Afterthought
Puritan Board Senior
Any thoughts on responding to those who claim the following?
1) They are spiritual but not religious.
2) Everyone has a connection to the Divine. There is one truth and one reality, but we all have different perspectives on truth and that connection works itself out differently for people, but everyone is connected to the Divine.
3) Their connection with the Divine is inward. They only need to look inward for the voice of Divine authority and that has proven to be sufficient for their happiness and guidance. They are happy as they are. Hence, they do not need external revelation and do not need Christ for them to have a happy life or for guidance.
4) They know that the inner voice of the Divine is the Divine because they know what truth feels like, and this has the feel of truth.
5) Christianity was founded in order to manipulate people, especially women.
6) They could never submit themselves to external revelation; not only is it unnecessary, but it is a binding of them from the outside.
7) One can never claim that one is objectively and absolutely living a better life than others. Different things work for different people to make them happy, i.e., each one's "best life" depends on the person. Hence, one cannot claim that Christianity offers a better life or better happiness to all people or that sin brings misery to all people. This is backed by their personal experience that they are happy and are happy in doing things that Christian's label as "sin," instead of feeling sin to be miserable (as Christians claim).
One could proceed by pointing out the inconsistiencies or factual errors, but if the person (a) sees no need of Christ or external revelation from God, (b) believes himself/herself to be happy and fulfilled, and (c) can (theoretically) contradict any claim a Christian makes by appealing to the "inner light" of Divine authority (which Divine authority cannot be determined to be Divine via rational methods, e.g., the Bible can be known to be the word of God by its marks), it is difficult to see the best way to proceed. Even trying to appeal to their conscience (i.e., making use of the law of God or showing that they don't keep their own moral standards) seems difficult, since their conscience has been hardened enough to make their sin happiness instead of guilt and misery.
1) They are spiritual but not religious.
2) Everyone has a connection to the Divine. There is one truth and one reality, but we all have different perspectives on truth and that connection works itself out differently for people, but everyone is connected to the Divine.
3) Their connection with the Divine is inward. They only need to look inward for the voice of Divine authority and that has proven to be sufficient for their happiness and guidance. They are happy as they are. Hence, they do not need external revelation and do not need Christ for them to have a happy life or for guidance.
4) They know that the inner voice of the Divine is the Divine because they know what truth feels like, and this has the feel of truth.
5) Christianity was founded in order to manipulate people, especially women.
6) They could never submit themselves to external revelation; not only is it unnecessary, but it is a binding of them from the outside.
7) One can never claim that one is objectively and absolutely living a better life than others. Different things work for different people to make them happy, i.e., each one's "best life" depends on the person. Hence, one cannot claim that Christianity offers a better life or better happiness to all people or that sin brings misery to all people. This is backed by their personal experience that they are happy and are happy in doing things that Christian's label as "sin," instead of feeling sin to be miserable (as Christians claim).
One could proceed by pointing out the inconsistiencies or factual errors, but if the person (a) sees no need of Christ or external revelation from God, (b) believes himself/herself to be happy and fulfilled, and (c) can (theoretically) contradict any claim a Christian makes by appealing to the "inner light" of Divine authority (which Divine authority cannot be determined to be Divine via rational methods, e.g., the Bible can be known to be the word of God by its marks), it is difficult to see the best way to proceed. Even trying to appeal to their conscience (i.e., making use of the law of God or showing that they don't keep their own moral standards) seems difficult, since their conscience has been hardened enough to make their sin happiness instead of guilt and misery.