Mere Christianity Chap 1 Section 4

Basic competing philosophies Ever since men were able to think, they have wondered about the reality of the universe Generally been two opinions (materialist & religious view) or

Materialist v. Religious View (Basic outlines of each approach) The materialist view is not new (Atomist school in Greece, Thales & Anaxagoras) The physical world is all there is, has always existed, and nobody knows why The world exists almost by ‘a fluke’ The religious view believes something ‘like a mind’ is behind the universe (ordering it) It is conscious, has purposes, and prefers one thing to another

Doesn’t science answer that? Science can’t determine which view is right (it’s asking different kinds questions) Science works by experiments, so every scientific statement (however complex) in the long run says “I pointed the telescope to such and such a part of the sky at 2:20 a.m. on January 15th and saw so-and-so” or “I put some of this stuff in a pot and heated it to such-and-such temperature and it did so-and-so” NOT speaking against science, only stating its job

mee mee MEE! IF there is anything behind the universe, science won’t be able to reveal it If science ever becomes ‘complete’ so that everything that can be known is known, “Why is there a universe?” would remain unanswered. Science focuses on “What,” “When,” or How.” “Why” in science is really “how” --TS

The “Why” to life would be unanswered except for our ‘internal life’ Studying man from the outside would reveal nothing—they’d see our actions only We see the disconnect between “ought” and “does” We can’t study stones/weather from ‘the inside’ only ourselves We can look inward and study ourselves These guys make no sense…

Architect isn’t the house THE Question: Does the universe just exist for no reason, or is there a power behind it? IF it exists, it won’t be part of the observed data, but an influence on the data. E.g. The architect is not one of the walls or stairs, but is ‘behind’ them This power would show itself as an influence on us, not as part of the world. (isn’t that what we experience?) architect house

The ‘interior’ life of man Imagine a man in a blue uniform who delivered paper packets at each house. I assume the packets are letters at the other house, because that’s what I got. I explain the unopened with the information I am allowed to open (my letter). The only ‘letter’ we get to open is Man. And Man speaks of ‘something’ beyond.

Hold Up… I am not arguing for a Christian God. Only that this power behaves more like a mind than a ‘force’