Thursday, May 14, 2009

Taking Christianity Seriously

I've been having an extended conversation with an intelligent student about, well, everything.

But especially the Christian world view.

He's a self-admitted narcissist. He's into literature and "absurdist theatre." He isn't persuaded by my well-researched, compellingly logical, even self-evident arguments for Christianity. His life is completely subsidized, and he's on a self-indulgent vacation. I guess if the world economy holds up, and the entire human race is not plunged into depression -- or nuclear war -- he will live out his life in the elite world of the secular University as a "Professor of Literature" and mocker of the "Protestant Work Ethic."

He's returning home, back east, and I doubt he'll ever want to be in Southwest Missouri again.

So in the hopes that someday he might take human existence seriously, I've created a website to which he can return to our conversation.

www.TakingChristianitySeriously.com

Nothing is there yet; I'll add to it in the coming days.

3 comments:

Kevin Craig said...

It only took a couple of hours (max) for this post to be placed at the top of page 1 in Google for the phrase "taking Christianity seriously." The Word Press Blog hasn't been picked up yet.

Duke said...

Some Canadian claims you're the smartest guy in America. The thing is, I came upon that guy while tracking down information about 'geocentrism', the devil haunting the chairman of the state board of education here in Texas. Still, I'll not hold that against you. Here's my favorite Christian link:
http://web.archive.org/web/19990427100831/student-www.uchicago.edu/users/mbaldwin/hippy.html

Kevin Craig said...

Back when I lived in California, I heard the head of the observatory at Griffith Park say that nobody can prove Geocentrism or Heliocentrism; it all depends relativistically on which paradigm you presuppose. I'm open-minded on the issue. I think it's a bad idea to choose a paradigm because it's useful to justify stealing from people, taking vengeance on your enemies, or cheating on your wife -- which is the basis for much of "science" today.

On Jesus as a "dirty hippie":

Interesting page, also found here. But Jesus was not a "dirty hippie," nor did He advocate irresponsibility. Jesus came to put the Old Testament into force (Matthew 5:17-20), and the Law and the Prophets do not advocate the "hippie" lifestyle. Our goal is "The City of God" (Rev. 21-22), not an irresponsible hippie commune.

I'm often guilty of trying to grab the reader's attention with an offensive claim like "Jesus was a dirty hippie." I'm offended by that claim, so I guess I now know how it feels.

A few observations:

There are two reasons to use water: to be hygienic or to engage in a religious ritual. Jesus was not unhygienic. "Hippies" are.

While Jesus said not to worry about the future, He also said to plan, forecast, and count the costs (Luke 14:28–30). We serve others better when we're prepared.

I agree that Jesus said very little about what happens when we die.

Jesus was very intolerant of unrepentant, hypocritical sinners. I believe we need to be more judgmental and intolerant of sin.

My position on alcohol, tobacco, and drugs is public.

I haven't been a member of church for over 20 years. There isn't a church on the planet that would want me as a member.

There's a lot in the article I can agree with, but I'm not sure I agree with the overall goal of the article. Not sure I could even tell you what it is. Is the author anti-Christian? Does he really want people to follow Jesus? Does He believe that Jesus is God incarnate (John 1:1-14), and rose from the dead? Is he trying to ridicule the idea of following Jesus, or promote it? I can't tell if he and I are on the same side. Call me paranoid.