Yesterday we
looked at the problem that the Catholic Church (and other faiths) are having
retaining young people. It’s not that
they’re converting to other religions or denominations. They’re just sort of drifting away from
religion altogether, some of them persuading themselves that they are
“spiritual, but not religious” (whatever that means), others just not wanting
to bother with all that jazz.
The underlying
problem for all faiths as we see it is that most people, especially young
people, have a streak of honesty. Modern
culture tells them that you must accept faith even though it contradicts
reason, or accept reason even though it violates basic religious precepts.
Seeing a
contradiction, most people will simply walk away from it. Modern Academia encourages this by not
teaching people how to think and thereby enable them to resolve presumed
conflicts. No, what people learn in
school these days is unthinking obedience to a faith-based or a reason-based
paradigm, with no reconciliation possible.
But is that
rational?
No.
Both faith and
reason are as true as the other, and true in the same way. There is therefore no possibility of a
contradiction. If an apparent
contradiction surfaces, it cannot be dismissed, especially with a flip “science
has proved” or “the Bible says.”
No, any and all
contradictions must be resolved, or the system, whether science or religion,
falls apart. Nothing can incorporate a
contradiction and be in conformity with reality. If nature abhors a vacuum, it loathes a
contradiction.
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| No, not even Popeye. |
To take an
example from religion, a common aphorism in most religions (albeit expressed in
different ways) is that “With God, all things are possible.” Some anti-theists assert this as proof that
God cannot exist, for there are things that are simply nonsense, e.g., “If God can do anything, can He
make a weight so heavy He can’t lift it?”
At the same time,
some pro-theists will claim that just proves God exists, because — obviously —
“all things” include contradictions.
Therefore, if God can do anything, God can contradict Himself. You just don’t have enough faith if you don’t
accept it.
Things like this
are why the Catholic Church insists that faith must be based on reason. Anyone who understands the first principle of
reason will immediately interpret the aphorism that all things are possible
with God to mean that all possible
things are possible with God.
Why? Because to say that the impossible is
possible is to state a contradiction.
And that is
important . . . why?
 |
| Yeah. This one loaded right away. |
Because “God” is
by definition a perfect Being.
Perfection cannot encompass a contradiction, because a contradiction is
an imperfection. You cannot have an
imperfect perfection, any more than you can have a true falsehood. It is a contradiction in terms, and therefore
cannot exist.
That which does
not exist is not a thing. It is a
“not-thing,” i.e., nothing. Yes, all things
are possible with God, but no nothing
is possible. If God could be both God
and not-God at the same time, He would by definition not be God.
By now your head
is probably spinning — as it should, if you have never been taught how to think
logically and accept the first principle of reason. Accepting that, you will instantly see the
flaw in all the arguments that people use to convince themselves that religion
doesn’t make sense and God doesn’t exist.
And the
flaw? The inability to admit that a
statement or belief can be true, false . . . or just plain nonsense. All contradictions fall into the category of
nonsense, and should be dismissed without further consideration.
For example, take
the standard atheist claim that science has proved God does not exist. Anyone who has been trained in the basics of
reason — and the age of reason is a lot younger than many people think — could
run a freight train through that statement.
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| Be reasonable. Do it my way. |
Don’t get sucked
into a discussion of proofs. No, the
issue is much more basic, and you don’t have to know any “science” other than
basic logic, that is, the first principle of reason. The statement that science has proved God
does not exist can be refuted in seconds by a six year old.
How? By pointing out that you can’t prove the
existence of non-existence. It’s a
contradiction in terms. It’s on the same
level as “Everything I say is a lie” . . . or “If God can do anything, He can
make a weight so heavy He can’t lift it.”
All these
statements are inherently contradictory, and even a six year old — once he or she
realizes the trick that’s being played — will make a rude noise and
walk (or run) away from the discussion.
The bottom
line? There can be no crisis of faith
without a crisis of reason.
#30#