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
"Hell seems designed to punish disobedience and perceived immorality. Would you agree that acting in a certain manner simply because you fear punishment is cowardly and an invalid motivator?"
The coward is the individual who, out of fear, refuses to do what is right. A coward is NOT someone who, out of fear, CHOOSES to do what is right. That man is not being cowardly -- rather, he is being prudent and sensible. Fear is an excellent and perfectly valid motivator toward good works. God uses it frequently and He instructs us, at times, to do likewise. The Book of Proverbs is filled with examples of the wisdom of a proper fear of God...
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"How did polar bears get from the middle east to the polar ice caps, and penguins to Antarctica, and all the strange Australian beasts to Australia, etc., without leaving populations behind?"
The Bible does not tell us the specific answer to this question, and neither does pure logic, therefore there is no official "Christian" answer. This means Christians are free to speculate about questions like this, keeping in mind that such speculations should not overshadow what is really important in our walk with Christ -- namely, what is clearly revealed in scripture.
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"Why doesn't prayer work, when the bible promises that it will (John 14:14, for example)?"
In John 14:14, Jesus says "If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it." In modern western "Christian" culture, the idea of praying in Jesus' name is often understood to mean appending "...in Jesus' name" to the end of our prayers.
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