Why do you believe what you believe?

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Lecture 3

• Why do you believe what you believe?

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People almost invariably arrive at their beliefs
not on the basis of proof but on the basis of
what they find attractive.--Blaise Pascal
(17th century French philosopher)
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Why do you believe what you believe?
SOCIO-LOGICAL REASONS Parents Friends Society
Culture Geography Community Peer Pressure
PSYCHO-LOGICAL REASONS Comfort Peace of
mind Meaning Purpose Hope Identity Feelings
or Intuition
RELIGI-OUS REASONS Scripture Pastor/Priest Guru
Rabbi Imam Church Tradition Mysticism
PHILO-SOPHICAL REASONS Consistency Coherence Co
mpleteness
BIBLICAL TRUTH Accurate Exegesis Biblical, Theo
logical Systematic Coherence
Adapted from James Sire, Why Should Anyone
Believe Anything At All in Telling the Truth,
D.A. Carson, ed.
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One goal of Systematic Theology is to (1) expose
inadequate justifications for belief and (2)
provide a solid basis for validating or
invalidating truth claims.