>>>but even if you could prove His existence, you still have no more
>>>rational, objective, logical basis for following Him than I do for
>>>following my own internal morality. Your argument is a house of cards.
>>
I wrote
>>If I could establish the existence of God (and of course that the Bible is
>>His written word), I would "have [a] more rational, objective, logical
>>basis for following Him than [Russell does] for following [his] own
>>internal morality" for this reason: I would have an unchanging standard for
>>morality articulated by an omniscient, loving God.
>
Russell
>But your reasons for following Him would be emotional, not logical.
>I'm not saying that that's a bad thing, mind you, but that would
>be the reason.
I have to quibble with your view that my reasons would be emotional, not
logical, although I do agree that there's an emotional element and that's
not all bad. Over the weekend I had occasion to reflect on what my own
father has meant to me (he was visiting) and what wonderful young men my
own sons have turned out to be. In both cases a father-son relationship
was involved in which there was an extremely important emotional element.
However, there was and is a logical element too. For my part I wouldn't
consider either dispensible.
>
Me
>>However imperfectly I
>>may observe that standard, I consider imperfect observance of a fixed
>>standard better than imperfect observance of a standard that may change
>>over time. And when I do fail to meet it, if I confess and repent, the
>>articulator of the standard will forgive me and continue to develop me into
>>the individual he wants me to be. He cares more about mentoring and
>>developing people than he does about punishing disobedience.
>
Russell
>Yes, but someone could come along and say, "just because this God of
>yours is kind and sympathetic, that doesn't mean I have to be!"
>What *logical* argument could you use to persuade him?
I'm assuming the individual you are hypothesizing is a believer in God,
since I wouldn't expect a nonbeliever to even consider the possibility that
the character of a God he believes to be hypothetical should have any
influence on his own behavior. Under that assumption, there is quite a bit
of Scripture I could bring to bear that would establish God's desire for
people to reflect His own loving, compassionate character. And the
presentation would be quite logical. Of course it would, as you will point
out, depend on a common Biblical framework.
Bill Hamilton
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William E. Hamilton, Jr, Ph.D. | Staff Research Engineer
Chassis and Vehicle Systems | General Motors R&D Center | Warren, MI
William_E._Hamilton@notes.gmr.com
810 986 1474 (voice) | 810 986 3003 (FAX) | whamilto@mich.com (home email)