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Introduction: Truth and Reality

“We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always

for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love which you

have for all the saints; because of the hope laid up for you in heaven, of which

you previously heard in the word of truth, the gospel which has come to you,

just as in all the world also it is constantly bearing fruit and increasing, even

as it has been doing in you also since the day you heard of it and understood

the grace of God in truth.” Colossians 1:3-6 (NASB)

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by

Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and

TRUTH AND REALITYStuart McAllister

This lecture will address the questions of whether we can know anything, and if so, how. It will define what we mean by truth, and how we should evaluate truth claims.

Laying the Groundwork Video Session

V o l u m e2Upon completion of this session you should be able to accomplish the following:

General Outcome: Recognize and effectively communicate the relationship between truth and reality

Specific Outcomes: Describe the word “truth” according to Scripture and be able to articulate why people need truth

Define a “worldview” and name the four common elements in the structure of all belief systems

Know the influence worldviews have on society

Apply the “Tests for Truth” when defending Christianity and examining conflicting worldviews

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invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things have

been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him

all things hold together. He is also head of the body, the church; and He is

the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to

have first place in everything. For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the

fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself,

having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say,

whether things on earth or things in heaven.” Colossians 1:15-20 (NASB)

✦ C. S. Lewis: “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen, not

only because I see it, but because by it I see

.”

✦ Stanley Grenz: Two foundational assumptions in the

.”

1. Postmoderns view all explanations of reality as constructions that are

useful but not objectively .

2. Postmoderns deny that we have the ability to

our constructions of reality.

✦ Michel Foucault: The act of knowing is always an act of .

✦ The Modern Legacy (Feuerbach, Marx, Freud):

is a projection of repressed or sublimated needs

or desires.

PostModernism: Widespread philosophical movement that followed the modern era; rejecting Enlightenment ideals, it devalues rational knowledge and dismisses the premise that truth can be objectively known.

Michel Foucault: French philosopher who lived from 1926-1984; well-known as a postmodernist and post-structuralist

Ludwig Feuerbach: A German philosopher and anthropologist who lived from 1804-1872; in his book The Essence of Christianity, he made the case that God is nothing more than the outward projection of man’s inward nature.

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✦ Richard Dawkins and the “New Atheists”: Belief in God has nothing to do with

and should therefore be stopped.

1. Meme: Word invented by Richard Dawkins to describe an idea that is

transmitted from one generation to the next; an idea that is contagious

in the way that a virus is contagious.

The Foundational Question

Has Jesus brought anything into ?

“There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every

man. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the

world did not know Him.” John 1:9-10 (NASB)

“And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory,

glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. John

testified about Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said,

‘He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before

me.’” For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. For

the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through

Jesus Christ. No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who

is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.” John 1:14-18 (NASB)

A. What do we mean when we use the word truth?

✧ Os Guinness on truth:

“‘What is truth?’ someone will immediately ask. Let me answer straightforwardly.

In the biblical view, truth is that which is ultimately, finally, and absolutely

, or the ‘way it is’, and therefore is utterly trustworthy and

dependable, being grounded and anchored in own reality and

truthfulness. But, this stress on the personal foundation of truth is not—as

in postmodernism—at the expense of the prepositional. Both accuracy and

authenticity are important to truth.”

Richard Dawkins: British biologist and outspoken atheist; author of The God Delusion.

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“If in our ordinary speech, telling the truth is ‘

,’ we can say that a statement, or

an idea, or a belief is true if what it is about is as it is in the statement. Belief

in something doesn’t make it true; only makes a belief true.”

✧ Aristotle’s definition of truth:

“To say of what is that it is not, or of what is not that it is, is false, while to say

of what is that it is, and of what is not that it is not, is true; so that he who

says of anything that it is, or that it is not, will say either what is true or what

is false.”

✧ Truth, by nature, is:

• – it does not violate the basic laws of logic.

• – it does not depend upon any time, place,

or conditions.

• – it exists independently of our minds;

we do not create it.

• – it is the agreement of the mind with

reality (coherence).

• – to deny its existence is to affirm it (we are

bound by it).

• Unchanging–itisthefirmstandardbywhichtruthclaims

are measured.

✧ Nicholas Wolterstorff on truth:

“If I believe of something that it is a duck, that is true of it if and only if it is

a . And if that is indeed true of it, it is not true of it relative to

some conceptual scheme. It is just true, period. Thoughts are true or false

of things, period —not to something other.”

B. The role and influence of worldviews

✧ Your worldview is not what you ; your worldview is what you

.

• Fourcommonelementsinthestructureofbeliefsystems:

1. A about the world;

2. A basic diagnosis of the of human beings;

3. A diagnosis of what is with us;

4. An answer for putting it .

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✧ Stephen Covey: “We see the world not as it is but as

.”

The Role and Influence of Worldviews (continued)

✦ James Sire on worldview:

“A worldview is a , a fundamental orientation of

the heart, that can be expressed as a story or in a set of presuppositions

(assumptions which may be true, partially true, or

) which we hold (consciously or subconsciously, consistently

or inconsistently) about the basic constitution of reality, and that provides

the foundation on which we live and move and have our being.”

—A worldview is a total system.

—A worldview is a of reality.

The Human Condition

✦ What’s with humanity? The Bible’s answer:

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness

and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,

because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God

made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible

attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being

understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.”

Romans 1:18-20 (NASB)

✦Immanuel Kant: Two things that “speak” from reality:

• the“ above”

• the within

Immanuel Kant: German philosopher who lived from 1724-1804; one of the foremost thinkers of the Enlightenment.

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1. There’s a general of God out there.

2. Humans the truth that they know about God.

3. Humans the truth.

Reflecting on Truth and Reality

✦ John 8:31-32

— the truth will set you

— this is a very truth, not truth in general

A Christian view of reality does not build a wall between the

and the . We must

recognize the “wholeness” of reality.

A. The Bible and Truth

In the Old Testament, there are two meanings of the word “truth”

i. The ; discernment of facts that may be

ascertained to be true or false. Deuteronomy 17:4; I Kings 10:6

ii. The existential and moral; truth as the

of a person.

The Hebrew word for “truth” can also be translated as .

In the New Testament, there are three broad meanings for truth:

i. , truthfulness, uprightness of character,

(Romans 3:7; 15:8) of men. (II Corinthians 7:14; Ephesians 5:9)

ii. Truth in the absolute sense of that which is and

as opposed to what is false or wanting.

(Mark 5:33; Ephesians 4:25)

iii. The sense: something real as opposed

to mere appearance or copy. (Hebrews 8:2, 4; John 6:32, 35)

Secular:That which is not religious.

Platonic:Refers to Plato’s teaching that the things we can see on earth are lesser forms or shadows of pure ideals which exist in a higher realm.

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B. How do we know and how do we know that we know?

✧ In the Scriptures, knowledge is more than just

assent to truth. It’s a . It is union and communion.

✧ Esther Meek on knowledge:

“Knowing is the responsible human struggle

— to rely on

— to focus on a coherent and

— to submit to its .”

C. Tests for Truth

A worldview should be

i. : A true worldview

will not contradict itself.

ii. : A true worldview will fit the facts.

iii. : A true worldview will be livable

Truth and Reality in Daily Life

“Conduct yourselves with toward outsiders, making the

most of the opportunity. Let your speech always be with ,

as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should

to each person.“ Colossians 4:5-6 (NASB)

We must begin with deep for people, not anger

towards them. We must pray the prayer “Make

eyes .”

Cognitive: Intellectual or rational (as opposed to emotional).

Michael Polanyi:Twentieth-century philosopher and scientist who developed a theory of “personal knowledge,” emphasizing the need for personal commitment in the pursuit of knowledge.

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Testing the Footing Comprehension

These questions are meant to confirm that all participants have understood the

concepts presented in the lecture and are able to articulate them. They can also be

used as a review.

✦ What is postmodernism?

✦ How might you respond to the charge that God is merely a projection

springing from your own needs or desires?

✦ According to Os Guinness, what is a biblical view of truth anchored in?

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✦ What does it mean that truth is “discovered”?

✦ What does it mean to say that truth is “inescapable”?

✦ What is the biblical diagnosis of what is wrong with the human race?

✦ Many people are familiar with the promise, “The truth will set you free,” but

are unfamiliar with the context of the promise. When Jesus actually makes

this statement in John 8:31-32, what qualification does he put on it?

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✦ Describe the two understandings of truth that we find in the Old Testament.

✦ What do we mean when we say that the law of non-contradiction

is self-evident?

✦ How do even those who deny absolute truth demonstrate the objectivity

of truth through their use of medicines?

✦ How does Christianity’s central teaching on the material world show that all

religions cannot be leading to the same goal when contrasted with Hinduism

and Buddhism?

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“But in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared

to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that

is in you.” 1 Peter 3:15 (NIV)

Rational Proofs

✦ Classic arguments

Two Lines of argument from Thomas Aquinas:

• TheArgumentoftheFirstCause

— Everything that is moved

by something else; there is a

for everything that we see.

THE EXISTENCE OF GODAlister McGrath

This lecture will outline some

of the major arguments for

God’s existence and consider

the limitations as well as the

usefulness of such proofs.

Laying the Groundwork Video Session

V o l u m e3Upon completion of this session you should be able to accomplish the following:

General Outcome:

Detail the evidence for the existence of God and use other methods to discuss

his existence beyond scientific and rhetorical arguments

Specific Outcomes:

Understand the usefulness and limits of General Proofs for the existence of God

Recognize that both doubt and skepticism exist in worldviews

Relate the ideas of beauty and wonder to life and let one’s testimony or the

“personal element” of evangelism provide the best evidence for God’s existence

Thomas Aquinas: Thirteenth century theologian and philosopher best known for a work called Summa Theologica.

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— Either there is an “ ”

of causes, or the buck stops with God.

• TheArgumentfromDesign

— Things seem to have been designed with some kind of .

— This is not simply a rational argument, but speaks to the .

— We’ve been made with a in mind and until we discover

that goal, we shall be .

✦ Inference to the best explanation

• Whenwelookatanimmensely situation

(such as this world), many explanations can be given. For example:

— We are here by .

— We are here because we were by God.

• can be given for almost any explanation,

but there is one explanation that best explains the complex situation.

• Philosophersinrecentyearshaveemphasizedthatindealingwith

questions like the meaning of life and the existence of God, there are

no knock-down arguments on side.

“I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen. Not just because

I see it, but because by it I see .”

—C.S. Lewis

• It’snotsimplythattheGodideamakessense;itisthattheGodidea

else as well.

✦ Empirical fit

• Thereisa between what the theory of God’s

existence says and what we observe in .

• IftheChristiangospelisright,humanityshouldlongforsomethingthat

nothing in this world can .

Proof: A sequence of steps, statements, or demonstrations that leads to an indisputable conclusion.

Inference: Logical conclusion derived from premises known to be true.

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• Humansdohavetheseunsatisfiedlongings,whichisonedemonstration

of fit.

✦ Arguments from morality

• Inourconfusedpostmodernculture,peoplearelookingfortheultimate

ground of .

• InThe Sovereignty of Good, secular philosopher Iris Murdoch argued.

— Without a notion of good we cannot live

out the good life.

— The all-important question is, how do we gain to

this good?

— If there is no good beyond us then we are doomed to

and .

• Christiansbelievethat is good, and knowing what God is

like gives us a very good idea of how we should .

• ChristiansbelievenotonlythatGodexists,butthatHe

Himself through revelation.

• Christianityteachesthatgoodnessisbothaccessible and doable

because of God’s .

How useful are these proofs?

✦ They don’t prove God’s existence

• Wittgensteinpointedoutthelimitsof .

— Words have their limits but they .

— Wittgenstein said he had never personally met anyone who had

come to faith in God by an .

• Argumentsarebestusedto obstacles.

They are usually not enough by themselves to convince someone.

Empirical: Verifiable by means of observation or experiment.

Iris Murdoch: Oxford philosopher and novelist who lived from 1919 to 1999.

Transcendent: Above and independent of the material universe.

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✦ They demonstrate the internal consistency and rationality of faith

• Christianity in itself, and it

of the world.

• Argumentshelpusseethatthe

we fear are not there.

• Whenpeopleaskforproof,theyareusuallylookingfor

intellectual justification.

• Weshouldofferthemanalternativesortofjustification:

— We should attempt to show them that Christianity is the

for the “clues” we have been given.

— We should seek to prove the Christian faith beyond

.

• Weshouldbelikediscipleswho,inthefirstchapterofJohn,invite

Nathaniel to “ .”

The place of doubt

✦ Every worldview has room for doubt

• Atheismcannotanswerthequestionofwhysomanypeople

if there is no God to believe in.

• Atheistssuggestthatpeopleare , , or

and invent God to make themselves feel .

• Eitheralargepercentageofthepopulationisdeluded,orthereis

something wrong with the atheist’s .

• Atheistshave as much as anybody else.

✦ The Case of Suffering

• ForChristians,oneofthemostproblematicquestionsis,“IfGodisso

good, why is there in the world?”

• Thisisnotsimplyan issue; this is a matter

of the heart.

• Tworesponses:

Ludwig Wittgenstein: (1889-1951) Austrian-born English philosopher influential to 20th century philosophy.

Existential questions: Questions about the meaning and purpose of life, such as “Who am I?” and “Why am I here?”

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1. The gospel enables us to with suffering as nothing

else can. It does not the existence of suffering (as

Buddhism or stoicism might).

— God this world and knows what

suffering is.

— God accompanies us the dark places.

2. Suffering is a riddle for , not just the Christian.

— If tomorrow everybody stopped believing in God, suffering would

not .

• Thegospelappealsnotonlytothemind,butalsotothe ,

which is what is needed in the case of suffering.

✦ Living with doubt

• Thegospelusestheimageof ,

not by sight.

• Youdon’thavetobeabletoseeeverythingtoknowyouareonthe

.

• Walkingbyfaithisnotthesamethingastrustingarbitrarilyor .

• WetrustinaGodwhoseknown inspires confidence.

Beyond Reason: The place of Beauty, Wonder, and Story

The lingers despite sin and is

a way of prompting us to discover who God is.

“He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the

hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning

to end.” Ecclesiastes 3:11 (NIV)

✦ Beauty: The Case of CS Lewis

• In“TheWeightofGlory,”Lewispointedoutthatthis

is something that’s been planted in human

nature down the ages.

• Aswepursuebeauty,wediscoverthatwearelookingforsomethingthat

this finite world cannot .

• Lewistaughtthatourlongingforbeautyisa .

• Ourlongingsarepointingusto .

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• ManywhowonderabouttheexistenceofGodarelikethe

in a far country; our task is to help them realize there

is a home where they are wanted and they will be welcomed.

✦ Wonder:thecaseofJ.R.R.Tolkien

The heart of man is not composed of lies,

But draws some wisdom from the only wise

And still him.

We make still by the law in which we’re made.

J.R.R. Tolkein, “ Mythopoeia”

• OuraspirationsandlongingsareelicitedbyGodtodemonstratethe

and of our

present situation without God.

• Thehuman often tries to invent beautiful

worlds and in doing so, discloses the of what

we have here.

✦ Story

• WearedealingwithaGodwhodoesnotsimplyexist,butonewho

utterly .

• Youcantellyourownstoryofthe

of God—the way in which he has molded you, shaped you, directed you,

encountered you.

Applying these ideas

✦ What is the best evidence for God’s existence?

The personal element

• Wedon’tsimplytalktopeoplein ; we’re

probably talking to a specific person or maybe a specific audience. And

the nature of the is going to have an impact

on the way in which we present the gospel.

• Eachperson,eachaudiencewespeaktois .

Mythopoeia: A poem written by J.R.R. Tolkien; the title literally means “the making of a myth.”

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✦ What are the most effective ways of pointing to God’s existence in the face

of skepticism?

• ArgumentsthatGodisadelusioncouldapplyequallywellto

as to Christians.

• Theissueisnotaboutwhatwe to be the case; it is about

what actually is the case.

• TheNewTestamentdoesnotmakeaphilosophicalcasethatGodexists;

itpointstothehistoricalfactofJesus’s .

✦ Beyond arguments, what are some effective means of pointing to God’s existence?

• The was a time

in the history of the world when a concerted, deliberate effort was made

by many people to permanently eliminate from this world.

• Theseattempts,suchastheSovietUnion,collapsed.

• lingers to this day.

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Testing the Footing Comprehension

These questions are meant to confirm that all participants have understood the

concepts presented in the lecture and are able to articulate them. They can also

be used as a review.

✦ What conclusion did philosopher Iris Murdoch reach about morality?

✦ Would Murdoch’s conclusions be consistent with a Christian worldview?

✦ What was Wittgenstein’s conclusion about words? Are they useless because

they are limited?

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✦ Can we convince anyone to believe because of an argument? What is the

primary purpose of arguments in leading someone to faith?

✦ How are arguments helpful to Christians in sustaining their own belief in God?

✦ When people ask for proof, what are they usually seeking? What can we

offer them?

✦ In what way is our search for God like a detective story?

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✦ What explanation do most atheists give for why so many people believe in God?

✦ What comfort does the gospel provide to those coping with suffering?

✦ How does the Bible refer to our existential longings in Ecclesiastes?

✦ What did C. S. Lewis make of the human longing for beauty?

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✦ How should we evaluate what is the most effective argument for God’s existence?

✦ How can the twentieth century be evidence against the atheistic worldview?

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Introduction

✦ and are the guiding

factors in decision making.

✦ Alvin Toffler: Every person carries in his head a

of the world.

Establishing a worldviewRavi Zacharias

This lecture will define the concept

of worldview and address methods

for judging between competing

worldviews. It will summarize the

key questions a worldview must

address to be coherent.

Laying the Groundwork Video Session

V o l u m e4Upon completion of this session you should be able to accomplish the following:

General Outcome: To define the concept of a worldview, differentiate between conflicting worldviews, and develop questions to assess the validity of a worldview

Specific Outcomes: Communicate truth via the “Four Steps in Communication”

Connect the Christian worldview to reality through logical consistency and empirical adequacy

State the four questions that form a worldview

Test worldviews according to the “Five Areas of Credibility”

Pragmatist: One who values knowledge purely for the sake of its consequences.

Alvin Toffler: (1928- Present) American writer and “world’s most famous futurologist” (someone who reflects on how today’s changes become tomorrow’s realities).

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✦ Immanuel Kant: First to use the German term “Weltanschauung,” which

means “a at the

world.”

✦ James Olthuis:

“A worldview… is a framework or set of

through which we view the world and our calling

and future in it. This vision need not be fully articulated: it may be so

that it goes largely unquestioned; it may

not be explicitly developed into a systematic conception of life; it may

not even be theoretically deepened into a philosophy; it may not even

be codified into creedal form. It may be greatly refined through cultural,

historical development. Nevertheless, this vision is a channel for the

which give direction

and meaning to life. It is the integrative and interpretive framework by which

order and disorder are judged. It is the standard by which reality is managed

and pursued. It is the set of hinges on which all our everyday thinking and

doing turns.”

✦ A worldview is a set of that underlie and shape all human

and .

✦ The question is not whether you have a worldview or not, but whether the

worldview you are living by is a one.

What is the goal of apologetics?

✦ The goal of understanding worldviews and communicating your worldview

is to get the one to whom you are communicating to .

How do you communicate the truth?

✦ Two Theories of Truth/Methods of Truth Testing

Relativist: One who believes that truth is relative rather than absolute.

James Olthuis: Interdisciplinary scholar and professor of philosophical theology at the Institute for Christian Studies, Toronto.

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•

•

— People will try to deny this until they are on the

of a non-corresponding truth or an incoherent worldview!

— Correspondence and coherence are incontrovertible methods of

establishing truth in a .

✦ This view of truth is supported by four laws of logic:

• TheLawof : An object is identical to itself.

• TheLawof : Two contradictory statements

cannot be true in the same sense at the same time.

• TheLawofthe : Just

because two things have one thing in common does not mean they have

everything in common.

• TheLawof :

Inferences can be made from what is known to what is unknown.

How do we unpack a worldview and connect it with reality?

✦ Logical

✦ Empirical

• TheBibleisabookof and .

• GodisaGodof value.

• JesustoldThomasreachand his side. (John 20)

• Godhasetchedhis in stones and history.

✦ Experiential

• NormanGeislergivestwoadditionaltests:

1. as a test for falsehood

2. as a test for truth

— is an unaffirmable worldview because

it forces you to deny your own existence.

Empirical: Verifiable by means of observation or experiment.

Pantheism: The idea that all is one and therefore all is God, that God is the universe.

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What are the questions that form a worldview?

✦ Where did I ? (Origin)

✦ How do I separate from ? (Morality)

✦ What is my life’s ? (Purpose)

✦ What’s going to happen to me when I ? (Destiny)

How does the test for credibility come?

✦ Five Areas of Credibility

• The Basis—Does it really work?

• The Basis—Can I sense it in my

experience internally?

• The or Metaphysical Basis—Does

it fit the big picture?

• The Basis—Did what it says really happen?

• The Basis—Does it provide relational support?

What must a worldview have in order to be persuasive?

✦ A strong foundation in (factual support)

✦ A high degree of (internal consistency)

✦ power (the integration of facts and deductions)

✦ Avoid two extremes (neither too nor too )

✦ More than one

✦ Able to refute worldviews

Conclusion

✦ Four Steps in Communication

• —How can you identify with your listener?

• —How can you translate your message into

their idiom?

Credibility: Worthy of belief or confidence.

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• —What about your story is persuasive?

• —Why do you believe what you believe?

✦ The dilemma in all of this:

• Thehumanproblemisnotfinitenessorsmallness,but

and .

• Youcanexpectasinnertoinsiston

of things.

• Sininvolvesan of the truth.

• Sinhasultimatelycontributedto confusion

and evil.

Conversion is not your prerogative; is. Conversion

is prerogative.

✦ Three “ologies”:

• Ontology—What .

• Epistemology—Howyouknowitis .

• Axiology—Howitimpelsyouto .

✦ Revelation 3:14-18

To the church in Laodicea:

“These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of

God’s creation. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish

you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot

nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, ‘I am rich; I have

acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are

wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold

refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you

can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you

can see.”

✦ If you understand the of the people you are

speaking to, you will have an effect.

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Testing the Footing Comprehension

These questions are meant to confirm that all participants have understood the

concepts presented in the lecture and are able to articulate them. They can also

be used as a review.

✦ Ravi imagines a little boy who, when asked if it is true that he has eaten a

cookie, replies, “What is truth?” Why does the boy ask this question? What

is his motive?

✦ Which law of logic does the following statement violate: “It only snows when

it is cold; it is cold, therefore, it must be snowing”?

✦ Which law of logic does the following statement violate: “This statement is false”?

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✦ What does it mean to say that the Christian worldview has “empirical adequacy”?

✦ What does it mean to say that the Christian worldview has “experiential relevance”?

✦ What two extremes does Ravi say that the Christian worldview needs to avoid

if it is going to be persuasive?

✦ What was Ravi’s point in bringing up the parable of the sower and the seeds?

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✦ Can you think of an example of a worldview that does not meet the pragmatic

test for credibility?

✦ What does it mean to say that the Christian worldview rests on more than

one line of evidence?

✦ Even if you could flawlessly prove the Christian worldview, what dilemma

would you encounter?

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What is Pluralism?

✦ Two main kinds of pluralism:

• pluralism

• pluralism

PLURALISM: Do All Religions Lead to the Same Goal?

John Lennox

This lecture will define pluralism and defuse its claims. It will demonstrate the impossibility of mutually contradictory worldviews co-existing as satisfactory explanations of reality. It will explain the law of non-contradiction and how it rules out the supposition that worldviews with competing claims could be equally true.

Laying the Groundwork Video Session

V o l u m e8

Upon completion of this session you should be able to accomplish the following:

General Outcome: Define and understand pluralism and the impossibility of mutually contradictory worldviews co-existing as satisfactory explanations of reality

Specific Outcomes: Define and understand the two types of pluralism

Distinguish the main differences among the major world religions

Recognize that all religions do not lead to the same goal because of their teachings about God, the material world, and human guilt

Apply ways to share the truth of Jesus Christ to others but in such a way as to allay pluralist’s fears of hatred and intolerance

Religious Imperialism: Spreading religious conviction to others through oppressive means.

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✦ Religious pluralism argues that claims to

are a hindrance to peace and harmony.

✦ Karl Popper:

• Suggestedabsolutetruthisashortstepfromtheconfidencewhichsays,

“ .” to the tyranny which says

“…

.”

• Therefore,theonlywaytoprotectsocietyistorejectall

.

✦ The reasonability of pluralism at first glance:

• Wedonotdenytheurgencyofpromotingharmonyin

.

• Thereisalargeelementoftruthinthechargethatreligionhasbeen

the cause of , ,

and .

• TocarryoutviolencetoadvancethemessageofChristis,infact,toact

in sheer to Christ.

✦ However

• PastdisobediencetoChristonthepartofthosewhohavetakenup

the sword is not going to be mended by a disloyalty that

or the sovereign

claims of Christ for fear that those claims will give offense. (David Gooding)

• Inthepastcentury

were imposed with all the that is sometimes

ascribed to religious extremism with the result that many millions died.

Christendom: The collective body of those who, throughout history, have claimed to be Christians.

Totalitarian: Controlled by a single party or dictator.

Secular Ideologies: Political and philosophical theories that purport to be non-religious; for example, Marxism and Scientism.

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• ItwastheverysameJesuswhomadethe

that make pluralists fear tyranny who taught that we should

love not only our neighbors but our .

Do Differences Matter?

✦ The pluralist sees the emphasis on among

the various religions as responsible for causing trouble. He or she thus

concludes that these differences should not be emphasized.

✦ An illustration from art:

• Nathan der Weise (Nathan the Wise) by Gotthold Lessing

• Themessageoftheparable:Allreligionshavethesameheart–

–andsolongasyouareengaged

in that it doesn’t matter whether the ring you wear, that is, the

you follow, is true or not.

• Theparablerestson3faultyassumptions:

✧ That the main objective of all religions is to stimulate

.

✧ That all religions would that this really is their

main objective.

✧ That all religions would accept that their distinctive doctrines are of

relatively .

Question 1: Is the main objective of all religions to get people to behave well

towards one another?

✦ Mature religions teach people to observe a .

✦ These moral codes have a good deal in .

e.g. Versions of the can be found in Islam,

Hinduism, Buddhism, and Confucianism, as well as in ancient philosophy.

✦ Not all religions, however, are particularly concerned with .

Many of the gods of the ancient classical religions of Greece and Rome

behaved far more than the people who

worshipped them.

Question 2: Would all religions agree that the production of good behavior is

their main objective?

✦ The prime concern of most religions is or the .

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✦ The analogy of a ship.

✦ If there is a Supreme Being, our is surely to Him,

and then to our neighbors.

✦ The case of 1 John 4:20:

“If any one says, ‘I love God’, and yet hates his brother, he is a liar: for he who

hates his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not

seen” (NIV).

✦ This should not be taken to mean that if I have treated my brother well, then

it if I have ignored God, rejected

his authority, refused Him my love, obedience, and loyalty, or even denied his

very existence.

✦ If I have treated God like that, then when He finally calls me to account,

it will be no to plead that I at least behaved well to my fellow

human beings.

Question 3: Would all religions accept that their distinctive teachings are of

minimal importance?

✦ Without a religion

would cease to exist as a religion.

✦ The law of non-contradiction: “Nothing can both and

in the same respect.” (Aristotle)

✦ To deny the law of non-contradiction we have to it!

✦ “When a man says that thinking in terms of an antithesis is wrong, what he

is really doing is to use the concept of to deny

.” (Francis Schaeffer)

✦ In no other area would any responsible person be content to take

as a guarantee of either truth or safety.

Do All Religions Lead to the Same Goal?A brief look at Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam

✦ What do the major religions teach about God?

• Hinduism—pantheistic.Itholdsthateveryoneandeverythingis

. Pantheism

inevitably carries the implication that , as well as good, is God.

A Priori: Innate presuppositions; conclusions known to us prior to experience; for example, 2+2=4.

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• Judaism,ChristianityandIslam—rejectpantheism;Godis

from his creation, and good is from evil.

• Buddhism—doesnotnecessarilybelieveinany

whatsoever. Some forms of Buddhism (Mahayana) are polytheistic.

✦ What do the major religions teach about the material world?

• Judaism,Christianity,andIslam—Thematerialworldwascreated

; our material bodies are likewise essentially good since

they were designed and created

. Though spoiled by and subject to

corruption and death, there is the possibility of eventual resurrection

and glory.

• HinduismandMahayanaBuddhism—Thematerialworldandthe

human body were not the direct creation of the supreme deity, though

they emanated from that supreme deity. They were the creation of

some god with the result that matter is undesirable,

if not positively . Human beings should therefore try to

from the negative pull of the material body by striving

on an upward path of spirituality until they enter nirvana.

• CentralteachingofChristianityonthematerialworld—TheIncarnation

of the Son of God in a , his bodily

, and his bodily ascension into heaven.

Do All Religions Lead to the Same Goal? (Continued)

✦ What answer do the major religions give to the problem of human guilt?

The major religions teach more or less the same basic morality: that we ought

to be .

The is that we haven’t been good.

The result is that we are objectively .

• HinduismandBuddhism—Dealwithguiltbyinvokingthedoctrineof

. It teaches that every wrong or evil deed incurs a certain

amount of . This

cannot end until the full amount of it has been endured, or paid off, in

some way by the doer. doesn’t come into

the picture.

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• Judaism,Christianity,andIslam—Flatlyrejectthedoctrineof

. Yet these three monotheistic religions

disagree profoundly over the nature of salvation.

Salvation in the Three Monotheistic Religions

✦ The Christian doctrine of salvation

• Jesusis , , and .

(1 Corinthians 15:1-40)

• Christ’sdeathonthecrosswasa for sins.

• Christ’sdeathpaidthe imposed on human

sin by God’s justice, and that in consequence God can, in full justice,

pardon and accept all those who in true put

theirfaithinJesus(Romans3:23-28;4:24-25).

• Thismeansthatpeopleareforgivenandsavednotbytheirown

(as in Hinduism), but by the suffering of Christ

.

• Thisalsomeansthatwearenotforgivenonthebasisof

(as many religions teach).

✦ The Islamic doctrine of salvation

• IslamregardsJesus(orIsa)asa , but it denies

that he is .

• IslamdeniesthatJesus

. The Qur’an teaches that just as Jesus was about to

be crucified, God snatched him alive up to heaven, and someone else

was for him (see Sura 4:156ff).

• Islamteachestherealityofthe .

• Islamhasno or

.

Monotheistic:teaching or believing that there is only one God.

Qur’an:the holy book of Islam, believed by Muslims to be the revelations of God to Muhammad.

Karma:an impersonal principle dictating that we can only be released from the consequences of our evil actions (which carry over from reincarnation to reincarnation) by suffering.

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• Hopeofsalvationdependsonaperson’s

outweighing the in the scales of God’s justice.

• ForgivenessdependssolelyonGod’s decision.

✦ The Jewish doctrine of salvation

• JudaismaffirmsJesus’scrucifixion,butdenieshis

and .

• JudaismdeniesthatChrist’sdeathwastheGod-appointed

for the sins of the world.

• Finalsalvationdependson .

• Thehistoryof sacrifices reminds the Jewish

people that God cannot simply agree to forget sin.

• Thesacrificesthatthe

prescribed, Judaism cannot now offer. Since it has no adequate

substitute for them, there is no sure basis for .

The depiction of religion as a way or a path

• Atthebeginning,thereisa .

• Attheend,thereisanother , leading to heaven, paradise,

or nirvana.

• Atthefinalgate,thereisan ; whether or

not one gets through depends on merit, the progress one has made

.

• Thisistheexact of the New Testament’s

teaching.

• InChristianity,salvationisnot by works and

merit; it is a of God.

• Atwhatstageinthepathisthegifttobereceived?

Not at the end but at the :

“I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me

has eternal life and will not be condemned: he has crossed over from death

to life” (John 5.24).

• Similartothecovenantof in which

acceptance is guaranteed from the beginning.

• TheScripturesuse as an analogy because

Christianity is not a scheme for accumulating merit: it is the entering of

a with God.

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• Thecertaintyofassuredsalvationshouldnotleadtoarroganceor

irresponsible behavior. The start of the Christian pathway is

, which leads to a character that is eager to do

.

“To ask why must we think that Christ is the only way to God is to miss the

point completely. For Christ does not, in that sense,

with anyone for the simple reason that no one else claims to deal with this

. He is the only one

in the running. How can it be narrow-minded or arrogant to accept from

Christ what no-one else offers?”

—DavidGooding

The Most Important Issue: Truth

✦ No matter how it is defined, truth has an indisputable

that demands our submission and loyalty.

✦ Without regard for truth, we should not expect justice.

✦ The heart of the problem with pluralism: our culture is pluralist about

, but not about .

✦ The heart of the Christian message is not a statement of values at all but the

announcement of a new , the fact of Jesus Christ himself.

✦ The differences among major religions have everything to do with facts of

history and relatively little to do with .

“We agree that a greater knowledge of other religions is enriching, but in

comparing them we cannot surrender Christ’s claim to be the truth. We

agree that colonial attitudes of superiority are arrogant, but still insist that

is superior to .”

—JohnStott

Dogma:authoritative teaching; that which is presented as absolutely true.

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Conclusion

✦ Those of us who believe that Jesus Christ is the truth in the fullest sense of

that word have a responsibility to that truth but

to do it in such a way as to allay the pluralist’s fears of and

.

✦ We must be “ ” in the original meaning of that

word: we must present our case and allow others to present their case,

indeed their right to do so, remembering that,

if our case is true, each of our fellow men and women is a creature made

.

✦ Christians have a duty to “speak the truth .”

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Testing the Footing Comprehension

These questions are meant to confirm that all participants have understood the

concepts presented in the lecture and are able to articulate them.

✦ Explain the difference between Richard Dawkins’s position that religion should

be completely eradicated and the pluralist’s position.

✦ What are the three main faulty assumptions of pluralism?

✦ How does the analogy of a pirate ship show that good behavior toward our

neighbors is not enough to reconcile us to God?

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✦ What do we mean when we say that the law of non-contradiction is self-evident?

✦ How do even those who deny absolute truth demonstrate the objectivity of

truth through their use of medicines?

✦ How does Christianity’s central teaching on the material world show that all

religions cannot be leading to the same goal when contrasted with Hinduism

and Buddhism?

✦ Most major religions agree that the human predicament is that we are guilty.

How do they differ in the way that they go about resolving this predicament?

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✦ What is the basis for forgiveness in Judaism, Islam, and Christianity?

✦ What is the basis for salvation in both Judaism and Islam?

✦ Explain the main elements of the path metaphor as it fits most religious traditions.

✦ How does this metaphor differ when applied to Christian teaching?

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Introduction

✦ Andrew Fletcher: “Let me write the of a nation. I don’t care

who writes its laws.”

“How long, O LORD, must I call for help,

but you do not listen?

Or cry out to you, ‘Violence!’

but you do not save?

Why do you make me look at injustice?

Why do you tolerate wrong?

Destruction and violence are before me;

there is strife, and conflict abounds.

Therefore the law is paralyzed,

and justice never prevails.” (Habakkuk 1:2-4b)

God, Evil, and Suffering Ravi Zacharias

This lecture will expose the myth that the problem of evil is only a problem for theists. It will uncover the presumption of good behind the question, and show that the very question presupposes the existence of a moral lawgiver.

Laying the Groundwork Video Session

V o l u m e10Upon completion of this session you should be able to accomplish the following:

General Outcome: Understand the problem of evil and God’s role in pain and suffering

Specific Outcomes: Understand the myth that the problem of evil is only a problem for theists

Uncover the presumption of good behind the question

Show how the very question of the problem of evil presupposes the existence of a moral lawgiver

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✦ The problem of evil is more than a problem; it is a .

✦ Gabriel Marcel: A mystery is a problem that encroaches upon itself because

the questioner becomes the of the question.

✦ Peter Kreeft: “Getting to Mars is a problem; falling in love is a .”

The Reality of the Problem

✦ Skeptic David Hume:

“Were a stranger to drop suddenly into this world, I would show him as

specimen of its ills a hospital full of diseases, a prison crowded with

malefactors and debtors, a field strewn with carcasses, a fleet floundering in

the ocean, a nation languishing under tyranny, famine or pestilence. Honestly,

I don’t see how you can possibly square with an ultimate purpose of love.”

The Universality of the Problem

✦ This is not the private problem of the Christian or the private question of the

atheist. It is a question and a problem for every .

✦ The entire edifice of Buddhism is built on the premise that

exists.

The Complexity of the Problem

✦ The aspect of it—What is the source of my suffering?

✦ The aspect of it—How do you deal with natural disasters?

✦ The aspect of it—How can an all-powerful and an all-loving

God actually allow evil?

✦ The moment you talk about the problem of evil and suffering,

itself has to be defined.

Dukkha: The universal suffering of humanity.

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✦ C.S. Lewis’s analogy of a boat: Three questions on the high sea

• Howdoyoukeepfromsinking?(Questionsof Ethics)

• Howdoyoukeepfrombumpingintootherships?(Questions

of Ethics)

• Whyareyououtthereinthefirstplace?(Questions

of Ethics)

✦ There is no way to answer the question of evil without also answering the

question of we are out here in the first place.

✦ Doubting the is not

the place to start in understanding the existence of evil.

The Atheist’s Attempts to Escape the Problem

✦ Door #1: There is the presence of evil and therefore there is no God.

• Whenyousaythere’ssuchathingasevilyou’reassumingthere’ssuch

a thing as .

• Whenyousaythere’ssuchathingasgoodyou’reassumingthere’s

such a thing as a on the basis of which

to differentiate between good and evil.

• Butwhenyousaythere’ssuchathingasamorallaw,youmustposit

a moral , but that’s who the atheist is trying

to disprove.

✦ It is not possible to raise the question of evil without finding implicit in that

question the value of itself.

✦ Kai Nielsen:

“We have not been able to show that reason requires the moral point of

view, or that all really rational persons should not be individual egoists or

classical amoralists. Reason doesn’t decide here. The picture I have painted

for you is not a pleasant one. Reflection on it depresses me...Pure practical

, even with a good knowledge of the facts, will not take you

to morality.”

Objective Moral Value: A moral law that holds true at all times for all people, whether or not they believe it.

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✦ Atheist J. L. Mackie:

“We might well argue…that objective intrinsically prescriptive features,

supervening upon natural ones, constitute so odd a cluster of quantities and

relations that they are most unlikely to have risen in the ordinary course of

events, without an to create them.”

✦ Richard Dawkins:

“In a universe of blind physical forces and genetic replication, some people

are going to get hurt, other people are going to get lucky, and you won’t

find any rhyme or reason in it, nor any justice. The universe we observe has

precisely the properties we should expect if there is, at the bottom, no design,

no purpose, no and no , nothing but blind,

pitiless indifference.... DNA neither cares nor knows. DNA just is. And we

dance to its music.”

✦ The assumption smuggled in is that the atheist would recognize

if he saw it. Yet they claim there is no morality

because they don’t see it.

✦ Door #2: We can be good without God.

• EdwardO.Wilson:

“Scientists and humanists should consider together the possibility that

the time has come for to be removed temporarily from the

hands of the philosophers and biologicized.”

The atheist attempts to reduce ethics to a biological product.

• Yetactsofnobilityarecontraryto (such as

the example of Gary and Mary Jean Chauncey who sacrificed their own

lives to save the life of their disabled daughter).

• cannot lead us to ethics.

J. L. Mackie: Australian philosopher and defender of moral skepticism; author of The Miracle of Theism.

Supererogatory: Going beyond the requirements of duty.

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✦ Door #3: God could have made us always choose good.

• AlvinPlantinga:Godcannotdothatwhichis

. (e.g. God cannot draw a square circle.)

• Youcannotlovewithouthavingthefreedomto .

Door #1: Escape to nothing .

Door #2: Escape to nothing .

Door #3: Escape to the .

The Christian Answer

✦ God is the author of life, and God is .

• Wedonotunderstandtheproblem of evil because we do not understand

the nature of .

• Godisnotcallingustoamore lifestyle. God is calling

us to understand who He is.

✦ God is the author of life; therefore there is a .

• Onceyouunderstandthe , you can understand the discord.

• Whenyouunderstandthe of God, you

understand the problem of evil.

• God’spurposeforusistobeinrelationshipwithHim;whenweturnour

backs on Him, breaks out.

• Theanswerisinthe of the human heart.

✦ The storyline is worship and love.

• Theprimarypurposeofthehumanheartisto the living God.

• Thedivineimperativefromworshipis .

Metanarrative: A grand, all-encompassing story characterized by transcendent and universal truth.

Mutually Exclusive: Two things that cannot both be true at the same time.

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• JohnPaulSartre:

“[T]he man who wants to be loved does not desire the

of the beloved. He is not bent on becoming the object of passion

which flows forth mechanically. He does not want to possess an

, and if we want to humiliate him, we need

try to only persuade him that the beloved’s passion is the result of a

psychological determinism. The lover will then feel that both his love

and his being are actually cheapened.”

✦ The heart of love is expressed in the of Jesus Christ.

• Jesusembodiedboththedestructivenessofevilandits

by showing first what it was to face suffering without deserving it.

• ThecrossshowswhathumanitycandescendtowhenGodisrejected.

• WhenweraisequestionsagainstGod,weare

over the very one who came to pay the price

with his life.

✦ The Cross does not point to evil outside, it points to evil .

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Testing the Footing Comprehension

These questions are meant to confirm that all participants have understood the

concepts presented in the lecture and are able to articulate them.

✦ What is the difference between a problem and a mystery?

✦ What question must be first answered in order to answer the problem of evil?

✦ What is the chief flaw in using evil as evidence that God does not exist?

✦ When we ask about the problem of evil, to what are we implicitly giving value?

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✦ Who is an example of someone who looked at morality pragmatically?

✦ What explanation do atheists like Richard Dawkins give for evil actions?

✦ What is the flaw in the atheist’s claim that we can be good without God?

✦ Why didn’t God make us so that we would always choose good?

✦ How did Ravi’s appreciation of the music from The Phantom of the Opera

change after he knew the storyline? How does this relate to the problem of evil?

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✦ In God’s storyline what is the answer or solution to the problem of evil in the

human heart?

✦ What is the Christian answer to the question of why we are here?

✦ Why, in response to Elie Wiesel’s statement that God was hanging on the

gallows, did Jürgen Moltmann say that that statement only makes sense in

the Christian faith?