Monday, June 30, 2008

True Christians?

More and more frequently, I and many other believers have been accused of committing the "No True Scotsman" fallacy when it comes to marking those who are preaching a gospel other than the one we were taught... (Galatians 1:6-10)


I've gone out on a limb and suggested that those who would speak and act in a fashion that is contrary to that which the Bible says would be typical of a person whose heart had been regenerated by the power of the Holy Spirit, are most likely not truly Christians to begin with.

Consider these words from the Book of Acts 4:12 - in light of Matthew 1:21



Wait a second!!!  How can this be???  How is it possible that a person could call themselves a Muslim and not believe that Allah exists???  How is it that 92% of us can be considered to be "Strongly Religious" yet only 63% of those people actually believe that the "Sacred Texts" (presumably the Bible) is the true Word of God?

On another note, how is it that any less than 100% of ANY faith believes that their particular way is the only way to the promise that lies after this life...  I mean seriously folks - if you're a Muslim whose read the Koran, and believes what it says, that the only way to be assured of your place in Paradise is to be martyred for the faith, how is it that you could possibly go on in the rituals or the "strife" (Jihad) without believing 100% that you are right?

The debate fallacy referred to as the "No True Scotsman" argument isn't even applicable when it comes to a person being, doing and talking in a manner consistent with their profession of faith.  An atheist who overheard or read that another professed atheist prays once a day, would undoubtedly refer to that person as an agnostic at least, perhaps even a deist - though, they would not allow that person to be identified under the same banner as the rest of their (un)group...

Perhaps another example with a little more meat to it...  Imagine for a moment that you're a member of PETA - and the President of your local chapter of fellow PETAns has been caught on camera kicking his cat on more than one occasion.  Would anyone be able to convince you that he was necessarily a "true" person "for the ethical treatment of animals?"

If you want to get technical, and we all know how the atheist / evolutionist crowd relies on technicalities...  the No True Scotsman argument is based, from the vantage point of nationality in Mr. Flew's illustration - my point is made upon the basis of identification with Christianity as it is defined within the 66 books of the Holy Bible.

If you're curious about the definition of what a "true" Christian looks / acts like - start here...  1 John 2:3-6 / 1 John 2:9-11

There is plenty more that has been written, this is simply the start...  

Taking into consideration the video above, take a listen to the following message...


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