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| author | Franklin Schmidt <fschmidt@gmail.com> |
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| date | Wed, 17 Sep 2025 11:17:29 -0600 |
| parents | 2ba85b08f1ca |
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| 13:8f9aa9800737 | 14:d8113ea9879e |
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| 48 | 48 |
| 49 <p>It is interesting to compare humility with doubt. In effect, the post-Finney Christian claims to have humility while lacking doubt. This Christian criticizes doubt as being opposed to faith. But the Calvinistic Christian is consumed with doubt while also having supreme faith. There is no conflict, his faith is in God and his doubt is in himself. This is as it should be. I am not a Christian, I don't believe in a supernatural god, and I reject faith. I am a skeptic who questions everything. Ironically, this puts me in a very similar position to the Calvinistic Christian because both of us doubt everything in the physical world and both of us are constantly looking for answers. I would say that, unlike these Christians, I lack humility. But which is really more important, humility or doubt? While I may hate someone and consider them worthless and want to kill them, I am always held back by doubt as to whether my judgement is accurate. But the humble Christian who lacks doubt doesn't hesitate to kill heretics because he is sure that he is right and they are wrong. Those Protestants who followed Calvin's views were among the most peaceful and tolerant people in history because of their self-doubt.</p> | 49 <p>It is interesting to compare humility with doubt. In effect, the post-Finney Christian claims to have humility while lacking doubt. This Christian criticizes doubt as being opposed to faith. But the Calvinistic Christian is consumed with doubt while also having supreme faith. There is no conflict, his faith is in God and his doubt is in himself. This is as it should be. I am not a Christian, I don't believe in a supernatural god, and I reject faith. I am a skeptic who questions everything. Ironically, this puts me in a very similar position to the Calvinistic Christian because both of us doubt everything in the physical world and both of us are constantly looking for answers. I would say that, unlike these Christians, I lack humility. But which is really more important, humility or doubt? While I may hate someone and consider them worthless and want to kill them, I am always held back by doubt as to whether my judgement is accurate. But the humble Christian who lacks doubt doesn't hesitate to kill heretics because he is sure that he is right and they are wrong. Those Protestants who followed Calvin's views were among the most peaceful and tolerant people in history because of their self-doubt.</p> |
| 50 | 50 |
| 51 <p>Modern Christianity is a moral disaster. What can be done? As a non-Christian, I am not in a position to tell Christians what to do, but I will give my suggestion anyway. Calvinism is not intellectually acceptable in our time because of its concept of predestination. But doubt must be brought back and the decision of who gets saved must be returned to God. So a reasonable form of Christianity would use the Protestant concept of faith while saying that one can never be sure that one's faith is strong enough to ensure salvation, and that faith is expressed through studying the Bible to know exactly what one's faith means, and through works which illustrate one's commitment to faith. That is my suggestion, but ultimately it is up to Christians to either find a way back to morality or slide into the moral abyss.</p> | 51 <p>Modern Christianity is a moral disaster. What can be done? As a non-Christian, I am not in a position to tell Christians what to do, but I will give my suggestion anyway. Calvinism is not intellectually acceptable in our time because of its concept of predestination. But doubt must be brought back and the decision of who gets saved must be returned to God. So a reasonable form of Christianity would use the Protestant concept of faith while saying that one can never be sure that one's faith is strong enough to ensure salvation, and that faith is expressed through studying the Bible to know exactly what one's faith means, and through works which illustrate one's commitment to faith. That is my suggestion, but ultimately it is up to Christians to either find a way back to morality or slide into the moral abyss.</p> |
| 52 | 52 |
| 53 <script> mikraite('http://mikraite.arkian.net/The-Rise-and-Fall-of-Christian-Culture-tp102.html') </script> | 53 <script> mikraite('http://mikraite.arkian.net/The-Rise-and-Fall-of-Christian-Culture-tp102.html',2013) </script> |
| 54 </div> | 54 </div> |
| 55 </body> | 55 </body> |
| 56 </html> | 56 </html> |