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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | How do we respond to Sam Harris? | 1 Pet 3:15 | Parable | 177226 | ||
I must qualify my use of my pastor's quote: I use it in a slightly different context than he did, so any disagreement you have is with my application, not his. If you wish to review his message, it will soon be available as a pod-cast at "www.wordofgrace.org" To clarify Harris' thesis, he contends that faith itself is the problem, because it leads people to act on the basis of what they believe without any rational support, and historically those beliefs have been harmful because of the atrocities they have inspired. He distinguishes faith from the object of faith, because without the first, the second is impotent. Regarding your comment "the terrorist "suicide/murderer" is not showing agape love towards others". I agree, but Harris might disagree because he explains that if you truly embrace the articles of faith of Islam, killing infidels is virtually the only logical conclusion you can reach, as it is for their own good because it separates them from their Godless beliefs. Such is the reasoning that Harris is challenging. Regarding your concerns about surrendering your right to be right, my pastor also said "the power of weakness is not the powerlessness of helplessness, giving up and giving in to life. No, the power of weakness means standing in the power of God released in me when I totally trust God because I'm totally helpless" and "even if I'm right, making that the issue can make me dead wrong". I submit that loving others sometimes means not asserting our right to be right, that's all. Your comment about the benefit of faith is on point. However, I note that in his doctoral work, Harris is studying the neuralogy of the brain in order to better understand how it behaves in various states of belief and disbelief. He is very much a laboratory experimentalist in this regard. |
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2 | How do we respond to Sam Harris? | 1 Pet 3:15 | mark d seyler | 177229 | ||
Hi Parable, Thank you for your clarifications. I agree completely with Harris's conclusions regarding Islam. I would contend that it is not the "faith" that is the problem, as Harris rightly concludes that faith connects us to it's object, but having faith in the wrong object - that's the problem! I think I understand what you are saying about "surrendering your right to be right", and "making that the issue". If it makes me arrogant, or I cease to act in love, I can be right, but how I then act because I know I am right can be wrong. About the power of God in weakness, I love the example of Moses. After his crushing failure in Egypt, he took up the shepherd's staff, but it was that staff that God used to perform mighty miracles. Hebrews directly contradicts Harris, in saying "without faith it is impossible to please God, because you must first believe that He exists, and is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." Harris would say "I don't have a problem with God, just with anyone believing in God." Regarding his neuralogical studies, we know that we who are born again are spiritual beings which cannot be seen contained in physical bodies which can be seen. But no matter how long you study how the electrical charges move through the circuits of a radio receiver, you will not hear the music through you schematics, and graphs. He wants to watch the oscilliscope, but he won't plug in a speaker, and knows nothing of the difference between Wagner and Bach! We know that cocaine mimics the physiology of accomplishment, and other drugs also mimic natural physiology, but as the scientists study those, they recognize that there is a "true", or "natural" physiology, and a conterfeit, which takes advantage of the true. There are many who believe in a false god, and they are liable to do anything. There are many who hold false beliefs about the true God, and they also are liable to do anything. But those that hold true beliefs about the true God, oh, but that the world were full of those! That would be heavenly! But I am afraid that Mr. Harris would no sooner differentiate between those, then he could tell whether a lightbulb is shining through a blue lens or a green lens by examining the electricity that flows through the filament. Love in Christ Mark |
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3 | How do we respond to Sam Harris? | 1 Pet 3:15 | Parable | 177230 | ||
I love your analogies! | ||||||