It is ironic that, although fundamentalists are implacably opposed to liberalism, their extreme reaction shows the same weakness. They, too, stress the leap of faith and make irrationality almost a principle, dismissing the serious questions of seeking modern men as intellectual smoke-screens or diversions to conceal deeper personal problems. All this masks a desperate intellectual insecurity, barely disguised by the surrounding hedge of taboos to preserve purity. The strident intolerance of much guilt-driven evangelism betrays the same insecurity. In these circles, much that is taught has to be unlearned in the wider school of life, and it is not surprising that universities are littered with dropouts from such groups. Their non-rational, subjective faith is cruelly punctured by varsity-level questions, and many manage to survive only by resorting to a severely schizophrenic faith which they hold to be true religiously but not intellectually, historically, or scientifically.— Os Guinness (b. 1941), The Dust of Death [1973]
Mike,
Great post from one of the greatest minds of our day, one respected within most conservative evangelical circles, and one of my favorite authors. Thanks!
~ Cliff
I appreciate the compliment, Cliff! (You were referring to me, right?) 😉
Nice blog Mike, I’ll bookmark it.
I myself have always accepted evolution as valid, even after I became a Christian 21 years ago. I toyed with fundamentalism briefly but rapidly dismissed it as being out of touch with easily observable reality. These days, I spend a lot of time telling YECs just how foolish they make the rest of Christianity look!
I’ve bookmarked your blog as well, Gumby! Thanks for taking the time to say, “Hi!”