By Living Waters

This morning I awoke to yet another installment from one of the Biblical studies discussion groups to which I subscribe. Seldom do I have the time or interest to following the discussions these days. But around Easter time people tend to submit thoughts or items that for many reasons interest me. This morning I was directed to an essay by Dr. John Dickson, the director of the Centre for Public Christianity and an honorary associate of the Department of Ancient History at Macquarie University. In his essay, “Facts and friction of Easter,” Dickson writes of the extremes his finds between skeptics, accommodationists and apologists when it comes to the resurrection of Jesus. Much of what he writes is fair enough. But here’s an excerpt that contains some thoughts that I believe are vulnerable and worth pondering. (more…)

As I mentioned before, I recently became fully aware of Hugh Hewitt. I had stumbled across his name last year when his book endorsing and promoting Mitt Romney darted across my field of vision. I didn’t get a copy of that book, however. Perhaps I should have. As a former Mormon I often was asked what I thought about a Mormon president. My response was perplexing to some and confirming to others. (I’ll not bother to elaborate on that here.)

A few weeks back I got a copy of Hugh’s book, In, But Not Of: A Guide to Christian Ambition and the Desire to Influence the World.

A subsequent paperback edition has been released under the title, A Guide to Christian Ambition: Using Career, Politics, and Culture to Influence the World.

I think this is a great book to help a young Christian student develop a vision for his or her future. I’ve recently corresponded with Hugh and it appears that he may speak at some of our summer seminars. If funding presents itself, he may also speak to our students at Summit Oxford.

Recently I purchased Tim Keller’s book, The Reason for God. Yea, while I differ with him here and there, and would say some things differently, I have found the book a wonderful read with some exciting tidbits here and there. His approach at times is refreshing.

Recently he spoke at Google. His presentation now is available at YouTube.

There are also some helpful and encouraging sermons at the book’s website.

Enjoy!

From Summit Ministries’ Truth & Consequences (Feb. 2008).

Perhaps it goes without saying that the “new atheists” have arrived. Richard Dawkins,[2] Sam Harris[3] and Christopher Hitchens[4] (among others)[5] have recently published volumes capturing many intellects and imaginations. As international bestsellers, their publishing efforts are likely to produce challenges to our faith for years to come. These authors have superb rhetorical skills and deploy the English language to great effect. Dawkins and Hitchens have particular appeal with their posh British accents and witty idioms. It is not that their polemics are novel, however, nor their arguments especially successful. And they have not gone unanswered.[6] Yet it appears they have not always understood or felt the weight of their opponents’ objections.[7] For instance, Hitchens regularly denounces people, their beliefs, and their actions as “immoral.” Nevertheless, within an atheist universe it is difficult to see how such moral disdain rises above a merely emotive, “I don’t like them/that.” After all, within that perspective, what precisely is good or evil? Does atheism have the resources necessary to produce coherent accusations of immorality? It is most difficult to see moral assessment as meaningful within an atheist worldview. (more…)

While assessing philosophical naturalism Lewis provides the following insightful remarks regarding moral judgments expressed by adherents of that philosophical school of thoughts.

From Miracles, p.51:

For when men say “I ought” they certainly think they are saying something, and something true, about the nature of the proposed action, and not merely about their own feelings. But if Naturalism is true, “I ought” is the same sort of statement as “I itch” or “I’m going to be sick.” In real life when a man says “I ought” we may replay, “Yes. You’re right. That is what you ought to do,” or else, “No. I think you’re mistaken.” But in the world of Naturalists (if Naturalists really remembered their philosophy out of school) the only sensible reply would be, “Oh, are you?” All moral judgments would be statements about the speakers feelings, mistaken by him for statements about something else (the real moral quality of actions) which does not exist.

Atheist and Darwinist Richard Lewontin, in his review of Carl Sagan’s book, The Demon-Haunted World, admitted something that more commonly remains hidden by advocates of science philosophical naturalism.

Our willingness to accept scientific claims that are against common sense is the key to an understanding of the real struggle between science and the supernatural. We take the side of science in spite of the patent absurdity of some of its constructs, in spite of its failure to fulfill many of its extravagant promises of health and life, in spite of the tolerance of the scientific community for unsubstantiated just-so stories, because we have a prior commitment, a commitment to materialism. It is not that the methods and institutions of science somehow compel us to accept a material explanation of the phenomenal world, but, on the contrary, that we are forced by our a priori adherence to material causes to create an apparatus of investigation and a set of concepts that produce material explanations, no matter how counter-intuitive, no matter how mystifying to the uninitiated. Moreover, that materialism is absolute, for we cannot allow a Divine Foot in the door.

“Billions and Billions of Demons,” in New York Times Book Reviews vol 44, no 1 (9 Jan 1997); accessed online here.

I was granted faith in Jesus Christ in late-1987, at the ripe old age of twenty. I was attending Utah State University at the time, majoring in Music. After coming to faith, my interests migrated and I changed my major to Philosophy. Several philosophy courses contained segments critical of the Bible, especially of the New Testament. One term I enrolled in the course, “The History and Thought of the New Testament” — which was neither. The lecturer was a deviant Presbyterian minister who’s education was a bit out of date. He tried hard to dissuade students of any confidence in the New Testament gospels.

What he didn’t know, at least at first, was that I had become acquainted with Dr. Craig L. Blomberg, now Distinguished Professor of New Testament at Denver Seminary. Not only that, I had acquired a copy of Craig’s book, The Historical Reliability of the Gospels (first edition). These were the days before email and low-priced long distance phone calls. Nevertheless, I began speaking with Craig about numerous issues. He was eminently helpful and always available. I read his book (or portions thereof) so many times that I eventually had to replace it. Then I had to replace it again. Now I’m very pleased to note that a second edition has been published. I highly recommend this book: The Historical Reliability of the Gospels. (If you buy a copy from Amazon, make sure it is the second edition!)

Later I was to make my way to Colorado, begin working with Summit Ministries, and eventually pursue an M.A. I took many courses on many subjects at different schools. I only took two courses with Craig, however. He is highly sought after at Denver Seminary. What I did enjoy, however, were our regular conversations and correspondence. I also enjoyed a fantastic independent study with Craig, one in which I first floated my peculiar reading of Romans 1:18ff. (No, Craig was not persuaded by my thesis, though he felt there was enough traction for it to be pursued. I’m pursuing it!)

Craig is an inspiration to younger wanna-be evangelical scholars. I cannot thank you enough, Craig!

During my M.A. studies I enjoyed a number of courses with Dr. Richard S. Hess, Professor of Old Testament at Denver Seminary. I fondly remember the courses, the independent studies, and the innumerable conversations about this and that regarding Old Testament history, theology, archaeology, etc. I usually meet up with Rick during our summers back in Colorado. Well, he’s recently published a book that may interest you: Israelite Religions: An Archaeological and Biblical Survey. The 350-page book breaks out into twelve chapters, including several excursuses (e.g., “The Documentary Hypothesis and Its Evaluation,” “Sacred Prostitution”), and a bibliography of over 1000 entries. Rick is an expert in many languages and has a facility with archaeological sites and artifacts that is stunning. Several other leaders in the field praise his work, though they also note they don’t necessarily share Rick’s high confidence in the Bible. This is an excellent contribution to a very large subject. Cheers!

The first edition of the new Summit Oxford Quarterly is now available for download. This is a scheduled publication including updates on the ministry and students, as well as some cultural engagement(s). In this issue you’ll find an introduction to Summit Oxford, an article engaging some problems faced by the “new atheists,” profiles of three students who participated in Summit Oxford’s precursor program, and some notes on three books we appreciate.

I recently came across the following quote. I thought I’d share with you.

In speaking of the fear of religion…I am talking about…the fear of religion itself. I speak from experience, being strongly subject to this fear myself: I want atheism to be true and am made uneasy by the fact that some of the most intelligent and well-informed people I know are religious believers. It isn’t just that I don’t believe in God, and, natural, hope that I’m right in my belief. It’s that I hope there is no God! I don’t want there to be a God’ I don’t want the universe to be like that… My guess is that this cosmic authority problem is not a rare condition and that it is responsible for much of the scientism and reductionism of our time. One of the tendencies it supports is the ludicrous overuse of evolutionary biology to explain everything about life, including everything about the human mind.

This is one of the most candid, and, I might note, honest and insightful statements I’ve read in a long time. This comes from Thomas Nagel’s The Last Word (Oxford University Press, 1997) 130-1.