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 is your standard of truth? How do you determine what is true?"
1. God Himself is the standard of truth. (John 14:6; Exodus 34:6; 2 Samuel 7:28; Psalm 25:10; Isaiah 65:16; Ephesians 4:21; Titus 1:2; 1 John 5:6) 2. Because of this, when God reveals things to us, we know that what He reveals is true. The Bible stands as an authoritative communication to us from God Himself, and we can often discern truth or falsehood simply by comparing a particular claim with Biblical revelation.
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"If, as you claim, morality is obeying god, how do you know that obeying god is good? Isn't that totally circular?"
If morality is obeying god, then obeying god is morality. If we grant the former, then the latter follows by tautological necessity. Is it circular? Insofar as tautologies are circular, sure. Here is another circular tautology: If 2 + 2 = 4, then 4 = 2 + 2. Totally circular. Malachi 3:18; Romans 4:15, 5:13; 1 John 3:4.
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"Your god, in his own holy book, admits to having created evil (Isaiah 45:7). Why then should I worship him?"
In Isaiah 45:7, the KJV translates the Hebrew word "rah" as "evil". More modern English translations often opt for the word "calamity" instead. Either one of these translations is viable and could be the intended meaning of the passage. However, that God is ultimately the Uncaused First Cause of all sinful actions is clear from both scripture and reason, so even if the verse cited does not make the point, the general concept behind the question remains.
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