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
"Should modern mainstream religions be considered cults?"
Modern mainstream religions could be considered "cults", and every form of Atheism could as well. But why should it matter if that particular term can be applied? Why would we want to call every modern mainstream religion a "cult" apart from a desire to provoke some type of defensive emotional reaction from religious persons? And why would anyone be interested in manipulating such a reaction?
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"What is an easy way to demonstrate that open theism is false?"
Open theism is the belief that god exists, but does not know the future outcomes of human choices. Instead, he finds out about them when they happen. Open theism renders all human conclusions completely irrational. A god who does not know what the future holds clearly did not design the future. And if he did not design the future, then there is no good reason to believe that it must behave in the way he wants it to behave.
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"What do Mormons believe? Do you consider them Christians?"
This depends on the definition of Christian. It also depends on your definition of Mormon. For "Mormon", I will take this word to mean a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS), the largest and most missionary-oriented Mormon denomination in the world. If by "Christian" we mean someone who calls them self a Christian, then Mormons are definitely Christians, as they do consider themselves to be.
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