Post by Josh on Feb 25, 2007 18:05:51 GMT -8
"The heart has its reasons of which reason knows nothing."
Blaise Pascal
I love this quote by one of the most profound logical thinkers Christianity has ever produced. Pascal appreciated the powers of reason but didn't stop with logic in his pursuit of truth. He was also very in touch with what I might call "intuitive apologetics".
What I mean by that are the evidences for Christianity which reside primarily in our longings, in our own personal experiences, in our basic human make-up -- in our "heart" as much as in our "head" (though I often don't like to use those distinctions).
I was sharing the faith with someone recently who was heavily influenced by a materialist/ naturalist worldview in which all of reality is seen as merely the physical universe. We were discussing whether there truly are objective "rights and wrongs".
On this subject, there are certainly logical arguments that can be used to demonstrate an objective moral standard, but in this case, and often when I am discussing these things with others, I find there is a built-in intuitive sense that certain things must be right or wrong. I don't just chalk it up to a strong moral education, either. I really do think (feel?) that your average human has an inborn sense of certain truths, which although they may not be able to articulate rationally, they just know deep down in their gut. Yes, that intuitive sense of spiritual realities can be distorted, withered, or killed... and it may not always naturally appear in everyone fully, but in general, it is there and is born out by Scripture in such passages as:
Ecclesiastes 3:11
"He has also set eternity in the hearts of men .."
Hand in hand, "intuitive apologetics" and "rational apologetics" make the perfect marriage of evidence for the faith handed down once and for all to the Saints.
As a side-note, here are some of my favorite Christian apologists who, though strong in their logical rationale for faith, explored very deeply what I am here calling "intuitive apologetics":
G. K. Chesterton: especially in his book "Orthodoxy"
C. S. Lewis: especially in any of his writings focused on the subject of "Joy"
Blaise Pascal: as mentioned above, you really need to read Malcolm Muggeridge's mini-biography of Pascal in his book "A Third Testament".
Blaise Pascal
I love this quote by one of the most profound logical thinkers Christianity has ever produced. Pascal appreciated the powers of reason but didn't stop with logic in his pursuit of truth. He was also very in touch with what I might call "intuitive apologetics".
What I mean by that are the evidences for Christianity which reside primarily in our longings, in our own personal experiences, in our basic human make-up -- in our "heart" as much as in our "head" (though I often don't like to use those distinctions).
I was sharing the faith with someone recently who was heavily influenced by a materialist/ naturalist worldview in which all of reality is seen as merely the physical universe. We were discussing whether there truly are objective "rights and wrongs".
On this subject, there are certainly logical arguments that can be used to demonstrate an objective moral standard, but in this case, and often when I am discussing these things with others, I find there is a built-in intuitive sense that certain things must be right or wrong. I don't just chalk it up to a strong moral education, either. I really do think (feel?) that your average human has an inborn sense of certain truths, which although they may not be able to articulate rationally, they just know deep down in their gut. Yes, that intuitive sense of spiritual realities can be distorted, withered, or killed... and it may not always naturally appear in everyone fully, but in general, it is there and is born out by Scripture in such passages as:
Ecclesiastes 3:11
"He has also set eternity in the hearts of men .."
Hand in hand, "intuitive apologetics" and "rational apologetics" make the perfect marriage of evidence for the faith handed down once and for all to the Saints.
As a side-note, here are some of my favorite Christian apologists who, though strong in their logical rationale for faith, explored very deeply what I am here calling "intuitive apologetics":
G. K. Chesterton: especially in his book "Orthodoxy"
C. S. Lewis: especially in any of his writings focused on the subject of "Joy"
Blaise Pascal: as mentioned above, you really need to read Malcolm Muggeridge's mini-biography of Pascal in his book "A Third Testament".