A Jigsaw Guide to Making Sense of the World by McLellan Alex;

A Jigsaw Guide to Making Sense of the World by McLellan Alex;

Author:McLellan, Alex; [McLellan, Alex]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780830866588
Publisher: InterVarsity Press
Published: 2012-10-01T00:00:00+00:00


Craig has said that “reason’s role is that of a servant. Reason is a God-given instrument to help us better understand and defend our faith.”[22] We cannot even begin to conduct scientific inquiry without having faith in the scientific method—science has to assume there is regularity in nature and that the external world is real. The scientific method helps us interact with the world in a wonderful way, but scientists have to assume that certain things are true by faith. On this basis Atkins and Dawkins are, like the rest of us, people of faith, and it is important to keep them humble by reminding them. Be prepared to scratch the surface of an atheist’s belief, but beware—many atheists do not like being scratched.

As if this were not humbling enough for Dawkins and company, there is another crucial fact to expose when it comes to atheism (either old or new)—the blind belief that rational human beings have emerged from a nonrational world. In chapter one we considered how philosopher John Gray, a self-described religious skeptic (a title that seems to grant him some degree of critical immunity), has powerfully unmasked the more outspoken atheist by stating that “humans cannot be other than irrational. Curiously, this is a conclusion few rationalists have been ready to accept.”[23]

If it’s true that as Bertrand Russell states we are ultimately the accidental outcome of a collocation of atoms, the rationality of atheism will implode under cross-examination. C. S. Lewis said, “A strict materialism refutes itself for the reasons given long ago by Professor Haldane: ‘If my mental processes are determined wholly by the motions of atoms in my brain, I have no reason to suppose that my beliefs are true . . . and hence I have no reason for supposing my brain to be composed of atoms.’”[24] Unfortunately, this means there is no scientific basis for believing that human beings are rationally equipped to do science, and when “people of science” try to distance themselves from “people of faith,” we need to be ready to bring them back down to earth—often with a bump. As John Polkinghorne has said, “The scientist and the theologian both work by faith, a realist trust in the rational reliability of our understanding of experience.”[25]

Faith and Feeling

When faith comes under attack it often seeks refuge in the realm of feeling, and when it goes in this direction many people are quick to follow. There is something comforting about keeping things close to your chest—and close to your heart—and we’ve already described this temptation in the context of truth and belief. If my faith is anchored in feelings then it is protected since you cannot criticize it, and when it is based on my feelings it should be respected since everyone can have their own faith their own way.

Some religions encourage this kind of unquestioning approach to faith. Many Eastern worldviews begin with the directive to stop thinking and empty your mind: “When your mind is without anything and you are no-minds, then you are free and spiritual, empty and marvelous.



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