The purpose of apologetics is to provide reasons to support the rationality of Christian belief. There are many ways of doing this. If the God of the bible has truly created this universe we inhabit, then his fingerprints ought to be all over the place. But if one’s vision is blurry, those clues may not seem so evident. So, one needs to don the proper set of glasses. Now, I don’t pretend to be an expert in these matters. These are just a few desultory thoughts.
It seems that most apologists start with arguments for the existence of God. I wonder if this is the best approach. Most people already believe in God (or a god of some sort). There is probably not a general apologetics book around that doesn’t have a chapter on God’s existence.
I think the problem of God’s non-existence might be a better place to start. Imagine if God doesn’t exist. Or, let’s say the atheist disproofs of God are pretty airtight. What follows from that fact? There would be no after-life (and no heaven). There would be no resurrection of the body (contra the Nicene Creed not to mention the Bible). There would also be no beauty. No objective moral standards. No reason to get up in the morning.
Non-theists may not agree. God’s non-existence (or at least our non-acknowledgement of his existence) actually frees us from stifling beliefs and allows the expansion of our minds to new and exciting areas of thought. Why confine ourselves to the old ways and old patterns when a new horizon of possibilities awaits us, one free of the despotic rule of a cosmic overlord?
Two writers who have given me some mental fodder to chew on in this matter are C.S. Lewis and William Lane Craig.
Lewis gives what’s commonly called the Argument from Reason. It says that if there is no God, then naturalism (the view that all that exists is nature/matter) is true. If naturalism is true, then everything in the universe is the result of blind matter in motion and non-rational forces, including our thoughts about the universe. This puts us in the peculiar position of saying that our thoughts are rational while at the same time professing that these thoughts are the result of non-rational forces. But if our thoughts are the product of blind matter in motion, do we really have any good reason to trust our thoughts about anything, including those thoughts about rationality? It seems more reasonable to believe that more than just matter exists, and that our intelligent, rational minds are themselves the products of intelligence, namely God. A detailed discussion can be found in his book Miracles.
Craig gives a case for the absurdity of life without God. He claims that if God does not exist then humans are just the accidental by-product of natural processes. As a result, there can be no ultimate meaning in life, no ultimate value, and no ultimate purpose. If God does not exist, there is no objective moral law, no right and wrong. All that’s left is personal, subjective judgements. For those who say that we can create our own meaning and purpose, the only response that can be given is, “So what?” Scientists tell us that the universe will continue to expand forever. Billions of years from now nothing will exist but the cold, lifeless shards of a universe that used to be our home. Humanity is racing towards extinction and utter ruin. He puts it this way: “Man cannot live consistently and happily as though life were ultimately without meaning, value, or purpose. If we try to live consistently within the atheistic world view, we shall find ourselves profoundly unhappy. If instead we manage to live happily, it is only by giving the lie to our world view.” Any meaning or purpose we create is ultimately meaningless and purposeless. We could do no better, it seems, than to follow Bertrand Russell’s advice to build our lives on the firm foundation of unyielding despair. Listen to a presentation that Craig gives here
An aesthetic argument for God goes: There is the music of Bach, the literature of Shakespeare, the art of Rembrandt. Therefore, there must be a God.
But if there is no God, one could only ask, even of Bach, Shakespeare, and Rembrandt (or insert your own favourite artists): Is that all there is?
Life without God brings to the fore the irrationality of claiming that we are rational, intelligent beings, and the absurdity that life has any meaning or purpose. Only if God exists can we claim these things. Now, this doesn’t necessarily mean that God actually exists (maybe life really is meaningless), but it can prompt an investigation into the matter; for, after all, can anyone really live as if her life lacked meaning or that her thoughts were nothing but non-rational gibberish?
4 comments:
I hope you don't mind - I enjoyed your blog so much today that I read it to my dad and my sister. I hadn't thought of it all from that perspective before - rather than asking "how do we know that God exists", asking instead "what if God doesn't exist?" I'll have to check out Lewis' "Miracle." I haven't read that title before but I like the sounds of the argument.
Uh, do I mind that the universe of minds exposed to my less than stellar mentally acumened (is that a word?) conjectures is expanding? I guess there are worse things, such as being known as the village idiot (actually those two are rather similar). If it were possible to edit out all the lame bits, that would be good. So, for this post all that would be left is The…seems…agree…Lewis…gibberish?
hahaha! I enjoy every bit of what I've read...you totally inspire me. I love the poems, the synopses of various authors' views, and the way your personality just comes through. (Am I embarassing you yet?!) ;) I actually wanted to ask you...my dad asked me for the link to your blog and then he was working on the church library with some people tonight and he told them about it. He didn't give them the link to it and I told him not to until I cleared it with you, but would you mind if "the universe of minds" expanded that much? I just think you have a lot to offer. You should think about writing some sort of weekly thing for the church. People would read it! I know I would! I was at the Alliance Church a few weeks back and they had a piece of paper in every pew with book recommendations. I think that's such a good idea - even if it's something that we just had in the library for people to pick up - because a lot of people want to read good Christian literature but don't even know where to start. And your blog alone is such a good witness...or it has been for me so far (I've already picked up a copy of "Miracle"). I can completely see God working through you.
Wow...how's this for a long comment. I was going to e-mail it to you but realized I don't have your address.
I guess it’s alright (he said hesitatingly and with great trepidation, trembling like a boy standing in the snow wearing only his gym shorts and one sock with a hole in it, not warmed at all by the red embarrassed flush creeping across his dour, sallow complexion). Chances are people will be so bored with it that the audience will dwindle back to one (that is, myself). The only problem would be that someone will immediately recognize that I’ve plagiarized (er, borrowed) most of my ideas from someone else. Originality is not my bailiwick. (I don't even know what that means. I like to use words I don't know the meanings of)
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