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
"Why are there so many different Christian religions and denominations? Which one is right?"
Not everyone who calls themselves a Christian is really a follower of Jesus Christ. There are numerous groups that refer to themselves as "Christian", yet have startlingly different beliefs. Practically speaking, Roman Catholic doctrine demands that the current Pope has the final authority on matters of faith. However, no other "Christian" group really cares what the Pope has to say. In fact, some even claim that He is the Antichrist (Westminster Confession 25:6).
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"Couldn't God have given us free will without giving us the desire to sin?"
No. That would entail a logical contradiction. Let me explain. If God had given us free will (the ability to choose, or to choose otherwise), we would then be able to choose to do other than what we prefer to do. However, if we are choosing other than what we prefer, then we are choosing to do something against our will. This would be logically contradictory -- to will to do something that you did not will to do. God has not given us this type of free will, nor could He have.
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"Where did Jesus go after his baptism, is it as according to Mark 1:12-13 or John 1:35-2:1-2. They both have been chosen by the council of Nicea over thousands of gospels and thought to be inspired by the Holy Ghost. Isn't this a contradiction?"
The book of John does not relate the baptism of Jesus. It simply quotes John the Baptist talking about the baptism sometime after the fact. Nowhere does it claim to inform us of what happened immediately after Christ's baptism. Matthew, Mark, and Luke all inform us that Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness after His baptism (Matthew 4:1; Mark 1:12; Luke 4:1), where He was to be tempted by the devil.
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