Glenn wrote to George as follows:
"OK, let me throw the ball into your court. You say we don't have a faith
based upon faith. What exactly is verifiable about Christianity which
actually makes a difference to the main claim of the book."
I'll jump in here, although I think this discussion is all plowed ground.
The first thing I'll do is reference the book THE MYTH OF CERTAINTY, by
Daniel Taylor, published in 1986 and again, in paperback, in 1992. I
think it is still in print.
Taylor argues that there is a "risk of commitment" and this risk is
shared by those of us who have committed ourselves to Christ. I did not
become a Christian by a logical examination of all the evidence; had I
taken that route 40 years ago I'd still be at it, outside the faith.
Rather -- I examined myself and realized I was falling woefully short of
the lofty goals I thought myself capable of. And I did enough reading of
scripture and talking with others to the point that I had to admit my
past rejection of Christ's claim was based more on wishful (egoistic)
thinking than on rational decision making. So it was, on several
occasions back around 1960 or 1961, that I had "conversations" with the
God I did not really think existed. My primary statement to him was this
-- I don't believe; you will have to instill that belief; I can't get
there by myself.
It happened rather suddenly. One day I was still definitely not a
Christian -- I did not believe in -- trust in -- the person of Jesus
Christ. The next day -- actually it was the next evening -- I suddenly
realized that I did. I have no idea how it happened; I have every reason
to believe that it did happen.
Now my point, if you are still with me, is that there was nothing
verifiable about Christianity after that evening that was not verifiable
before it. There was not any question that I posed which indicated that I
was telling God "Well, if you will just verify, or let me verify, with
substantial evidences, xxx, then I'll be pleased to believe in you." Such
a "prayer" would, I suspect, gotten not much farther than the ceiling.
So to answer your last question, "What exactly is verifiable about
Christianity which
actually makes a difference to the main claim of the book," I will answer
that the witness of God, the Holy Spirit,
on me and my life verifies it. Certain events throughout my life have
come along to buttress that position. Yet, it
is a risk. I could be deluding myself. Yes, and OJ might be innocent too.
One has to follow the path of most likelihood.
Burgy (dang -- that ground do look like it's ready for seeding now!)
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