Theology
"I believe because it is absurd" —TertullianAbsurdity is cited as a basis for some theological reasoning about formation of belief and faith, such as in fideism, an epistemological theory that reason and faith may be hostile to each other. The statement "Credo quia absurdum" ("I believe because it is absurd") is attributed to Tertullian from De Carne Christi, as translated by philosopher Voltaire. According to the New Advent Church, what Tertullian actually says in DCC 5 is "... the Son of God died; it is by all means to be believed, because it is absurd."
In the 15th century, the Spanish theologian Tostatus used what he thought was a reduction to absurdity arguing against a spherical earth using dogma, arguing that a spherical earth would imply the existence of antipodes, which would be impossible since this would require either that Christ to appeared twice, or that the inhabitants of the antipodes would be forever damned, which he claimed was an absurdity.
Andrew Willet grouped absurdities with "flat contradictions to scripture" and "heresies".
Read more about this topic: Absurdity
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