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Monday, October 20, 2008

Sam Harris : Let Him Who is Without Faith Cast the First Stone, part 3 of 6

Please note that this post has been moved to True Freethinker where it was posted at this link



3 comments:

  1. Here again, I fail to see how this is to the point. This appears to be your interpretation of this particular Biblical story. It in no way to me invalidates the claim that a case could be made. I don't believe that Mr. Harris was attempting to make that claim just that one could make it. The issue here is that of interpretation. If these stories can be interpreted in different ways then how is this a guide to living a good christian life?

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  2. Mac;
    The issue is not whether Sam Harris can merely claim, as no one has in two millennia, that “you can get a rationale for killing people for adultery out of the New Testament.”

    Rather, the issue is whether the claim is valid. Thus, you cannot justify any behavior you wish, you can merely make any claim you wish just as I could make any claim I with based on a newspaper article or an absolutely materialistic worldview.

    I don’t know about you or Sam Harris but when he attempts to pass of quoting a mere three words from the New Testament (“jot and tittle”) and claim that this proves his assertion, I am embarrassed for him because it is stunningly obvious that he is letting his prejudice cloud his thinking.

    I elucidate the issue from various vantage points in order to show that his “interpretation” is baseless and unknown for the past two millennia. Sam Harris does what many of what is known in Christianity as “false teachers” do—he does cherry pick and therefore comes to obviously faulty conclusions. He does not discredit the Bible or Christianity but discredits himself.

    Why do you lend such weight to such a strained an argument based on three uncontextual and misapplied words?

    False teachers count on people who will not double check what they are saying. In counter-distinction Paul praises the Bereans as being more noble or fair minded than the Thessalonians because every day after Paul taught the Bereans they double checked what he said. True skepticism is not merely being critical or uncritically believing what we are told by those with whom we agree.

    aDios,
    Mariano

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  3. Mariano,
    Keep up the great work! Excellent blogging.

    Just a note of encouragement.

    God Bless,
    S

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