Tuesday 3 December 2013
God:pros and cons
It was clear that Mr. Hitchens had wrong-footed Dr. Craig by pointing out the fact that no catholics(or protestants for that matter) were excommunicated for their roles in the Nazi atrocities.Or that the Russian Orthodox clergy had no scruples about co-operating with the Atheist state of Stalin's Russia.
One thing I have to say after watching this is that the failure of false religion is probably a much bigger driver of unbelief than the evangelising of the atheist mission.
I found Hitchens Contention that the atheist worldview is more desirable, i.e that not only should a sensible and moral person suspect that theism in general and(what is generally considered) Christian theism in particular is false but that they should hope that it is, thought provoking. Now in a way it's understandable the mainstream denominations of Christendom have portrayed the deity as a heartless brute who oversees a kind of Auschwitz on a cosmic scale only much worse, at least Hitler had the decency to allow his victims the mercy of death.Worse still some denominations hold that most of mankind were foredoomed to this destiny by the creator from eternity. Likely Hitchens would have agreed with Watchtower Society's founder Charles Russell's statement that:a God who would use his power to create men foreknown by him to eternal suffering could be neither wise, just nor loving, his standard would be lower that of many men.Biblically based theism simply does not promulgate any such nonsense.Rather it offers the only hope for a permanent redress of the imbalances/injustices that seem to irk Mr.Hitchens and his ilk.I think even the most militant Atheist/secular humanist would agree that even if at some future time all of the world's nations were to adopt their views,that this would not mean "the end of history",there would still be conflict,there would still be suffering,and such improvements in personal liberty as may accrue would have arrived far too late for billions and of course eventually after this ill fated struggle against chaos all of mankind would eventually go extinct forever.How is this preferable to the biblically based hope of having the self-existent,superhuman creator of man reassert his rightful sovereignty over this planet.As creator the legitimacy of his sovereignty cannot be rightly questioned,being totally self-existent he is free from the ambition and insecurity that exerts a corrupting influence on even the most morally upright of human rulers and he possesses the technology to bring a complete end to all suffering,strife and even death itself.
My own personal opinion is that even if I myself am not deemed worthy of it,surely,it is a comforting thought that millions of my fellow humans are going to be granted immortality and participate in building the grandest civilisation this earth has ever seen.Don't get me wrong,like the apostle Paul I've got my eyes on the prize but I am not so vain as to imagine that this is all about me and my salvation.There is something much grander in the works here.Surely whether one accepts the premise as true or not,it is preferable that some of our race go on to immortality and an eternal union with the divine than we all perish(perhaps at our own hand) after a futile struggle against chaos.
One thing I have to say after watching this is that the failure of false religion is probably a much bigger driver of unbelief than the evangelising of the atheist mission.
I found Hitchens Contention that the atheist worldview is more desirable, i.e that not only should a sensible and moral person suspect that theism in general and(what is generally considered) Christian theism in particular is false but that they should hope that it is, thought provoking. Now in a way it's understandable the mainstream denominations of Christendom have portrayed the deity as a heartless brute who oversees a kind of Auschwitz on a cosmic scale only much worse, at least Hitler had the decency to allow his victims the mercy of death.Worse still some denominations hold that most of mankind were foredoomed to this destiny by the creator from eternity. Likely Hitchens would have agreed with Watchtower Society's founder Charles Russell's statement that:a God who would use his power to create men foreknown by him to eternal suffering could be neither wise, just nor loving, his standard would be lower that of many men.Biblically based theism simply does not promulgate any such nonsense.Rather it offers the only hope for a permanent redress of the imbalances/injustices that seem to irk Mr.Hitchens and his ilk.I think even the most militant Atheist/secular humanist would agree that even if at some future time all of the world's nations were to adopt their views,that this would not mean "the end of history",there would still be conflict,there would still be suffering,and such improvements in personal liberty as may accrue would have arrived far too late for billions and of course eventually after this ill fated struggle against chaos all of mankind would eventually go extinct forever.How is this preferable to the biblically based hope of having the self-existent,superhuman creator of man reassert his rightful sovereignty over this planet.As creator the legitimacy of his sovereignty cannot be rightly questioned,being totally self-existent he is free from the ambition and insecurity that exerts a corrupting influence on even the most morally upright of human rulers and he possesses the technology to bring a complete end to all suffering,strife and even death itself.
My own personal opinion is that even if I myself am not deemed worthy of it,surely,it is a comforting thought that millions of my fellow humans are going to be granted immortality and participate in building the grandest civilisation this earth has ever seen.Don't get me wrong,like the apostle Paul I've got my eyes on the prize but I am not so vain as to imagine that this is all about me and my salvation.There is something much grander in the works here.Surely whether one accepts the premise as true or not,it is preferable that some of our race go on to immortality and an eternal union with the divine than we all perish(perhaps at our own hand) after a futile struggle against chaos.
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