Paul Seely wrote:
> I am uncomfortable with the words "lying" and "lie" in the above. Being
> mistaken about something, and insisting on the truth of something false
> as a result, is just being mistaken, not lying. At least in my thinking.
> As such, I don't really see any "commitment to darkness" involved, and
> certainly no "demons."
>
I think I can basically agree with you here.
My take on the matter is that YEC folk work from
the following line of thinking:
(1) the bible is a book of true facts
(2) if something contradicts those "facts" see (1).
I don't have the reference, but I remember reading
some writings of Francis Bacon in my Western Civilization
class many years ago. Bacon (in reference to the
methodologies used by contemporaries of his day) said
something to the effect that many scholars assumed
that all of reality must be interpreted
according to the very words of Aristotle, rather
than verified in the world to see if it made
sense. Descartes also griped of the same
methodologies, although not in to the form of
such an impressionable rant.
I think it is something everyone can fall prey to
in varying degrees. For example, in my days as
a student, the demands of tests in my science
classes often tempted me to just memorize the
stupid equations in some book and to only learn
enough to pass the exam, rather than seek a
a solid understanding of the material at any
price. To succumb to that is a similar folly
to simply "believing". Most of the material
in a science textbook is in effect "peer
reviewed" and reasonably reliable; however,
books can be wrong.
Likewise, as a researcher, there is the
temptation to simply take somebody's result
and use it (with due referencing of course),
rather than check if the claim even makes
sense.
At some point though, I cannot verify everything
I read, and I have to accept things on the basis
of authority alone. For example, I cannot verify
every news story. For that matter, I have never
verified that Francis Bacon actually lived, rather
I trust the writings of historians that he did.
So I would attribute the YEC way of thinking
to a misguided sense of how to view and respect
authority and particularly the authority of
writers of books of antiquity. The Bible is a
book written by God's people, but that is not
the same as saying that God simply put words
into their mouths on what they were to say.
The Bible is *not* a bunch of mumbo jumbo "oh
worship me because I'm so great" stuff, but
it is a reference for all of us on how to
live out a Godly life by way of the examples
we read of real people who did (or did not)
succeed.
by Grace we proceed,
Wayne
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