The need to carry unjustified beliefs
- I’m allergic to blind adherence to untested, or untestable assumptions
- all the truth claims of the Bible — how can I walk around carrying these as a Christian without having examined them?
- I want to really know what I subscribe to.
The irrationality of faith
- (tied to the first point)
- By definition, faith is partly irrational: it requires a strong belief in something without direct evidence for it.
- This will always bother me as I don’t do well with uncertainty.
- Back when I was Christian, I thought about it this way
- It’s irrational, but we should aim to be make it as rational as possible — there are different levels of irrationality.
- Faith must go beyond evidence but it doesn’t have to be in complete absence of evidence or in contradiction with evidence.
The subjectivity of supernatural experience
- Where is God?
- The problem with worship music
What to do with the Bible?
- As you become Christian, you need to figure out what to do with the Bible, the supposed guide for your faith.
- What about slavery, homosexuality, women in church etc.
- Christianity provides an objective moral framework and I can’t agree with some of the moral claims
- If being gay is a sin, then why is it a property baked into humans that can’t be changed with any level of effort or treatment?
- Doesn’t this mean God designed you to constantly sin?
- Problem of evil bla bla bla.
What about other religions?
- Buffet analogy: how can you say a dish is your favourite when you haven’t tasted the other ones at the table?
- How can you know if you can “love God with all your heart, soul, mind” if you haven’t tried other religions?