A man who doesn't "believe" will never "believe" even if inundated with logical reasons. He has already set up psychological barriers that will prevent him from accepting any new data contrary to his current belief set.
Allow me to play Devil's advocate.
Let's say, for the moment, that you are presented incontestible proof that Jesus was not a divine being in human form. Maybe a memo from the Romans that unequivocally state that Jesus was never crucified, never flogged etc, and it was all just an elaborate setup for his "resurrection". Now remember here, I'm not attacking the Christian faith, just using this as a (rather extreme) example of human psychology.
So anyway, if the crucifixtion never took place, then Jesus never died, and thus he never was resurrected, which calls into question that whole business of the 2nd/3rd coming of the Christ.
If you got such information, would you accept it as the truth? I could throw all the scientific data at you to prove that Jesus was never crucified, and I could provide you reams of analysis and facts and figures.
But at the end of the day, you would not believe it because you have been building your fundamental core beliefs since young, and to acknowledge that everything you thought is wrong, is a monumentally difficult undertaking.
We have real live examples from history. What? The world revolves around the sun? Heresy! Execute the fool!
Conclusion: Reality has little bearing on the human belief system and people will believe what they want to believe, and actively reject all evidence contrary to their belief system.
Today's inspiration comes from Alwyn's blog entry "Need Proof?"
4 comments:
It's gonna be difficult, but if there's compelling reason that jesus never rose from the dead... ie we found his bones (like in the movie The Body) then i'd be intellectually obligated to give up the orthodox christian faith or modify it along liberal lines :)
It takes a big heart and a lot of courage to say that one possesses the ability to accept purportedly irrefutable proof and tear down a belief system you have built for the most part of your life.
I don't mean that as a slight in any way to any of the fine folk who have commented above. Just an observation that it is a difficult road to travel, from hearing that such evidence exists, challenging the evidence, wrestling with the notion that the evidence may indeed be true, accepting the evidence, and then painfully changing your beliefs.
Like a tree that has grown roots deep into the ground, only to find that overnight, the ground has suddenly vanished from beneath.
Oh, and to that one person who asked me... No, as far as I know, nobody has yet found any irrefutable evidence that the crucifixtion never took place. Geez, it was a hypothetical situation!
:) yea, i think the main problem with unbelief in not intellectual, but moral...
Hedonese
It's gonna be real hard to change one's cherished beliefs, but if we really pursue truth rather than convenience... it's a needed commitment, at least in theory :)
JP Moreland once asked, What would he do if his children discovered that christian faith is false? He said they should give it up...
For what's the alternative - hang on to it even though u know it's false? That got me to ponder
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