"The importance of definitions, a response"

Submitted by Lactantius Jr. (European Union), May 2, 2008 at 09:07

To Dr Whaley,

Dr Whaley writes of "every religious government that ultimately resorts to force to impose its edicts." Not so Dr Whaley. Followers of Jesus Christ, "the Prince of Peace," do not "ultimately appeal to force to impose its edicts." They follow Jesus' entirely peaceful and non-violent teaching and example, and if they do "appeal to force to impose its edicts," they do so in defiance of Jesus' teaching and example, not in conformity with it.

Dr Whaley also writes that "In essence religion is faith, the acceptance of belief in the absence of evidence or in controversion of evidence. As such it is anti-reason, anti-mind and anti-human life." Not so Dr Whaley, Christian faith is not a no-brainer, it is very much evidence-based, it does not reject, deny or ignore facts, followers of Jesus Christ are commanded by Him to "ask, seek and knock on doors," and Christianity is most certainly not "anti-life," Jesus Christ telling us His "job-description ," saying, "I have come that you may have life, and have it in all its fullness………I give eternal life, and no-one will snatch you from my hands." John 10:10, 28

Your numerous postings on Dr Pipes' site demonstrate your deeply-held faith commitment to reason, but is your faith in the omnicompetence of reason reasonable? What do you use to affirm your reliance on reason? Do you use reason to rely on reason? Is it reasonable to use reason to establish the reliability of reason? As a deeply committed follower of Jesus Christ, I share with you a concern for human beings and their welfare, and if we are both concerned for other human beings, we will want to do our best for them, and so, I want to discuss morality with you, and ask how do you define what is right, and where you get that definition from?

Do you think the world is getting better or worse, and why is it getting better or worse? How are people to behave morally? Where does the motive, the driving force come from? Ultimately, my aim is to show that Christianity is true humanism, because only in Christ alone, are human beings truly human. What a comparison/contrast there is between Ayn Rand's ‘Objectivist Ethics' which declares ones own life and happiness to be the ultimate good (aka selfishness), and God's Grace (God's Riches At Christ's Expense) demonstrated in Him sending Christ Jesus into the world to give us rightstanding with Himself.

Amazing Grace indeed, giving us something we don't deserve (contrasted with mercy which is not being given what we deserve), we're not worth it, we don't deserve it, we can't earn it, it's a free gift from the God of amazing grace, do you want it Dr Whaley? and the marvellous nine-flavoured fruit it produces, which is, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. In point of fact, the greatest human need isn't happiness, but forgiveness, and it's freely available to all those who will ask for it, what a gift it is, what a Saviour Jesus Christ is, it's your call Dr Whaley.

With kind regards and best wishes Lactantius Jr.

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