Daddy Issues

I’ve been writing out my personal story lately, and am working on installment six.

Last night, despite her usual reticence, my wife and I were discussing the manipulation and spiritual abuse we endured early in our Christian life, detailed in installment 5. In particular we were discussing why I was so compliant with J and the other leaders, why I was so willing to defer my autonomy to them. Even within my biography, that I haven’t the patience to go backwards in right now, I focus on my powerful belief in God/Jesus and my fear of not being obedient to him, and so on.

But while we were chatting, my wife said, “You know, maybe it was also another manifestation of your daddy issues, growing up as you did without a father. Maybe you looked at them as substitutes for the missing male figure in your life.”

My Story – A Serial Comedy/Drama/Tragedy/Redemption Passion Play

Recently I was trolling through other free-thinker’s sites, doing some random reading. I came across the Atheist Forum, hosted by Michael Vito Tosto. He’s written a ton of thoughful material on the journey through the Christian life and the aftermath of finding freedom. Delightful stuff and worth the read.

On his site he took the time to tell the story of his entire Christian journey. I saw so much of myself in the things he put him through, in the things that others put him through. Those of us who’ve made the Great Escape bear scars and have stories that need telling if for no other reason than to simply vent the spleen.

Presuppositionalism – the The Cancer of Apologetics – Part II: Tenets of Presuppositionalism

In Part I I set the general ground rules for our discussion of Presuppositionalism or The Transcendental Argument for the Existence of God (hereafter TAG.)

In this post, which should be relatively brief, I’m going to lay out the basic tenets of the Presuppositionalist position.  I’ll refrain from actually evaluating the arguments themselves at this point.  We’ll do that in part III.

The main difficulty in delineating the TAG is that it is primarily a tool of confusion to derail criticism and deflect skeptical enquiry.  Well, presuppers won’t admit that, but that’s how it plays out in praxis.