You've heard the term ad hominem? It means a form of argument which attacks the man himself rather than the man's ideas. It's a common fallacy, and one easily made, especially when arguing with idiots. I mean.....people whose ideas are vastly different than your own. (That was a joke.)
The other day, at Internet Infidels, a statement of mine was quoted, along with a comment made by someone else, in reference to the idea of infant salvation and/or damnation, the question of whether, in the context of the Calvinist doctrine of predestination and foreordination, children who die in infancy are, or are not, sent to Hell to suffer eternal punishment. The Calvinists are big on Original Sin, and believe that every person born is born guilty, and in fact remains guilty, of possessing a sinful nature; and that even when one is elected by God for salvation, this guilt is not removed from the saved person so much as looked over, in light of the fact that Christ has paid for that person's sinfulness and no further punishment is required. Anyway, what I said was, in reference to the idea of infant damnation, "Only the theist is obliged to try and make sense of that vulgar and ludicrous notion."
Now, this was apparently viewed as being an ad hominem attack, or as hyperbole. Hyperbole it most definitely was not, I can assure you, since I was not exaggerating in the least. In fact, quite the contrary. What I said was a generous and too-civil understatement. I doubt the Christian who quoted my comment thought I was exaggerating or being sarcastic. In which case I suppose he must have felt it was a kind of ad hominem, though the comment is clearly calling the notion vulgar and ludicrous, not necessarily the person who holds it. In any case, I retracted the comment and apologized.
Now, it strikes me as quite obvious that the person who is defending the idea of Original Sin and the Calvinist doctrine actually cannot wage any argument whatsoever that is not, at its core, an ad hominem attack. No human being is free from Adam's curse. We are all born depraved, and we stay that way, whether we are "elected" for salvation or not, since the idea of unconditional election clearly states that election does not, in any way whatsoever, depend on the the merits of the person who is elected. Election is entirely an act of God's grace. Faith does not assist in getting one elected. One can only have faith if one has been called by God first. Those whom God has "passed over" will be blind and deaf to the word, and absolutely nothing can save or redeem a person whom God has chosen to pass over and leave to damnation.
This belief is an explicit insult to humanity. If you read some of the material written by Calvinist (or Reformed) theologists and apologists, you'll see just how insulting and degrading their beliefs really are. Man is a foul, wretched, and utterly corrupt creature, an offense to God, an abomination. We can do nothing good of our own accord. Because of a talking snake and a piece of magical fruit, because of a single indiscretion committed by some naked human prototypes in the Garden of Eden some six thousand years ago, all of humanity, every single one of us, is infected with corruption, crippled with an irresistible predilection for naughtiness and disobedience, sick to the marrow of our bones, without hope of a cure.
Remember, salvation doesn't cure you of this pathological depravity, it merely means that you will not be destroyed because of it, since Jesus went and paid for your depravity, by being crucified, and this allows God to see Christ when he looks upon you and not the obnoxious vermin that you essentially are. In other words, Jesus hides your ugliness from God. Also remember, you didn't earn your salvation, it was conferred upon you by God, in the secret council of his own will. You do not, nor can you ever, truly deserve his mercy. As for the rest of us, we're tossed into the waste bin, treated no better than a scrap of trash, and this is to be an example of God's justice. We aren't damned because we have been bad people, or because we have treated others badly. We aren't damned because of our lack of faith, either, since our lack of faith simply means that God has not confered upon us the capacity to believe. We are damned by virtue of what we are, not for what we do, or do not; and what we are is not of our own making. We are damned because we are born inherently abhorrent to God, and can do nothing about it.
Yet the people who believe this nonsense can still accuse non-believers of making ad hominem attacks when in the course of an argument, without noticing the level of hypocrisy they have risen to.
****
When I started my first thread at Internet Infidels, the only theist who argued with me was a Traditional Catholic. I deeply regret the tone of my responses to that gentleman, since I was ignorant then of the fact that, in general, Catholics have a far more civil and humane belief system than certain types of religionists. I don't agree with them, but I don't feel that Catholics present any immediate threat to human rights in this country. Some adherents to this Reformed Theology, which seems to be predominantly Calvinist, are dangerous people who appear to have precious little regard for the value of human freedom or the concept of rights, and some even advocate a legal system based on Old Testament law. This is a frightening prospect which should not be taken lightly.
The other day, at Internet Infidels, a statement of mine was quoted, along with a comment made by someone else, in reference to the idea of infant salvation and/or damnation, the question of whether, in the context of the Calvinist doctrine of predestination and foreordination, children who die in infancy are, or are not, sent to Hell to suffer eternal punishment. The Calvinists are big on Original Sin, and believe that every person born is born guilty, and in fact remains guilty, of possessing a sinful nature; and that even when one is elected by God for salvation, this guilt is not removed from the saved person so much as looked over, in light of the fact that Christ has paid for that person's sinfulness and no further punishment is required. Anyway, what I said was, in reference to the idea of infant damnation, "Only the theist is obliged to try and make sense of that vulgar and ludicrous notion."
Now, this was apparently viewed as being an ad hominem attack, or as hyperbole. Hyperbole it most definitely was not, I can assure you, since I was not exaggerating in the least. In fact, quite the contrary. What I said was a generous and too-civil understatement. I doubt the Christian who quoted my comment thought I was exaggerating or being sarcastic. In which case I suppose he must have felt it was a kind of ad hominem, though the comment is clearly calling the notion vulgar and ludicrous, not necessarily the person who holds it. In any case, I retracted the comment and apologized.
Now, it strikes me as quite obvious that the person who is defending the idea of Original Sin and the Calvinist doctrine actually cannot wage any argument whatsoever that is not, at its core, an ad hominem attack. No human being is free from Adam's curse. We are all born depraved, and we stay that way, whether we are "elected" for salvation or not, since the idea of unconditional election clearly states that election does not, in any way whatsoever, depend on the the merits of the person who is elected. Election is entirely an act of God's grace. Faith does not assist in getting one elected. One can only have faith if one has been called by God first. Those whom God has "passed over" will be blind and deaf to the word, and absolutely nothing can save or redeem a person whom God has chosen to pass over and leave to damnation.
This belief is an explicit insult to humanity. If you read some of the material written by Calvinist (or Reformed) theologists and apologists, you'll see just how insulting and degrading their beliefs really are. Man is a foul, wretched, and utterly corrupt creature, an offense to God, an abomination. We can do nothing good of our own accord. Because of a talking snake and a piece of magical fruit, because of a single indiscretion committed by some naked human prototypes in the Garden of Eden some six thousand years ago, all of humanity, every single one of us, is infected with corruption, crippled with an irresistible predilection for naughtiness and disobedience, sick to the marrow of our bones, without hope of a cure.
Remember, salvation doesn't cure you of this pathological depravity, it merely means that you will not be destroyed because of it, since Jesus went and paid for your depravity, by being crucified, and this allows God to see Christ when he looks upon you and not the obnoxious vermin that you essentially are. In other words, Jesus hides your ugliness from God. Also remember, you didn't earn your salvation, it was conferred upon you by God, in the secret council of his own will. You do not, nor can you ever, truly deserve his mercy. As for the rest of us, we're tossed into the waste bin, treated no better than a scrap of trash, and this is to be an example of God's justice. We aren't damned because we have been bad people, or because we have treated others badly. We aren't damned because of our lack of faith, either, since our lack of faith simply means that God has not confered upon us the capacity to believe. We are damned by virtue of what we are, not for what we do, or do not; and what we are is not of our own making. We are damned because we are born inherently abhorrent to God, and can do nothing about it.
Yet the people who believe this nonsense can still accuse non-believers of making ad hominem attacks when in the course of an argument, without noticing the level of hypocrisy they have risen to.
****
When I started my first thread at Internet Infidels, the only theist who argued with me was a Traditional Catholic. I deeply regret the tone of my responses to that gentleman, since I was ignorant then of the fact that, in general, Catholics have a far more civil and humane belief system than certain types of religionists. I don't agree with them, but I don't feel that Catholics present any immediate threat to human rights in this country. Some adherents to this Reformed Theology, which seems to be predominantly Calvinist, are dangerous people who appear to have precious little regard for the value of human freedom or the concept of rights, and some even advocate a legal system based on Old Testament law. This is a frightening prospect which should not be taken lightly.
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