Agnosticism is epistemologically self-contradictory on its own assumptions because its claim to make no assertion about ultimate reality rests upon a most comprehensive assertion about ultimate reality.
Cornelius Van TilRead
The only proof for the existence of God is that without God you couldn't prove anything.
Interpretation
This quote suggests that belief in God is foundational for establishing truth and knowledge.
Cornelius Van Til's quote emphasizes the idea that the existence of God is essential for the validation of knowledge and truth. It posits that without a divine being, the basis for proving anything becomes tenuous, as secular or atheistic frameworks may struggle to provide a satisfactory foundation for objective truth. Therefore, it underlines the philosophical argument that God is a necessary precondition for rational discourse and understanding.
In practice
During a discussion on the foundations of morality in a philosophy class.
Agnosticism is epistemologically self-contradictory on its own assumptions because its claim to make no assertion about ultimate reality rests upon a most comprehensive assertion about ultimate reality.
To admit one's own presuppositions and to point out the presuppositions of others is therefore to maintain that all reasoning is, in the nature of the case, circular reasoning. The starting-point, the method, and the conclusion are always involved in one another.
Successful and fortunate crime is called virtue.
Religion, art, and science flourish best in a free society. True, freedom does not afford much opportunity for grand gestures. It has little room for martyrs. But life is not supposed to be about dying well. It is about living well.
If there is a knower of tongues here, fetch him; There's a stranger in the city And he has many things to say.
Let no man posture as an advocate of peace if he proposes or supports any social system that initiates the use of force against individual men, in any form.
The world as pure object is something that is not there. It is not a reality outside us for which we exist....It is a living and self-creating mystery of which I am myself a part, to which I am myself, my own unique door.
In our hyper-secular world, worship is still inevitable. But it is vital to remember that our gods don't choose us, we choose them.
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