NJ, though an email like the one you shared is meant to poke fun at contradictions and is therefore inflamatory. It is interesting that black and white thinking is used by us all. You are pointing out is lack of lucidity, and those defending it are excluding lucidity as always meaningful to debate. It all gets very confusing. And confusion is not of God.
I have been accused of not using my own words. For what it's worth, here's my take on analyzing the heart of the situation. It is the heart of
Savage Philosophy and contradictions.
Hope you don't mind that it's
prefabbed...
Savage Philosophy ”The Wheel of Religion’ and Liberalism as a Mental Disorder
Colossians 2:8 See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.
Exclusivity, Choice, and Contradictions
For those of you familiar with the conservative radio talk show host Michael Savage, you are likely aware of his controversial style. He makes no apologies for his views, and calls things as he sees them. That is what we should all do (as Jesus said, ”let our yes be yes, and our no, no’), but that does not mean by necessity that we posses a coherent philosophy.
I have personally been a fan of Mr. Savage’s radio show and thinking for at least 10 years, and have read at least one of his books and found it very informative, entertaining, and highly accurate. In my opinion, he is generally a very clear thinker who is logically demanding. But on one issue (two really), it is also my opinion that he appears to be suffering from what he, himself, calls ”a mental disorder’ (liberalism) and has been subsequently seduced by the illogical thinking that meanders from such inherent contradictions. It is his ”Wheel of Religion’, and ”Liberalism as a Mental Disorder’ that I wish to address.
Recently, Mr. Savage has spoken quite openly and plainly of his inability and unwillingness to accept religious philosophies that claim to be exclusively true. He finds such exclusivity unacceptable, and to a point most of us would agree, since extremism is not in and of itself, a virtue. If it were, then certainly the Islamic Fundamentalists would have all of us beaten quite handsomely. As a substitute for what so many find to be offensive and narrow philosophies, he has offered a simple analogy, and he calls it, ”The Wheel of Religion’.
He asks his audience to imagine a wheel. And the spokes of that wheel represent the religions of the world and the hub represents God. The premise is simple; all spokes lead to God. And in this way, it is implied, that we should view other religious methodologies as equal to our own in leading to peace. This philosophy is presupposed to be less antagonistic and tolerant by avoiding a claim of exclusivity over something that is so deeply personal and uniquely treasured in a person’s life and culture.
What I want to do here is make three main points:
1. Truth (by definition) is exclusive.
2. All philosophies such as ”The wheel of Religion’ are exclusive.
3. How we choose a coherent worldview.
1. Truth by definition is exclusive. Probably the simplest illustration of this is mathematics. There are an infinite number of numbers available to us conceptually. The largest figure I have heard of is called a ”Google’. But the point is that out of all of those possible numbers, only one of them is the correct solution to the problem 1+1+1=y. And the solution to that problem is the number 3. They way we arrive there is with consistent logic.
The main function of the exclusivity of truth is to exclude the incorrect answer or answers. In philosophy, the alternative answer is often the polar opposite of the solution. When we arrive at an answer accurately (logically) we can, with clear understanding, see the answer and make practical application of the knowledge.
2.’ The Wheel of life’, as with all philosophy, excludes alternative solutions to the metaphysical problem that faces all men. If the wheel of life is ”the way, and the truth’, then the claim of Jesus Christ that, ”I am the way, the truth and the life. No man comes to the Father but by me’, must be false. And the reason is simple. Jesus said that we can only come to God by Him, and the Wheel of life excludes that solution by saying that we can come to God by any religion we are cultured in.
So, all philosophy is exclusive by definition, simply because it presupposes itself to be the truth. There may be overlap and agreement on certain truths within differing worldviews, but ultimately they divide and become opposed to one another in their foundational presumptions.
3. When choosing a worldview, we must look for coherence. If it is found to be contradictory, then it must be assumed to be false (it is illogical). So when we are offered such a worldview as ”The Wheel of Religions’; one that is invented with the sole intention of freeing us from exclusivity, then we can immediately recognize the problem. It defeats itself, because it must then claim itself to be ”the way, the truth and the life.’ That is the nature and inescapable implication of philosophy and truth. We cannot have it both ways.
Now this presents an interesting opportunity when deciding what to believe in terms of truth claims. How can we choose at all without excluding something else? So I ask you, ”what is wiser to choose’? A worldview which is peddled by men who are unaware of their own claim to exclusivity? Or a worldview that is offered by a man who is fully aware of Himself and makes no apology for the clarity and sufficiency of His providence?
If you make a choice . you will exclude the opposites! If you choose not to choose, then you exclude the possibility of knowing the truth to begin with. And that begs the question, "then how do you know that that you can’t know'?
That’s what choice is all about. We have a lot of things available to us in this world, but we certainly would not be wise to choose some of them, or all. It would plainly be illogical. We have turned reality (which is really theology) into our theories of philosophy. So keep that in mind when dealing with the word ”Philosophy’. Our philosophy is our worldview is our religion, and it is either real, or contrived. If it is real, it is not religion, but simply Christ.
A famous Catholic theologian spoke on this issue around the turn of the 20th century. His name was G.K. Chesterton. And this quote is one of my personal favorites:
“ . philosophy is either eternal or it is not philosophy. The modern habit of saying ”This is my opinion, but I may be wrong’ is entirely irrational. If I say that it may be wrong, I say that is not my opinion. The modern habit of saying ”Every man has a different philosophy; this is my philosophy and it suits me’ (the habit of saying this is mere weak-mindedness). A cosmic philosophy is not constructed to fit a man; a cosmic philosophy is constructed to fit a cosmos. A man can no more possess a private religion than he can possess a private sun and moon”.
(Introduction to THE BOOK OF JOB "Man is most comforted by paradoxes." by G.K. Chesterton)
Now, there is one more thing I would like to say about ”Savage Philosophy’, and it is in regard to ”Liberalism as a Mental Disorder’. Dr. Savage has mentioned on numerous occasions that it is not just Democrats (or self styled Liberals) who suffer from this condition, but also Republicans (and self styled Conservatives), and to an alarming degree, our whole culture. I think he is onto something absolutely pivotal, but he has phrased it as a half truth to some degree.
The mental disorder we all suffer from to one extent or another is really just the illogical out-workings caused by avoiding certain realities in our own thinking. And these are the result of our sin. The true condition is called ”Sin’. And it is this ”Spiritual Disorder’ that Michael Savage partially diagnoses with his tepid description ”Liberalism is a Mental Disorder’.
As a result of only partially diagnosing the ”real’ problem (in all of us), Dr. Savage falls into the same trap that so many have fallen into, and that is of throwing stones. The Liberals blame the Conservatives. The Jews blame the Muslims. The ACLU blames the ”Christian Right’. The Father blames the Mother. The Son blames the Father. And everyone lives ”unhappily’ ever after.
The real solution to the problems of man, lies in each individual’s responsibility to look into the mirror of God’s law (The Ten Commandments) and see for himself what he truly is; and it is in ”the light’ of that reality (that is logically undeniable) that we can fist begin to realize what it is Jesus Christ was trying to tell us all along. ”He is the way, the truth, and the Life. And that no man comes to the Father but by truth’ (Him)!
“The depravity of man is at once, the most empirically verifiable reality. Yet at the same time, it is the most intellectually resisted fact.” (Malcomb Muggeridge)
If you are honest in your own heart, you will hear His words clearly, and He counsels us to give it up. Our hollow philosophies do not really even convince us, let alone an all seeing God who loved us enough to die in our stead. The problem with the world is not our enemies. The problem with the world is you and me. Until we accept that, we cannot begin to participate in the solution. We will only throw stones and accuse our neighbor of the very things we are guilty of ourselves.
™ Version 4.2