Re: Review of the 36 Arguments for the Existence of God # 23. THE ARGUMENT FROM HOLY BOOKS
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Pastor Jennifer v2
Feb 23, 2012, 8:55:10 PM2/23/12
to Evidence For God
23. THE ARGUMENT FROM HOLY BOOKS
(by R Goldstein)
1. There are holy books that reveal the word of God.
2. The word of God is necessarily true.
3. The word of God reveals the existence of God.
4. God exists.
FLAW 1:
This is a circular argument if ever there was one. The first three
premises cannot be maintained unless one independently knows the very
conclusion to be proved—namely, that God exists.
FLAW 2:
A glance at the world’s religions shows that there are numerous books
and scrolls and doctrines and revelations that all claim to reveal the
word of God. But they are mutually incompatible. Should I believe that
Jesus is my personal saviour? Or should I believe that God made a
covenant with the Jews requiring every Jew to keep the commandments of
the Torah? Should I believe that Muhammad was Allah’s last prophet and
that Ali, the prophet’s cousin and husband of his daughter Fatima,
ought to have been the first caliph, or that Muhammad was Allah’s last
prophet and that Ali was the fourth and last caliph? Should I believe
that the resurrected prophet Moroni dictated the Book of Mormon to
Joseph Smith? Or that Ahura Mazda, the benevolent Creator, is at
cosmic war with the malevolent Angra Mainyu? And on and on it goes.
Only the most arrogant provincialism could allow someone to believe
that the holy documents that happen to be held sacred by the clan he
was born into are true, whereas all the documents held sacred by the
clans he wasn’t born into are false.
(by R Goldstein)
1. There are holy books that reveal the word of God.
2. The word of God is necessarily true.
3. The word of God reveals the existence of God.
4. God exists.
FLAW 1:
This is a circular argument if ever there was one. The first three
premises cannot be maintained unless one independently knows the very
conclusion to be proved—namely, that God exists.
FLAW 2:
A glance at the world’s religions shows that there are numerous books
and scrolls and doctrines and revelations that all claim to reveal the
word of God. But they are mutually incompatible. Should I believe that
Jesus is my personal saviour? Or should I believe that God made a
covenant with the Jews requiring every Jew to keep the commandments of
the Torah? Should I believe that Muhammad was Allah’s last prophet and
that Ali, the prophet’s cousin and husband of his daughter Fatima,
ought to have been the first caliph, or that Muhammad was Allah’s last
prophet and that Ali was the fourth and last caliph? Should I believe
that the resurrected prophet Moroni dictated the Book of Mormon to
Joseph Smith? Or that Ahura Mazda, the benevolent Creator, is at
cosmic war with the malevolent Angra Mainyu? And on and on it goes.
Only the most arrogant provincialism could allow someone to believe
that the holy documents that happen to be held sacred by the clan he
was born into are true, whereas all the documents held sacred by the
clans he wasn’t born into are false.
Brock
Feb 25, 2012, 11:08:39 AM2/25/12
to Evidence For God
On Feb 23, 8:55 pm, Pastor Jennifer v2
<jennifer.s.jo...@googlemail.com> wrote:
> 23. THE ARGUMENT FROM HOLY BOOKS
> (by R Goldstein)
> 1. There are holy books that reveal the word of God.
> 2. The word of God is necessarily true.
> 3. The word of God reveals the existence of God.
> 4. God exists.
Again, the same limitations apply to this treatment:
> 23. THE ARGUMENT FROM HOLY BOOKS
> (by R Goldstein)
> 1. There are holy books that reveal the word of God.
> 2. The word of God is necessarily true.
> 3. The word of God reveals the existence of God.
> 4. God exists.
* there is no one "THE ARGUMENT ...", rather it refers to a general
category of arguments, thus to defeat one specific example is not
adequate to dismiss the category
* the argument, to the degree it is a paraphrase, doesn't adequately
represent (either intentionally or accidentally) the argument as put
forward by a proponent, and faces the danger of being simply a straw-
man
Regards,
Brock
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