CJ's Intellectual Oasis
A haven for rational thinkers.

Hello. My name is CJ Holmes. Welcome to my webpage.

I am an Objectivist. Objectivism is the philosophy of Ayn Rand.

I am also an atheist, and I have a strong interest in comparative philosophy.

In particular I have an interest in the history of Christianity. 

PAGES ON THIS WEBSITE: 

ARTICLES (by CJ Holmes and contributor Dawson Bethrick)

POSTS TO THE APOLOGIA DISCUSSION LIST (by CJ Holmes)

CONTRA CARM (by Dawson Bethrick)

LINKS 

Ye Olde Missionary Statement

I do not hold to the religious view of the world because I do not accept any variation of the idea that reality conforms to consciousness. Rather, I hold and operate consistently on the premises a) that existence exists independent of consciousness, and b) that no amount of wishing will change the facts of reality. Thus I don’t accept the idea of miracles, creation ex nihilo, the notion of divine revelation or morality based on commandments, for these are all expressions of the primacy of consciousness view, which I reject as false. All these ideas are products of imagination and a false understanding of the mind and its relationship to the world. However, in the absence of a rational view premised squarely on the primacy of existence principle, they are often mistaken for truth. So, where the early church father Tertullian confessed that he believes because it is absurd, I do not believe because I think it is absurd. I generally do not accept ideas which I consider to be absurd and claim them to be true. Simply, I do not believe the claim that a man in 1st century Palestine rose from the dead for the same reason I do not believe that cows jump over the moon: because neither claim can be rationally integrated into a proper view of reality, which Objectivism supplies.

When one affirms his position on the basis of faith, he concedes that reason is on the side of his adversaries. A “relationship” with a god cannot be one founded on reason, which is the faculty that identifies and integrates the data provided by the senses. While Christians say that their faith has to do with a “relationship with Christ,” I simply ask what role reason plays in this supposed relationship. Indeed, how does one reason with someone who thinks he’s always right? And if one thinks that someone else is always right, when would he attempt to reason with him? Since the believer thinks that whatever God says is always right, then reason really has no role in this supposed ‘relationship,’ even if the believer protests otherwise. One does not persuade someone who is convinced that he’s right to think otherwise. The actions of the believer speak much louder than words on this account. Perhaps the believer chooses to have relationships with beings with which he cannot reason. I do not. Perhaps that is one of the essential distinctions between me and those who claim to be Christians.