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
"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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"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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"Assuming I accept your arguments that there is a God, it is still a huge leap for me to therefore cut off my son's foreskin, avoid clothes of mixed fibers, and give 10% of my earnings to Pat Robertson."
Christianity does not advocate cutting off your son's foreskin, avoiding clothes of mixed fibers, or giving 10% of your earnings to Pat Robertson. So it seems as though there is nothing in your way to becoming a Christian! Since you haven't actually asked a question, I'm going to have to do a little guesswork to try to figure out how to properly address this comment. PAT ROBERTSON I'll start with the easiest one first -- the Bible never even mentions Pat Robertson.
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