Skepticism is classically defined as:
1 : an attitude of doubt or a disposition to incredulity either in general or toward a particular object
2 a : the doctrine that true knowledge or knowledge in a particular area is uncertain b : the method of suspended judgment, systematic doubt, or criticism characteristic of skeptics
3 : doubt concerning basic religious principles (as immortality, providence, and revelation)
So basically, Christian Skepticism adopts the first two definitions with the proposition that God's reason is greater than Man's and is the only source of truth, that Christ as revealed in Scripture is the revelation of God's character, will and truth, thus Christ is the foundation of all truth, so all truth claims must be examined and measured by this framework.
Net Effect - We are skeptical and doubt any knowledge that does not originate from and glorify God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) or detracts from Holy Scripture.
I would really like this to become a team site. I'll see if I can drum up some members.
As the Lord wills!
Grace and Peace,
-JD
Here is a cool video I found on YouTube for a starter!
...and a good blog - The Christian Mind
Great idea for a blog.
ReplyDeleteI'm reminded of Richard Pratt's observation in his book "Every Thought Captive" that "When man rejected the Creator-creature distinction and committed himself to independence from God, he ruled out all possibility of acquiring true knowledge. Man was thrown into a dilemma which cannot be avoided by the unbeliever and which reveals the futility of sinful thinking. In analogy to the ancient Greek theatre where the same actor would often play several roles by changing masks, the spiritually blind, deaf, and dumb unbeliever insists on wearing two masks. When turning from God, the unbeliever asserts with absolute certainty that the biblical distinction between the Creator and His creature is false; he therefore puts on the mask of absolute certainty. Yet, when turning from God, the unbeliever is left in the position of having no solid ground for knowledge and must therefore wear the mask of total uncertainty. While an unbeliever may wear one or the other mask at differt times, beneath the mask he may wear, THE UNBELIEVER IS CAUGHT IN THE UNSOLVABLE DILEMMA OF BEING BOTH ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN AND TOTALLY UNCERTAIN AT THE SAME TIME." [CAPS, my emphasis]
Yes - the unbeliever or traditional skeptic frequently presupposes the self-contradicting certainty that "there is no absolute truth", thus creating a false dilemma they have to resolve - cognitive dissonance, I believe it is called...
ReplyDelete-JD