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
"Mr. McCabe, you said "The three persons of the trinity have three distinct roles" , and "There is only One God". Is this a contradiction?"
It is often argued that Trinitarian doctrine is contradictory. How can three be one and one be three, all at the same time? It sounds like bad math. First, we need to recognize what is meant by the label "contradiction". A logical contradiction is something that makes a claim and then also claims its exact negation. A logical contradiction cannot possibly be true. It is impossible for something to both be and not be at the same time and in the same way.
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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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"If god is perfect, how did he manage to create imperfection?"
In answer, I will assume this question is referring essentially to sinful humans and fallen angels (or demons). So, rephrased, what I understand this question to be asking is how a perfect God could have created sinful people. Self-described Christians generally offer, to my knowledge, one of three answers to this. 1.
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