Things That I Know
Things aren't necessarily true because:
- They are old - dragons do not exist, even though they were thought to for
centuries.
- Lots of people agree about it - many people think George Washington cut
down a cherry tree, but this is a story invented by a newspaperman. I don't
like the idea of "witnesses" either. Are the millions of people who call the
plethora of psychic hotlines witnesses to the veracity of ESP?
- It happens to be agreeable to people - I would like to believe in a
jolly old man who rewards children for being good by giving them presents.
It makes them happy and gives them something to look forward to, but is
unfortunately untrue.
- A famous or prominent person believes it - at one time, the grandest
thinkers believed that the earth was the center of the universe. (Experts
in the field in question are reliable, but not infallible.)
- They are unique or different - people once believed that wood burned
because it had an inherent property called fire. I'm sure there were other
theories, but this one is quite unique and also has the benefit of being
agreeable.
- They haven't been proven false (or vice versa) - "Unicorns exist. You
can't prove me wrong." is not a valid argument. Note this is different than
assuming something true until proven false (or false until proven
true). Science uses the latter to insure an orderly progression of knowledge.
In other words, it's valid to assume that something is true or not, which is
different from saying it is true just because no one can prove
otherwise.
- We can't think of a better explanation - light was once believed to
travel in a nearly massless, invisible substance since all known waves
oscillated in some sort of medium. But this has since been proven untrue.
I have never seen a verifiable miracle. Even then, I would have to be convinced
that it wasn't a magic trick. This isn't stubbornness or irrational criticism;
I simply know that many of the wonders posed to man are simply hoaxes.
I've been told that I am overly judgmental of Christianity compared to other
beliefs that I assume are true. I believe, for example, that the Weather
Channel is telling the truth when it says that it is snowing in Colorado. But
the difference is that like my other beliefs, this one can be verified. And
that is exactly what I'm trying to do with Christianity. The reason I am so
thorough in my study is because this is an important, if not the most important,
issue of my life, and deserves the utmost care.
Back to Thoughts on Christianity and God.
