Most non-believers will tell you that man is basically “good.” When he acts against that basic goodness, it’s the result of disease, such as alcoholism, drug addiction, or some form of mental illness. These, in turn, stem from a failure of society to reach out and provide the right kind of assistance and services. If only we as a society could do more, spend more, provide more, we could eventually create the kind of utopia that “good” people populate.

 

Christianity, by contrast, teaches a much different worldview. Long ago, the first man and woman exercised their free will to rebel against God, and in so doing created a rift between man and God that continues to this day. Though man has a certain inherent goodness, because he bears the image of God, he is at present broken, corrupted, and fallen, and he manifests that fallen nature in a way that we see quite starkly. Christians have a name for this manifestation – sin. It afflicts and motivates all of us, and no one can escape its pull. Not without divine help, anyway.

Worldviews Shape Our Response to the Gospel

These contrasting worldviews cannot both be correct. And depending on which view you accept, your response to the good news of the Gospel will be different. “Good” people who simply need more education and more refinement don’t need a Savior; they can do just fine on their own, and with a little help from society. But fallen and corrupted people, even well-intentioned ones, are not going to be able to pull themselves up by their bootstraps. Their nature, constantly at war with the good that is within them, needs to be recast – remade in the image of the God who made them and left them here.

Is there a way to “prove” which view is correct? How can we reliably determine what man is like in his natural state? First, we need to get our minds around what we mean by terms like “good” or “evil.” I would suggest a simple definition: what we recognize as “good” in other people is the product of an intentional effort at selflessness. Whether it’s sacrificial love, working for charity or simply a random act of kindness – what we experience as “good” is an act directed to the benefit of the other. By contrast, what we see as evil is an act directed at satisfying within oneself a base or selfish end. The quests for power, for recognition, for material wealth, for dominance – all these things drive people to ignore the harm inflicted as they climb over those who stand in their way.

But, What About the Babies?!

Now, with this basic concept in mind, what can we see from examining man in his most primitive state? I don’t mean primitive as in caveman, but as in newborn. Spend even a little time with infants and toddlers, and you’ll see some basic features emerge. Each views himself as the center of the universe and expects his parents and the other kids around him to treat him accordingly. With each passing month, the willfulness of the child’s behavior becomes increasingly apparent: from every fiber of his being, he is shouting, “I want things my way!” Whether it’s food or drink, when and how he wants it, his mother’s attention, or his playmate’s toys, a developing child’s “me-focus” is readily on display. And if his will is thwarted, there is no resort to reason – a temper tantrum is the predictable result.

Now, some might object that children are innocent and cannot be described as bad or broken, or worse yet, evil. They might point out that children are free from the biases and prejudices that sour many adult relationships. But this objection misses my point. I would not describe children as evil either, because evil implies a level of awareness of the harm one is doing, and a small child does not yet appreciate the consequences of his behavior. But the child’s behavior is reflective of the way his mind operates, and unless a parent applies discipline and training to bend the will to a proper orientation, a spoiled, self-centered adolescent will emerge.

Evil Comes Naturally

Consider: no parents ever have to train their child to give up his positive and sunny disposition and be more critical of others; they don’t need to punish their children for sharing too much and instead teach them to rip their toys out of the hands of their playmates; they don’t need to insist that a child stop thinking so much about what he can do for his parents – “Can’t I wash the dishes or sweep the deck? I really don’t have anything else to do?” No, for every child, the process of “civilizing” is a process of moving from a me-centered selfishness to an other-centered effort to get along.

Children don’t have the insight yet to seek to change their ways, to live more cooperatively and altruistically. Their parents’ job is to teach them – to help them move from their inherent fallenness to a state which is not quite natural to us, a state in which we are intentional about trying to do good. The non-believer can also do good. But by rejecting God as the source of true goodness, he remains in defiance to God. He refuses to see his need for a Savior to finish the job of making him good. He refuses to bend his will to God. It is no coincidence that the Bible speaks of becoming a “slave” to Christ. For in the end, it is only by bending to Him – by dying to ourselves as we look outward to others in order to better serve Him – that we can eventually find the solution to our problem.

Believing that we are basically good flies in the face of the reality of what we truly are. It stands in the way of our crying out for the Savior who alone has the power to restore us. Observing children in their natural condition can help give us a better picture of ours.

This is one of the few lessons that we should allow our children to teach us.

Recommended Resources:

If God, Why Evil? (DVD Set), (MP3 Set), and (mp4 Download Set) by Frank Turek 

Why Doesn’t God Intervene More? (DVD Set), (MP3 Set), and (mp4 Download Set) by Frank Turek

Why does God allow Bad Things to Happen to Good People? (DVD) and (mp4 Download) by Frank Turek 

Relief From the Worst Pain You’ll Ever Experience (DVD) (MP3) (Mp4 Download) by Gary Habermas 

 


Al Serrato earned his law degree from the University of California at Berkeley in 1985. He began his career as an FBI special agent before becoming a prosecutor in California, where he worked for 33 years. An introduction to CS Lewis’ works sparked his interest in Apologetics, which he has pursued for the past three decades. He got his start writing Apologetics with J. Warner Wallace and Pleaseconvinceme.com.

A key argument in Alex O’Connor’s debate with David Wood is the distinction Alex draws (in his first rebuttal) between “proskuneo” (Gk: προσκυνέω) worship and “latreuo” (Gk: λατρεύω) worship.

Both proskuneo worship and latreuo worship are biblical terms used to describe worship or service to God, but they carry different shades of meaning. Proskuneo means to physically bow down, or prostrate oneself in order to show reverence. Latreuo means to serve or honour in a religious or sacrificial sense. In Romans 12:1 for example, Paul tells us to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice as latreuo to God).

The crux of Alex’s argument is that, on these two senses of worship, Jesus never receives latreuo worship in the way that only God does, and there is nothing special about the fact that the worship Jesus does receive is proskuneo; because other mortals also received proskuneo in the Greek Old Testament, or example, Esau from Jacob in Genesis 33, and Joseph from his brothers in Genesis 42.[1]

In his second rebuttal, Alex explains that this distinction argument is supported by James D.G Dunn, who writes:

It is noticeable that in each case the object of the verb [latreuo], the one who is (to be) served/worshipped, is God. Apart from one or two references to false worship (Acts 7:42; Rom 1:25), the reference is always to the cultic service/worship of God (Luke 1:74, 2:37; Acts 7:7, 42; 24:14; 26:7; 27:23; Rom. 1:9; Phil. 3:3; 2 Tim. 1:3; Heb. 8:5; 9:9; 9:14; 10:2 and 12:28, 13:10; Rev. 7:15; and 22:3). In no case in the New Testament is there talk of offering cultic worship [latreuo/λατρεύω] to Jesus.[2]

And so, Alex’s argument is that Jesus only receives the proskuneo kind of “worship” and not latreuo kind. This is a problem because proskuneo worship doesn’t determine whether Jesus thought of himself as God or whether he claimed to be God.

Two disclaimers

What Alex doesn’t mention in the debate is what Dunn writes in the same section: “more typically in the New Testament, [proskuneo] is used of the worship (prostration) due to God, and to God alone.”[3]

So at least according to Dunn, proskuneo as directed towards Jesus in the New Testament carries weight in determining whether Jesus thought of himself as God or whether he claimed to be God.

Further, it might be helpful to note that Dunn lists other Greek words for worship or reverence in the New Testament, which might be applied to either God alone, or to God as well as Jesus of Nazareth.[4] Proskuneo and Latreuo are not the only ones.

Two points in response to Alex

There are two points of response which show that Alex’s argument about the distinction between proskuneo and latreuo is underwhelming.

  1. It shouldn’t surprise us that Jesus of Nazareth received proskuneo (and not latreuo), because he was in physical form. Latreuo worship is sacrificially offered to the non-physical God, but Jesus of Nazareth was physically God-incarnate (as David argued in this debate!). With Jesus standing right before them, of course the disciples offered proskuneo When I finally see the God-man face-to-face one day, I already know that I’m going to fall before him in proskuneo worship.
  2. You’ve got to read in context. As Dunn states, proskuneo worship in the New Testament is typically “due to God, and to God alone.”[5] In fact, in Rev. 22:8, an angel rejects proskuneo worship from John and tells him to offer it to God. A simple, face-value reading of the New Testament, and even of the gospels alone, reveals that the authors thought that Jesus was God. Proskuneo worship of Jesus doesn’t detract from this, rather, it adds to it. Once again, as Dunn says, proskuneo is typically given to God alone in the New Testament (see Rev. 22:9; also see in the gospels in John 4:23-24 and Matt. 4:10/Luke 4:8). So, as Jesus of Nazareth receives proskuneo worship, the reader is drawn to see his ontology as more-than-human.

Review Alex O’Connor’s Argument

In summary, Alex’s leveraging of James Dunn’s argument has three faults. First, Alex cherry-picks from Dunn for his own purposes, and doesn’t expound on what Dunn says about proskuneo.

Second, it is of absolutely no surprise that the physical God-man receives proskuneo, because falling on your knees before Jesus is an appropriate act of worship.

Thirdly, the New Testament has a particular reverence for the word proskuneo, even if the Old Testament applies it more loosely. And so Jesus receiving the proskuneo of worship does not detract from his ontological divine nature, but rather points to it.

Let’s continue to pray that Alex would see Jesus for who he reality is. Pray that Alex would put Jesus in his rightful place.

References: 

[1] [Editor’s note: The Greek Old Testament is known as the Septuagint or LXX for short.]

[2] James D.G. Dunn, Did the First Christians Worship Jesus? The New Testament Evidence (Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 2010), 13.

[3] Ibid., 10.

[4] These additional words are Sebomai/σέβομαι and Epikaleo/ἐπικαλέω. See Dunn, 15-17.

[5] See footnote 2.

Recommended Resources: 

Early Evidence for the Resurrection by Dr. Gary Habermas (DVD), (Mp3) and (Mp4)

When Reason Isn’t the Reason for Unbelief by Dr. Frank Turek DVD and Mp4

Another Gospel? by Alisa Childers (book)

How Can Jesus Be the Only Way? (mp4 Download) by Frank Turek

 


Sean Redfearn is a former Community Youth Worker who now works for Christian Concern in Central London, UK. He completed an MA in Religion at King’s College London, is in the process of completing the MA Philosophy program at Southern Evangelical Seminary, and is a 2022 CrossExamined Instructor Academy graduate. Passionate about Jesus, he is grateful for the impact that apologetics has had on his faith.

We have all heard about the “Dark Ages” between 500 AD and 1500 AD.  Some common descriptions include:

  • “There was a time when religion ruled the world. It is known as the Dark Ages.”[1] – Ruth Hurmence Green (1915-1981, a notable atheist with the publication of her book The Born Again Skeptic’s Guide to the Bible).
  • Joseph Lewis in An Atheist Manifesto claims that “If you do not want to stop the wheels of progress; if you do not want to go back to the Dark Ages; if you do not want to live again under tyranny, then you must guard your liberty, and you must not let the church get control of your government. If you do, you will lose the greatest legacy ever bequeathed to the human race—intellectual freedom.”
  • Jeffrey Taylor, a correspondent for Atlantic Monthly and NPR’s All Things Considered states on com, “There is a reason the Middle Ages in Europe were long referred to as the Dark Ages; the millennium of theocratic rule that ended only with the Renaissance (that is, with Europe’s turn away from God toward humankind) was a violent time.”
  • Even as recently as Catherine Nixey’s book The Darkening Age: The Christian Destruction of the Classical World states emphatically that “This is a book about the Christian destruction of the classical world. The Christian assault was not the only one – fire, flood, invasion, and time itself all played their part – but this book focuses on Christianity’s assault in particular” (xxxv). (See below for several extensive reviews and critiques of Nixey’s book.)
  • The diagram below, which has circulated on the internet, claims to demonstrate that the Middle Ages caused a tremendous hole in learning and advancement caused by Christianity.
  • Anne Fremantle in her study of medieval philosophers, The Age of Belief (1954), wrote: “of a dark, dismal patch, a sort of dull and dirty chunk of some ten centuries.”
  • Voltaire, the French Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher, who attacked the church, described the period as one when “barbarism, superstition, and ignorance covered the face of the world.”
  • Rousseau declared that the era following the fall of Rome caused “Europe [to] relapse into the barbarism of the earliest ages.  The people of this part of the world . . . lived some centuries ago in a condition worse than ignorance.”
  • The great Roman historian Edward Gibbon called the fall of Rome the “triumph of barbarism and religion.” The famed scientist Carl Sagan also attributes a millennium gap [during the Middle Ages as] a poignant lost opportunity for the human species.”

Some other memes likewise blame Christianity for the so-called “Dark Ages” stunted growth.

Unfortunately, this derision of the Middle Ages as a “darkened period” continues into contemporary descriptions.  Such perpetrators include Bertrand Russell, Charles Van Doren, and William Manchester.

One Among Many Myths About Christianity

Like the myth that the church hindered science, or that everyone in the middle ages believed the earth was flat, or that Galileo was thrown in jail for promoting the heliocentric model of the universe (which you can read about in my previous posts linked); the term “dark ages” is a pejorative term to deride the period as backwards, ignorant, and dismal.  Given that the Christian church was the most influential institution in the Middle Ages, to reference that period as the “Dark Ages” is, in essence, to slander Christianity.  Who, in their right mind, wants to associate themselves with “incessant warfare, corruption, lawlessness, obsession with strange myths, and an almost impenetrable mindlessness” as Manchester does in his A World Lit Only by Fire.

The Problem with This Myth

The problem with this myth is that it is so contrary to the facts.  If the “dark ages” were so unproductive and backward, how does one explain the proliferation of inventions and developments during this time period?  A simple listing of inventions, discoveries and developments demonstrates that the Middle Ages were anything but dark:

  • The collar and harness for horses and oxen enabled them to draw very heavy wagons, with increases in speed
  • The 8th century invention of iron horseshoes protecting the feet of horses by greatly improving their traction in difficult conditions
  • The swivel axel (9th century) was made large transport carts much more maneuverable
  • The invention of the horse-drawn furrow plow increased food production
  • The watermill was invented in the Middle Ages
  • The mechanical manufacturing of paper instead of being done by hand and foot
  • Wind power was harnessed to mill, grind, and pump water
  • Eyeglasses were invented in 1284 in northern Italy
  • The mechanical clock, a 13th-century invention, for centuries existed only in Medieval Europe
  • The blast furnace (12th century)
  • Spinning wheel (13th century)
  • The agricultural revolution of the three-field system
  • Chimneys (12th century)
  • Universities (1088 AD) [2]
  • Quarantine (14th century)
  • Musical Notation (11th century)
  • Western Harmony
  • Local Self-Government
  • Chartered Towns

Also, perpetuated about the “dark ages” is the loss of literary concern.  Stephen Greenblatt in The New Yorker (promoting his book The Swervedeclares that:

It is possible for a whole culture to turn away from reading and writing. As the empire crumbled and Christianity became ascendant, as cities decayed, trade declined, and an anxious populace scanned the horizon for barbarian armies, the ancient system of education fell apart. What began as downsizing went on to wholesale abandonment. Schools closed, libraries and academies shut their doors, professional grammarians and teachers of rhetoric found themselves out of work, scribes were no longer given manuscripts to copy. There were more important things to worry about than the fate of books.

In truth, the Middle Ages “did have a thriving literary and intellectual culture in which monks played a crucial, creative, and engaged role.” (source). Here is a small list of literary, historical, and philosophical masterpieces written during the so-called “Dark Ages”:

  • Alexiad, Anna Comnena
  • Beowulf
  • Caedmon’s Hymn
  • Book of the Civilized Man, Daniel of Beccles
  • The Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer
  • Consolation of Philosophy, Boethius
  • Decameron, Giovanni Boccaccio
  • The Dialogue, Catherine of Siena
  • La divina commedia (The Divine Comedy), Dante Alighieri
  • First Grammatical Treatise, 12th-century work on Old Norse phonology
  • Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum (The Ecclesiastical History of the English People), the Venerable Bede
  • The Lais of Marie de France, Marie de France
  • Mabinogion, various Welsh authors
  • Il milione (The Travels of Marco Polo), Marco Polo
  • Le Morte d’Arthur, Sir Thomas Malory
  • Poem of the Cid, anonymous Spanish author
  • Proslogium, Anselm of Canterbury
  • Queste del Saint Graal (The Quest of the Holy Grail), anonymous French author
  • Revelations of Divine Love, Julian of Norwich
  • Sic et Non, Abelard
  • Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, anonymous English author
  • The Song of Roland, anonymous French author
  • Spiritual Exercises, Gertrude the Great
  • Summa Theologiae, Thomas Aquinas
  • The Tale of Igor’s Campaign, anonymous Russian author
  • Tirant lo Blanc, Joanot Martorell
  • The Travels of Sir John Mandeville, John Mandeville
  • Troilus and Criseyde, Geoffrey Chaucer
  • Yvain: The Knight of the Lion, Chrétien de Troyes

A host of others can be mentioned but just check out this wikipedia article on “Medieval Literature.”

Ad Hominem

The fact of the matter is the term “dark ages” is a form of the ad hominem argument.  In short, it’s name-calling.  Until one can demonstrate that the middle ages was backward and made no technological, societal, or intellectual advancement (which is not possible given the prolific advancement during this time as shown above), the term “Dark Ages” is just a term of derision, void of any substance.

One more telling point to demonstrate that the Middle Ages were much more advanced than even our current modern and contemporary age. In the Middle Ages, a peculiar institution fell into disfavor but tragically was revived in the modern era: slavery.  This very fact shows that the Modern Age is [arguably] much darker than the Middle Ages ever were. While slavery never disappeared, it was nothing like the transatlantic slave trade or modern slavery.

As Anthony Esolen, professor of English at Providence College says at the end of the video below:

“Instead of the ‘Dark Ages’ as it is popularly called.  The Middles Ages might better be described as the “Brilliant Ages.’”

Additional Resources on the Middle Ages

Quick Quotes from the Experts:

  • “Nevertheless, serious historians have known for decades that these claims [that the Middle Ages were dark] are a complete fraud.  Even the respectable encyclopedias and dictionaries now define the Dark Ages as a myth. The Columbia Encyclopedia rejects the term, nothing that ‘medieval civilization is no longer thought to have been so dim.’ Britannica disdains the name Dark Ages as ‘pejorative.’ And Wikipedia defines the Dark Ages as a ‘supposed period of intellectual darkness after the Fall of Rome.’ These views are easily verified.” (Rodney Stark, How the West Won. ISI Books, 2014)
  • “Let’s set the record straight. From 962 to 1321, Europe enjoyed one of the most magnificent flourishings of culture the world has ever seen.  In some ways, it was the most magnificent.  And this was not despite the fact that the daily tolling of the church bells provided the rhythm of men’s lives, but because of it.” (Anthony Esolen, The Politically Incorrect Guide to Western Civilization, p.132)
  • “It’s not hard to kick this nonsense to pieces, especially since the people presenting it know next to nothing about history and have simply picked up these strange ideas from websites and popular books. The assertions collapse as soon as you hit them with hard evidence. I love to totally stump these propagators by asking them to present me with the name of one – just one – scientist burned, persecuted, or oppressed for their science in the Middle Ages. They always fail to come up with any.” (Tim O’Neill “The Dark Age Myth: An Atheist Reviews ‘God’s Philosophers’” Strange Notions)
  • “Western civilization was created in medieval Europe. The forms of thought and action which we take for granted in modern Europe and America, which we have exported to other substantial portions of the globe, and from which indeed we cannot escape, were implanted in the mentalities of our ancestors in the struggles of the medieval centuries.” (Cambridge University historian George Holmes’ Oxford Illustrated History of Medieval Europe)

Books:

Articles:

Videos:

Book Reviews:

  1. The Swerve: How The World Became Modern by Stephen Greenblatt

Greenblatt’s Pulitzer Prize winning (and National Book Award, MLA book award, amongst others) The Swerve (2011) tells “a literary detective story about an intrepid Florentine bibliophile named Poggio Braccionlini, who, in 1417, stumbled upon a 500-year-old copy of [Lucretian’s] De Rerum Natura [On the Nature of Things] in a German monastery and set the poem free from centuries of neglect to work its intellectual magic on the world.” (source) While the literary side of the story is commendable (Greenblatt is a Shakespearean expert), it is the historical matter that is problematic. Greenblatt’s view of the Middle Ages continues to it as a dark and shallow intellectual vacuum in which the Renaissance (and later the Enlightenment) overcame its backward and regressive mentality.  Greenblatt declares in his The New Yorker article “The Answer Man: An Ancient Poem was Discovered – and the World Swerved”:

“Theology provided an explanation for the chaos of the Dark Ages: human beings were by nature corrupt. Inheritors of the sin of Adam and Eve, they richly deserved every miserable catastrophe that befell them. God cared about human beings, just as a father cared about his wayward children, and the sign of that care was anger. It was only through pain and punishment that a small number could find the narrow gate to salvation. A hatred of pleasure-seeking, a vision of God’s providential rage, and an obsession with the afterlife: these were death knells of everything Lucretius represented.”

Unfortunately, Greenblatt hasn’t kept up with modern medieval historiography.  Both Jim Hinch, in the Los Angeles Review of Books, and Laura Miles, over at Vox, point at his errors.

  1. Why Stephen Greenblatt Is Wrong — and Why It Matters” by Jim Hinch | Los Angeles Review of BooksDec 1, 2012

Apparently, Lucretian was not as obscure in the Middle Ages as Greenblatt represents.  Hinch writes that “Cambridge classicist Michael Reeve pointed out five years ago in The Cambridge Companion to Lucretius, scholars have long detected ‘Lucretian influence in north-Italian writers of the ninth to eleventh century, in the Paduan pre-humanists about 1300, in Dante, and in Petrarch and Bocaccio.’ Greenblatt cites the Cambridge Companion numerous times in his endnotes. Did he read it?” Obviously not.

Greenblatt’s caricature of the (read the quotes with sarcasm) “Dark Ages” as living life as if God is a cosmic kill joy is puzzling to Hinch as well: “Equally untrue is Greenblatt’s claim that medieval culture was characterized by ‘a hatred of pleasure-seeking, a vision of God’s providential rage and an obsession with the afterlife.’ I know Greenblatt has read Chaucer. He’s quoted from him in numerous books. Has he forgotten the ribald pleasure-seeking in The Canterbury Tales? What about the 13th-century French courtly love epic The Romance of the Rose? The twelfth-century Arthurian romances of Chrétien de Troyes? I find no rage in Dante’s complex vision of human morality and providential grace in the Divine Comedy. Nor do I detect an ounce of asceticism in the ravishing unicorn tapestries in the Cloisters Museum in New York. Or in the rose window in Chartres. Or in the Sainte Chapelle in Paris. Or in the gracious courts of the Alhambra.”

It seems Greenblatt is a good literary scholar, but a terrible Medieval historian, according to Hinch.

  1. Stephen Greenblatt’s The Swerve racked up prizes — and completely misled you about the Middle Ages” by Laura Saetveit Miles | VoxJuly 20, 2016

Laura Saetveit Miles, professor at the University of Bergen in Norway, declares that

The Swerve doesn’t promote the humanities to a broader public so much as it deviously precipitates the decline of the humanities, by dumbing down the complexities of history and religion in a way that sets a deeply unfortunate precedent. If Greenblatt’s story resonates with its many readers, it is surely because it echoes stubborn, made-for-TV representations of medieval “barbarity” that have no business in a nonfiction book, much less one by a Harvard professor.

In a very revealing moment in Miles article on The Swerve she declares the book as dangerous:

“When I finished, I put down The Swerve on the table, and the academic side of my brain kicked back in. I had let myself read it as fiction. Yet it was supposed to be not fiction. When I thought of it as a scholarly book, and thought of all those thousands and thousands of people out there who read it and believed every word because the author is an authority and wins prizes, I realized: This book is dangerous.” [emphasis added]

Why is it dangerous? Because it is worse the Dan Brown’s The DaVinci Code:

“Every page of The Swerve strives to present the Renaissance as an intellectual awakening that triumphs over the oppressive abyss of the Dark Ages. The book pushes the Renaissance as a rebirth of the classical brilliance nearly lost during centuries mired in dullness and pain. (In Greenblatt’s Middle Ages, bored monks literally sit in the dark when not flagellating themselves.)

This invention of modernity relies on a narrative of good guys (Poggio, as well as Lucretius) defeating bad guys and thus bringing forth a glorious transformation. This is dangerous not only because it is inaccurate but, more importantly, because it subscribes to a progressivist model of history that insists on the onward march of society, a model that all too easily excuses the crimes and injustices of modernity.

But history does not fit such cookie-cutter narratives. Having studied medieval culture for nearly two decades, I can instantly recognize the oppressive, dark, ignorant Middle Ages that Greenblatt depicts for 262 pages as, simply, fiction. It’s fiction worse than Dan Brown, because it masquerades as fact.”

  1. Book Review: The Swerve: How the Renaissance Began” byJohn Monfasani | Reviews in History July 2012

John Monfasani, professor of history at the University at Albany, State University of New York damning declares that “Greenblatt has penned an entertaining but wrong-headed belletristic tale.”

  1. A World Lit Only by Fire: the Medieval Mind and the Renaissance by William Manchester

Manchester begins his scathing history of the middle ages by claiming that

“The densest medieval centuries – the six hundred years between, roughly, A.D. 400 and A.D. 1000 – are still widely known as the Dark Ages.” (Manchester, 3) William Manchester does admit that modern historians have abandoned that phrase but the “intellectual life had vanished from Europe” and declares in the very first paragraph of the book: “Nevertheless, if value judgments are made, it is undeniable that most of what is known about the period is unlovely. After the extant fragments have been fitted together, the portrait which emerges is a melange of incessant warfare, corruption, lawlessness, obsession with strange myths, and an almost impenetrable mindlessness.”

The wikipedia entry about the book states that,

“In the book, Manchester scathingly posits, as the title suggests, that the Middle Ages were ten centuries of technological stagnation, short-sightedness, bloodshed, feudalism, and an oppressive Church wedged between the golden ages of the Roman Empire and the Renaissance.”

Technological stagnation

Short-sightedness

Bloodshed

An oppressive church

Between the golden age of Rome and the Renaissance.

Nothing really new about this negative report about the so-called “dark ages.”  The only problem is that other modern historians have dismissed and criticized the book because of its gross errors, misinformation, and out of date understanding of the era.

Jeremy DuQuesnay Adams, professor and Altshuler Distinguished Teaching Professor of Medieval Europe of SMU and Ph.D. from Harvard (Manchester has an BA and MA in English, no training in history or a history degree), grudgingly reviewed the book. In Speculum: A Journal of Medieval Studies, Adams remarked that Manchester’s work contained “some of the most gratuitous errors of fact and eccentricities of judgment this reviewer has read (or heard) in quite some time.” He begins the review by lamenting:

“This is an infuriating book. The present reviewer hoped that it would simply fade away, as its intellectual qualities (too strong a word) deserved. Unfortunately, it has not: one keeps meeting well-intentioned, perfectly intelligent people (including some colleagues in other disciplines – especially the sciences) who have just read this book and want to discuss why anyone would ever become a medievalist.”

Adams goes on to point out that Manchester’s assertions about clothing, diet, and medieval person’s views of time and sense of self ran counter to the conclusions of established historians of the Middle Ages of the 20th-century.

An example of his errors is with the famed Pied Piper. Manchester claims that the Piper of Hamelin was  “was horrible, a psychopath and pederast who, on June 24, 1484, spirited away 130 children in the Saxon village of Hammel and used them in unspeakable ways. Accounts of the aftermath vary. According to some, the victims were never seen again; others told of disembodied little bodies found scattered in the forest underbrush or festooning the branches of trees.”

Over at The Straight Dope we learn that “Manchester doesn’t footnote this passage” and that their own “research suggests that Manchester got some of the details wrong–among other things, he appears to be off about 200 years on the date.”

  1. Review of A World Lit Only by Fire” Kirkus Review, May 20th, 2010.

This review reveals that Manchester, by his own admission, did NOT master any scholarship on the early 16th century, which ” dooms him to retelling the same old stories recounted countless times before.”

In the book’s “Author’s Note”, Manchester says, “It is, after all, a slight work, with no scholarly pretensions. All the sources are secondary, and few are new; I have not mastered recent scholarship on the early sixteenth century.

So, Manchester, who has no formal training in history, not a medievalist, admits to not using primary sources as well as not mastering any recent scholarship of the early 16th century, has penned a propaganda piece (at best) of the middle ages. Again, another myth that the middle ages were dark.

  1. The Darkening Age: The Christian Destruction of the Classical World by Catherine Nixey

The Darkening Age by Catherine Nixey is one of the latest publications (2017) propagating the dark ages myth.  Nixey studied classics at Cambridge and taught the subject for several years before becoming a journalist on the arts desk at the Times (UK). Her book, The Darkening Age, no surprise, focuses on “the Christian destruction of the classical world” (xxxv).  Her prologue characterizes Christians as “destroyers, . . . marauding bands of bearded, black-robed zealots” whose “ . . . attacks were primitive, thuggish, and very effective.” She goes on to say that “these men moved in packs—later in swarms of as many as five hundred—and when they descended utter destruction followed” (xix).

Some of the reviews and reactions to Nixey’s book can be listed:

  • The esteemed historian of Late Antiquity of Oxford University, Dame Averil Cameroncalls Nixey’s book “a travesty” condemning it as “overstated and unbalanced.”
  • Lecturer of Medieval history at Exeter University, Dr. Levi Roach, stated that Nixey’s book “does not seek to present a balanced picture (…) this is a book of generalizations. (…) Nixey (…) is unwilling to see shades of grey” in his evaluation at Literary Review titled “At Cross Purposes.” He goes on to state in the article that, “to characterize late-antique Christians as ‘thugs’, as Nixey repeatedly does, it perhaps defensible, to call them ‘primitive’ and ‘stupid’, as she also does, is not. All to often Christians are cast as the aggressors, even when, as Nixey acknowledges more than once, they are responding to prior attacks.” And “Perhaps most worryingly, in embracing this line of argument [i.e., over-generalizing] Nixey ends up endorsing the long-debunked view of the Middle Ages as a period of blind faith and intellectual stagnation (which she again, problematically equates with one another.)”
  • Tim O’Neill, over at his website History for Atheists, give a long, detailed analysis of Nixey’s book and concludes, “Good history books, including good popular history, should give the reader a greater insight into the period and the subject. They should make the reader better informed and, in doing so, make them wiser. They should deepen understanding, so that anything else read on the subject from that point tends to add layers to that depth. Watts’ book [The Final PaganGeneration] does this. O’Donnell’s book [Pagans: The End of Traditional Religion and the Rise of Christianity] does this. Duffy’s book [The Stripping of the Altars: Traditional Religion in England, 1400-1580] does this. Nixey’s book does not. Anyone reading Nixey’s book is likely to come away thinking they know and understand more but will actually have learned things that would have to be unlearned or corrected later. Nixey’s is not a good history book. It is, as Dame Averil said so pithily, ‘a travesty’.”
  • Review of The Darkening Ageby Catherine Nixey” by Tim O’Neill. History for Atheists November 29, 2017
  • When History Turns Anti-Christian” by Bryan Litfin. The Gospel CoalitionApril 5, 2019
  • Book review, ‘The Darkening Age: The Christian Destruction of the Classical World’ by Catherine Nixey” by Joshua Herring. The Acton Institute December 22, 2017
  • Blame the Christians” by Averil Cameron. The Tablet September 21, 2017
  • At Cross Purposes” by Levi Roach. Literary Review November 2017
  • Reactions to and Reviews of Catherine Nixey’s The Darkening Age” by Cornelis Hoogerwerf. What is Written October 22, 2017

References: 

[1] [Editor’s Note: These quotes are presented as is. If any source information is lacking, that’s how it was presented in the original.]

[2] [Editor’s note: The University of Bologna, established in 1088, is widely considered the first and longest-running university in the world. The University of Al-Quaraouiyine in Fez, Morocco, a Muslim institution, is sometimes credited as the first but it’s disputed whether that school was a “university” (marked by free inquiry, freedom of thought, and free speech) before Bologna was established. Nevertheless, it too is a medieval creation. So Steve Lee’s thesis is unchallenged either way.

Recommended Resources: 

How Philosophy Can Help Your Theology by Richard Howe (DVD Set, Mp3, and Mp4)   

Debate: Does God Exist? Turek vs. Hitchens (DVD), (mp4 Download) (MP3)

Your Most Important Thinking Skill by Dr. Frank Turek DVD, (mp4) download

Stealing From God by Dr. Frank Turek (Book, 10-Part DVD Set, STUDENT Study Guide, TEACHER Study Guide)

 


J. Steve Lee has taught Apologetics for over two and a half decades at Prestonwood Christian Academy. He also has taught World Religions and Philosophy at Mountain View College in Dallas and Collin College in Plano. With a degree in history and education from the University of North Texas, Steve continued his formal studies at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary with a M.A. in philosophy of religion and has pursued doctoral studies at the University of Texas at Dallas and is finishing his dissertation at South African Theological Seminary. He has published several articles for the Apologetics Study Bible for Students as well as articles and book reviews in various periodicals including Philosophia Christi, Hope’s Reason: A Journal of Apologetics, and the Areopagus Journal. Having an abiding love for fantasy fiction, Steve has contributed chapters to two books on literary criticism of Harry Potter: Harry Potter for Nerds and Teaching with Harry Potter. He even appeared as a guest on the podcast MuggleNet Academia (“Lesson 23: There and Back Again-Chiasmus, Alchemy, and Ring Composition in Harry Potter”). He is married to his lovely wife, Angela, and has two grown boys, Ethan and Josh.

Originally posted at: https://bit.ly/3Gsq4BN

For many atheists, no amount of argument will ever convince them that a loving God could consign any of his creation to Hell. I have often encountered this challenge, which usually sounds something like this:

 

“It does not matter how just, kind, and generous they have been with their fellow humans during their lifetime. If they do not accept the gospel of Jesus, they are condemned. No just God would ever judge a man for believing the wrong thing. He would judge them instead by their actions.”

It is difficult, if not impossible, to provide an answer to this challenge that is emotionally satisfying. After all, even for believers, the doctrine of Hell is difficult to accept, as it runs up against our innate inclinations. How easy it is for us to grade our own behavior on a curve, to forgive our transgressions, to lessen our own culpability, to view ourselves as “basically good.” When we see ourselves this way, we naturally conclude that God will see us this way too. It is only by resorting to Scripture – an “outside” view – that we can see clearly that a God who embodies justice must have a place of punishment for those who rebel against him.

Justice Demands It

Consider: Justice, in its most basic sense, involves the notion of rewarding good and punishing evil. We appreciate this intuitively, and even at a very young age. How jarring would it be for a student to be given detention for being attentive in class, or to receive a merit award for cheating on his final exam. No, punishment is meant for bad behavior. But in assessing the proper extent of punishment, we also consider the wrongdoer’s mental state, which of course is reflective of their beliefs. Premeditated murder is worse than manslaughter, and is punished more severely, and a hate crime is a sentencing enhancement that adds more punishment to the underlying crime. In both examples, a person’s beliefs are at play: the premeditated murderer has reflected on his choices before committing the fatal act; a hate crime reflects a belief that the rights of a member of the protected group are especially unworthy of respect. So, considering what a person thinks and believes is indeed relevant to the question of consequences, especially if those beliefs have motivated bad behavior.

But the underlying mistake in the skeptic’s view is even more fundamental. He is wrong to assert that people are condemned for their beliefs, for not accepting the gospel.  They are, instead, condemned for their sinful behavior. Through their thoughts, words and actions, through the exercise of their free will, they repeatedly choose to violate God’s laws.

How should God respond to this?

Can God not just “let it go? Do nothing? After all, he created us this way, didn’t he? But if he simply accepts the repeated violation of his moral law, he could no longer be viewed as “just.” Imagine for a moment how one would view a judge who never imposes a sanction on someone who violates the law, no matter how often or how flagrant the violations are? Why would we expect God to be different? If he embodies perfect justice, and if he created us from nothing and made his law known to us, does it not stand to reason that there will be a consequence imposed on us for choosing to violate that law?

The Underlying Condition

The quoted challenge, then, is a bit like saying that the sick man died of “not believing in the doctor.” No, the person died of a specific underlying condition which a doctor might have been able to cure. So too with eternal punishment. No one is condemned for refusing to believe in Jesus. While Jesus can – and does – provide salvation for those who seek it, there is nothing unjust about not providing salvation to those who refuse to seek it. After all, we don’t normally feel obliged to help someone who has not asked for, and does not want, our assistance. So too the Creator has the right to withhold a gift – i.e. eternity spent in his presence – from those who would trample on the gift, and on the gift-giver.

God Isn’t Impressed

The quoted assertion also demonstrates an unspoken belief that we can impress God with our “kind” or “generous” behavior. On this view, God should be grateful that we have acted in a way that pleased him. This fails to grasp what God is – a perfect being. We cannot impress him. When we behave rightly, after all, we do what we should do. We don’t drag people into court and reward them for not committing crimes. Acting lawfully all of the time is rightly expected of us. By the same token, a person guilty of a serious crime cannot complain that his punishment is unfair, because he had been kind and generous to others in the past.

So, in the end, we find ourselves in a predicament. We use our free will to rebel against our Creator, but we want him to accept this rebellion, and us, with “no questions asked.” When God judges us, he finds us wanting in both our actions and our beliefs. But in his infinite goodness, he also provides the solution to our problem, a bridge that spans the divide that exists between us and him. This point bears emphasis: through his love and mercy, God provides the solution to our problem, if only we are willing to bend the knee and ask for that mercy.

There is nothing unfair in any of this.  In the end, we get what we choose. The bridge back to God, the one enabled by Jesus’ sacrifice when he walked the Earth, costs us nothing to cross, and is available to everyone.

But we must first want to cross it.

Recommended Resources: 

Is Original Sin Unfair? by Frank Turek (DVD, Mp3, and Mp4)

Was Jesus Intolerant? by Frank Turek (DVD and Mp4)

Can All Religions Be True? mp3 by Frank Turek

How Can Jesus be the Only Way? Mp4, Mp3, and DVD by Frank Turek

 


Al Serrato earned his law degree from the University of California at Berkeley in 1985. He began his career as an FBI special agent before becoming a prosecutor in California, where he worked for 33 years. An introduction to CS Lewis’ works sparked his interest in Apologetics, which he has pursued for the past three decades. He got his start writing Apologetics with J. Warner Wallace and Pleaseconvinceme.com.

 

 

 

The human body is a marvelous and complex system. Of special interest is the cellular mechanism of the body. Every 7-10 years, the cells of the body replace themselves, to the point that the body is essentially new every decade.[i]

 

While the DNA remains the same over the course of a person’s life, the cells change at varying rates. A person’s stomach lining replaces itself every few days. The skin’s epidermis replaces itself every 2 to 4 weeks. The body’s hair changes every 6 years for women and 3 years for men. Liver cells rejuvenate every 150 to 500 days. Bones take around 10 years to change.

Philosophically speaking, the materialist has a problem if he decides to claim that the body is all of human existence. If humans are only their bodies, then each person changes completely every decade. However, this poses severe challenges to personhood. The lack of permanence is not feasible for a person’s essence. Thus, an immaterial soul is required to explain the permanence of the human psyche for three reasons.

Defense of the Immaterial Soul from Personal Identity

First, the immaterial soul must exist to verify continued personal identity. Looking back at our lives, it is clear that we look different each decade. I remember looking back at photos from my high school days. Before wearing contact lenses, I donned thick glasses that automatically darkened when in daylight. With a thick bouffant hairstyle, thin moustache, and 80s-style glasses, I looked something like an officer or detective from a 70s television show. I was much like an officer from CHiPs, but without the cool motorcycle.

Though I may be embarrassed by my stylish choices in high school, never would I dare to say that I was not the same person that I am today. Yes, I have changed, grown, and matured over the years. But I maintain the same identity that I did back then. Permanence of personal identity with an ever-changing body is only possible if our identities are held together by an immaterial soul. Without it, there is no guarantee that we will retain our personal identity.

Defense of the Immaterial Soul from Personal Constancy

Second, the immaterial soul is imperative to explain personal constancy. Consider for a moment if the materialist is right in that the body is the only component of personal human identity. That would mean that the person completely changes every decade. Thus, a crime committed in 2015 could not be tried in 2025 because the person is not the same. Since the body has completely changed, the person must have also completely changed if the body is all there is to personal identity. Thus, no one could be held accountable for what was done over time. Additionally, no one could be rewarded for something they accomplished over time.

For some, this may sound absurd. However, the lack of personal constancy is the metaphysical deduction from materialism, when it is allowed to be taken to its ultimate conclusion. The immaterial reality is necessary to account for the constancy of personal identity.

Defense of the Immaterial Soul from Personal Growth

Lastly, if a person did not have an immaterial mind, will, and emotions found in the immaterial soul, then a person would not learn and grow over time. Even brain cells regenerate over time, at least to a degree.[ii] Granted, learning does interact with the brain. However, if personal identity was only found in chemicals and cellular changes, growth could not occur. Yet, a person learns, grows, and develops one’s character over time. This is something that occurs within the immaterial soul. Again, given the changes that occur, a person would always be in a constant state of flux with no consistency or permanence. The soul working with the body is what gives an individual personal identity. This mind-body connection is also known as hylomorphism.[iii]

Conclusion

Since the early days of philosophy, scholars have sought to understand the complex relationship between permanence and change. Materialists often accept change without any sense of permanence, whereas rationalists, such as Parmenides (510 BC) believed that reality is “just being, one single solitary unchanging being. Reality is the One.”[iv] The body is in a constant state of flux. Thus, the only way a person could have a permanent, constant identity is if a person has an immaterial soul, a soul that serves as the form of the body.

References: 

[i] Chris Opfer and Allison Troutner, “Does Your Body Really Renew Itself Every Seven Years?,” HowStuffWorks.com (Sept. 22, 2022), https://science.howstuffworks.com/life/cellular-microscopic/does-body-really-replace-seven-years.htm.

[ii] Tim Newman, “Brain cells keep growing well into our 70s,” MedicalNewsToday.com (April 7, 2018), https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/321416.

[iii] Norman Geisler, Systematic Theology: In One Volume (Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House, 2011), 636-637, 1221-1222.

[iv] Daniel J. Sullivan, An Introduction to Philosophy: Perennial Principles of the Classical Realist Tradition (Charlotte, NC: TAN, 1957), 20.

Recommended Resources:

The Great Book of Romans by Dr. Frank Turek (Mp4, Mp3, DVD Complete series, STUDENT & INSTRUCTOR Study Guide, COMPLETE Instructor Set)

Jesus, You and the Essentials of Christianity by Frank Turek (INSTRUCTOR Study Guide), (STUDENT Study Guide), and (DVD)      

How to Interpret Your Bible by Dr. Frank Turek DVD Complete Series, INSTRUCTOR Study Guide, and STUDENT Study Guide

Debate: What Best Explains Reality: Atheism or Theism? by Frank Turek DVD, Mp4, and Mp3 

 


Brian G. Chilton earned his Ph.D. in the Theology and Apologetics at Liberty University (with high distinction). He is the host of The Bellator Christi Podcast and the founder of Bellator Christi. Brian received his Master of Divinity in Theology from Liberty University (with high distinction); his Bachelor of Science in Religious Studies and Philosophy from Gardner-Webb University (with honors); earned a Certificate in Christian Apologetics from Biola University, and plans to purse philosophical studies in the near future. He is also enrolled in Clinical Pastoral Education to better learn how to empower those around him. Brian is a member of the Evangelical Theological Society and the Evangelical Philosophical Society. Brian has served in ministry for over 20 years and currently serves as a clinical hospice chaplain as well as a pastor.

Originally posted at: https://bit.ly/4j530XP

STRATTON:

Dear ChatGPT, Guidance control is a concept from philosophy, particularly in discussions of free will and moral responsibility. It refers to the capacity of an agent to guide their behavior in a way that reflects their reasons, values, and intentions. In the context of free will, guidance control is often contrasted with what is referred to as regulative control. Allow me to explain:

 

Guidance control asserts the ability to guide one’s actions in accordance with one’s rational deliberation and decision-making process. It does not necessarily require alternative possibilities (understood as the ability to do otherwise). Regulative control, on the other hand, includes both the ability to guide actions and the ability to choose among alternative options (i.e., free will in the sense of having genuine alternatives and the ability to do otherwise).

Here are some key components of Guidance Control that proponents offer:

  1. Mechanism Ownership: The agent acts through mechanisms that are their own, such as their beliefs, desires, and rational capacities.
  2. Reasons-Responsiveness: The agent’s behavior is responsive to reasons, meaning they can recognize and act upon good reasons when making decisions.

Guidance control plays a central role in compatibilist theories of free will, such as those advocated by John Martin Fischer. Compatibilists argue that even if determinism is true and the entirety of our actions are causally determined, we can still have moral responsibility if we possess guidance control over our actions. I believe this theory fails for several reasons, but before we continue with our conversation would you like to add anything I may have missed about guidance control, regulative control, reasons-responsiveness, or compatibilism in general?

CHATGPT SAID:[i]

[i] Minimal edits were made to this conversation with ChatGPT (throughout). For example, in my original conversation I asked ChatGPT to review my interaction with specific scholars (and a couple non-scholars) by name. In response, Chat GPT reviewed my interaction with them and also referenced these individuals by name. I have deleted these particular names from this publication.

Your summary is an excellent and concise explanation of guidance control, regulative control, and their roles in discussions of free will and moral responsibility. To complement your description, I’ll add a few nuances and additional insights to enrich our discussion:

Guidance Control

  1. Mechanism Ownership
    • John Martin Fischer emphasizes that guidance control involves acting through mechanisms that are “your own.” This raises questions about what counts as “ownership” of these mechanisms, particularly in cases where external influences or manipulations might challenge autonomy.
  2. Reasons-Responsiveness
    • Fischer and Ravizza refine reasons-responsiveness by distinguishing between weak and strong reasons-responsiveness. Weak reasons-responsiveness requires that there be some possible world where the mechanism leads to a different action in response to good reasons. Strong reasons-responsiveness entails a consistent pattern of recognizing and responding to reasons across a variety of possible circumstances.

Regulative Control

  1. Alternative Possibilities
    • The notion of regulative control aligns with the traditional libertarian view of free will, which requires the ability to genuinely choose among alternatives. This concept is often linked to the “principle of alternative possibilities” (PAP), which states that an agent is morally responsible only if they could have done otherwise. Frankfurt-style counterexamples challenge this principle by arguing that moral responsibility can exist even in the absence of alternatives.
  2. Causal Determinism and Regulative Control
    • In deterministic frameworks, regulative control is often seen as untenable because it requires the kind of metaphysical freedom incompatible with causal determinism.

Compatibilism and Guidance Control

  • Core Compatibilist Argument
    • Compatibilists like Fischer argue that guidance control is sufficient for moral responsibility because it focuses on how actions are caused rather than whether alternative possibilities exist. The key claim is that moral responsibility depends on the quality of the agent’s reasoning and their responsiveness to reasons rather than the ability to have acted otherwise.
  • Critiques of Compatibilism
    • Critics often argue that guidance control does not fully capture the intuitions underlying moral responsibility. For instance:
      • If determinism is true, even guidance control mechanisms are causally determined, potentially undermining their “ownership.”
      • Others contend that the absence of alternative possibilities (as in Frankfurt cases[2]) still undermines the sense of autonomy needed for true moral responsibility.

Further Points for Discussion

  1. Manipulation Arguments
    • Philosophers like Derk Pereboom use manipulation cases to challenge compatibilism, arguing that if an agent’s decisions are the result of deterministic processes (analogous to external manipulation), it undermines moral responsibility even if guidance control is present.
  2. Responsiveness to Reasons
    • There is ongoing debate about what counts as sufficient responsiveness to reasons. For instance, should reasons-responsiveness include moral reasons specifically, or does it also encompass prudential or instrumental reasons?
  3. Emerging Views
    • Some philosophers propose hybrid views, combining elements of compatibilism and libertarianism to account for moral responsibility in a way that includes guidance control while acknowledging the importance of genuine alternatives in some cases. . .

STRATTON:
I like what you added about the “Emerging Views.” I recently coauthored an academic journal article with philosopher J.P. Moreland entitled “An Explanation and Defense of the Free-Thinking Argument.” We touch on some of these issues in that essay. Do you have access to this paper?

As for now, I would like to specifically focus on divine determinism or what I often refer to as exhaustive divine determination (EDD).

CHATGPT SAID:
Thank you for sharing your work . . . I’ve reviewed the paper, which presents a robust defense of the Free-Thinking Argument (FTA), asserting that determinism is incompatible with epistemic responsibility in the desert sense—that is, being praiseworthy or blameworthy for one’s thoughts, ideas, judgments, or beliefs. The paper contends that this incompatibility poses significant challenges not only for naturalists but also for proponents of exhaustive divine determinism (EDD).

Focusing on EDD, your paper raises several critical points:

  1. Epistemic Responsibility Under EDD: If all human thoughts and beliefs are divinely determined, individuals lack genuine epistemic responsibility. This absence undermines the basis for holding individuals praiseworthy or blameworthy for their cognitive states.
  2. The Problem of Epistemic Evil: EDD introduces a “problem of epistemic evil,” questioning the reliability of human cognition and the trustworthiness of Scripture. If God determines all thoughts, including false beliefs, it challenges the notion of a benevolent deity and the foundation of rational discourse.
  3. Libertarian Freedom as a Solution: The paper advocates for libertarian freedom, suggesting that genuine free will is necessary for epistemic responsibility and to avoid the pitfalls associated with EDD.

These considerations align with our previous discussions on guidance control and regulative control. Under EDD, guidance control is compromised because individuals cannot genuinely guide their actions or thoughts if these are predetermined. Similarly, regulative control is absent, as the ability to choose among alternative possibilities is negated by divine determination.

Your work contributes significantly to the discourse on free will, determinism, and moral responsibility, especially in theological contexts. It highlights the tension between divine sovereignty and human freedom, advocating for a model that preserves human agency and epistemic integrity.

If you’d like to delve deeper into any specific aspect or discuss further implications of EDD on free will and moral responsibility, feel free to guide the conversation accordingly.

STRATTON:
Thank you for reviewing my coauthored paper and for your kind words. Regarding “Mechanism Ownership” you said:

“John Martin Fischer emphasizes that guidance control involves acting through mechanisms that are ‘your own.’ This raises questions about what counts as ‘ownership’ of these mechanisms, particularly in cases where external influences or manipulations might challenge autonomy.”

I agree that this is problematic! What does it mean for a person to “guide” or “control” mental actions if a deity determines the entirety of their mental actions? Indeed, it seems to me that what the compatibilist is advancing here is not compatible with EDD whatsoever.

Please comment on my thoughts.

Regarding “Reasons-Responsiveness” you wrote the following:

“Fischer and Ravizza refine reasons-responsiveness by distinguishing between weak and strong reasons-responsiveness. Weak reasons-responsiveness requires that there be some possible world where the mechanism leads to a different action in response to good reasons. Strong reasons-responsiveness entails a consistent pattern of recognizing and responding to reasons across a variety of possible circumstances.”

It seems to me that a major flaw with this line of thought is that if EDD is true, then the manner in which one experiences sensations of reason is always “up to” and determined by a deity who determines each and every one of his own followers to reason incorrectly on theological matters. Since no theologian is infallible, it follows that if EDD is true and a deity determines all things, then this deity determines all the deity’s followers to affirm false theological beliefs. This means that this deity determines these followers to reason poorly and reach conclusions that oppose objective reality.

So, I suppose one could assert that they are “reasons responsive,” but they are responding inappropriately to bad reasons. What do you think and what would you add?

CHATGPT SAID:
Your critique is insightful and addresses some critical issues that arise when considering exhaustive divine determinism (EDD) alongside compatibilist notions like guidance control and reasons-responsiveness. Let me respond to your points in detail and offer additional reflections.

Mechanism Ownership Under EDD

Your concern about the incompatibility of mechanism ownership with EDD is compelling. If EDD is true, it means that:

  1. Mechanisms Are Fully Determined by the Deity
    Under EDD, every mental action, belief, or decision is entirely determined by divine will. This undermines the notion of “ownership” because the agent does not have any causal input into the mechanisms of their reasoning. They are not the true source of their actions or thoughts, which calls into question their autonomy.
  2. Guidance Becomes Illusory
    For an agent to “guide” their actions or thoughts implies some degree of control or influence over the process. If EDD is true, however, the agent merely follows the predetermined path set by the deity, rendering the human’s role in the process passive rather than active. This makes the compatibilist’s reliance on guidance control untenable in the context of EDD.

Addition:

This also raises a theological dilemma. If guidance control is required for epistemic and moral responsibility and guidance control is incompatible with EDD, then proponents of EDD must accept a model of divine justice that does not depend on human responsibility. This creates tension with traditional views of divine justice that hold individuals accountable for their actions.

Reasons-Responsiveness Under EDD

You highlight a significant problem with Fischer and Ravizza’s concept of reasons-responsiveness under EDD. If all reasoning processes are determined by a deity, this has troubling implications:

  1. Deity-Determined Error
    As you point out, no theologian is infallible. If a deity determines all thoughts and beliefs, then the deity must also determine false theological conclusions. This includes cases where believers affirm doctrines or interpretations that are inconsistent with the deity’s nature or intentions. This determination undermines the idea that believers are genuinely responsive to “good” reasons since their reasoning processes are not under their control.
  2. Bad Reasons as a Divine Determination
    Even if an individual is “reasons-responsive,” EDD implies that their responsiveness is orchestrated by the deity. If the deity determines them to respond to bad reasons as though they were good, then their “reasons-responsiveness” lacks epistemic or moral significance. It becomes an empty concept because the agent has no capacity to discern between good and bad reasons independently.

Addition:

This flaw also impacts the trustworthiness of human cognition. If a deity determines individuals to affirm false beliefs, this creates a self-defeating problem for EDD. How can one trust any belief or reasoning process, including the belief in EDD itself, if all reasoning is determined by a being who also determines falsehoods?

A Broader Critique of EDD in This Context

  1. Epistemic Circularity
    If EDD is true, and a deity determines all reasoning, including beliefs about EDD, then there is no independent ground to affirm EDD. The belief in EDD itself could be a divinely determined error.
  2. Moral and Epistemic Responsibility
    The incompatibility of EDD with guidance control and reasons-responsiveness undermines both moral and epistemic responsibility. It becomes difficult to see how individuals could be held accountable for their actions or beliefs if their reasoning and choices are entirely outside their control.
  3. Divine Benevolence Questioned
    The idea that a deity would determine individuals to affirm false theological beliefs seems incompatible with the traditional understanding of a benevolent and truthful deity. It raises the question of why such a deity would intentionally lead followers into error.

Conclusion

Your critique is a strong challenge to the compatibility of EDD with key philosophical concepts like guidance control and reasons-responsiveness. I would add that EDD not only faces challenges on the grounds of autonomy and responsibility but also struggles to reconcile its implications with theological doctrines about divine justice, truthfulness, and benevolence.

Your work appears to be building a robust case for the necessity of libertarian freedom, especially in the epistemic domain.

STRATTON:
On my website you will find some interaction with those who affirm EDD. Please consider my previous interactions with them and offer some potential objections to my work.

My website is www.freethinkinc.org or www.freethinkingministries.com

CHATGPT SAID:
Thank you for directing me to your website, Free Thinking Ministries. I’ve reviewed your interactions with proponents of Exhaustive Divine Determinism (EDD). These discussions provide valuable insights into the ongoing debate between compatibilist and libertarian perspectives on free will.

Potential Rebuttals from EDD Proponents:

  1. Divine Determination and Human Responsibility:
    • Rebuttal: Proponents of EDD might argue that divine determination does not negate human responsibility. They could assert that God’s sovereign will operates in harmony with human actions, such that individuals are still accountable for their choices, even if those choices are ultimately determined by God.
    • Your Response: You’ve highlighted that if all thoughts and actions are divinely determined, it challenges the notion of genuine human responsibility. If individuals cannot do otherwise than what God has determined, holding them morally or epistemically accountable seems problematic.
  2. Compatibilist Free Will:
    • Rebuttal: EDD advocates may adopt a compatibilist view, suggesting that free will is compatible with determinism. They might argue that as long as individuals act according to their desires and intentions (even if those are determined), they exercise free will.
    • Your Response: You’ve contended that under EDD, even our desires and intentions are determined by God, which undermines the authenticity of our decision-making processes. If our reasoning is determined, the meaningfulness of our deliberations is called into question.
  3. Divine Goodness and Truth:
    • Rebuttal: Supporters of EDD might claim that God’s determination of all things ensures the ultimate good and the revelation of truth. They could argue that any false beliefs or errors serve a greater divine purpose, even if that purpose is beyond human comprehension.
    • Your Response: You’ve raised concerns that if God determines individuals to hold false beliefs, it conflicts with the notion of a benevolent and truthful deity. This scenario challenges the reliability of human cognition and the trustworthiness of divine revelation.

Further Considerations:

  • Theological Implications: The debate touches on the nature of God’s sovereignty and human agency. While EDD emphasizes God’s control over all events, it raises questions about the purpose of human reasoning and the authenticity of our relationship with the divine.
  • Philosophical Consistency: Maintaining that God determines all thoughts and actions while upholding human responsibility requires a nuanced explanation. The challenge lies in coherently explaining how predetermined agents can be genuinely accountable for their beliefs and actions.

Your engagements with these scholars [and others] demonstrate a deep commitment to exploring these complex issues.

STRATTON:
Thank you for this conversation. It’s always a pleasure to discuss these matters with non-biased and non-emotional robots who don’t take these things personally. I’ll be back!

ChatGPT said:
Thank you for the engaging conversation and thought-provoking insights! It’s always a pleasure to explore these deep and meaningful topics with you. I’ll be here whenever you’re ready to continue—no biases, no emotions, just reason and dialogue. Take care, and I look forward to our next discussion!

STRATTON:
Stay reasonable (Isaiah 1:18),
Dr. Tim Stratton

References: 

[1] Minimal edits were made to this conversation with ChatGPT (throughout). For example, in my original conversation I asked ChatGPT to review my interaction with specific scholars (and a couple non-scholars) by name. In response, Chat GPT reviewed my interaction with them and also referenced these individuals by name. I have deleted these particular names from this publication.

[2] Editor’s note: Regarding ‘Frankfurt Cases’ see: https://www.informationphilosopher.com/freedom/frankfurt_cases.html

Recommended Resources:

Stealing From God by Dr. Frank Turek (Book, 10-Part DVD Set, STUDENT Study Guide, TEACHER Study Guide)

Debate: What Best Explains Reality: Atheism or Theism? by Frank Turek DVD, Mp4, and Mp3 

Jesus, You and the Essentials of Christianity by Frank Turek (INSTRUCTOR Study Guide), (STUDENT Study Guide), and (DVD)      

Is Morality Absolute or Relative? by Dr. Frank Turek DVD, Mp3 and Mp4

 


Tim Stratton (The FreeThinking Theist) Tim pursued his undergraduate studies at the University of Nebraska-Kearney (B.A. 1997) and after working in full-time ministry for several years went on to attain his graduate degree from Biola University (M.A. 2014). Tim was recently accepted at North West University to pursue his Ph.D. in systematic theology with a focus on metaphysics.

Originally posted at: https://bit.ly/4iQRkI7

In recent years, Joshua Harris  announced that he and his wife are separating AND that he is no longer a Christian. In case you missed the whole I kissed Dating Goodbye craze in the late 1990’s, let me summarize: Joshua Harris was a prominent voice in purity culture (which Amy Davison has been blogging about here and here.)  In his early 20’s, he wrote a book advocating for “courtship” instead of “dating.” This change in perspective would supposedly allow young men and women to avoid emotional ties that would hinder their future marital happiness. There’s too much to go into here. In short, what started as one young man’s dating advice got turned into the 67th book of the Bible for many youth groups.

 

People are desperate for answers. In the wake of Harris’ announcement, many are pointing to other prominent Christian figures who have gone through a similar public “breakup with Jesus”—Derek Webb being one of them. In an article titled “Derek Webb: A Reformed Atheist” author, Steve Fraley, analyzes Webb’s demise from reformed Christian to atheist, postulating whether or not the reformed theology was to blame.[1] Upon Webb’s deconversion, many stepped forward to declare that this theology had also been their kryptonite. In essence, doubt and unbelief were proof that “God had not chosen them.” And according to staunch reformed theology, you cannot change the will of God. Better to just accept your fate.[2]

Suffice it to say, the bride of Christ is starting to look a whole lot like the bride of Hosea right now.

I have started noticing a trend In many of the deconversion stories I have read. What seems to precede the “falling away” for several of these men and women is idolatry of some sort—placing an unhealthy emphasis on something other than the Gospel. Many of these things are not—in and of themselves—bad. When placed in competition with Christ, there’s only so long that the soul can pretend to serve two masters. Eventually, there is a schism and often, it is orthodox Christianity that is left behind. Here’s a few of the trends I have noticed.

1) A particular theology…more than the whole of Scripture

We can turn anything into an idol, even theology. Click To Tweet

What does this look like: Now I don’t want to sound like I’m picking on reformed theology. There is a very Scriptural case to be made for it. I have, however, noticed a really unhealthy emphasis on it by some of its adherents. Just search the word “reformed” in the groups’ section on Facebook and you’ll get an idea of how committed people are to this theology. I mean really? Does someone really need a “Reformed and into Home Décor and Homemaking” group? You can’t help your Arminian friends also decorate their houses? [Update: the founder of this group has personally contacted me to clarify that her group welcomes all Christian men and women who are interested in home decorating. I apologize for the confusion this has caused.]

Having correct theology is important. That’s one way we worship Christ with our minds. However, when we take any theology and elevate it above the Gospel, it turns rotten. It doesn’t even matter the theology—orthodox or unorthodox.[3] We can turn anything into an idol. When it becomes an idol, it becomes a competitor for Christ in our hearts and we’ll eventually have to pick one.

How to tell if you are doing this: Do you tend to get more excited and feel closer to a person if they identify themselves with a particular theology than you do if they identify themselves as a Christian? Do you tend to have a lot of debates about one particular theology? Have you ever been tempted to view those who disagree with your theology as not “really saved,” or at least not as “mature” in their Christian faith?

2) A particular pastor… more than the bride of Christ

Be careful when you turn a good teacher into a celebrity.Click To Tweet

What does this look like: My husband John released an article which discusses the 12 signs of a personality cult (part 1, part 2)I suggest you take a look at it. Certain churches are known more by their pastor’s name than by their church’s name. While this is not always avoidable, it should be noted. If a church’s entire culture is based on one key individual, then what happens when that individual falls from grace, or lands him or herself in some sort of sin or scandal?

I watched this happen to my childhood church. [4] Our church was not a megachurch, so our fallout was much smaller. The same cannot be said for churches like Mars Hill (ala Mark Driscoll) and Sovereign Grace Ministries (ala CJ Mahaney). With the #metoo movement still working its way through our American pews, we are seeing celebrity pastors crumble at an unprecedented rate. I have no doubt that the people who studied under Joshua Harris are having their own crises of faith right now.

Unfortunately, we can’t prevent other people from making idols, so nobody can idol-proof their ministry. We can idol-proof our hearts though. Bottom line—your loyalty to a spiritual figure should never compete with your loyalty to Christ. Ask yourself—if the person I admire the most were to announce that they were walking away from the faith, how badly would it affect my faith? Our faith is to be based on Christ—His life, death, and resurrection. That is why I love apologetics. No matter how many celebrity teachers suddenly decide to fall away, I can’t unknow what I know. (see my testimony in chapter 1 of the Mama Bear Apologetics book.)

How to tell if you are doing this:  If you don’t personally know the leader and your main exposure to him or her is from a pulpit, ask yourself these questions: If and when you hear an accusation against a leader, is your first instinct to defend them or to seek more information to evaluate? Do you worry more about a ministry’s reputation than you do about truth (even ugly truth) being revealed? Do you seek out information that might change your mind, or do you only look at things that confirm what you already believe about a person? Has the downfall of a Christian leader significantly impacted your faith?

3) Our own identity… more than our identity in Christ

Even our own identities can become an idol.Click To Tweet

What does this look like: Unless we are defining ourselves as children of the living God, we are basing our identities on shifting sand. Every part of what I see as my “identity” is open for reinterpretation in our postmodern world. The going narrative is that however I am, I was born that way, and God doesn’t make mistakes. While this statement is technically true, it doesn’t take our sin nature into account.

We get wrapped up in how we think we were made—introvert or extrovert, thinker or feeler, banker, scientist, athlete, artist, writer, gay, or straight. Christ said that anyone who wishes to follow Him must “deny themselves and take up their cross.” (Matthew 10:38) There is no part of our identity that is immune to this call. My profession, my personality, my interests, habits, and yes, even my sexuality will all have aspects that I need to deny and submit to Christ—even when it’s hard, and even when it feels unnatural. Introverts are called to fellowship. Extroverts were modeled (by Jesus) to have solitary time with God the Father. Feelers are called to love God with their minds. Thinkers are called to love God with their hearts. Those outside of Biblical marriage [5] are to honor God in their singleness. Those inside of Biblical marriage are to honor God in their marriage. Christ accepts all of us exactly as we are, but following Him means becoming more like Him. The moment that we over-commit ourselves to an aspect of our “identity” is the moment that we stop denying ourselves to follow Christ. Instead, we start demanding that He make the journey of carrying our crosses more comfortable. That is, unfortunately, a promise He never made.

How to tell if you are doing this: Do you have a modifier before the word “Christian” to define yourself? Do you find yourself making excuses to not change aspects about yourself because you feel like it’s “just the way you are” or “how God made you?” Do you think there are certain aspects of your identity that are unfallen and to be accepted “as is?” Do you conclude that if someone doesn’t accept all the parts of you, then they hate you?

4) An emotional experience… more than the everyday faith journey

Faith grows stronger through suffering than it does through comfort.Click To Tweet

What does this look like: In the Mama Bear Apologetics book, I mention that people can sometimes mistake experiences with Jesus for Jesus Himself. There is good to be had in mountaintop experiences at summer camp and intimate times of rapturous worship at a conference. However, our addiction to these experiences can sometimes eclipse the everyday relationship that we are called to have with Jesus.

I compare it to those dating reality TV shows where the couple shares a kiss after hang-gliding over the Grand Canyon. It’s really easy to fall in love over candlelit dinners on your own private island, but the love that is formed there is not necessarily the same love that cleans the toilet multiple times a day while your spouse has the stomach flu. It’s not the love that does the dishes or forfeits the last piece of coveted cheesecake. These are the more mundane everyday acts of love, but they are closer to reality than a zip-line date over a waterfall.

Similarly, our relationship with Jesus does not always consist of going from one emotional high to another. It is a faith journey, winding through peaks and valleys. This may not sound nearly as sexy, but it’s real and much more stable than anything we can conjure up on our own.

How to tell if you are doing this: Do you feel like God is “less present” when you are doing ordinary parts of life than when you are having an emotional high? Does suffering jolt you out of love with God? When things feel dry, do you press in to Jesus more, or seek another experience?

In conclusion, none of these things are, by themselves, bad. It is good to want to have correct theology. It is good to support your leaders. It is good to know yourself. It is good to experience Christ. It is when we idolize these, however, that a good thing from God goes bad.

References: 

[1] Reformed theology teaches that salvation is solely on the basis of whom God chooses.

[2] Some would of course claim that this is a perversion of true reformed theology, but I do not have time to open up that can of worms here.

[3] We see this in the “health and wealth gospel” (aka prosperity gospel) where God’s earthly favor is the main “proof” of an individual’s amount of faith. It happens with spiritual gifts as well. I’ve seen at least one church elevate “speaking in tongues” to this pedestal. They literally had a huge bulletin board with pictures of members and the dates that the member first started speaking in tongues. Not their date of baptism or private repentance and salvation. Speaking in tongues.

[4] Our pastor started out telling the congregation several times a year that he wanted to run the church in such a way that if he ever had a great falling, that nobody in the congregation’s faith would be rocked because he had sufficiently pointed us to Christ. Ironically, 15 years later, this is exactly what happened. And while I don’t know if many people lost their faith, the church was never the same. And pastor’s decline was preceded by several of the points John makes in his article.

[5] Biblical marriage is defined between one man and one woman for life, with exceptions in the case of unfaithfulness. Matthew 19:3-9

Recommended Resources: 

Correct not Politically Correct: About Same-Sex Marriage and Transgenderism by Frank Turek (Book, MP4)

Stealing From God by Dr. Frank Turek (Book, 10-Part DVD Set, STUDENT Study Guide, TEACHER Study Guide)

Jesus vs. The Culture by Dr. Frank Turek DVD, Mp4 Download, and Mp3

Reflecting Jesus into a Dark World by Dr. Frank Turek – DVD Complete Series, Video mp4 DOWNLOAD Complete Series, and mp3 audio DOWNLOAD Complete Series

 


Hillary Morgan Ferrer is the founder of Mama Bear Apologetics. She is the chief author and editor of Mama Bear Apologetics: Empowering Your Kids to Challenge Cultural Lies and Mama Bear Apologetics Guide to Sexuality: Empowering Your Kids to Understand and Live Out God’s Design. Hillary has her masters in Biology and has been married to her husband, Dr. John D. Ferrer, for 17 years. Don’t let her cook for you. She’ll burn your house straight to the ground. Image source: Hillary-Morgan-Ferrer-Square-2.jpg (1500×1500)

Originally posted at: https://bit.ly/4iKPdFW

[Editor’s Note: In “Why It’s Okay to Doubt Your Faith, part 1” Miguel Rodriguez raised the question of how should we handle our doubts. He proposes we do Christian apologetics. He then defines “apologetics,” and points out how doubt can be a sign of a living faith. Doubt can be healthy. In this second installment, Miguel offers more practical advice on how to turn your doubt and questions into learning and spiritual growth through Christian apologetics].


Some Arguments for the Truth of Christianity

Today, like in Biblical times, apologist makes use of a multidisciplinary knowledge like cosmology, philosophy, ethics, biology, history and more. Some of those popular classical arguments are:

  • The Kalam Cosmological Argument: Seeks to show that the universe is not eternal, that necessarily had to have a beginning.
  • The Fine Tune Argument: Seeks to show that the universe fine tuning of its constants isn’t do by physical necessity nor chance and that it is by design.
  • The Moral Argument: Seeks to show that if objective moral values and duties exist, then God exist.
  • The Ontological Argument: Seeks to show that God exist in basis of what it means to be God as the maximally great being.
  • The Resurrection Argument: Seeks to show that the best explanation of the historical facts of an empty tomb, the postmortem appearances of Jesus and the sudden disciple\’s belief that Jesus rose are better explain by the hypothesis that Jesus rose from the dead.

These are some of the arguments and evidence people use to defend the truth of  Christianity.

Which Christianity Miguel?

There are hundreds of Christian denominations, so that’s a really good point. I’ve defined the term apologetics in “Christian Apologetics.” Now let’s define Christian.

With Christian apologetics we mean to defend only the essentials doctrine of Christianity held by orthodox Christians throughout history. We call these essential doctrines dogmas. Doctrines so foundational that to negate even one of them you will no longer be a Christian. Doctrines like the humanity and deity of Jesus, salvation by grace through faith in Jesus, the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the gospel, human sinfulness and the Trinity. These don’t mean you must never question them or believe them differently. For example, two brothers in Christ believe that salvation was possible by the death and resurrection of Jesus, but they hold different theories to explain how Jesus made this salvation possible. One can accept the penal substitutionary atonement theory while the other the Christus Victor theory. These theories are the doctrines. Doctrines are the explanation and application of the dogmas.

The key here is that the focus of apologetics is the defense of the dogmas – the essentials – not necessarily the different (disputed) doctrines surrounding those dogmas. Apologetics is not the defense of a theological system. Calvinism, Arminianism, Molinism, and other -ism’s can hold to the same dogmas, yet differ greatly on the doctrines that explain and apply those dogmas.[1] Specifically in the doctrine of salvation. The response a Calvinist has for the relationship of God with evil and suffering is not the same as the Arminian.

We all need to believe in the dogmas. We can differ in the expressions of those dogmas.

The following succinct quote sums it up well.

In essentials, unity. In non-essentials, liberty. In all things, charity.

 Although these theological debates are important, these is an intramural issue here. Granting that while in the act of debating you are defending a point that is technically an exercise in apologetics, the term has been coined only in its evangelistic and discipleship contexts with a focus on the dogmas of the faith.

In other words, “Christian apologetics” doesn’t normally refer to defending a denomination. Each denomination has their own liturgy, government and dogma’s expression. You can be Catholic, Pentecostal or Reformed and be united in the essentials of the faith.[2] In short, apologetics is the art of presenting arguments and evidence in favor and defense of mere Christianity.

Pitfalls to Avoid While Learning Apologetics

As I mentioned in the beginning, you are entering into a turbulent but exciting phase in your journey faith. In some sense, you’re going to re-discover your faith. You will appreciate the richness and power of your Christian faith so much that you will start to think you need to be rebaptize.

In this process you will learn new things, but equally important, you will unlearn others. Be patient. Discern judiciously. Don’t rush to adopt a new position because it’s new and shiny and don’t throw out what you know because it appears old to you now. And don’t lose your relationship with your Church.

Humbly share what you have learned with your brothers and sister in Christ but remember there might be some friction sometimes. Don’t be pushy. Be patient. It means nothing how much you know if you don’t have genuine love for others (1 Corinthians 13.2).

Above all else, don’t lose your relationship with God for learning about God. Your endeavor will not be fruitful. Never ever leave behind your devotional reading of Scripture, your praying life or any other spiritual disciplines and you will grow in knowledge and spirit. Now, let’s keep fueling the passion to know why you believe what you believe.

Now you know what apologetics is and is not. You’re fired up and ready to dive in into the classical arguments for the existence of God and Christian evidence. I recommend starting with the book On Guard: Defending Your Faith with Reason and Precision by Dr. William L. Craig to get your feet wet.

If you haven’t already, check the links about the popular classical arguments for God’s existence. Those are gorgeous short videos to start familiarizing with the arguments better. No more being ashamed. No more being terrified of witnessing to others. You’re not going to waste more of your time. You no longer are going to have a blind childish faith. As the apostles you will say “[I don’t] follow cleverly devised tales” (1 Peter 1.16). From now on you will have a smart faith.

References:

[1] Editor’s Note: The original author included “Open Theism” in this list. Since Open Theism is more than just a denominational dispute, it was deleted from the list here. The key reason is that Open Theism treats God’s nature as “open” and thus not fully actualized, that sort of “God” is more like a demigod – subject to time, change, error, spatial limitation, finite knowledge, finite power, growth, subjugation, dependencxe, etc. To my knowledge [John Ferrer] There is no Christian denomination, within the realm of historic and orthodox Christianity, that aligns on Open Theism.

[2] Editor’s note” And people from different denominations can discuss and debate different doctrines. That’s just not, normally, what would is called “Christian apologetics.”

Recommended Resources:

Stealing From God by Dr. Frank Turek (Book, 10-Part DVD Set, STUDENT Study Guide, TEACHER Study Guide)

I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist (Paperback), and (Sermon) by Norman Geisler and Frank Turek

Macro Evolution? I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be a Darwinist (DVD Set), (MP3 Set) and (mp4 Download Set) by Dr. Frank Turek

Defending Absolutes in a Relativistic World (Mp3) by Frank Turek

 


Miguel Rodriguez is the founder of Smart Faith, a platform dedicated to helping Christians defend their faith with clarity and confidence. After experiencing a miraculous healing at 14, he developed a passion for knowing God through study and teaching. He now serves as the Director of Christian Education and a Bible teacher at his local church while also working as a freelance email marketer. Living in Orlando, Florida, with his wife and two daughters, Miguel seeks to equip believers with practical and intellectual tools to strengthen their faith. Through Smart Faith, he provides apologetics and self-improvement content to help Christians live with wisdom and integrity.

Originally posted at: https://bit.ly/4beIktQ

 

Generation Z is the generation born from 1999 to 2015. They are the successors of Gen X (born 1965-1980) and Gen Y, also known as Millennials (b. 1981-1998). The dates are approximations and arbitrary creations of sociologists and scholars studying generational trends. The Barna Group alongside the ministry Impact360 has conducted as study of Gen Z’ers called “Who Is Gen Z.” A short introductory video of their study can be viewed here.

 

Jonathan Morrow, director of Cultural Engagement at Impact360, wrote an article titled “Why Gen Z Is Not Prepared To Follow Jesus In A Post-Everything World” and revealed that only 4% of Gen Z has a Biblical Worldview while atheism is on the rise amongst this generation.

Gen Z and Atheism

One of the things that has come to light in the Barna study is that, “Atheism Doubles Among Generation Z.” As the Barna report reveals:

Enter Generation Z: Born between 1999 and 2015, they are the first truly “post-Christian” generation. More than any other generation before them, Gen Z does not assert a religious identity. They might be drawn to things spiritual, but with a vastly different starting point from previous generations, many of whom received a basic education on the Bible and Christianity. And it shows: The percentage of Gen Z that identifies as atheist is double that of the U.S. adult population.

The percentage of Gen Z’ers to be atheist has more than doubled previous generations: 13% of Generation Z compared to 6% of adults:


Image source: Barna “Atheism Doubles Among Generation Z” (4 Jan 2018)

Gen Z and The Problem of Evil

Why is Gen Z more likely to be atheistic?  Well, Barna asked and they answered:

Teens, along with young adults, are more likely than older Americans to say the problem of evil and suffering is a deal breaker for them. It appears that today’s youth, like so many throughout history, struggle to find a compelling argument for the existence of both evil and a good and loving God.

The problem of evil isn’t a new objection, however. It’s an ancient objection dating all the way back to the Greek philosopher Epicurus who formulated the problem as such:

“Either God wants to abolish evil, and cannot; or he can, but does not want to; or he cannot and does not want to. If he wants to, but cannot, he is not all powerful. If he can, and he does not want to, he is wicked. But, if God both can and wants to abolish evil, then how comes evil in the world?” [1]

The Problem of Evil and Apologetics

Notice, this is an intellectual objection to the truth of Christianity. Oddly, Christian philosophers, theologians, and apologists have answered this intellectual objection. In fact, they have answered it so convincingly that even professional atheists have admitted that there is not a logical problem of evil that has successfully demonstrated that God doesn’t exist. The late atheist philosopher William Rowe, stated that “Some philosophers have contended that the existence of evil is logically inconsistent with the existence of a theistic God. No one, I think, has succeeded in establishing such an extravagant claim.” [2] Consider Paul Draper, agnostic philosopher of religion at Purdue: “I do not see how it is possible to construct a convincing logical argument from evil against theism.” [3]

Christian scholars have gone on to differentiate between two types of intellectual problems of evil: the logical problem (as commented on by Rowe and Draper above) and the evidential problem of evil. I won’t address the difference here (see the videos by Reasonable Faith below as well as the other resources), but just seeing the categorization by Christian scholars shows how extensively they have thought and contemplated the issue of evil.

Intellectual vs. Emotional Evil

While Rowe and Draper are referring to the intellectual problem of evil, evil and suffering has another side: emotional. This is an important distinction we need to make. While one can provide answers to the intellectual problem of evil, it doesn’t mean that we won’t experience evil personally. We still have to grapple and suffer through evil and pain. Some of it is quite horrific. But the emotional experience of pain and suffering is not an argument, but a personal struggle. It is a struggle that the Christian worldview can offer satisfying resources and comfort for someone who is suffering pain and evil. Christianity can speak of the patience and mercy of God. It can mention the future perfection that awaits all who trust in Christ. It can offer the comfort that a redemptive God is working to cause all things to work together for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. It has a “good news” of hope for a broken world. The atheistic worldview denies these luxuries.

Apologetics and the Christian worldview has the intellectual and emotional resources for Gen Z. It just needs to be communicated: which Christian apologetics does. Not just intellectual answers, but deeply personal, psychological, and spiritual answers.

Resources

Books:

Primary Videos:

Other videos:

References:

[1] Attributed to Epicurus in David Hume, Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion (1779), part 10.

[2] William Rowe, “The Problem of Evil and Some Varieties of Atheism,” American Philosophical Quarterly 16, no. 4 (1979), pg. 335, ftnt 1, reposted at: https://ia803006.us.archive.org/32/items/RoweTheProblemOfEvil/Rowe_The_Problem_of_Evil.pdf

[3] Paul Draper, “The Argument from Evil,” in Philosophy of Religion: Classic and Contemporary Issues, ed. Paul Copan and Chad Meister (Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2008), 146.

Recommended Resources: 

If God, Why Evil? (DVD Set), (MP3 Set), and (mp4 Download Set) by Frank Turek 

Why Doesn’t God Intervene More? (DVD Set), (MP3 Set), and (mp4 Download Set) by Frank Turek

Why does God allow Bad Things to Happen to Good People? (DVD) and (mp4 Download) by Frank Turek 

Relief From the Worst Pain You’ll Ever Experience (DVD) (MP3) (Mp4 Download) by Gary Habermas 

 


J. Steve Lee has taught Apologetics for over two and a half decades at Prestonwood Christian Academy.  He also has taught World Religions and Philosophy at Mountain View College in Dallas and Collin College in Plano.  With a degree in history and education from the University of North Texas, Steve continued his formal studies at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary with a M.A. in philosophy of religion and has pursued doctoral studies at the University of Texas at Dallas and is finishing his dissertation at South African Theological Seminary.  He has published several articles for the Apologetics Study Bible for Students as well as articles and book reviews in various periodicals including Philosophia Christi, Hope’s Reason: A Journal of Apologetics, and the Areopagus Journal.  Having an abiding love for fantasy fiction, Steve has contributed chapters to two books on literary criticism of Harry Potter: Harry Potter for Nerds and Teaching with Harry Potter.  He even appeared as a guest on the podcast MuggleNet Academia (“Lesson 23: There and Back Again-Chiasmus, Alchemy, and Ring Composition in Harry Potter”).  He is married to his lovely wife, Angela, and has two grown boys, Ethan and Josh.

Originally posted at: https://bit.ly/4i1f1gM

  • “Why is there evil and suffering in this world?”
  • “No one naturally can resurrect from the dead after three days. It’s impossible.”
  • “The Bible was written by fallible men thousands of years ago, how can I be sure that what I have is what was written?”
  • “How can I know that Christianity is the one true religion when there are thousands of other religions?”

 

Odds are, you don’t have an answer to these sorts of questions, or worse, they seem persuasive . . . compelling.

You feel some sort of shame to admit this. You have been a Christian for some time now but never knew the answers to these fundamental questions. Now you’re second guessing.

And why not? You already tried to ask your parents, your pastor and/or Bible study teacher of your questions and doubts, but their responses was, well, unsatisfactory (to put it mildly).

  • You need to have faith.
  • Don’t worry about those things, in Heaven we will have all our questions answered. Just believe.
  • (My personal favorite) The Bible is not to understand it, it is to obey it.

This is why you are terrified of witnessing. You are scared to death that someone may ask you a question you can’t answer. Sure, you’ve had positive experiences since you were born again, but these doubts are keeping you up at night, slowly eroding your faith. Now you’re starting to doubt even those positive experiences.

What if I’ve believed something that isn’t true? Maybe it’s all a fairy tale! How would I even know?

You don’t just need sleep. You need answers. Fortunately, there are some solid reasonable answers to your tough questions that will revive and bolster your faith. I’d like to show you, in this blog, that contrary to popular belief, faith is compatible with reason and consistent with reality. I’d like to show you the intellectual side of Christianity. Welcome to the exciting discipline of Christian Apologetics!

Apolo-what?

If you are new to the term, let’s get the first misunderstanding out of the way. No, this is not the course husbands should take, or apologizing for being a Christian. The word apologetics comes from the Greek word apologia which means “to give a verbal defense”. It’s a legal term. It was used when someone responded to an objection or accusation in a court. Dr. William Lane Craig, philosopher and theologian defines apologetics as the branch of Christian theology that seeks to provide justifiable reasons to the truth claims of the Christian faith.

Simply put, apologetics responds the question “Why should I believe Christianity is true?” Apologetics is an intellectual tool for evangelism and discipleship. It helps to remove intellectual objections against the faith for unbelievers and helps to intellectually anchor the faith of the believers.

“Apologetics” isn’t a modern made-up word. It appears 8 times in the Bible. In fact, did you even know that we are commanded in the Bible to give a defense of our faith? Of course not! Bet that not even your parents or Sunday school teacher knew this. 1 Peter 3:15 (NVI) commands us as Christians to defend the faith with gentleness and respect: “Always be prepared to give an answer [apologia] to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.”

This is not something for theology nerds or intellectuals in the church. This commandment is for the whole body of Christ. The fact that the church has largely abandoned this duty is a major reason why young people are leaving Christianity.

The 2016 Pew Research study shows that, and I quote,

About half of current religious ‘nones’ who were raised in a religion (49%) indicate that a lack of belief led them to move away from religion. This includes many respondents who mention ‘science’ as the reason they do not believe in religious teachings, including one who said ‘I’m a scientist now, and I don’t believe in miracles.’ Others reference ‘common sense,’ ‘logic’ or a ‘lack of evidence’ — or simply say they do not believe in God.”

Some of the reasons why young people were abandoning their faith given in the study were,

  • Learning about evolution when I went away to college.
  • Rational thought makes religion go out the window.
  • Lack of any sort of scientific or specific evidence of a creator.
  • I’m doing a lot more learning, studying, and kind of making decisions myself rather than listening to someone else.

Check a more recent study of the pew research regarding parents and their teens answering if religion is very important in their lives

When there are religious differences between adults and their 13- to 17-year-old children, however, it’s usually the teens who are less religious than the parents. For instance, far fewer teens (24%) than parents (43%) say that religion is very important in their lives.

Less than one of four teens deems their religion very important in their lives. That’s a tragedy. It shouldn’t be this way since there are, in fact, reasonable responses to such doubts and questions. What if I told you, that doubting and questioning your Christian faith might be a positive phase you’re entering into?

Doubts: Sign of a Maturing Faith?

Rethinking one’s worldview is one of the most mentally turbulent phases in anyone’s journey of faith. This gets to the very core of your being, of who you are. While it can be scary, it can also be (and will be) exciting. Because when you doubt, it can be a sign of a maturing faith.

“Isn’t doubt the opposite of belief?”  Doubt is not the opposite of belief. The opposite of belief is nonbelief.

  • Faith is defined as complete trust or confidence in someone or something.
  • Doubt is the voluntary and transitionary suspension of judgement between decisions.
  • Reason is a cause, explanation, or justification for some belief, act, fact, event, etc.
  • Reason is the mediator between doubt as reflection and faith as trust, and these do not contradict.


“But how do I reason correctly?”
Awesome question! In an interview with Dr. Dallas Willard by John Ortberg in 2010 about doubt and belief in the Christian life, Willard answers:

Knowledge grows not only for doubting your belief and believing your doubts, but also from doubting your doubts and believing your beliefs.” (para. 135).

Use this like some sort of mental filter to see which questions and objections (as well as beliefs) are good ones and which are bad. Bad objections usually commit logical fallacies. Good ones don’t.

For example: Only science can give us truth. Is that a true statement? Because if it is, then its false. This truth was not acquired through the scientific method. This is a self-refuting statement.

Another example: faith is belief without or on in spite of evidence. As you already saw above (and will expand a bit more below), this is not true. This is what is called a strawman. Attacking the concept of faith by replacing the definition of what faith really is with an incorrect one.

As you can see, there is no logical contradiction between doubt and faith by definition.

Permission to Doubt

Let’s talk a bit more about what faith really is. “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” (Hebrews 11:1. NIV. Emphasis added). By this definition, biblical faith entails three components:

  • Understanding the content of the Christian faith,
  • Trust, and
  • Assent of the intellect to the truth of some proposition

You can’t have trust in someone or something you do not understand at all nor agree with. For example, some people would never go on a cruise ship vacation because of their fear that the cruise will sink. They do understand that cruise ships are way much safer than before, but since they watch the movie Titanic, they don’t assent intellectually to it.

Biblical faith is not an irrational blind leap into the darkness. The biblical notion of faith requires you to have confidence and assurance in that which you understand and have good reasons to assent to (in this case, the object of faith is God). Therefore, embrace your doubts. Go ahead, doubt your faith, but also doubt your doubts. Question your questions. See if they hold water.

God Wants You To Think

While doing this you’re transitioning from a childish faith to a mature faith. You’re owning your faith. You will know not only what you believe but why you believe it.

Recommended Resources:

Stealing From God by Dr. Frank Turek (Book, 10-Part DVD Set, STUDENT Study Guide, TEACHER Study Guide)

I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist (Paperback), and (Sermon) by Norman Geisler and Frank Turek 

Macro Evolution? I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be a Darwinist (DVD Set), (MP3 Set) and (mp4 Download Set) by Dr. Frank Turek

Defending Absolutes in a Relativistic World (Mp3) by Frank Turek

 


Miguel Rodriguez is the founder of Smart Faith, a platform dedicated to helping Christians defend their faith with clarity and confidence. After experiencing a miraculous healing at 14, he developed a passion for knowing God through study and teaching. He now serves as the Director of Christian Education and a Bible teacher at his local church while also working as a freelance email marketer. Living in Orlando, Florida, with his wife and two daughters, Miguel seeks to equip believers with practical and intellectual tools to strengthen their faith. Through Smart Faith, he provides apologetics and self-improvement content to help Christians live with wisdom and integrity.

Originally posted at: https://bit.ly/4beIktQ