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Making Sense of Nonsense
Alfred B. Davis
Posted: January 14, 2005
(Revised: April 2014)
"Everyone's religious beliefs are equally valid," the radio talk show host piously intoned, "Nobody is wrong. And no one has any right to tell someone else that what they believe is wrong."
A few minutes later a caller with strong religious beliefs of his own challenged the host's statement. "If I really believe that I am right and others are wrong, shouldn't I want to change their beliefs?"
"No!" answered the host emphatically, "You have no right to say that what anyone else believes is wrong!" After dismissing the caller as dogmatic and close-minded he went on to denigrate the caller's beliefs as ignorant, offensive, and unacceptable. No one, he strongly implied, should hold such intolerant beliefs."
Unfortunately I do not recall the name of the particular talk show host involved. He was one of a succession of guest hosts during the holidays. Also, the exact words may not be correct but the gist of the comments are. I mention it because his opinion about religion is widely held.
Of course, neither the fact that the host strongly believes what he believes or that many others do as well proves he's right. After all, there was a day when many strongly believed that the world was flat. There are many beliefs that may seem to make perfect sense, yet, when looked at objectively, they actually make no sense.
The word for beliefs which make no sense is "nonsense." The word nonsense comes from uniting the prefix "non-" with the root word "sense." It literally means, that which is not sense or not conveying sense. In the realm of logic it is used to describe ideas or statements lacking sense.
A perfect example of a nonsense statement is, "I am lying." It is a nonsense statement because it lacks sense or rational meaning. If the statement is true then it is a lie and if it is a lie then it is true. The truth of the statement makes it not true which makes it true, which makes it not true, which makes it true, which makes it...nonsense.
Now let's get back to the radio talk show host's belief that "Everyone's religious beliefs are equally valid, nobody is wrong. No one has any right to try to tell someone else that what they believe is wrong." Many would find such a statement enlightened, tolerant, and open minded. But the real question is, does it make sense or not?
Unfortunately for the host, his belief was shown to lack sense by the caller who challenged him. Clearly, the host did not believe that the caller's religious beliefs were as valid as his own. He obviously believed that the caller's beliefs were wrong. And, he emphatically contradicted his own stated beliefs in doing so.
Here's the problem. The idea that everyone's beliefs are equally valid and nobody is wrong is an invalid statement. It never worked in math class when I got a different answer than what the teacher had and it doesn't work with religious beliefs either. Not everyone can be right. If two people hold mutually exclusive views, then someone clearly has to be wrong.
Consider the case of theism, the belief that a God or gods exist, versus atheism, the belief that no God or gods exist. Since it is an either or situation, both views cannot be true. They are mutually exclusive. If the theist is correct than the atheist must be incorrect. If the atheist is correct than the theist must be incorrect. To say that both views are correct is not a valid conclusion. It is not logical because it makes no sense.
Another example of two mutually exclusive beliefs is whether one believes in some form of existence after death or not. If the grave is the end of our existence then every belief, from reincarnation to continued existence in either heaven or hell, cannot be true. But, if the grave is not the end of our existence then all those who believe it is are wrong. To believe that both can be true at the same time is not logical. It makes no sense and is therefore nonsense.VHere is another example. What if you were to tell me that you believed that everyone-Buddhists, Muslims, Hindus, Christians, even atheists-will eventually make it to heaven and I said that you are wrong, only those who trust Jesus Christ as their Savior will go to heaven. Can we both be right? Well, if you are right then I am obviously wrong. Likewise, if I am right then you are obviously wrong. We cannot both be right.
Of course, in this particular case, there could be a third option of no heaven to go to. In that case we would both be wrong. Consequently, it might be possible to say that one of us is right and the other wrong or even that we are both wrong. But, to try to claim that we are both right makes no sense.
Therefore, to claim that everyone's beliefs are equally valid and nobody is wrong is to make an absurd claim. It makes no sense. After all, mutually exclusive beliefs cannot be correct at the same time. Therefore, they cannot be equally valid. To believe otherwise is nonsense.
The second part of the host's comments was, "No one has any right to try to tell someone else that what they believe is wrong." In doing so, the host, is saying that anyone who believes otherwise, like the caller, is wrong. Unfortunately, the host, and all who share this belief, are contradicting themselves. It is not logical because to say that no one has the right to say that anyone else is wrong is to in effect claim for yourself the right to say that someone else is wrong.
This is a lot like saying, "There is no such thing as absolute truth." The statement itself is an absolute truth which, if correct, invalidates itself because it invalidates its own claim that there is no absolute truth. It becomes a nonsense statement because if it is true then it is wrong. The same could be said of the related statement, "There are no absolutes."
Now consider the radio host's belief again: "Everyone's religious beliefs are equally valid, nobody is wrong. No one has any right to try to tell someone else that what they believe is wrong." Seems like a sensible, open-minded, tolerant statement, does it not?
Well, it is not. It is inconsistent and contradictory. To claim that you believe all religious beliefs are equally valid and that nobody is wrong is to claim that all those that do not believe what you believe are wrong and that their belief is invalid. Likewise, to claim that no one has the right to tell someone else that what they believe is wrong is to tell someone who believes otherwise that they are wrong. It is very close-minded, intolerant, and makes no sense.
In other words, it is nonsense.
Confused? That's why we need an objective source of truth on which to base our beliefs. After all, the laws of nature give an objective basis for physics. The laws of mathematics give an objective basis for arithmetic. Consequently we have been able to develop farming, building, economics, telecommunications, space travel, and much more.
Why not an objective source of truth for religious beliefs? And, if there is, wouldn't it make as much sense, if not more, to look for it as to search for the objective basis for physics and mathematics?
I believe there is an objective source of truth-God's Word. And, because I believe that the Bible is God's Word, I must base my religious beliefs on it rather than the subjective, fleeting nature of my own feelings and thoughts. After all, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? (Jeremiah 17:9)."
Consequently, I believe that atheists are wrong because the Bible says in Genesis 1:1, "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." Additionally, it says in Psalm 14:1 and Psalm 53:1, "The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God."
It doesn't matter what I feel or think about the matter. If I say that I believe the Bible is true then I have to believe it when it clearly teaches that there is a God.
Not only that, the Bible clearly teaches that "...The LORD our God is one LORD" in Deuteronomy 6:4 and again, "I am the Lord, and there is none else, there is no God beside me:" in Isaiah 45:5. Consequently, I believe that any person, group or religion that believes that there is more than one God is wrong.
The Bible also teaches us in 1 Timothy 3:16 that "God was manifest in the flesh" or, as John 1:14 puts it, "…[T]he Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth." Further, the Bible says in John 1:1, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." and again, in 1 John 5:7, "For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one." On that basis I believe that any person, group, or religion that does not believe that Jesus is God is wrong.
Likewise, when Jesus says in John 14:6, "...I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me" He is ruling out any other way of salvation. So, too, does Acts 4:12: "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." Consequently, if I profess to believe the Bible then I must believe that any person, group, or religion that does not believe that Jesus is the only way of salvation is wrong. And, if I care at all about them, I ought to have a desire to point out the truth to them. (Besides, the Bible commands me to.)
Doesn't it seem reasonable then that if I believe the Bible is true that I have to believe what it teaches about God, Jesus, and salvation? And doesn't it follow that if I truly believe what it teaches then I must believe people who do not believe the Bible are wrong and on their way to hell, as the Word of God clearly teaches?
Therefore, any logical thinker must, like any true Bible believer, conclude that not all religious beliefs are equally valid. Both logic and the Bible dictate that somebody is wrong. Consequently, you do have the right, and, if you accept the Bible's commands, the responsibility to tell someone that what they believe is wrong.
If, on the other hand, you believe what the radio host said, then you cannot say that I am wrong. To believe otherwise is nonsense.