• About
  • Blog Posts
  • Front Page
  • Greatest Hits

Apologetics4all – Dr. Williams' Religion Blog

~ Respectfully giving reasons for faith – 1 Peter 3:15

Apologetics4all – Dr. Williams' Religion Blog

Category Archives: Campus Apologetics

Fall 2020 Discussions

Featured

Posted by D. L. Williams in Campus Apologetics

≈ Leave a comment

Monday meetings 5:30 PM in CFS 123 and zoom
Monday Nights 5:30 to 7 PM

Come to our Fall 2020 discussions on Christian apologetics making the case for Christian beliefs and answering challenges from those who believe otherwise.

We meet in CFS 123. Campus limits our meetings to 10 persons face-to-face. Come anyway, and if we fill up, you can go next door to another classroom to log into the classroom computer to show our zoom feed on the projector.

The meetings are streamed on zoom with the password “Jesus”.

We meet from 5:30 PM to 7 PM on Monday Nights.

If you have had any of these questions, heard any of these questions, or are interested in our discussion of these questions, the RATIO CHRISTI IS FOR YOU!

Did the universe have a beginning or was there some sort of oscillating universe, and what does this mean for claims of God’s existence?

What if we find life on other planets? Does this mean the Bible is wrong?

Why is God or why are Christians so obsessed with telling people what they can or can’t do with their bodies?

Wasn’t the Bible just written by a bunch of men? Why should I care what it says?

Is anything REALLY right or wrong? Doesn’t society just decide what is right and wrong?

Why do you trust the Bible when it has been corrupted by translation upon translation upon translation?

There are some crazy things in the Bible. How can Christians believe such things?

If God is good, and God is all-powerful, then why doesn’t he stop evil?

Does my life have any purpose? What does religion matter in regards to the purpose of my life? How would I know if there was a purpose to my life?

Most religions have a view of something after death, but how can we know? It sounds like wishful thinking, to me.

Are there any good arguments that support Christianity or the Bible?

And the most important question of all… Who was Jesus?

Why was Jesus such a big deal? Why does nearly every religion have some acknowledgement of his importance? Why is he quoted so much? And what relevance does he have for MY life? Why should I care?

We’d love to meet you in person or online!

-RCSHSU

Riots and the Gods of the Copybook Headings

07 Tuesday Jul 2020

Posted by D. L. Williams in Campus Apologetics, Literature, Sexual Ethics

≈ 2 Comments

First, what is a copybook?

Good nature like a bee collects honey from every herb.
Ill nature, like a spider sucks poison from the flowers.

Back in the day, when handwriting was valued, copybooks were used to practice penmanship. To elevate your thinking, the copybooks had proverbs, quotations, and pithy sayings as headings on each page. The headings were copied to practice, and the sayings were committed to memory.

Wouldn’t this be a great way to memorize Scripture? I may try making my own copybooks with Scripture verses I’d like to commit to memory. But I digress…

Rudyard Kipling wrote the “Gods of the Copybook Headings” in 1919 after the horrific Great War as a commentary on the degradation of society.*

I contend that his Gods have returned in 2020.

AS I PASS through my incarnations in every age and race,
I make my proper prostrations to the Gods of the Market Place.
Peering through reverent fingers I watch them flourish and fall,
And the Gods of the Copybook Headings, I notice, outlast them all.

The author reveals that he is reincarnated throughout time observing the requirements of the Gods of the Market Place, but observing the longevity of the Gods of the Copybook Headings.

We were living in trees when they met us. They showed us each in turn
That Water would certainly wet us, as Fire would certainly burn:
But we found them lacking in Uplift, Vision and Breadth of Mind,
So we left them to teach the Gorillas while we followed the March of Mankind.

The WISDOM of the Gods of the Copybook Headings elevated us to the status of modern Mankind.

We moved as the Spirit listed. They never altered their pace,
Being neither cloud nor wind-borne like the Gods of the Market Place,
But they always caught up with our progress, and presently word would come
That a tribe had been wiped off its icefield, or the lights had gone out in Rome.

The Gods of the Copybook Headings refused to disappear, and the smell of their undeniable truth was detected when news of finality came from far-off places.

molotov-cocktail

The smell of Molotov cocktails and the smell of death in CHAZ/CHOP remind us that the Gods of the Copybook Headings are still stalking mankind’s dreams.

With the Hopes that our World is built on they were utterly out of touch,
They denied that the Moon was Stilton; they denied she was even Dutch;
They denied that Wishes were Horses; they denied that a Pig had Wings;
So we worshipped the Gods of the Market Who promised these beautiful things.

The Gods of the Market Place in our time tell us that the past is evil and needs to be erased, forgotten, and “worked against”. The author uses unfamiliar beautiful things promised by the 1919 Gods of the Market Place, but modern promises of beautiful things include a society free of police, free from racism, with free healthcare, free education, free living expenses, free housing, free of violence, free of guns, and free of the need for borders, free from military spending, free, free, free…

When the Cambrian measures were forming, They promised perpetual peace.
They swore, if we gave them our weapons, that the wars of the tribes would cease.
But when we disarmed They sold us and delivered us bound to our foe,
And the Gods of the Copybook Headings said: “Stick to the Devil you know.”

No place better illustrates this than the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone in Seattle. They wanted a place with no police (the no-cop coop), and immediately an armed militia with no accountability, no due process, no civil protections rose up.

chaz-guards-twitter

The Gods of the Copybook Headings said “Stick to the police and civil authorities”, “Make change within the system or else, you may get a might-makes-right protection racket”. In Kipling’s words, “Stick to the Devil you know.”

On the first Feminian Sandstones we were promised the Fuller Life
(Which started by loving our neighbour and ended by loving his wife)
Till our women had no more children and the men lost reason and faith,
And the Gods of the Copybook Headings said: “The Wages of Sin is Death.”

The author focuses on adultery as the example of sexual sin in his day. One wonders what his brilliant pen would write today.

In the Carboniferous Epoch we were promised abundance for all,
By robbing selected Peter to pay for collective Paul;
But, though we had plenty of money, there was nothing our money could buy,
And the Gods of the Copybook Headings said: “If you don’t work you die.”

One of the most timeless of his stanzas identifies the constant drum beat of Socialism. Margaret Thatcher summarized this very well, “The problem with Socialism is that eventually you run out of other people’s money.” The other problem with Socialism is that it has been tried, and it destroys lives.

Then the Gods of the Market tumbled, and their smooth-tongued wizards withdrew
And the hearts of the meanest were humbled and began to believe it was true
That All is not Gold that Glitters, and Two and Two make Four
And the Gods of the Copybook Headings limped up to explain it once more.

This is hopeful. Have the Gods of the Copybook Headings limped up to us to explain basic truths? Society hasn’t accepted these truths as a whole, but individuals are waking up.

As it will be in the future, it was at the birth of Man
There are only four things certain since Social Progress began.
That the Dog returns to his Vomit and the Sow returns to her Mire,
And the burnt Fool’s bandaged finger goes wobbling back to the Fire;

And that after this is accomplished, and the brave new world begins
When all men are paid for existing and no man must pay for his sins,
As surely as Water will wet us, as surely as Fire will burn,
The Gods of the Copybook Headings with terror and slaughter return!

Some of these verses remind me of Ecclesiastes.

9 What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again;
there is nothing new under the sun. [Ecclesiastes 1:9 NIV]

1 For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
2 a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
3 a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
4 a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
5 a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
6 a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
7 a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
8 a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace. [Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 ESV]

12 I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; 13 also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his work–this is God’s gift to man. [Ecclesiastes 3:12-13 ESV]

– King Solomon

And Paul,

11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then^ face to face.  [1 Corinthians 13:11-12 ESV] (^upon our final reunion with God)

Pray to God to open our eyes to see past the lies of the Gods of the Market Place.

-Darren Williams


*Rudyard Kipling’s “Gods of the Copybook Headings”, Sunday Pictorial of London, October 26, 1919

Posture of the Scientific Apologist

18 Tuesday Feb 2020

Posted by D. L. Williams in Campus Apologetics

≈ Leave a comment

This is an excellent ReBlog of my friend and fellow RTB Community Scholar Dr. Stephen Chua. When you engage with colleagues and other “genuine questioners” consider Dr. Chua’s excellent advice:

Posture of the Answerer

The first thing to note is our posture toward the questioner, which includes our attitude/tone/demeanor/choice of words. We must be:

  1. Nonjudgmental (not “holier than thou”)
  2. Nonadversarial (not “us vs. them”)
  3. Prepared and compassionate

People don’t care how much we know until they know how much we care. Winning their hearts, with gentleness and respect, should take precedence over winning an argument (1 Peter 3:15).

Process of the Answer

After demonstrating the proper posture, the process of systematically presenting the gospel could entail the following (3E model):

  1. Empathize – Walk with them; don’t talk against them (1 Corinthians 9:22b-23).
  2. Educate – Lay out the pertinent evidence succinctly (2 Corinthians 10:5).
  3. Evangelize – End the discussion with a clear presentation of the gospel (1 Timothy 2:3b-4).

Read his whole post…

Thanksgiving means GIVING Thanks

25 Monday Nov 2019

Posted by D. L. Williams in Campus Apologetics, Ratio Christi

≈ Leave a comment

good-cook-good-god

At this time of year it is always good to ask:

To whom are you GIVING thanks?

Our society is turning all language INWARD to the ISOLATION of the individual.

  • People don’t meditate on something external like Scripture. They feel mindful. They practice mindfulness.
  • People don’t dialog with each other. They feel offended. They take offense.

And in line with our current holiday week,

  • People don’t GIVE thanks. They feel thankful. They practice thankfulness.

But this is an opportunity to ask them if they know the cook who cooked up this awesome feast of our universe with all its beautiful, breathtaking, and life-giving GIFTS.

A great feast requires a great cook! You know the cook. Introduce your friends and family to the cook. It’s always a special thing to meet the cook in a restaurant, and it is even more special to meet the cook of the universe.

happy-tg

A Sin of Omission?

Is ingratitude a sin?

The ungrateful are often (always?) focused on self. They are curved inward in all their thinking. This curving inward is an ancient description of the “S-word” SIN.

“Martin Luther is credited with concretizing the term “homo incurvatus in se”, humanity curved in upon itself. In reality, the roots of the term extend back to Augustine, Bishop of Hippo. While the two men were separated by over a millennium, their descriptions of sin still give us an excellent metaphor for understanding sin today.” Read more…

Being passively “thankful” is dangerously close to “incurvatus in se“. It eliminates any “other” and makes the conscience warm and fuzzy by stoking the feels.

However, if you are thankful, you are thankful for things you RECEIVED, which implies a GIVER.

Wait! you say. I’m thankful for my own mind, my own resourcefulness, and my own ability to work hard for what I have.

Of course you can be thankful for these things. But your mind, your mental health, and the food and structures that allow you to work are still gifts.

18 Behold, what I have seen to be good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his lot. 19 Everyone also to whom God has given wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil–this is the gift of God. [Ecclesiastes 5:18-19 ESV]

Do not curve your thanks upon yourself to result in generic thankfulness. Give your thanks to God – the Great Gift Giver!

17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights… [James 1:17 ESV]

Come discuss this and other topics related to a rational defense of the Christian truth claims, every Monday night while school is in session at SHSU at 6:30 to 8 PM in CFS 123.

Apologetics and Conversion

11 Monday Nov 2019

Posted by D. L. Williams in Campus Apologetics, Philosophy

≈ Leave a comment

You can’t argue someone into the Kingdom!

Wait… really? I personally know dozens of people who experienced “arguments that brought them into” the kingdom of God.

I think I know the source of the objection, though. As a Lutheran, I affirm the statements and explanations in Luther’s Small Catechism. The objection to “arguing someone into” the kingdom is most clearly addressed in the Third Article of the Apostles Creed.

THE THIRD ARTICLE

(Sanctification)

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

What does this mean?

I believe that I cannot by my own thinking or choosing believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to him.

But the Holy Spirit has called me by the gospel, enlightened me with his gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith. In the same way he calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian Church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith.

In this Christian Church he daily and fully forgives all sins to me and all believers.

On the Last Day he will raise me and all the dead, and give eternal life to me and all believers in Christ. This is most certainly true.

How do I see the role of apologetics in relation to this clear helplessness to choose Christ?

Simple. What do you think the Holy Spirit is doing when he CALLS and ENLIGHTENS.

A person in the fallen state cannot overcome their prejudices, personal biases, and suspicions of new information without EXTERNAL help. As this person hears arguments for God’s existence, the reliability of the scriptures, etc, they need the spirit’s help to even consider the views that are contrary to their own positions on those topics.

For more on this topic, I hand you off to my friend, Philosopher and Theologian Ken Samples at Reasons to Believe. Here is the first part of a 4 part series on the role of Apologetics in Conversion.

In historic Christianity the field of apologetics (a reasoned defense of the faith) is considered a branch of theology. Apologetics often has a close connection to evangelism (communication of the gospel message) by attempting to remove intellectual obstacles that may stand in the way of a person embracing faith (conversion).

In this four-part series we’ll take a look at how apologetics can directly impact conversion by examining the historical case of Augustine of Hippo (354–430). St. Augustine had one of the most famous conversions to Christianity in history, and various apologetic elements facilitated his coming to faith. Read more…

Enduring Wisdom of St. Clive

30 Tuesday Jul 2019

Posted by D. L. Williams in C.S. Lewis, Campus Apologetics, Philosophy

≈ 2 Comments

A Reblog of Drew Rick-Miller’s Science in Congregations email…

6c0bae4c-8971-4263-ad64-cded81147c02

A few years ago, when the bestselling author and New York Times columnist David Brooks found himself undone by a recent divorce, he began to contemplate a move spiritually and it became public. According to The New Yorker, “He received, by his own estimation, three hundred gifts of spiritual books, ‘only one hundred of which were different copies of C. S. Lewis’s Mere Christianity.’”

Undoubtedly this was about ninety-nine copies too many, but the friends and acquaintances were on to something. Lewis remains a potent force for instigating conversion. (It worked for me as a first-year student at Berkeley.) I have heard in countless lectures about Christian thought leaders who read “St. Clive” (my nickname—his full name is Clive Staples Lewis) and his enduring influence. I would say, with pardonable overstatement (I hope), that just about every Christian academic I know has read Lewis and been changed.

Lewis, Collins, and Oberg

But let me limit that comment above to thought leaders in faith and science. Francis Collins, the head of the National Institutes of Health, repeatedly cites Lewis as the reason he became a Christian in medical school at age 27. Alister McGrath has written several biographies of St. Clive and his enduring impact.

Continue reading…

How we come to change our minds

23 Sunday Jun 2019

Posted by D. L. Williams in C.S. Lewis, Campus Apologetics, Philosophy

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

epistemology, Jordan Peterson

TLDR: 1. How can we get an honest evaluation of our opinions (especially our opinions of ourselves)? 2. God the Holy Spirit enables us to view things (and ourselves) rightly.

Have you ever been wrong?

It is a legit question, because it is becoming extremely rare to hear someone admit, “I could be wrong, but here is what I think…”.

More and more people just spout declarative statements with no apparent consideration at all that they could possibly be wrong about something.

Slide2

Think about a time when you realized your belief was incorrect.

What did it feel like to realize you were mistaken?
[comment below]

How do we come to realize we have a mistaken belief? Is this an act of the will? How can it be? We are learning something that goes against our will.

What or who lets the contrary facts into our mind? I have seen that changes of mind are almost always unwanted.

The philosophy of ‘knowing’ is called epistemology.

definition of epistemology

The Stanford Encyclopedia has an excellent article on epistemology and defines Knowledge as “justified true belief”.

My use of the word “opinion” above is “belief” in their article. The various epistemologies outlined in the article center on the evaluation of the truthfulness and justifiedness of these beliefs.

Likewise, I have used a similar approach in my series of “No Such Thing as Blind Faith” posts.

But this post diverges from an analysis of epistemology and explores the phenomenon of opening your mind to the possibility that YOU might be mistaken. That your belief might be false in actuality.

You might be familiar with prominent skeptics like Peter Boghossian who use epistemology to argue against religious belief. I’m arguing that epistemology cuts both ways. And I’d like you to explore how it feels to change your mind.

It is built into the Christian world view that the reliability of our faculties is compromised.

I believe the Bible contains a few exceptions. This is controversial, so those with opposing viewpoints, I welcome your dialog in the comments. 

My church body teaches total depravity not just of behavior but also of our perceptual faculties. Because of this, many of my friends take a presuppositional approach to apologetics, claiming that “there really are no atheists” but only those who “suppress the truth in unrighteousness” (Romans 1:18 and 21).

I believe in total depravity, but I propose that the depravity exists not in our perceptions, but in our depraved desire to act on the truth of our perceptions. We may discover a true belief about the world or ourselves, but we are unable to fully bring our behavior or our beliefs in line with that truth. More on this later.

The support for the truthfulness of our perceptions comes in the very next verse in Romans.

19 For what can be known about God is plain to them [mankind], because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. [Romans 1:19-20 ESV, emphasis added]

With the above I wish to emphasize that clear perception of the world around us is a gift of God. He is showing us that we can rely to some degree on our senses to form Justified True Beliefs (Knowledge) about the “things that have been made”.

Back to the feeling of being wrong and changing one’s mind.

That strange and externally-powered “uh-oh” feeling should become more and more familiar to us as we age.

Slide5

I like the word conviction for these discovered truths. A conviction is imposed upon the convict. It is an externally-sourced internal judgement that one cannot help but act upon. Your convictions become your world view, and they are very difficult (often painful) to change.

One of the deepest convictions that is stubbornly difficult to change is the conviction:

“I am basically a good guy. Sure I make mistakes, but who doesn’t. We are all deep down inherently good and don’t really deserve punishment for the wrongs we have done. I mean, there are always external causes for the bad we have done. Right?”

Sorry to knock you off your horse, but you might be wrong about that.

Slide6

10 as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; 11 no one understands; no one seeks for God. 12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” [Romans 3:10-12 ESV]

Whoa! That’s tough to accept!

But is it? Forget about everyone else. Ask YOURSELF if YOU are righteous. Do YOU understand? Do YOU seek God? or have YOU turned aside? Do YOU always do good?

The Law

“Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Jesus in Matthew 5:48

Do you feel that familiar irritating tension? Namely, “I may be wrong about being a good person”.

Perhaps, you are distressed by the Law, “Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Good. You should be distressed by the Law.

That is a major mistake people (you?) make about Christianity. It is not a moral code. It does not teach that you can work your way to God.

There is no way to be perfect if we are fallen.

Good News

Christians talk incessantly about the Gospel (which means good news). Or, at least they should be talking incessantly about it.

What is the good news? Jesus fixed this impossible situation.

“If you would be perfect,… come, follow me.” Jesus in Matthew 19:21

Bold claim. And an evil claim if Jesus was a mere mortal man.

I don’t want you to mistake the purpose of this post. I’m not asking at this point for you to “trust Jesus”, believe the Gospel, etc. Although if you did, I’d be thrilled.

I am asking you merely to consider the possibility that you might be mistaken about what you believe.

Just crack the door on your heart. If there’s light out there it will come in. If not, it won’t.

I believe there is light on the outside of your dark heart.

The Holy Spirit’s Role

Jesus, when he was wrapping up his ministry with his disciples discussed what would happen next. He knew he was going to die, rise, and then go away (ascend) to Heaven. He shared that he would send the Holy Spirit back for a very specific purpose:

7 …I will send him [the Holy Spirit] to you. 8 And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment” [John 16:7-8 ESV emphasis added]

Once again, we see an external source for our Justified True Beliefs (Knowledge). Only this time it is not merely beliefs about the external world. This counselor will convict us regarding our distorted self-esteem. We will be given new convictions externally applied that tell us we are broken and in need of fixing.

That’s why I am focusing on this feeling that we might be wrong about our deepest beliefs.

If you feel like you might be wrong about YOUR view of your own goodness, this is God speaking to you. Let that light in, even if it hurts.

Slide8

C. S. Lewis relentlessly resisted admitting that he was wrong. But as with all externally-imposed realizations, the fact that he was wrong was involuntary. It was a conviction. It was light that burned his heart and began to soften it. It was a gift of God.

This is a reliable progression.

There are three uses of the Law:

  1. Curb
  2. Mirror
  3. Guide

We are all familiar of the law behaving as a curb. These are the “don’t’s”. And unfortunately, most people stop there. They think that this sums up all of Christianity. “Don’t do this. Don’t do that. Don’t have any fun! If it tastes good, spit it out!” (Oh, that last one was not Christianity; that was my doctor.)

But the second use of the law is how the Holy Spirit breaks into our lives, uninvited.

The Mirror is God’s gift of self-awareness.

self awareness is a gift

The Mirror of the Law says you are “not good”. We hate this, naturally. But we also know this to be true because of the Spirit of God working in our very own consciences.

Why!?!

The spirit’s desire is to bring us to the foot of the cross, with an attitude like David in Psalm 32.

i confessed my sin

And Paul in Romans 7 “Who will save me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!”

The curb leads us to the mirror. The mirror leads us to the Cross. And God the Father sees us through the window of the Cross. Our imperfections do not get though because of Jesus role in cleansing us from all unrighteousness. We are made perfect in God’s eyes because he sees Jesus’ holiness when he looks at us.

Slide23

18 “Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. [Isaiah 1:18 ESV]

Who Knows!?

Jordan Peterson understands the curb and the mirror very well. This is painfully clear in his latest video where he wrestles with the question, “Do you, Jordan, believe in God?”

Slide22

Like Jacob, wrestling with God, Jordan wrestles with all he has. He’s familiar with the mirror that tells him he falls desperately short. And he is left dumbfounded at the audacity of one claiming to believe in God.

But there is one more piece to the puzzle that I wish desperately for him to discover. He says we can’t know because we are separated from eternity by the veil of death. WHO KNOWS?! he asks.

THAT is why Jesus came, why he died, and why he rose.

Jesus knows.

He is not just a moral teacher. He is the champion over death and can heal our epistemic blindness.

Jesus pleads, “28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” [Matthew 11:28-30 ESV]

I have great respect for Jordan Peterson. If you know him, please pass this along.

Thank you,

Darren

P.S. The Guide use of the Law turns the law into a positive tool for action. The Curb says, “do not lie”, and the Guide says, “tell the truth”.

No Blind Faith – Part 6

24 Wednesday Apr 2019

Posted by D. L. Williams in Campus Apologetics, Church, Philosophy, Ratio Christi

≈ Leave a comment

MOVED TO FAITH BY DIRECT EXPERIENCE

In support of the Central Thesis:

No one can actually believe in something blindly.

Direct Experience is perhaps the most common route to faith articulated in the Bible, and quite possibly by Christians the world over.  Seeing something “with your own eyes” is the quickest route to establishing “a fact”, something you can put your faith into.  However, even if one has not “seen” Christ with their eyes, many would claim to have seen His work directly through the lives of Christians that they know and His work directly in their own lives.  But does this count?

“All we know are the facts, ma’am.” –Joe Friday

How do we get these types of Direct Experience facts, and are these proper grounds for belief?

Primarily, we use our five senses, which must be properly functioning and properly sensitive to the experience, and Christian Philosopher Alvin Plantinga has written much on this topic.

“an immediate ground of a belief is an experience, on the basis of which the belief is formed.” – Alvin Plantinga, Warranted Christian Belief, p105.

This is in line with the experiences of Jesus’ Disciples after his resurrection.  Thomas touched him.  They saw him eat.  They heard his voice.  Their belief in the resurrection was based upon direct physical interaction, as recorded in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

In fact, a relationship would be a case where belief is warranted, thus, requiring no further justification.  For instance, I don’t have to prove my mother exists using documentation. Her existence is not up for debate because I know her and have had a mother-son relationship with her for many decades.  I have an unshakable and properly basic belief in her existence.  My faith in her existence is not BLIND, even though I do not remember her giving birth to me.

(I am not claiming that this belief makes her truly my biological mother.  I could have been deceived.  I am merely addressing the false characterization that this is blind faith.  It is not blind if it is based upon direct experience of a relationship.)

What of the Christian’s claim of direct experiences with Christ?  No doubt, these form a basis for strong belief, falsifying the claim that these Christians are believing blindly.

But do these claims of a relationship leading to properly basic beliefs satisfy our quest for direct experience fact?

The point is almost inarguable.  For those who are convinced that they sense God’s presence, hear his voice (in their inner dialog with conscience), respond to His prompting, and obtain His blessing in good times and bad, there is no debate.  “God exists because I have met Him” becomes the ultimate apologetic from the perspective of the believer.

jesus

But this is not well understood by those who are not convinced that they sense God’s presence, etc.  A description of a relationship with my mother with an emphasis on the inputs from my five senses seems to be qualitatively different than a description of my relationship with Christ with emphasis on inner-dialog, answered prayer, and peace in troubled times.  There is fertile ground to explore how best to describe a relationship with Christ. Perhaps that will be another blog post.

Whether Christian or not, hopefully you can see that when someone claims to have a relationship with Christ, they are basing that belief on what they deem to be direct experiences, which are properly basic.  This is not blind faith.

You may still ask, “OK, so faith is not BLIND, but is a person’s faith well placed?”  “Is what they believe actually true?”  And for that I must refer you to the materials available at www.thepoachedegg.net, www.apologetics315.com, and other blog entries on our site www.ratiochristi.org where the case is made for the TRUTH of the Christian world view.

:DW

ROADMAP FOR THE SERIES

This series of blog posts will explore what is meant by Christians when they say they have “faith” in Christ.

  • Part 1 – Introduction to my “No Such Thing as Blind Faith” series of posts
  • Part 2 – What is the Biblical concept of the word “faith”?
  • How does one come to have “faith” in something?
    • Part 3 – Sources they trust – parents, pastors, professors, publications, papers, posts
    • Part 4 – Intuition – putting the pieces of life together (least “explainable” but still not “blind”)
    • Part 5 – Reaction to stress or joy – mountain tops and valleys in life
    • Part 6 – Experience – direct experience with Christ in some way
  • Part 7 – Conclusion, support of the central thesis, and how we come to change our minds

No Blind Faith – Part 5

21 Sunday Apr 2019

Posted by D. L. Williams in Campus Apologetics, Church, Philosophy, Ratio Christi

≈ Leave a comment

MOVED TO FAITH BY THE MOUNTAINS AND VALLEYS IN LIFE

In support of the Central Thesis:

No one can actually believe in something blindly.

VALLEY

“There is no such thing as an atheist in a fox hole.” – Father William Cummings

Chances are good that you have heard the above quote (often misattributed to Dwight D. Eisenhower), especially in light of the latest stink raised by those who would purge religious speech from anyone employed in government service.  Here is an excerpt from an article giving context to Father Cummings’ famous statement.

foxhole

“In one of my many discussions with Roy, he distinctly remembered a period on the “Hell Ships” – these were ships the Japanese used to bring POWs from the Philippines back to Japan. They were unmarked and thus ‘fair game’ for attacks from the allies from the air and sea.

Of the 3,000-plus POWs listed on the ships, only 180 survived the journey.

“When our own planes were attacking us,” Roy said, “I remember Father Cummings calming us down by reciting the Lord’s Prayer and offering up prayers on our behalf. For a brief moment I did not hear the yells and screams of dying men as our boat was attacked by our own men.” He went on to say, “There was a peaceful quiet during the attack that I cannot explain nor have experienced since.”

Later on during the trip to Japan, Cummings, after giving his food to others who needed it more, succumbed to his own need and died of starvation.”

 

MOUNTAIN

In contrast to the despair of impending death, there is the mountain top experience of the Spiritual Retreat. The fact that spiritual retreats are not merely a Christian phenomenon is interesting.  There appears to be some value in the practice for bringing people to faith or for strengthening the faith of those who already believe.  Here are the typical features of the Christian retreats I have seen:

  • Large gatherings for worship, which give a sense of belonging to something much larger than a circle of acquaintances and a sense of love from complete strangers.
  • Small groups for discussion, which allows the ability to know and be known by others.
  • Time alone for reflection, which allows the processing of the information and emotion gathered by the other experiences.

This often results in the attribution to God the love felt and conveyed during the retreat.

BACKFIRE

Mountains and valleys can also have the opposite effect.  The despair of helpless situations has caused many to scream at God, demanding answers, “right now”.  Likewise, sadly, some have gone to spiritual retreats, seen the love shared all around them and they have “felt nothing”.  They have concluded that it was all an act, an exercise in socialization.  Not getting answers from God, not “getting” retreats, and not getting clear reasons why others do is a big sticking point for those who don’t or feel like they can’t believe.

There is only one “magic bullet”, and it is not the mountain top, nor the valley.

RELATIONSHIP

Both examples – the fox hole and the retreat – have relationships as the common factor.  One who comes to faith because of that relationship is NOT acting blindly.  They are moved to faith by what they perceive as true and foundational, namely, “The inexplicable love I feel in this place (from Father Cummings or from complete strangers who love the Lord) is evidence that Christ loves me also.”

But let us go back to Chaplain (Lt. Col.) Kenneth Reyes:

“Everyone expresses some form of faith every day, whether it is religious or secular. Some express faith by believing when they get up in the morning they will arrive at work in one piece, thankful they have been given another opportunity to enjoy the majesty of the day; or express relief the doctor’s results were negative. The real question is, “Is it important to have faith in ‘faith’ itself or is it more important to ask, ‘What is the object of my faith?'”

Faith itself may factor into one’s general health, but this is not about lowering your blood pressure, or meditating to relieve one’s stress levels.  What is the object of the Christian faith?

“For I can testify about them that they [the Israelites; but also applies to others who] are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge.  Since they did not know the righteousness of God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.  Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.

Moses writes this about the righteousness that is by the law: “The person who does these things will live by them.” [Meaning fulfillment of the law will bring life. But perfect living is impossible.]

But the righteousness that is by faith says: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ down) “or ‘Who will descend into the deep?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).  But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim:

If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.  – Paul’s letter to the Romans, Chapter 10, V 2 – 10 with [my comments].

In a nut shell, we are powerless to live a perfect life which is necessary to have a relationship with a perfect God.  So God himself became man in Jesus and became the culmination of the law.  We didn’t invent this scheme, but rather it has been revealed to us in the Bible that God has laid our punishment onto Christ, thus covering our imperfections and allowing us to have a RELATIONSHIP with the one true and perfect God.  Amazing.

I know it is unlikely and confusing and probably doesn’t make sense if this little post is all you know about Christianity.  So before you make a judgment, do two things:

  1. Read the Gospel of John and
  2. Really get to know a Christian who studies apologetics.  If you ask a Christian acquaintance if they study apologetics, and they say “Huh?”, then respectfully move on.  Those who are studying apologetics are studying how to answer your deepest questions and they SHOULD want to be your friend and treat you with Christ’s love and respect regardless of what you believe.  If they don’t.  If they treat you like a project and not a person, then respectfully move on.  You are on a QUEST FOR TRUTH, and you shouldn’t extrapolate too far from one or two bad encounters.
  3. The non-helpful “option 3.”  Read tons of blogs and watch tons of debates online.  This will inform you some, but God seeks a RELATIONSHIP with you, and this often starts with a RELATIONSHIP with one of His believers.

WEEKLY MOUNTAINS AND VALLEYS

Finally, what we see on Sunday Mornings is a retelling of the “valley of the shadow of death” typically in the form of the Confession and Absolution [in liturgical settings, but also prevalent in non-liturgical worship].  We also sing, say, or read about Christ’s victory over death on the cross.  This is the ultimate mountain top experience for the Christian.  We welcome and celebrate the deepest despair and the highest joy at least once a week, and you are welcome to join us.

Our faith resulting from the relationship we have with Christ, from the love in Christian circles, from the historicity of the Scriptures, and from the evidence of Christ’s death on the Mountain of Calvary and His resurrection is not a blind leap into the unknown, for unknown reasons, or against evidence to the contrary.  It is a strong foundation, as strong as the very rocks that form mountains and valleys.

:DW

Since the Air Force has already removed the article once, I am posting the full article here to ensure its preservation:

“Commentary by Chaplain (Lt. Col.) Kenneth Reyes, JBER Chaplain

7/17/2013 – JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska —

The “Chaplain’s Corner” offers perspectives to enhance spiritual/religious resiliency in support of Air Force and Army Comprehensive Fitness programs.

[Comments regarding specific beliefs, practices, or behaviors are strictly those of the author and do not convey endorsement by the U.S. government, the Department of Defense, the Army, the Air Force, Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, or the 673d Air Base Wing.]

‘No atheists in foxholes’: Chaplains gave all in World War II.

Many have heard the familiar phrase, “There is no such thing as an atheist in a fox hole.”

Where did this come from?

Research I verified in an interview with former World War II prisoner of war Roy Bodine (my friend) indicates the phrase has been credited to Father William Cummings.

As the story goes, Father Cummings was a civilian missionary Catholic priest in the Philippines.

The phrase was coined during the Japanese attack at Corregidor.

During the siege, Cummings had noticed non-Catholics were attending his services. Some he knew were not Catholic, some were not religious and some were even known atheists.

Life-and-death experiences prompt a reality check.

Even the strongest of beliefs can change, and, I may add, can go both ways – people can be drawn to or away from “faith.”

With the pending surrender of allied forces to the Japanese, Cummings uttered the famous phrase “There is no such thing as an atheist in a fox hole.”

In one of my many discussions with Roy, he distinctly remembered a period on the “Hell Ships” – these were ships the Japanese used to bring POWs from the Philippines back to Japan.

They were unmarked and thus ‘fair game’ for attacks from the allies from the air and sea. Of the 3,000-plus POWs listed on the ships, only 180 survived the journey.

“When our own planes were attacking us,” Roy said, “I remember Father Cummings calming us down by reciting the Lord’s Prayer and offering up prayers on our behalf. For a brief moment I did not hear the yells and screams of dying men as our boat was attacked by our own men.”

He went on to say, “There was a peaceful quiet during the attack that I cannot explain nor have experienced since.”

Later on during the trip to Japan, Cummings, after giving his food to others who needed it more, succumbed to his own need and died of starvation. Everyone expresses some form of faith every day, whether it is religious or secular. Some express faith by believing when they get up in the morning they will arrive at work in one piece, thankful they have been given another opportunity to enjoy the majesty of the day; or express relief the doctor’s results were negative.

The real question is, “Is it important to have faith in ‘faith’ itself or is it more important to ask, ‘What is the object of my faith?'”

Roy never affirmed or expressed whether his faith was rooted in religion or not, but for a moment in time on the “Hell Ships,” he believed in Cummings’ faith.

What is the root or object of your faith?

Is it something you can count on in times of plenty or loss; peace or chaos; joy or sorrow; success or failure?

What is ‘faith’ to you?“

ROADMAP FOR THE SERIES

This series of blog posts will explore what is meant by Christians when they say they have “faith” in Christ. Roadmap for the series:

  • Part 1 – Introduction to my “No Such Thing as Blind Faith” series of posts
  • Part 2 – What is the Biblical concept of the word “faith”?
  • How does one come to have “faith” in something?
    • Part 3 – Sources they trust – parents, pastors, professors, publications, papers, posts
    • Part 4 – Intuition – putting the pieces of life together (least “explainable” but still not “blind”)
    • Part 5 – Reaction to stress or joy – mountain tops and valleys in life
    • Part 6 – Experience – direct experience with Christ in some way
  • Part 7 – Conclusion, support of the central thesis, and how we come to change our minds

No Blind Faith – Part 4

17 Wednesday Apr 2019

Posted by D. L. Williams in Campus Apologetics, Church, Philosophy, Ratio Christi

≈ Leave a comment

MOVED TO FAITH BY INTUITION

In support of the Central Thesis:

No one can actually believe in something blindly.

Having a new-born infant in the house is one of the greatest blessings imaginable.  But there are also some very disorienting aspects of the newborn that make a computer-programmer-type person a little crazy.  Lack of sleep is not a big deal compared to the lack of a functioning user interface.  Here’s what I mean.

Baby is
feeling
this
Your
audio-visual
cue is this
hungry crying
sleepy crying
poopy crying
pain crying
separation crying

See the issue?  I remember being at a loss wondering what the crying signal meant.  I quickly made a mental decision tree: 1. Check diaper, 2. Check eating times, 3. Check for localized pain of any sort, 4. Try consolation, 5. Try distractions, 6. Find “Mom”.  It worked like a charm most of the time.

Shifting focus, let us try to imagine the thought process of the infant as she struggles with learning the concept of hunger.  A strange craving appears.  She gets irritated and begins to cry.  Mom, Dad, Babysitter come to the rescue with something to drink.  Strange craving is satiated.  Eventually, the caregivers put a word to this by asking, “Are you feeling hungry?”

Hunger is not a physical entity, but it is very real.  Who would be bold enough to claim that hunger is “not real” when so much of the world’s population is desperately and constantly hungry?  It is the term we give to the craving for food.  You can locate hungry people, but you cannot locate hunger.  You might isolate the location in the brain where the craving signal resides, but “hunger cannot be reduced to ion exchanges in neurons”. The concept of hunger only makes sense in the context of craving and satiation.

Now for something completely different…  ~ Monty Python

Ever see a breathtaking sunset?  Have you been moved to tears by an act of kindness, valor, or self-sacrifice?  Are you a fan of great music, great art, or great architecture?  Why do you want to travel the world to see the great sites, when these sites are available instantly on the Internet?  These things are satiating.  But what word do we place on the craving that is satiated in these life-enriching situations?  Words like aesthetics, beauty, and meaning come to mind, but there is not a handy word like “hunger” to describe our craving the fulfillment of these desires.  This is unfortunate, because without a term, the concept is easily denied.

You can try to deny the existence of the craving for beauty.  But you will be easily disproven with one simple observation – the World of Color at Disney’s California Adventure.  Crowds do NOT pay thousands upon thousands of dollars twice a day to experience longitudinal waves (sound), coherent light (lasers), two-dimensional imaging (movies), and the abnormally high surface tension of water.  They came to see the love scenes of Disney played upon ghost-like walls of water with blasting fountains, laser flashes, and musical flourishes.  See for yourself:

http://youtu.be/xbzJ0R9Q-h8

With art and beauty we seem to have a grasp of the object we crave, but we are inarticulate when describing the craving.  With spiritual matters we have a grasp of the craving, but left to our own devices, we become unsure of the object.  Our cravings for the “Holy” show up in our cravings for ritual, for proper words (piety of sorts), for an ordering sovereignty of some kind.

pascal

What evidence is there of these cravings?  You mean besides the fact that every known civilization has had some sort of spiritual practice?  What about the need we feel to have ritual at weddings and funerals?  Certain phrases are craved as if they seal some spiritual deal.  When disaster strikes, even the most strident anti-theists have been known to cry, “Where’s God!!”  We crave a higher power even if it is to have someone to accuse.  We do not have a word like “hunger” for this craving, but it is real.

What is it then that this desire and this inability proclaim to us, but that there was once in man a true happiness of which there now remain to him only the mark and empty trace, which he in vain tries to fill from all his surroundings, seeking from things absent the help he does not obtain in things present?  But these are all inadequate, because the infinite abyss can only be filled by an infinite and immutable object, that is to say, only by God Himself.  ~ Blaise Pascal – Mathematician, Physicist, Inventor, and Christian Philosopher – Pensees, E.P. Dutton &Co Inc, 1958, page 367.

This passage of Pascal has been paraphrased into the familiar:

There is a God-shaped hole in all of us. ~ Plumb
(http://youtu.be/pAXxgWZMDHU < song with lyrics below)

There are many Christians who base their faith on this filled void.  They know their craving, and they know the satiating object of their craving.  Since it is not easily put into words, many of them say,

I just believe.

That is not a satisfying response for them because it does not do justice to the fulfillment they have from lining up their hunger with the object of their affection.  It is not a satisfying response for the questioner, either, because a questioner wants more detail, more information, and more concrete terms with which to wrestle.

Perhaps I have described you.  If your faith is one of spiritual hunger satiated in Christ, then take some time to put into words a description of the hunger that was satisfied.  It doesn’t have to read like the Lawyer’s Case for Christ , the Detective’s Case for Christ , or the Journalist’s Case for Christ . This is YOUR case for Christ, and it is one that someone needs to hear.  “I just believe” is not the whole story, and I suspect you know it.  But nobody is exempt from 1 Peter 3:15,

…always be prepared to give an answer (apologetic) to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.  But do this with gentleness and respect,… ~ 1 Peter, Chapter 3, Verse 15.

Pro Tip

Operating on intuition involves special care.  It is evident from the above post that these cravings do not even have universally-agreed-upon terms.  They seem to avoid description.  Do not be afraid to find additional reasons to believe.  This is the natural maturation process as one goes from trusting Mommy to trusting one’s own feelings.  One should move beyond feelings to more rigorously testable facts.  There are three advantages to this:

  1. You can avoid errors and avoid being misled by your fickle feelings.
  2. You can test the claims of others (and yourself).
  3. You can provide yourself a “fortress of facts” for those times when you don’t “feel” especially spiritual.  If your faith in Christ is based upon “feeling His presence”, then you WILL have a crisis of faith when for whatever reason you interpret your feelings as “not feeling His presence”.  This fortress of facts is constructed from reliable sources.
    (cf. www.apologetics315.com and www.thepoachedegg.net for more!)

:DW

ROADMAP FOR THE SERIES

This series of blog posts will explore what is meant by Christians when they say they have “faith” in Christ. Roadmap for the series:

  • Part 1 – Introduction to my “No Such Thing as Blind Faith” series of posts
  • Part 2 – What is the Biblical concept of the word “faith”?
  • How does one come to have “faith” in something?
    • Part 3 – Sources they trust – parents, pastors, professors, publications, papers, posts
    • Part 4 – Intuition – putting the pieces of life together (least “explainable” but still not “blind”)
    • Part 5 – Reaction to stress or joy – mountain tops and valleys in life
    • Part 6 – Experience – direct experience with Christ in some way
  • Part 7 – Conclusion, support of the central thesis, and how we come to change our minds
← Older posts

Subscribe

  • Entries (RSS)
  • Comments (RSS)

Archives

  • September 2020
  • July 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • April 2019
  • February 2019
  • December 2018
  • October 2018
  • August 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • May 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • October 2016
  • August 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • August 2015
  • February 2015
  • September 2014
  • August 2014

Categories

  • Biography
  • C.S. Lewis
  • Campus Apologetics
  • Church
  • Education
  • Grief, Death, and Dying
  • Historiography
  • Literature
  • Liturgy
  • Philosophy
  • Podcasts
  • Prayer
  • Ratio Christi
  • Reality Blog
  • Sexual Ethics
  • Uncategorized
  • Worship

Meta

  • Register
  • Log in

Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.

Cancel

 
Loading Comments...
Comment
    ×
    Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
    To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy