I come off strong because, at the risk of being misinterpreted as arrogant, I wish to impart my confidence in Scripture to people. And I repeatedly remind the readers that I am so sure only because my own confidence is derived from the infallibility of Scripture. So I am not going to undermine my own materials by adopting a false humility, even if it would be more socially acceptable. Christians so rarely witness any faith in their leaders that when one comes out and shows it, everybody thinks that he is being arrogant. But their minds have been captured by a non-Christian standard. If the Christians cannot claim invincibility and irrefutability because of the Scripture infallibility, then the non-Christians will always have a place to stand in the intellectual realm. But on the authority of Scripture and in the name of Christ, I allow the unbeleivers no such place to stand. (Footnote: This is also related to why I use biblical invectives when describing the foolishness and depravity of the unbelievers. I wish to pass on the sharp biblical contrasts between light and darkness, wisdom and folly, and so on. Most of the invectives that I use are either directly taken from Scripture, or are derived from Scripture.) If something is true and you affirm it, then you must be right on that point. If you are not sure that something is true, then do not say it, and there is no problem. Too many theologians and preachers say, This must be true…but I could be wrong. This is not humble, but stupid. Do not be fooled by the constant self-abasement practiced by some people. It might be that they are in fact humble individuals, but on the other hand, they might just be spineless losers. They make an uncertain sound, and the people who hear them become confused and hesitant rather than focused and militant. (Footnote: To illustrate, one can lose more faith listening to William Lane Craig defend the faith than one might gain. He makes his own arguments sound so uncertain. Everything is soft and merely probable, but nothing is certain, nothing is absolute and irrefutable. This is not humble – it is just pathetic.) --Vincent Cheung. vincentcheung/books/Captive%20to%20Reason%20(2009).pdf
Posted on: Thu, 23 Oct 2014 02:13:30 +0000
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