A Matter of Faith III

"Boiled down to essentials, a nervous system enables the organism to succeed in the four F's: feeding, fleeing, fighting and reproducing. The principal chore of nervous systems is to get the body parts where they should be in order that the organism may survive…. Improvements in sensorimotor control confer an evolutionary advantage: a fancier style of representing is advantageous so long as it is geared to the organism's way of life and enhances the organism's chances of survival. Truth, whatever that is, definitely takes the hindmost." ~ "Epistemology in the Age of Neuroscience", Patricia S. Churchland (emphasis Churchland's)

I like the above statement no so much because I necessarily think that if conforms to reality, but because it is a wise statement about the implications of a naturalistic evolutionary system. What Churchland points out that I agree with is from a naturalistic perspective truth "definitely takes the hindmost," i.e. naturalistic evolution does not guarantee true beliefs only beliefs that contribute to survival. This brings up a variation on the Argument from Reason, which I have written about previously here and implicitly here. From a naturalistic perspective how can one trust one's beliefs about science or one's logical reasoning that leads to one's naturalistic point of view if the process that produced one's mind does not guarantee or even "care" about truth? If it be admitted that naturalistic evolution does not care about truth then it is a self-defeating explanation in that it cannot guarantee the reliability of the reasoning processes that leads to it.

The point of all this is not so much to make an argument against naturalistic evolution, but to point out that it takes faith to believe in the theory. It takes faith to hold that naturalism (a process that cares nothing for truth) can produce trustworthy systems such as the scientific method, assumptions about the uniformity of nature governed by laws, or abstract reasoning and the laws of logic.

Evolutionists proclaim loudly that theistic belief is bankrupt and foolish, however, it would seem the proverbial shoe is on the other foot. From a theistic perspective one can be consistent in one's beliefs and say that one trusts one's reasoning because that reasoning ability has been endowed by an intelligent designer. From an atheistic perspective one cannot be consistent in one's belief because the very reasoning processes that produce those beliefs are products of an untrustworthy process.

By His Grace,
Taylor

The Triune God

Heavenly Father, blessed Son, eternal Spirit,
  I adore Thee as one Being, one Essence,
  one God in three distinct Persons,
  for bringing sinners to Thy knowledge and to Thy kingdom.
O Father, Thou hast loved me and sent Jesus to redeem me;
O Jesus, Thou hast loved me and assumed my nature,
  shed thine own blood to wash away my sins,
  wrought righteousness to cover my unworthiness;
O Holy Spirit, Thou hast loved me and entered
  my heart, implanted there eternal life,
  revealed to me the glories of Jesus.
  Three Persons and one God, I bless and praise Thee,
  for love so unmerited, so unspeakable,
  so wondrous, so mighty to save the lost
  and raise them to glory.

O Father, I thank Thee that in fullness of grace
  Thou hast given me to Jesus, to be His sheep,
  jewel, portion;
O Jesus, I thank Thee that in fullness of grace
  Thou hast accepted, espoused, bound me;
O Holy Spirit, I thank Thee that in fullness of grace
  Thou hast exhibited Jesus as my salvation,
  implanted faith within me,
  subdued my stubborn heart,
  made me one with Him for ever.
O Father, Thou art enthroned to hear my prayers,
O Jesus, Thy hand is outstretched to take my petitions,
O Holy Spirit, Thou art willing to help my
  infirmities, to show me my need,
  to supply words, to pray within me,
  to strengthen me that I faint not in
  supplication.

O Triune God, who commandeth the universe,
  Thou hast commanded me to ask for those
  things that concern Thy kingdom and my soul.
  Let me live and pray as one baptized into the
  threefold Name.

The Trinity, "The Valley of Vision"

Enough said...

By His Grace,
Taylor

It is Hard to Hug a Stiff Kid

"It is hard to hug a stiff kid... It is easier to hug a dirty kid." ~ Steve Brown

Steve used this analogy when talking about prayer. He was pointing out that a lot of us avoid coming to God in prayer because we think we are not good enough or think that we need to get it together and then come to God in prayer. It is the "God helps those who help themselves" mentality. What he is pointing out here is that God does not expect us to have it all together when we come to Him, actually He knows it is the opposite and wants us to realize that. What actually keeps us distant from God is not our sin, but our self righteousness (or a desire for it) that stiffens us.

I am not a hugger, anyone who knows me knows that and knows that when they try to hug me it is probably a pain because I stiffen up. Think of what it is like when we come to God that way, trying to be strong and righteous. When we are stiff like the the brother of the prodigal son (Luke 15:25-32) we cannot accept the Father's love for us as His children, we feel like we have to earn it. But when we come to God, dirty and knowing that we are not "worthy to be called [His] son" (Luke 15:21) that is when He can kill the fattened calf for us, clean us, put a robe on our backs and a ring on our finger and say, "this son of mine was dead and is alive again" (Luke 15:24). It is when we know we are dirty and recognize that we are not even worthy to be a servant in His house that we, ironically, find out what it means to be His child. It is easier to hug a dirty kid.

By His Grace,
Taylor