15

February

Dogmatism, truth, skepticism

“We have an incapacity for proving anything, which no amount of dogmatism can overcome.  We [also] have an idea of truth which no amount of skepticism can overcome.”- Blaise Pascal, Pensee 406

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was with God in the beginning.”- John 1:1-2 (NIIV)

Timothy Keller concludes Chapter 2 of Making Sense of God as he talks about the revolutionary statement about Jesus Christ found in John 1:1. In the verse, John refers to Jesus Christ as the Logos.  But the Greeks thought it insanity to identify the “universal cosmic order” with a person.

However, for Christians, John’s statement meant that a loving, personal God = the power behind the world.  Above all, Pastor Keller notes, modern secularism largely keeps these moral ideals of biblical faith.  Yet, the reject the Christian worldview.  Hence, Timothy points out the irony in this position:

“”To hold that human beings are the product of nothing but the evolutionary process of the strong eating the week, but then to insist that nonetheless every person has a human dignity to be honored — is an enormous leap of faith against all evidence to the contrary.”

In conclusion, Pastor Keller observes, the convincing logic of its explicit tenets helps make a way of thinking acceptable.  But one’s tacit, barely perceived personal beliefs are also involved.  For example, people teach the doctrines of the Christian faith against the backdrop of other implicit beliefs, attitudes, and expectations.

Therefore, when something or someone disproves a background belief, foreground beliefs all seem less compelling.  Certainly, some of these background beliefs actually form part of the Christian faith.  Yet, it’s crucial to examine their loss.  Because failure to do so may result in losing one’s whole Christian faith.

Finally, Timothy exhorts, the Christian faith offers far greater and richer goods for understanding, facing, enjoying, and living life than we might imagine.

Today’s question: How do you see the role of dogmatism and truth in the Christian faith?  Please share.

Tomorrow’s blog: “Life – simply what you make it?”

About the author 

Dave Henning

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