Re: [asa] Re: pendulum swings

Having nearly finished a biography about Aquinas written by Chesterton, I can't
let this go unanswered. For as hard as everybody is being on Bernie, it should
be remembered that he sounds an awful lot like Aquinas when he demands that God
be logical and rational. Now before you all get frizzled to a tizzie over my
comparison of Bernie with Aquinas, please hear me out: I'm not elevating Bernie
unduly (I think he needs much progress before his arguments will impress any of
you ---and rightly so.) And I'm not trying to pull Aquinas down --he truly was
an intellectual giant (compared to most any of us) so far as I can see. But
having said all that ---St. Thomas was one of the most un-pretentious
intellectual giants that ever was (looking at him through Chesterton's Catholic
eyes anyway), and had a tremendous respect for the common sense of the "man on
the street" as opposed to high-brow philosophers in lofty halls. It was Aquinas
that demanded that Christianity meet the world on the world's terms and meet
humans on human terms beginning with what we could begin to know about our world
using our ordinary five senses. And Aquinas was thought by some to be a heretic
for his refusal to stand up against the science or worldly knowledge of the day
(which in that time was Aristotle) and in fact, he was apparently responsible
for much of the integration of those same things in his day. So, in Bernie's
simple demands for something rational, I hear echoes of Aquinas. Of course,
Aquinas never gave up on God or denied his faith so far as we know; and I in no
way defend your having done that, Bernie. But as others here have stated, you
are far from the first to demand a rational world and a down-to-earth
Christianity.

--Merv

Quoting Murray Hogg <muzhogg@netspace.net.au>:

> Cameron Wybrow wrote:
> > Anyone can refute Ken Ham, Duane Gish, Henry Morris, or the people who
> > post on Answers in Genesis. I could already do that in my last year of
> > high school. The fact that Bernie can take candy from babies (so to
> > speak) doesn't prove that he is a theological force to be reckoned
> > with. When I am convinced that Bernie has read, all the way through,
> > even one book by any theological author who is actually worth reading,
> > and has actually understood it, then I will take his "threat" to
> > Christianity seriously.
>
> Hi Cameron,
>
> Yet the greatest "enemies" of Christianity have always been - from Christian
> perspective - the theologically ignorant.
>
> True also in the sciences.
>
> It's not people with an education we need worry about.
>
> Blessings,
> Murray
>
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Received on Mon Nov 30 16:48:45 2009