Mr. Reppert,
I write to you on an impulse, and I hope you will forgive any incoherence on my part. I have appreciated your work on Mr. Lewis' argument from reason. I actually used something like it a few weeks back at a debate held by the Vanderbilt Socratic Club. Oddly enough the response by my interlocutor was "Of course, I accept all your arguments. My thoughts are merely functions of my brain and are neither rational nor reliable sources of knowledge, reason, or sound beliefs." He was OK with that. Does not all communication break down at that point!!
VR: Aristotle responded to this kind of position this way. He said "Either you are saying something or you're not. If you are, then the rules of logic and reasoning apply. If you're not, then we should treat you as a plant, because you don't really have a statement to be considered.
S: I have been pondering that point, as well as a good many other thoughts deriving from my prayer time and Scripture reading on how Agape should look in daily life of a Christian, and I am hard pressed to believe that rational arguments hold much sway these days. They are very important for me, but it seems for a great many, if not the majority of people my age are not at all interested in whether or not Christianity is true. Rrather they are interested in whether or not they need it. The logical response is "Of course you need it! If its true, you will have to face it! Not to mention you will be living your life in spite and contraposed to the fabric and flow of the universe." But their response is, "I get along just fine without believing; why does it matter?" Once again, they are not interested in truth or falsehood. Even when proved they shrug it off. The modern post-Enlightenment period benefited a good bit from rational argument--people understood the rules and could generally recognize (as I think Lewis says in the Screwtape Letters somewhere) when an argument had been defeated. So I am beginning to believe that the power and relevance of Christ these days must be demonstrated in and through our actions. The message of Jesus is the 'transvaluation of all ideals", and I am beginning to think that is the only thing that will wake people up to the truth of who God is.
Grace and Peace,
Benjamin Schellack
http://schellack.blogspot.com
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