Striving to Hear Arguments with "Fresh Ears"

As I continue to consider the arguments for and against the existence of God, I am reminded of the importance of forcing oneself to hear these arguments with "fresh ears." Allow me to explain.

As someone who continually weighs and considers the truth of Christianity, I confess that sometimes it easy to fall into the trap of dismissing an argument simply because I have heard it before.

For example, when considering the teleological argument for God's existence, it seems that one can almost
guarantee that the challenge of the multi-verse will arise. As someone who finds this argument to be utterly unconvincing, it can be tempting to simply think, "Oh, here we go again."

However, lately I have been reminded that if my ultimate goal is discover that which is true, I must be willing to hear arguments with "fresh ears" and be willing to challenge my own presuppositions; even if I've heard these arguments time and time again. If what I believe is really true [which I obviously feel it is or I wouldn't believe it!] then continually critiquing it and questioning it can only strengthen my convictions.

Moreover, it is not only important for the Christian to strive to hear arguments with "fresh ears;" but no matter what one's worldview is, they should strive to challenge their presuppositions as much as possible and follow the evidence wherever it leads. In the same way I admit that I sometimes fall into the "here we go again" trap, the atheist can also fall into the trap of dogmatically holding to their position while not really considering the arguments that challenge their beliefs...or "lack of belief."

That being said, it should also be noted that some arguments are much more worthy of consideration than others. Consider the argument that Jesus never existed. I feel that the evidence for His existence is so persuasive that to convince me otherwise would be very difficult indeed. I'm simply not going to spend much time on such an argument; however, this is due to the fact that the positive evidence is so strong that it's negation would be absurd.

In conclusion, I would encourage you, regardless of your worldview, to join me in hearing the arguments for and against opposing worldviews with "fresh ears." If it is truth you seek, then this seems to be the only rational thing to do.

Courage and Godspeed,
Chad

Comments

Nice post.

It reminded me of this post from lesswrong.com

http://lesswrong.com/lw/aa7/get_curious/