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Wednesday, March 04, 2009

The Christian apologist and obscurantist methodology

There is "often a problem with Christian apologists (or any type of apologist). Many apologists intent on defending the Christian faith (or their particular version of it) follow an 'obscurantist' methodology where all the evidence that supports their conclusions is brought to light while all that which may cast doubt on their conclusions is never revealed or is presented in a manipulated light. When their goal becomes to win an argument, truth will more than likely get lost through a polished rhetoric. In other words, truth becomes the servant of their argument rather than their argument the servant of truth. They may persuade those who are not really searching for truth (including themselves), but, in the end, they hurt their cause and dishonor Christ." -- Doing Theology is About Pursuing Truth, Not Prejudice by C. Michael Patton

Some say one needs “epistemic humility”—a real understanding that you could be wrong. But taken to an extreme, it posits Christians cannot have absolute certainty about anything the Bible says. We should study the Bible and theology in order to learn what God reveals and not simply to prop up our system.

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