I have, as of late, come to find it not so much irritating as it is amusing when atheists attempt to use reason and logic. Not necessarily because they have proven to be particularly inept at it, but because it is against all reason for them to do so.
By definition, an atheist is not only one who doesn’t believe in God, but who is also a materialist. And here is where reason falls apart. If the mind truly is nothing more than mechanistic processes acting on chemical compositions known, for convenience, as cells, then there is no particular reason to believe that the process of reasoning and thinking has any meaning at all. The thoughts of such a brain are nothing more than the determined outcome of chemical processes. So, there is no reason to place any weight in such thoughts, certainly no reason to expect that any one set of thoughts have any more validity than any other set of thoughts. Even the thoughts about the thoughts have no inherent meaning to recommend them over any other collection of thoughts.
I am aware of how many times I used the word “reason” in the last two paragraphs. Because the truth is, we all know our thoughts are meaningful. That’s why it’s so amusing, even cute to watch atheists think. They are like the little child who insists that he is “Helping” daddy carry the heavy board. The child’s input is of negligible impact, but he is convinced of efficacy of his efforts, all the while failing to even notice the simple fact that he could accomplish nothing if it weren’t for daddy.
3 comments:
First, it is pathetic that you are resorting to ad hominem attacks. Really. I thought you were better than that. (It is interesting to note that I, the atheist, am taking the higher moral ground...)
You say "If the mind truly is nothing more than mechanistic processes [...] then there is no particular reason to believe that the process of reasoning and thinking has any meaning at all."
Why? You have failed to support this. Further, consider the implications of your proposition: if your reasoning comes out of an undetermined process, it would, by definition, be unpredictable and therefore random and therefore irrational. Your proposition is self-defeating.
"So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there."
-- Acts 17:17
The strategy for dealing with unbelievers, as Paul layed out, is to reason with them as well as love them. From this post, neither are evident.
Except that I do not believe that the mind is mechanistic, so I am not bound by those restrictions.
And Daniel, please read Paul more carefully. He (and Jesus) had a biting sense of humor and irony.
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