Rick Warren and Sam Harris are undoubtedly leaders in different spheres of thought. Warren, a big-name evangelist and founder of one of the largest churches in the United States, debated Harris, a soft-spoken neuroscientist and key player in the proliferation of New Atheism, under the supervision of Jon Meacham for a Newsweek special. In the conflict of theism versus atheism—God or no God—Warren makes a case for the former, explaining that because of our limited knowledge of the universe and our inherent feeling of spirituality, we must have faith in the traditional Christian God. I agree with Warren in that the human scope of knowledge is extremely limited, but I staunchly disagree that this assumes the existence of God. Not only are Warren’s claims about miracles, atheists and his rationale regarding morality factually unfounded, they are primarily the result of some characteristic psychological fallacies.
One of Warren’s chief arguments for the existence of God is the notion of answered prayer. He tells this story of an intern at his Church who is having an immigration issue. Warren prayed to God, asking for his help. When he went out walking that he night, he met a woman who just so
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Honestly, I believe that Rick Warren is a real standup guy. He expresses a deep-rooted sense of spirituality and holds firm in his beliefs. However, the fact that he is a moral and sensible explains why he is predisposed to fallacious thoughts. Warren’s conservative views have kept him rooted—rooted to the point that he has never considered the alternative to a Christian God. Warren seeks confirmation that his God exists so anything he sees to be true, he assumes to be true. These false assumptions are dangerous but are also merely human nature. Therefore, I think it’s necessary for everyone—even the most brilliant people—to challenge their own beliefs every once in a while. We might change our beliefs about God and maybe learn something about the fundamental nature