What's an easy way to demonstrate that polytheism is false?"
If two equally sovereign creator gods disagree on any point, noncontradiction is no longer a valid test of truth. Without noncontradiction, there can be no test of truth at all, and rational thought goes out the window. But the problem is worse than that. Since the gods are equally sovereign, neither is in control of the other one. This means that neither one can guarantee the behavior of the other one.
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"Is there anything that troubles you personally about the belief system you adhere to? What is it and why is it troubling?"
The most troubling thing for me personally, and indeed this must necessarily trouble every Christian in some way, is that according to the Bible I am a sinner, deserving of death for my sins (Romans 3:23, 6:23). This does not trouble me because it seems to be untrue, but rather because it is so plainly true. All Christians must be troubled by this, because if they are not, there would be no motivation to repent and ask for the forgiveness of their Creator.
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"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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