Scriptorium Daily
We can rarely isolate one idea (”my philosophy of science”) from all our other ideas.
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Too often some people, even rational religious folk, view all their beliefs as equally important. They hold a particular interpretation of Genesis with the same tenacity as they hold to the existence of God. Surely this is a mistake!
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There are central ideas that cause the web of belief to cohere. These ideas give a man an internally consistent image of self and the world. Coherence of these ideas is vital. A world-view with contradictory strands is inherently unstable.
The second important type of belief are the ideas that connect the man to the external world (which may include a physical and non-physical reality).
Science provides many (though not all) of the connecting strands of belief to the real world. As such it is an important tool in keeping men in contact with the real world that God made. No Christian theist can simply retreat from an attempt to explain his beliefs in the light of creation. Consistency is good, but it is not enough.
Humans with consistent world-views that have no connection to reality are usually found in asylums!
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I do not expect my view of the world to be totally secure or utterly coherent. I must challenge every notion . . . including central ones. In the meantime, it is appropriate to be conservative about big changes. Is my theism working in general? Can I make sense of science and all of reality (including spiritual reality) in a way that is satisfying and does not cut off or avoid any questions?
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A religious believer must examine the deepest metaphysical assumptions first. If they can be connected in a satisfying way to reality, many of the secondary (or tertiary) issues can be left as research problems.
Religion must never be used as an excuse or a short cut to cut off critical self-examination of assumptions. The Socratic examined life (the life of Aquinas or C.S. Lewis) is the good life . . . and religion is no short cut from it!
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Even some “traditional” Christians try to be satisfied by merely stating, “I know in my heart that my beliefs are true!” Personal experience is one important bit of evidence, but more is needed if major decisions are to be based on Christianity.
If traditional Christianity is true, it has to be true at the places where it makes connections with external (non-personal) reality.
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Biblical Christianity makes certain claims about history and reality. Now, why do those matter? They matter because they are anchors. They are the places where the Bible makes predications about the “way things are.”
The central predications are the most important. In terms of history, the most important claim is that Jesus rose from the dead. The tomb was empty. In terms of non-physical reality, I think it is the assertion that there is a non-physical realm (the real of the spirit) and that it matters. If the Bible gets the “big ones” right, then it can (of course) be given more slack on the secondary issues.
If the tomb was empty, then many things are possible! If I have a soul, then there are important limits to naturalistic science.
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The story of the Flood is important, but it is not of equal importance to the life of Christ. The life of Christ is central to the Christian faith in a way the ark story could never be.
If the story of the Christ does not cohere and connect to reality, then the Faith is doomed. On the other hand, one could be a Christian, without believing in the Flood, as C.S. Lewis did. So even the “young-earth” Christian should spend more time “working” on the New Testament accounts of Christ, than on the Genesis accounts of the Flood. Young-earth types can easily make common cause with those believers (like Lewis) who do not share our provisional wish to defend the historicity of the Flood account.
This same sort of intellectual ordering can be applied to issues within Genesis itself. If the believer has good reason to be a Christian apart from Genesis (in the person and work of Christ for example), then he can accept that somethings in Genesis (which are epistemologically less central) can safely be left for further research.
Genesis asserts that the cosmos is a cosmos (ordered) and a creation. Is this true? This is more central to the faith than the confusion of languages at Babel. This is not to say that Babel has no importance, just less importance. The first priority of believers (if they wish to remain believers) must be to establish the coherence and external reliability of the idea of “creation.”
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The Christian religion gives humanity an explanation for the existence of Goodness, Truth, and Beauty. A Christian knows why math works and simple answers are better than complex ones!
He has a basis for morality and a way to account for the existence of the internal sense of self (the “I”). He also has a means of salvation and does not have to “explain away” precious and life-changing religious experience. The secularist must deny every miracle, but the Christian can believe in any that seem supported by the evidence. (more)
