History of Religions of Western Origin Commons^™

Skepticism: David Hume, Gary R. Habermas

Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary (1973-2015)

The Enlightenment period was characterized by differing strains of intellectual thought, from which emerged the skeptical philosophy of David Hume (1711-1776). He held that many accepted philosophical and theological beliefs were devoid of epistemological proof and therefore could not be known with certainty to be true. His twofold attack against the inerrancy of Scripture consisted initially of denying the particular evidences in the form of miracles by holding to the superiority of man's experience for the laws of nature. Also, he further posited empirical standards of judgment against the Christian belief in the inspiration of Scripture as a whole. By …

Agnosticism: Kant, W. David Beck

SOR Faculty Publications and Presentations

This chapter identifies the results of Kant's philosophical system on the contemporary discussion concerning an inerrant revelation. Knowledge, for Kant, is possible only as the forms and categories of the mind organize the raw data of the senses. Beyond this phenomenal world, the mind can only postulate what must or ought to be. It cannot know what is. The first postulate of this practical reasoning is freedom. The individual is autonomous, knows the good, and is capable of willing and doing as he ought.

Within such an epistemological framework, revelation becomes unnecessary, useless, and unverifiable. Inerrancy is not only false …

Discipleship And The Church, A. Boyd Luter

Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary (1973-2015)

No abstract provided.

The Character Of Joseph Smith: Insights From His Holographs, Richard Bushman

CGU Faculty Publications and Research

What kind of a man was Joseph Smith? His high calling as a prophet intensifies our curiosity about him as a person, but at the same time obscures him from view. As with so many public figures, the official stands in the way of the personal. We can picture him revealing the Lord's will, preaching to the Saints, and sitting in counsel, but we are also interested in him as a father, a friend, a husband, and a man.