I don't want to attempt to settle the atheist/believer problem
once and for all. I know I can't.
My main point in addressing Mac Donald's "bad things" argument
was to show that it is not any kind of slam dunk that should end
the argument for anyone.
What IS my main point is that non-believers/secularists/whatever
you call them, have been rather insistent that they are being
abused or presumed upon by God-talk in the public square.
Considering the rather large number of people who do hold such
beliefs, I think it actually quite impolite to insist that these
people construct some alternative justification just to please the
non-theological sensibilities of others. This is particularly true
if we agree the issue is not conclusively won by either group.
In addition, Mac Donald's argument is based on a straw man. How
often do believers argue "God sayeth" and then leave it at that?
They don't. In fact, one of the common critiques of conservative
Christians is that they argue too much via a political mindset
(like for tax cuts!) and not enough from a prophetic biblical
stance!
Christianity, at least, is drenched in rational justification. I
understand that the various proofs of something like the
resurrection of Christ are not convincing to all, but one would
have to be quite churlish to argue that the points made in that
case have no evidential value at all. Certainly, we see Paul
insisting that many people saw Christ after his death. We also have
the puzzle of why the disciples went from running scared to willing
to die martyr's deaths as missionaries for the early church. The
church has always understood itself to be making a case on evidence
that if not true, should result in abandonment of the faith.
Likewise, when Christians argue politics they virtually always
bring something other than "God says" to the table. They say God is
against abortion, but they also talk a lot about things like DNA,
brain waves, the beating heart, and other developmental and
psychological points. The same is true of other issues in which
Christians engage the public square.
As far as Mr. Klein's point that certain values simply work and
that it is enough to establish them, I respectfully disagree. I am
quite sure there are some persons who would argue that values like
justice, compassion, etc. do not "work" for them and that they wish
they would not be imposed upon by some community vision of the
good.
topics:
Abortion
