Re: Why I am not an Atheist

Fred Phelps (Fred.Phelps@f7012.n2001.z12.telcom.lfa.com)
09 Apr 96 11:05:00 -0700

The Scatterer is rumored to have typed:
If I must choose between compartmentalized truth and atheism, then I
choose
the latter. However, this is not the alternative that faces us. I think
that all of us (at least all that I have seen writing here) believe
that
God, as the author of both books (nature and Bible), does not
contradict
himself and that a true understanding of both revelations will be a
consistent and true one. Don't make the mistake of thinking that since
two
people disagree one how that exactly works out that one or both of them
don't accept the premise.

I reply:
As a (former and mediocre) mathematician I know the difference
between existence and uniqueness of solutions. For example, I have no
doubt that there WAS an author of the Epistle to Hebrews, but I cannot
identify him. As it happened so long ago we cannot decide between
several possible candidates, most of whom we do not even know by name.
The problem with Genesis 6-11 is that I hear very few solutions. If
there were dozens of competing solutions agruing details among
themselves I would feel confident that there is a solution, but we
could not decide which one as of yet.

For me, and thousands of others, the problem is real and cannot be
defined away.
Fred

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