Recently, there have been a number of letters to the editor in my local paper regarding Ann Rice's refusal to become a Christian because Christianity speaks against the practice of homosexuality, abortion, and other things she supports. Many of the letters have been from people professing to be Christians, but at the same time affirming many of the practices the bible explicitly condemns! Their reasoning, if it can even be called reason, is based in social acceptability and rhetoric rather than propositional truth.
I am amazed at how so many people that claim to be Christians reject the concept of propositional truth. Religion used to be a system of propositions regarding reality, but now people treat whether something is true based on emotions or feelings rather than propositions.
Let me first define some terms before I get any further. A Proposition is a statement or claim. The proposition may be true or it may be false, but it makes a claim. Truth by definition is exclusive and conforms to reality. If something is true, then necessarily all other claims that contradict it are false. If a proposition is made and a contradiction exists, then either the proposition is false or the evidence of the contradiction is false. Two claims that are contradictory cannot be true in the same relationship at the same time.
So now on to my claim: Any religion that claims to be all inclusive must by definition be false!
A person that claims to be a Christian (ie. a system of propositions regarding beliefs) and at the same time denies those propositions (ie. anyone is acceptable, regardless of your beliefs) is holding to a contradiction. Therefore, the person's claim that they are a Christian is false. So what about a religion that isn't Christianity? Okay, let's say religion X welcomes all beliefs as true. Religion Y comes along and states that all beliefs are not true. In order for X to be true, then it must state that Y is false, but if it does that then it is affirming Y at the same time it is denouncing it. Therefore, religion X cannot be true. Now, this doesn't mean that religion Y is true, just that all beliefs CANNOT be equally true.
I am sorry that Ann Rice did not convert to Christianity, but as long as she refuses to accept its propositions, she did the logically correct thing in refusing. Those that believe that they can call themselves Christians and at the same time reject the propositions that the bible gives are deceiving themselves and are no more Christian than Ann Rice.
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