Viking Restaurant

Sullivan vs. Harris

Ive been reading this fascinating debate on religious belief between Andrew Sullivan and Sam Harris. Although I consider both of these men to demonstrate profoundly erroneous thinking, I am similarly awed by their level of intellectual honesty and articulation. I am shamed at my own lack of ability to articulate as effectively the reasons for my faith. Sullivan, in particular, impresses me with his grasp of the contingency of humanity and of the limitations of reason and with his rejection of fideism. Dont get me wrong, these guys say some silly stuff. Sullivan's argument that all the world religions could conceivably lead to the same God and Harris' argument that the Bible is an easily improved upon human accomplishment both betray some naive assumptions.

These guys make it clear that there are only three categories of belief pertinent to their discussion: fundamentalism, religious moderation, and atheism. By necessity then, I am forced into the fundamentalist camp. Reminds me of the discussion on Ryan's blog. It makes me sad that I cant be considered outside of this camp when engaged in wider circles of religious discourse. Honestly, at this point in my life, Im more sympathetic with Andrew Sullivan than I would ever be with Jerry Falwell or James Dobson. Nevertheless, my core beliefs are closer to Dobson's than to Sullivan's. I cant deny that even if I do feel a greater psychological affiliation with Sullivan. For the sake of upholding the authority of Christ and His Word, cast me in with Jerry and James. Sure, it feels like having to go the lame youth group charades party when youd rather be at the Smashing Pumpkins concert with your friends from school, but hey, thats just the nature of the beast.

In other news, and I dont mean to make light of this by putting it at the end of this post, but I do feel compelled to share that Alan Groves , an OT professor at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, passed away of cancer on Monday evening. Our prayers should be with his family and with everyone in that community. I understand he was a pretty incredible guy. When things like this happen, I am strengthened in my resolve to be a fundamentalist and to cling to the power and hope of the resurrection.