Follow the Finger

 

Apologetics, derived from the Greek word, ἀπολογία, translated in English as "defense," consists of logical arguments and the presentation of provable facts which are intended to explain or justify religious doctrines and is aimed at defusing objections to the faith. This occurs in every religious tradition but, for our purposes, refers to Christian Apologetics.
            

It is difficult to understand how people can ignore or entirely discount some of the facts brought to light by Christian Apologetics, but some always do, sometimes vehemently. Some will insist that apologeticists are misinterpreting facts or taking them out of their proper context. Others outright reject any supernatural interpretations of any facts.

One can easily get bogged down in all the arguments, but I believe that the point of apologetics can be summed up by a line from the Jean-Pierre Jeunet film masterpiece, Amelie: “When the finger’s pointing at the sky, only a fool looks at the finger.” 

            Amelie is a quirky, but beautiful, French-language comedy and is not a Christian film. I, admittedly, am quoting the film totally out of context. The quote is a perfect fit for the point I am making in this post.

Biblical Sources of Phrases in Common Use: A Fool and His Money Are Soon Parted

This phrase, "A fool and his money are soon parted," sounds biblical, but it is not.  A man named Thomas Tusser (1524 - 1580) wrote it in 1573 in his book, Five Hundreth Pointes of Good Husbandrie.  The original phrase was a line in a poem.  "A foole and his monie be soone to debate, which after with sorrow repents him too late."

Tusser was an English poet, farmer, chorister, and musician.

Fundies Say the Darndest Things!

Fundies Say the Darndest Things! (a title stolen from Art Linkletters' television program, Kids Say the Darnedest Things!) is another one of the Christian-hater websites which seem to be all over the internet. The word, "fundies: is a derisive shortening of the the label, fundamentalist. The website claims to have the world's largest collection of what it calls "hilarious, bizarre, ignorant, bigoted, and terrifying" quotations from Christian blogs, forums, etc. The problem with this website is that the quotations are exactly what fstdt says that they are. People!!!!!  Don't give them any ammunition!  They already think that you are idiots. Christians should be in the intellectual forefront of discussions on every topic, not running around saying stupid things.


There is a saying that it is better to remain silent, and be thought stupid, than to open your mouth and prove it. This has been attributed to numerous people: George Eliot, Confucius, Abraham Lincoln, Mark Twain, Samuel Johnson, Benjamin Franklin, Socrates, etc. Actually, the saying probably originated from a mangled mis-quotation of Proverbs 17:28. " Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: [and] he that shutteth his lips [is esteemed] a man of understanding."

Fools and Vomit

"As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly." Proverbs 26:11

Jimmy Swaggert, who had "fool" problems of his own, once told of a sinner who repented of his former "slop" of a life but couldn't quite let go of it. He put it into a slop bucket and put the bucket in the closet. Every so often, he would go into the closet with a spoon and take a little sip. Swaggert called this "slop bucket repentence."