What irks me most about the allegations surrounding Ted Haggard is that they reinforce the prejudices of the fundamentalists.
Religious fundamentalists will claim this is further proof that gay people are secretive, promiscuous drug users.
Secular fundamentalists will claim this is further proof that Christians are hypocrites.
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What is a secularist fundamentalist? Am I one? I believe absolutely in the power of reason to reach logically irrefutable conclusions. I believe that reason - not faith - is the soundest foundation for the public debate and the common good. Being a Christian, I also believe the proposition is true that "All Christians are sinners!" Next, I believe it's true that hypocricy is a sin. So I think the irrefutable logical consequence is "All Christians are hypocrits." It's been a while since I studied logic, but I think that the syllogism above is formally correct. If we believe the propositions are true, we must also believe the consequence is true.
Being a pluralist, I also believe it's essential in a healthy democracy that some people will think I'm full of shit for phrasing those propositions in such narrowly parochial and religious terms in the first place. Those people should run for office.
Secular fundamentalists are the ones who hyperventilate over things like nativity scenes and "one nation under God."
I don't think your syllogism is correct at all. All Christians are sinners, sure. But hypocrites aren't Christian sinners, they are Christian sinners who deny they're sinners until the voicemail messages prove otherwise.
You are right! I should have known I could never sneak that nonsense by you at noon, not even in that phony business suit called a syllogism.
But there really is some slipperiness in Christian thought between some or all. Are some sinners hypocrites or are we all? I am one of those who believe that we are all hypocrites. I believe that faith must coincide with doubt, else it is no feat of love. Isn't that a pretty precept? So we are internally conflicted, and contradicted, and we are hypocrites. It's a matter of honesty. I present myself to "god" as someone who is deeply unsure of his/her/its existence, and I present myself to others as a believer. It's irrational!
But back to those who hyperventilaters, yes, they should adhere to reason by remembering that in a secular nation, the middle term in that syllogism is, properly speaking, some.
i simply used it as fodder for a really nasty post about hypocrites. syllo-what??? you guys are too fancy for me to keep up. can we have some more cussin please?
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