Quote of the day
posted at 10:30 pm on May 11, 2009 by Allahpundit
“When I think about atheist friends, including my father, they seem to me like people who have no ear for music, or who have never been in love. It is not that (as they believe) they have rumbled the tremendous fraud of religion – prophets do that in every generation. Rather, these unbelievers are simply missing out on something that is not difficult to grasp. Perhaps it is too obvious to understand; obvious, as lovers feel it was obvious that they should have come together, or obvious as the final resolution of a fugue…
My departure from the Faith was like a conversion on the road to Damascus. My return was slow, hesitant, doubting. So it will always be; but I know I shall never make the same mistake again. Gilbert Ryle, with donnish absurdity, called God ‘a category mistake’. Yet the real category mistake made by atheists is not about God, but about human beings. Turn to the Table Talk of Samuel Taylor Coleridge – ‘Read the first chapter of Genesis without prejudice and you will be convinced at once . . . ‘The Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life’.’ And then Coleridge adds: ‘‘And man became a living soul.’ Materialism will never explain those last words.’”
Blowback
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I just meant I don’t see the thought/reasoning expressed by Lewis in that quote to be exclusive to Christianity. It seems to me that anyone questioning god’s existence would sooner or later stumble upon the idea expressed there. I certainly did, long before I ever heard of Lewis, and not from any religious source for certain. It seems to me that many of the comments above reflect the same line of thinking. IMO, it is by no means a sufficient reason to believe in God, but perhaps a necessary one.
JiangxiDad on May 12, 2009 at 1:19 PM
I know next to nothing about Mormonism but I think the similarities are,
1. Importance of righteous conduct/Dharma for salvation/moksha
2. Doctrine about spiritual elevation of mankind.
Again my apologies for any inadvertent inaccuracy.
Gaurav on May 12, 2009 at 1:19 PM
Gaurav on May 12, 2009 at 1:19 PM
I recognize the concepts of Dharma and moksha as described in those links. I believe in the ultimate divine origin and destiny of mankind. I sense our common human longing for justice and peace and elevation is found in those concepts.
However, Mormonism is built first and foremost on Jesus Christ. He is the Son of God, he is the example. His teachings are what we seek to emulate. It is by and through Jesus Christ that we come to a full knowledge of God. It is only through the Atonement of Christ that we can become worthy of all God has to offer us.
We are saved not by our works alone but through the grace of Jesus Christ.
petunia on May 12, 2009 at 1:37 PM
Ah ok, yeah, I agree with you. By its nature, the aesthetic argument is one that requires fertile ground, so to speak, for it to make an impression. In Puddleglum’s case, the witch he’s talking to likes the underground world that he is decrying, because its her world, so what he says means little to her. In fact, his words would make someone like her less receptive to his position.
But then, he wasn’t saying what he did for her benefit, he was saying it for the benefit of Eustace, Jill and the Prince Rilian, to wake them up from the witch’s spell of forgetfulness.
The cross and the message of grace is beautiful to me because I know I’m a wretch without hope in a world filled with misery and injustice. I don’t belong here; this world is not my home. I wasn’t convinced of that fact, I knew it in my heart before I knew anything of God. It wasn’t until I heard about the cross of Christ that I had any hope for myself or this world.
To those that like this world as it is, who like the reflection in the mirror, who live for money, power, glory and fame, the cross is at best a fascinating story, but fundamentally no different from any other fable. To them the “good news” is just news. The healthy don’t need a physician.
spmat on May 12, 2009 at 1:38 PM
I really like that, petunia.
Rosmerta on May 12, 2009 at 4:55 PM
As a C.S. Lewis-style “Mere Christian” I have my differences with many of the teachings of the RCC and the LDS. But those can wait for another forum. Let me just extend this invitation:
http://www.higherpraisetube.com/video/2399/WELCOME-TO-OUR-CHURCH
We didn’t produce this video, but this IS how we roll. And we have great coffee and absolutely *killer* maple-oatmeal scones before service.
skydaddy on May 12, 2009 at 5:00 PM
OK, here’s a question that even as a Christian I struggle with: why does traditional Judaism/Christianity require blood sacrifice?
Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross is believed to have fulfilled the Judaic requirement for blood to wash away sin and guilt – but why blood? Why even death? Why couldn’t God merely choose to forgive us, and let it go at that? Couldn’t God choose to exercise mercy without justice?
Of course the Passion is at the heart of God’s love for us; it’s the most profound way we know that God loves us and even suffers, not only along with us, but in our place. That has a value and meaning we can never fathom. But still I ask – why did it have to be?
Rosmerta on May 12, 2009 at 5:02 PM
Sorry, it just occurred to me that my above question might be a bit esoteric for this forum … if so, feel free to strike it, AP or Ed!
Rosmerta on May 12, 2009 at 5:03 PM
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