There are two kinds of people. Those who favor principles, theories and thought. And those who favor practice, conduct and action. Christians can either see their faith in terms of what they believe or in terms of how they live. Those who favor thought will often point to Paul. Paul spent much of his letters talking about what to believe and seemed to favor principles over practice. Consider Paul’s letter to the Philippians. This is the part that is usually quoted: Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if…
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Language Assumes Realism
One purpose of language is to explain reality. We know this, Ian Markham argues, because we seek to use language across linguistic divides, from one language or culture to another: “the purpose of language is to explicate reality: and translation can only happen if this is assumed…Communication and related activities involved in communication, such as translation, are only intelligible if one assumes that language constructs emerged as an attempt to explain reality.” Language is developed over time in communities and is developed, in part, in order to make sense of reality: “We all live in communities. Language provides the framework in which we interpret the world.” Each linguistic group develops…
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Keller Quits God!
For anybody who knows Tim Keller it appears impossible that he, the pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, would ever give up his faith. However, I was watching the film version of Keller’s bestselling book, The Reason for God, and was surprised to hear him affirm such a possibility. When asked by one of his non-believing interlocutors whether Keller thought that there might be some convincing arguments against Keller’s belief Keller replied by saying that he has two grounds for belief. First, he said, is the rational ground – there are many good reasons to believe that Christianity is true. Second, Keller grounds his faith in religious experience. If…
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Prescriptive Pluralism
John Hick Religious Pluralism is either descriptive or prescriptive. The descriptive version is merely the observation that there are many different religions. It is hard to imagine anyone disagreeing with this premise. However, prescriptive pluralism is what appears to be implied by such an observation. Since there is so much disagreement between religions an explanation must be provided for such diversity of opinion. Either one group are correct and everyone else is mistaken or something else is going on. Given the apparent parity between the religions (all religions are made up of human beings who claim to have some truth about god or gods and ground such beliefs in religious…
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Is Objectivity Possible?
Is it possible for a human being to be objective? Is there any such thing as objective truth? For Christians, the denial of such a possibility would leave a hermeneutic hole. If there is no possibility of objective truth then reading scripture would not yield what we have hoped for. We would also leave behind many other possibilities such as truths obtained in science and logic. Many deny objectivity outright. And those still holding to such an idea are often called modernists (now a slur in present academic circles) Part of the trouble is that “objective” and “objectivity” have multiple meanings and are thought about in multiple contexts. John Feinberg,…
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Something and Nothing
… What do we mean by “nothing”? To define nothing one has to be able to conceive of nothing. Some say that it is impossible to conceive of nothing since nothing entails somehow the non-existence of time and space. We might be able to conceive of a particle-free space, but spacelessness and timelessness seem illusive. Of course, this does not touch on abstract objects, if one believes in such things. Others suggest that the findings of logic conclude that necessarily, something exists. Logic cannot, on that reading, conclude that nothing is possible. One suggestion is to say that time and space are matter dependent, that time and space are relations of material…
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Education: A Treadmill and a Trail Run
For some, education is like running on a treadmill. It is a measurable project, a process, the forming of a rational person, an equipping for industry, an economic machine, a societal organizer. Others see education as a trail run. It is a narrative, a life forming cultural story, an experience about what it is to be in the world, a discovery of passion, of love, of wonder. Most of us think education includes both. We want our children to learn form, to have trained minds, ready for work. And, at the same time, we want them to experience life, to live out a meaningful existence. But let’s face it, we…
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Postmodern Integration part 2
As you might have noticed, I have been attempting to explore answers to a perennial question – how the Christian faith is integrated with learning. My interest is sparked not only by the fact that I have children who presently attend a Christian school, but also because of my own experience (okay, and it’s also my MA thesis). In some ways I am seeking to understand what I think to be true in principle – that there is nothing that is not under the sovereign rule of God and that includes every avenue of learning possible – math, science, literature, philosophy etc. Today I want to look at a postmodern…