Faith That Answers the Hard Questions John Oakes, PhD 2010 ICEC Christian and Other World Views

Jesus Christ: “I came to testify to the truth.” Pontius Pilate: “What is truth?”

The Hard Questions Evil: What is Evil and Why is There Evil Why is There Suffering? The Problem of Judgment The Problem of Sin.

World View One's world view is the perspective one uses to process and interpret information received about the world.  James W. Sire put it this way, "A world view is a set of presuppositions (ie. assumptions) which we hold about the basic makeup of our world."  James W. Sire, The Universe Next Door (InterVarsity Press, 1997) A Jain World View

Other World Views: The Leading Philosophies of Our Day Naturalism/Scientism/Materialism Postmodernism: The Loss of Truth Delos B. McKown: “Christianity is scientifically unsupported and probably insupportable, philosophically suspect at best and disreputable at worst, and historically fraudulent.”

A “Good” World View Defined A. It is true. It is consistent with reality. It works. B. It answers satisfactorily the questions people really want answered. What is prime reality/the ultimate cause/the nature of God?) What is my value as a human being? What happens to a person at death? How do we know what is right and wrong? What is my purpose? What is the nature of my relationship, with the "prime reality?" C. It causes those who hold to it to be better people than they would otherwise have been if they held to competing alternative world views.

Naturalism/Scientism/Materialism The belief that the only reliable or valid instrument to deciding the truth or even the value of any proposition is the scientific method. No basis for ethics or morality, no supernatural, no God, no truth (except that found by science), no consciousness, no “I.” Justice is a figment of our imagination.

Materialism “We exist as material beings in a material world, all of whose phenomena are the consequences of material relations among material entities." In a word, the public needs to accept materialism, which means that they must put God in the trash can of history where such myths belong.” Richard Lewontin Retrospective essay on Carl Sagan in the January 9, 1997 New York Review of Books,

Postmodernism: The Loss of Truth Truth, if such a thing exists, is the property of culture. There is no absolute truth. All truth is relative. It is created by societies. There is no ultimate moral authority or moral absolute.

A Response to Naturalism/Materialism/Scientism It is a faith/religious belief based on circular reasoning. It cannot answer the questions human beings care about. It is patently and demonstrably false. Does accepting naturalism make us better?

Questions Science Can Answer When? What? Where? How many? By what means?

Questions Science Cannot Answer: (That Christianity Does Answer) Why am I here? Is that the right thing to do? How valuable am I? Does God exist? Does God act (theism)? Will that God respond if I pray? Do supernatural events (miracles) happen? - Why is there evil and suffering in the world?

Materialism is Patently False If Materialism/Naturalism is right then; “I” do not exist. Consciousness is just random moving around of chemicals. No soul, no spirit, no non-physical reality. Life has no value. Human beings have no value. What is value? Love is chemicals moving around (vs. God is love)

Naturalism is Patently False Because…. The universe was created. Life was created. The Anthropic Principle. The universe is ridiculously well fine-tuned for us to exist. No one in their right mind can deny the existence of right and wrong The Bible is inspired by God.

Does Naturalism tend to make its believers better people? If the naturalist is right then: Good and evil are meaningless ideas. Our purpose, if it exists at all, is to pass on our DNA. Any kind of sexual behavior is as right as any other. Stealing is probably good. There is nothing inherently evil about genocide, racism, slavery, etc.

Postmodernism: Cultural Relativism Truth: It is true for you, but it is not true for me. Meaning, if it exists, lies in a community of believers. No rational way to discover which is the best world view.

Problems With Postmodernism Self-refuting. If nothing is true, then postmodernism is not true. Its authors insist on authorial privilege. I do not care what they say, some things are just true. Either God is real or he is not. Even if I cannot prove it one way or another.

The Christian World View Is True The Universe is Real The creation is good. Evil exists. Despite what Naturalists say, there is a spiritual reality. For example, “I” exist. Consciousness is not simply an epiphenomenon. Science and the Christian world view do not contradict.

Christianity Offers Solutions to the Big Problems of Human Beings The Problem of Evil The Problem of Suffering The Problem of Death

The Christian World View Has Given Us: Science Abolition of Slavery (Wilberforce) Civil Rights Women’s Rights Christian groups do a majority of all benevolent work in the world (James 1:27, Micah 6:8) 20

Two Good Questions Does evil exist? If God is all-loving and all-powerful and all-good, then why is there evil?

The answer: God’s love. Free Will: God Gives Us a Choice Why The answer: God’s love. Free Will: God Gives Us a Choice Why? Because he loves us. The result: We rebelled and brought evil into the world. Is this God’s fault? What is the alternative? Deuteronomy 30:15-20 Joshua 24:15

Free Will, An Illustration: The Prodigal Son

Apologetics and Evil: What are the alternatives? Dualism: Good and Evil in an unending more or less equal balance Pantheism: The physical world is evil. Evil is being tied down to the physical—it is missing the god-likeness in you. Naturalism: There is no evil. Postmodernism: Evil??? Determinism/Fate God is the cause of evil.

Christianity and the Problem of Evil Evil is very much real. Quite indirectly, it is the product of God’s love. God loved us so much that he loved us and that he gave us a choice. We chose evil, and thus evil came into the world. Remember your alternatives: Predestination/Determinism God is the cause of evil. Deny evil exists Physical creation is evil, but you are God An unending battle/balance between good and evil.

The Problem of Suffering Suffering is not evil. Sin is evil, but much suffering is caused by our choice to sin. Not all suffering is due to sin. (Job, John 9) Christianity’s answer to suffering: Compassion. Jesus Wept Matt 9:35-38

Julian “the apostate.” (332-363) “Atheism (i.e. Christian faith) has been specially advanced through the loving service rendered to strangers, and through their care for the burial of the dead. It is a scandal that there is not a single Jew who is a beggar, and that the godless Galileans care not only for their own poor but for ours as well; while those who belong to us look in vain for the help that we should render them.”

The Problem of Judgment Romans 3:10f There is no one righteous, not even one. Revelation 20:15 If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. Rev 21:8 …the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death. Rev 20:10 … They will be tormented day and night for even and ever. Does God choose to send us to hell? No! We choose hell and God, in his justice, accepts our decision. Is suffering in hell literally eternal? Is joy in heaven literally eternal?

Love and Justice For God so loved the world… The wages of sin is death Rom 6:23 The law of sin and death Rom 8:2 We like God’s love, but we are not so fired up about his justice. When we reach heaven, we will understand and fully appreciate, on an emotional level, God’s justice. Rev 11:17-18 Rev 16:5-6 The elders are thankful that God’s judgement has finally come. You are just, O God.

Attributes of God Eternal Omnipresent Omniscient Omnipotent Righteous, Holy Love Justice God is not merely loving, he is love God, in his awesomeness is fully love and fully just

The Problem of Sin God’s love met God’s justice at the cross. As far as we are concerned, love won. Romans 3:21-26