Samuel Johnson said "Fraud and falsehood only dread examination." How valid is this quote for religious beliefs?
by 
Alatea
ANSWERS: 3
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The verse that comes to mind which very much exemplifies Samuel Johnson's quotation is found in John 3:20: "For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed." Mr. Johnson's statement is quite valid: Christianity's original strength was in its call to brutal honesty and integrity, as well as the willingness to re-evalute one's self within the convictions of the highest calling of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the True Light. And it is that Light which can send the fraud into every kind of avoidance imaginable, so as not to be exposed to the Light which would reveal him for what he really is ... false.
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Wow, hard to improve on TulsaDavid's post. There's just one statement I make a lot that I really want to add. "Truth doesn't need to hide from knowledge, but rather through the honest examination of knowledge will truth shine forth." There is good knowledge and bad knowledge, but the good doesn't need to hide from the bad. If it is earnestly examined by one seeking truth, as Jesus says, "You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." (John 8:32) Jesus is that Truth. I love Acts 17:11 because it clearly has the Bible calling "noble" those who question what it says, so long as they do so earnestly to see "whether such things were so" and all "all readiness of mind", giving it its fair chance to prove itself rather than to support preconceived notions. Acts 17:11 These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the Word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
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This is very valid. As a matter of fact, cults control their members by limiting the information to which they have access - especially anything critical or with evidence that suggests other than what the cult leader says.
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