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Date Posted: 08:55:12 04/23/01 Mon
Author: OPB
Subject: Re: Christian Errors in Knowledge
In reply to: SM78 's message, "Christian Errors in Knowledge" on 07:45:14 04/23/01 Mon

It's good to be back.

What occurs, then, is that by subjecting xtianity to the rigors of epsitemology we change it in profound ways. It can no longer be the "truth" and is instead re-cast as one of many belief systems.

I've pointed this out to fundies many times...and the usual response is Pascal's Wager: "Okay, you can choose among belief systems without being able to prove any given one as absolutely true, but consider the consequences if you choose wrongly--if you choose to disbelieve Xianity and Xianity turns out to be true." They don't seem to notice that this is a shift from an evidential ethic of belief to an ethic of belief based on personal interest.

The wager is a sound argument when examined. It's in your best interest to choose the belief system that offers you the best rewards while avoiding those that provide for the worst punishments; it's like a day at the race track. But the problem is that the argument proves too little to be of help to the Xian: it doesn't establish that Xianity is the best choice; there could always be a belief system with better rewards and worse punishments than it. (As Pascal originally cast the wager, the choice was belief in God vs atheism; Xianity per se wasn't mentioned. But this is a false dichotomy, and the addition of _multiple_ choices makes the wager a sound argument that doesn't point to any given belief system.)

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