We believe on the basis of historical evidence
“We preach Jesus Christ to those who want Him, and we also preach Him to those who do not want Him: we keep on preaching Christ until we make them feel that they do want Him and cannot do without Him” – Charles Spurgeon
The vast majority of what the average person believes is believed on the basis of historical evidence. For example, how do we know Aristotle wrote the Poetics? We cannot prove it by abstract reasoning; neither were we there. The first manuscript was available some 1,300 years after he had lived. Therefore, we have to believe that Aristotle wrote the words in Poetics solely on the basis of the historical evidence, that is, the ancient manuscripts. Any man who says he does not believe anything solely on the basis of historical evidence would have to be content to know nothing for the rest of his life. F. F. Bruce wrote, “There is no body of ancient literature in the world that enjoys such a wealth of good textual attestation as the New Testament”. In your last submission you asked for enlightenment. Well, here it is, from God Himself: “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3). Unless you become “poor in spirit” and humble yourself before Christ, you will forever be trapped in the darkness, gleaning little comfort if any, from the works of Hume, Kant et al. All of which the Lord warns you, are boys’ philosophies. But of course, your opinion is more worthy of belief than God’s Word. That I’m afraid, is the main problem with the disciples of the pagan philosophers. They are so full of themselves, there is no room for Christ.
The vast majority of what the average person believes is believed on the basis of historical evidence. For example, how do we know Aristotle wrote the Poetics? We cannot prove it by abstract reasoning; neither were we there. The first manuscript was available some 1,300 years after he had lived. Therefore, we have to believe that Aristotle wrote the words in Poetics solely on the basis of the historical evidence, that is, the ancient manuscripts. Any man who says he does not believe anything solely on the basis of historical evidence would have to be content to know nothing for the rest of his life. F. F. Bruce wrote, “There is no body of ancient literature in the world that enjoys such a wealth of good textual attestation as the New Testament”. In your last submission you asked for enlightenment. Well, here it is, from God Himself: “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3). Unless you become “poor in spirit” and humble yourself before Christ, you will forever be trapped in the darkness, gleaning little comfort if any, from the works of Hume, Kant et al. All of which the Lord warns you, are boys’ philosophies. But of course, your opinion is more worthy of belief than God’s Word. That I’m afraid, is the main problem with the disciples of the pagan philosophers. They are so full of themselves, there is no room for Christ.
