{"id":2513,"date":"2012-04-04T10:30:09","date_gmt":"2012-04-04T14:30:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/?p=2513"},"modified":"2012-12-21T14:58:41","modified_gmt":"2012-12-21T19:58:41","slug":"evangelicals-pitching-skepticism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/2012\/04\/evangelicals-pitching-skepticism.html","title":{"rendered":"Evangelicals Pitching Skepticism?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

(Part one of two on the apologetics offered by missionaries outside the Reason Rally<\/a>)<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

I was about an hour late to the Reason Rally because I couldn\u2019t resist stopping to talk to the Christian evangelists who were ringing the rally. The conversations probably went on longer than was productive (I\u2019m bad at taking my own advice about walking away from arguments<\/a>), but I thought there were some interesting tactics on display.<\/p>\n

The biggest surprise? I heard more pitches for radical skepticism from the proselytizers than the atheists. One of the first evangelicals I talked to asked me if I\u2019d been to the Library of Congress, and then asked me what percent of those works I would estimate that I had read. \u201cHow can you be so sure there\u2019s no God,\u201d he asked, \u201cwhen there\u2019s so much you don\u2019t know? Isn\u2019t that arrogant?<\/p>\n

I asked him how much of the Library of Congress I\u2019d need to read to have opinions about gravity (despite my geekery, I sure don\u2019t understand the theoretical physics that explain my experience). He seemed surprised by the question, and we talked for a little bit longer about whether the standard of knowledge for philosophy and\/or metaphysics should be different than for empirical questions.<\/p>\n

\"\"
You must be THIS well read to have opinions<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I ran into this argument from radical uncertainty more than once from the Christians at the Reason Rally. It leaves me wondering whether the Christians are offering incomplete arguments because<\/em> they are theists. They don\u2019t have to worry as much about follow-up because they think that God is going to be the one to exploit any seeds of doubt they sow.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m pretty skittish around this kind of argument. \u00a0For one thing, the kind of skepticism they\u2019re promoting seems a lot more likely to result in nihilism than anything else, so I suspect they are applying it to truth-propositions unevenly. \u00a0For another, I have a weakness for coherence. \u00a0There\u2019s a real relief in adhering to a formalized, well-fleshed out system, and it can be tempting to join up with a flawed one (that you\u2019ll fix later!) to avoid being left alone to build up a whole philosophy yourself. \u00a0There has to be some additional impetus to submit to a tradition (whether religious or philosophical) beside ideological loneliness.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(Part one of two on the apologetics offered by missionaries outside the Reason Rally) I was about an hour late to the Reason Rally because I couldn\u2019t resist stopping to talk to the Christian evangelists who were ringing the rally. 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