EVIDENTIALLY SO?

EVIDENTIALLY SO?

Sunday, September 28, 2014

 

2Timothy [MKJV] 4:1-4 Therefore I solemnly witness before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who is going to judge the living and the dead according to His appearance and His kingdom, preach the Word, be instant in season and out of season, reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine. For a time will be when they will not endure sound doctrine, but they will heap up teachers to themselves according to their own lusts, tickling the ear. And they will turn away their ears from the truth and will be turned to myths.

1Peter 3:14-16 … if you also suffer for righteousness' sake, you are blessed. And do not fear their fear, nor be troubled, but sanctify [mentally hallow His holiness] the Lord God in your hearts, and be ready always to give an answer to everyone who asks you a reason of the hope in you, with meekness and fear; having a good conscience, that while they speak against you as evildoers they may be shamed, those falsely accusing your good behavior in Christ.

 

  Young Christian participating in higher secular education toward a hoped for degree can be very problematic ethically. This truth is self-evident. How to deal with problem(s) that may thwart realizing hoped for degree is not so clear.

  Yesterday I received an email from a grandson confronted with this issue. To get a passing grade credited toward degree, write essay in way non-religious professor wants to hear . . . or show proofs from God’s Word and suffer the same consequences other Christian students have?

  Below is the text the students must respond to in writing.

 

“We have defined religion as a system of myths, rituals, ethics and art that helps
construct meaning for a community of believers. Humans are driven to
interpret experiences through stories, elevating certain stories to the status of truths and
imbuing our lives with meaning. It is understandable then that truths, values and norms
are different for different people, depending on their cultural, economic, political and
religious backgrounds (an idea commonly known as relativism). Religious relativism
requires us to acknowledge the legitimacy other people's religious beliefs and practices,
at the same time recognizing our own beliefs and practices as just one system in a
world of diverse religions. Agnosticism requires us to acknowledge that the
supernatural is, by definition, unobservable and therefore beyond the scope of an
empirical epistemology (i.e., knowledge based on objective evidence). In other words,
there is no evidence to prove or disprove the existence of the supernatural, so to have
academic integrity we must remain neutral on that topic for the purposes of our study.
What are some implications of the theory that meaning is constructed by people rather
than revealed by supernatural beings or observed in nature? What does this theory
suggest about the meaning of religious texts? What does this theory explain to us
about the existence of religious sects? If religious truths are constructed, what benefits
might be derived from carefully de-constructing (i.e., taking apart and analyzing the
origins and implications of) those truths? Why does the academic study of Religion
require us to adopt relativism and agnosticism as part of our methodology?”

 

  How would you advise my grandson?

  Or, the tougher question being, if personally required as we very well may be in the future . . . how will you respond?

  Wait, as we know, God requires this readiness!

EBB4