The Christian and the Academy Kevin Davis

Recap The moral challenge “Judge not” vs. moral judgments Postmodern Ethics ◦ Feminism ◦ GLBT

The Intellectual Challenge “Modernism” is alive and well The Enlightenment (1600’s-1800’s) Rationalism Empiricism (Experience)

The Early Enlightenment Begins in the mid-1600’s The search for a universal belief The problem of particularity Truth is available to all persons through reason.

The Early Enlightenment What about special revelation? What is special revelation?

The Early Enlightenment What about special revelation? What is special revelation? ◦ God’s covenant with a particular people (Israel) ◦ The Father sends the Son and Holy Spirit ◦ Redemption through atonement (the Cross) Special revelation is not readily available to all.

God’s Self-Disclosure God discloses knowledge of himself. God is not an “object” we discover. The gospel is “the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord’s people. To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” (Col 1:26-27)

The “God” of the Enlightenment The Truths of Reason ◦ There is a Creator ◦ There is a Lawgiver ◦ There is a Final Judgment The “Opinions” of Theology ◦ The Election of Israel ◦ The Atonement through Christ ◦ The Exclusivity of Christ  For knowledge of God and for salvation John Locke

The Early Enlightenment In sum, the early Enlightenment reduced religion to morality. There is a God who is (potentially) known by all through their reason and conscience. The “truths” of Christianity can be demonstrated (proven) through reason.

The Later Enlightenment The rise of skepticism Mid-1700’s to 1800’s The transition from the early Enlightenment to the later Enlightenment is marked by Hume’s skepticism. ◦ Against design ◦ Against miracles David Hume

David Hume ( ) The Natural History of Religion (1757) ◦ Religion is a product of fear and desires ◦ Religion can be explained naturally ◦ Religion is unnecessary and a bad influence in history – “sick men’s dreams”

David Hume ( ) Hume’s Theology religion without superstition No special providence and special revelation No immortality / after life / final judgment ◦ not necessary for morals (contra early Deism)

David Hume ( ) An Inquiry Concerning Human Understanding (1748) ◦ Belief is proportional to the evidence: probability ◦ “Of Miracles” – Testimony to miracles is untrustworthy because not observed in nature ◦ “uniform experience” is proof against miracles ◦ Strange phenomena arise without explanation because we do not have exhaustive knowledge of natural causes.

Immanuel Kant German philosopher Königsberg, Prussia

Kant, What is Enlightenment? (1784) “Enlightenment is man’s emergence from his self-imposed immaturity. Immaturity is the inability to use one’s understanding without guidance from another. Dare to know! Have courage to use your own understanding! – that is the motto of enlightenment.”

Kant, What is Enlightenment? (1784) “It is so easy to be immature. If I have a book to serve as my understanding, a pastor to serve as my conscience, a physician to determine my diet for me, and so on, I need not exert myself at all. I need not think…others will readily undertake the irksome work for me.”

Responding to the Enlightenment Take Hume and Kant seriously. Kant’s “dare to know” is the unofficial motto of the entire academy today. So, how do we know God? ◦ Does God exist? ◦ Who is this God?

Arguments for God’s existence The observation of the world ◦ Motion ◦ Causation ◦ Contingency ◦ Design / Telos The observation of man ◦ Personality ◦ Relationship ◦ Moral Conscience Thomas Aquinas

Arguments for God’s existence Are these arguments “proofs”?

Arguments for God’s existence Are these arguments “proofs”? No Probability vs. Proof The arguments for God’s existence can yield a high probability of God’s existence, not proof.

Arguments for God’s existence The arguments for God’s existence can remove intellectual barriers. From impossibility to possibility

Arguments for God’s existence In sum, these arguments can demonstrate the possibility and probability of God’s existence. But, there are more limits…

The Limits The problem of evil is the enduring question mark behind God’s existence. Design and Chaos Beauty and Deformity Harmony and Dissonance Philosophy is confronted with these contradictions.

Faith and Theology True and certain knowledge of God is only through… ◦ God’s own self-revelation ◦ Received by faith Fra Angelico “The Mocking of Christ”

The Science Debate How do Christians navigate the evolution vs. religion debate? Is evolution opposed to religion?

The Modernist / Fundamentalist Controversy The widespread dissemination of Darwin’s theory of evolution in the late 19 th / early 20 th century The rise of 19 th century atheism ◦ Feuerbach, Nietzsche, Freud Fear!

The Modernist / Fundamentalist Controversy Mixed reception of evolution in late 19 th century Protestantism B. B. Warfield at Princeton Seminary adopts a modest account of evolution Warfield

The Modernist / Fundamentalist Controversy But, a fundamentalist reaction emerges. Famously, the Scopes Trial in TN (1925) Can we do better than the early 20 th century fundamentalists?

Options on the Table Young Earth Creationism ◦ The universe is 6,000-10,000 years old ◦ No evolution (common descent) Old Earth Creationism ◦ The universe is approx billion years old ◦ The earth is approx. 4.5 billion years old ◦ Periodic creation of species (no evolution) Theistic Evolution

Is the authority of the Bible at stake?

Theistic Evolution Is the authority of the Bible at stake? It depends upon how you interpret Genesis 1-3 What is the genre of the creation narratives? What is the author’s intention? What is God’s intention?

Theistic Evolution The text is functional.

Closing Thoughts You are not an isolated, autonomous thinker – the Enlightenment ideal The church community is essential. At college, you must… ◦ 1. Join a church – preferably not the trendy ◦ 2. Join a Christian community on campus Intervarsity Campus Crusade (“Cru”)