tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6615941543485589009.post3133978583179909267..comments2024-02-19T12:05:47.873+00:00Comments on Something Surprising: Nonsense from C S LewisPlasma Engineerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02891736950166421184noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6615941543485589009.post-72652885798714508552013-11-09T08:23:32.263+00:002013-11-09T08:23:32.263+00:00Yes, I've never understood what some Christian...Yes, I've never understood what some Christians see in Lewis. I had a high school English teacher (at a Christian school) who raved about him and his apologetics.<br /><br />Got to say I wasn't impressed myself. Nothing Lewis wrote strikes me as profound. His arguments in favor of religion aren't really intellectual arguments, backed by solid evidence. They are merely wordplay - cute rhetorical devices and poses that establish nothing.<br /><br />Lewis's own reasons for being a Christian are emotional. That's fine. There's nothing wrong with trusting your emotions or gut instincts. But he should have been more forthright about the basis of his faith. He wasn't a great intellectual and very little intellect of any sort goes into his arguments.<br /><br />Dawkins, on the other hand, at least can create an argument you can agree with or disagree with, supported by evidence. Lewis just relies on cute tricks and what ifs, which are purely rhetorical devices designed to win arguments and apply to human emotion.<br /><br />Let's not pretend Lewis was anything other than what he is - a master of rhetoric, not reason.Jamesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6615941543485589009.post-7678865961651906172012-11-09T03:30:00.567+00:002012-11-09T03:30:00.567+00:00Hmm. I have been an atheist for 2/3rds of my life....Hmm. I have been an atheist for 2/3rds of my life. When reading Mere Christianity the amount of convenient rationalizing made my brain ache.<br /><br />That said, I see no problem with about half of what you posted. Perhaps some are not wonderful apologetics by themselves, perhaps some are said from the perspective of a Christian rather than an apologetic, but several of those do make sense if you aren't making an effort to see them as foolish. <br /><br />The first one for example seems intended to console the unhappy (maybe even effectively), not to justify suffering. The second is about the human spirit, not a literal statement that a human is not actually human if he stops seeking. The third is a convenient understanding of free will that negates God's power so - ok, I will give you that that is a careless argument. Forth one, agreed, sloppy. Fifth, he's just being honest about doubts, which is something every scientist or careful thinker must do. Sixth, insufficient background to judge. Seventh - a standard theist argument that we are somehow imprinted with God's sense of right and wrong - my counterargument would be the processes of evolution can easily explain these things. Eighth is perfectly reasonable if you accept the Bible as divinely inspired. Ninth, what does that have to do with poor thinking? It describes his emotional struggle with admitting he was wrong. Last one - another standard fare argument; I think it's possible for an intelligent person to find the world improbable without engaging in numerous errors in thought. He may have, but that's the only assertion you included.<br /><br />Anyway, I'm totally with you that CS is laughable and appears incapable of a truly convincing argument, but your case is still as weak as any he makes.CJnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6615941543485589009.post-75946370889652690452012-10-16T03:22:49.196+01:002012-10-16T03:22:49.196+01:00I have to C.S. Lewis is greatly overrated, I am ac...I have to C.S. Lewis is greatly overrated, I am actually reading his book mere Christianity, And I am not impressed. <br /><br />"Before you offer commentary on Biblical stories, you should probably spend some time actually studying your Bible. Of course that can be dangerous to your Christian faith. Reading the Bible has probably produced more atheists than any other activity." -Patrick QuigleyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com