1 post tagged “dissent”
Bertrand Russell, a famous 20th century logician and self-described rationalist, writes in his essay called "Liberal Decalogue" the following interesting observation:
...every opinion now accepted was once considered eccentric.
Further on, Russell elaborates on an aspect of eccentricity, namely, the ability and freedom to dissent; this bit is phrased as a command:
Find more pleasure in intelligent dissent than passive agreement...for if you value intelligence as you should, the former implies a deeper agreement than the latter.
This reminds me of the way we find truth wherever we go, whether we're looking for it or not. Clearly, Russell's assumptions and the starting point for his purported "rationality" is different than mine. But he's captured truth here, clear, biblical truth. How is this?
I think the answer is that God has traced His grace with an indelible pen across all of creation. This autograph of God includes the thoughts of unbelievers, non-believers, and former-believers. Folk like Russell.
So, while much could be made of dissecting Russell and his arguments against Christianity, and against theism, for the moment, I'm relishing in his golden insights.
(A good summary of Russell's career as a logician and philosopher can be found here. Go here for Russell's essay, "Why I Am Not a Christian." Here, for his essay, "Am I an Atheist or an Agnostic?"
