ToddHDow Studios

Category: philosophy

  • Did the Enlightenment negate God?

    I’d argue no… in fact, I’d argue that the Enlightenment, while enforcing rational investigation into the nature and existence of God, did God a favour. Although the Enlightenment was great at showing us our human limitations, it brought us no closer to God than any other religious faith. And really… didn’t the Enlightenment just trade one religion for another (Mnotheism for Scientism)?

    The Enlightenment is seen as the “Age of Reason”, which has led to the diminishment of church authority in the political and academic realms of society. The Enlightenment marked the transition from medieval “faith” to modern “knowledge”. Enlightenment thinkers concerned themselves with “rational thought”, which led to scrutiny of all things within the natural world. A newfound skepticism arose during this period. Questions of worldview (metaphysics) and what we can know as humans (epistemology) came to mark this period. From Descartes’ “cogito, ergo sum” (I think, therefore I am) to Kant’s “Metaphysics of Morals”, the Enlightenment saw a great deal of thought pertaining to the nature of our world and our place within it.

    In previous generations, education and religion typically ran hand in hand, with one defending the other. Following the development of the printing press and the revolt of the Protestant Reformation, the church’s hold on academic thought dissipated significantly. Francis Bacon’s (1561-1626) scientific method provided an early framework for later Enlightenment thinking. Voltaire’s Dictionnaire Philosophique continued this tradition. And, Voltaire’s wry caricatures of the religious leaders of his day (Candide is a great read in this regard) lent more fuel to the anti-religious fire that was burning during this time.

    There was a tremendous focus on the material world during this time. Rational thought tended towards that which could be measured (empiricism) or explained (rationalism). It was important to be able to explain events within the limitations of the natural world, as opposed to the traditional spiritual explanations given by the church. This led to great debates on the nature of miracles (see Hume’s “On Miracles” in particular) and the value of religion in personal life.

    While skeptical thought did negatively impact the church, it did not disprove the necessity and value of religious belief, nor did it supplant it with anything other than a new religion, namely “scientism”. I find it ironic that the last of the Enlightenment giants, Emmanuel Kant, offered a newfound explanation for God through his idea of moral justification. So much for the skeptical death of God provided by his contemporaries…

  • All the rage

    The irony in this article is too good to pass up. You have to give it a read:

    All the rage from The Walrus Magazine.

  • The End Is Coming!

    I was reading the following article tonight and it prompted me to write:

    Praying for the Apocalypse

    People have been claiming that the end is sight ever since… well… since people could say those words. I still find it surprising though that people actually bank on that kind of a worldview. From global warming to nuclear war, the pessimists out there have been calling out like Chicken Little for as long as I can remember. I find this disappointing, because, while I do have the occasional negative day, I don’t sit and dwell on the end times at the expense of living in the present.

    Last time I remember, Jesus gave us instructions to stick around and to live our lives according to God’s rules. We weren’t to pack up and wait for Jesus to come back. Some instructions:

    “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. […] And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’” (Matt 22:37-40)
    “I am going to send you what my Father has promised, but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” (Luke 24:49)

    I could quote numerous other passages, but the point is this: Jesus directs us to live according to his principles in the world. As we read in John (John 17:14-19), we are in the world but not of the world. We are all visitors here on Earth and we are here for a brief amount of time. As visitors, should we foster a positive or a negative perspective towards others?

    Church history is full of urgent appeals based on the understanding that the end is near. Unfortunately, these battle-plagued end times scenarios have never turned out well for anyone. The end times have yet to arrive for the persecutors, and the persecuted suffer as a result. And, more importantly, the persecutors that once demonized the targets of their aggression end up looking like the demonizers. This begs the question: “Who is the real demon in all of this?”

    We have a responsibility to live responsibly under the guidance and spiritual presence of God. We, as Christians, have moral obligations to love our neighbours and to make the world a better place. Even those that are not Christian agree that our moral compasses are fairly well aligned when it comes to good and evil.

    Be on guard against temptations to become a demon in the name of religion. Be responsible and follow Jesus’ calling to wait out his return in loving and caring fashion. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be caught compromising my values in the name of religious justification. And raising our hands in violence in the name of Christ would definitely be compromising those values.

    Todd Dow

  • What is an evangelical – IV

    Commitment to prayer, discipleship, and faithful service to wider humanity

    Christian service calls for a personal relationship with Christ, loyal commitment to the church and an obligation to assist others within society. Evangelicals take seriously the call to action given by Jesus:

    Mark 12:28-31:
    “One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, ‘Of all the commandments, which is the most important?’”
    “‘The most important one,’ answered Jesus, ‘is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.’”

    Love the Lord your God: Prayer and discipleship ensure an ongoing relationship with God. We talk to our friends, neighbours and co-workers every day. Similarly, prayer is required to keep an ongoing dialogue with God. What is life without communication with our creator? Communication with God ensures an ongoing commitment to a future of salvation and eternal life. We must maintain this relationship just as we would a relationship with one of our friends. Talk with God often.

    Discipleship is equally important. Living as a follower of Christ provides our witness to those around us about our allegiance to the Kingdom of God. True discipleship does not come without a cost, however. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a 20th Century theologian, provides a fantantastic explanation of the cost of discipleship:

    Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, Communion without confession, absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.
    Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock. Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life. It is costly because it condemns sin, and grace because it justifies the sinner. Above all, it is costly because it cost God the life of his Son… Costly grace is the Incarnation of God.
     – Taken from “Bonhoeffer, Dietrich, The Cost of Discipleship, Toronto, Ontario, Touchstone Books, 1995, pg 45.”

    Faithful service to wider humanity is also a requirement. As Jesus says: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Thus, we have been charged with loving and caring for those around us in the same way that we love God. We have a responsibility to express our love to God through our love, care and compassion to those around us. Numerous Christian organizations provide such services. We are all responsible to help support the least among us in any way that we can.

    The instruction is clear, simple and easy to understand. And, it is full of richness and life. It is difficult to object to this message of love and community that is ordered by Jesus. We must embrace this as participants in Christ’s Kingdom here on Earth.

    This is the last post in this series on “What is an Evangelical”. I’m certain that many people identify with these tenets and agree that they are central to one’s faith. My goal here has been to highlight the similarities that are present between the numerous Christian denominations throughout the world. Instead of focusing on the divisions between believers, I prefer to focus on the similarities. From there, we can build a network of trust, mutual understanding and teamwork, all of which translates into a more influential and effective worldwide movement. Christianity, at its roots, is a religion of love. We should focus on this love and work together for the betterment of society as a whole. I trust that this calling will sit well with each of you as you consider your personal contribution to spreading God’s light throughout the world.

    In Him,

    Todd Dow

  • What is an evangelical – III

    Belief that Jesus’ death and resurrection were historical facts, necessary for our new life

    The 20th Century has seen an unparalleled interest in the truth claims of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. Numerous academics, skeptics and religious challengers have been attempting to subvert the historical validity of the New Testament. The most recent scholarship has not only further confirmed the accuracy of the New Testament texts, but it has also uncovered additional documentation to support the existence of Jesus Christ in the first century.

    Mark Allen Powell, in his book “Jesus as a Figure in History“, provides a great summary of the standard criteria used in religious studies research to comment on authenticity. Powell provides six criteria. They are:

    1. Multiple Attestation – are the same ideas found in multiple sources?
    2. Dissimilarity – an idea is more likely to be authentic if it is different from the typical perspectives of the period in question. In this case, perspectives that differed from typical Judaic thought would be considered more likely to come from Jesus.
    3. Memorable Form – memorable phrases, stories or sayings would be more likely to be authentic. It is assumed that stories pertaining to Jesus were first transmitted in oral form, it is more likely that proverbs, beatitudes and stories in memorable forms would be more likely to be accurately remembered, shared and passed on.
    4. Language and Environment – Does the language and environment fit the historical period in question? If so, this supports the authenticity of the claim.
    5. Explanation – Does the story or quote in question further support the claims made about the person, place or thing in question.
    6. Coherence – Does the story under scrutiny fit with the rest of the factual information known about the topic at hand? If so, this lends additional credence to the argument in question.

    There is plenty of writing out there to support all six of these categories. There are multiple sources that point to the validity of the Jesus of history, both before and after his resurrection. There are numerous sources that date back to the same century as Christ’s life. And, these sources come from numerous different perspectives. This multiple attestation shows the abundance of early documentation in support of the claim that Jesus is the Messiah. The criteria of dissimilarity fits, as Jesus’ message definitely went against the grain of the Jewish leaders of the day. We need look no further than the Sermon on the Mount to see the criteria of memorable form at play. The language, environment and explanations for the stories of Jesus all seem to fit together quite well. And, there is a coherence to the stories of Jesus that suggests a valid historical foundation as well.

    Obviously, one cannot be absolutely certain of anything, regardless of the proof provided. In today’s day and age with all of the technical wizardry available, we cannot even be certain that what we see in the news is even true. But, based on the documentation available and the adherence to the six criteria listed above, we have a very strong upon which to lay our belief in the historical facts of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

    Next, we’ll tackle the concept of “commitment to prayer, discipleship, and faithful service to wider humanity“.

    Until then, I urge you to read further on this interesting topic. There is a great deal of research pertaining to the historical Jesus.

    In Him,

    Todd Dow