Why the "How do you KNOW?" answering the skeptics, part dos

I just want to explain why I want us to explore the "skepticism" issue.

First, we want to learn how to reach everyone... and that includes skeptics. Therefore, we need to figure out the reasons why people become skeptical so that we know how to deal with it in a good way when we do encounter an uber-skeptic of Christianity. (I like making up new words... "uber-skeptic"... ha!) We need to know when it's good, so we can use it appropriately in order to help others see whether they are standing on a shaky foundation (remember tonight's message by Pastor Chad? rock vs. sand foundation?).

Second, we need to investigate ourselves and our beliefs. Just as a "thought-experiment", I'd like all of you who are reading this to play the skeptic against yourselves. Why do you believe Christianity is true, and keep asking yourselves why. If you don't do this now now, someone else probably will in the future. I would like you to find out what your core foundation is. What are the ultimate reasons for the faith you hold? If your ultimate reasons are a bit shaky at this point, remember that's okay! That's why we're having this discussion. If your foundation is a bit shaky, my hope is that this discussion will give you a stronger and stronger foundation for your Christian faith... because for me after a lot of reflection of my own, I have arrived at some pretty darn good reasons (apart from personal experiences) for putting my faith, trust, hope, and life in Jesus Christ, and I'd like to share those reasons with you too.

How do you KNOW? Answering "uber-skeptics", part uno

Sometimes when we talk about our faith with non-believers, they may say something like, "ok, you may believe that there is a God, but how do you KNOW?" What they are most likely doing at this point is playing the uber-skeptic (I figure I can use the word "uber" since I teach German, right?... all the other kids are using it! ... though, I know, I'm not a kid anymore.) So let's explore this issue. Given the scope of this discussion, I probably won't be able to answer every single issue related to this. I must warn you, this issue of skepticism is a totally HUUUUUGE issue. It's very easy to retreat into skepticism because all you really have to say is, "how to you know? how do you know that? well, how do you know even that???" and on and on.

Remember what I just said: it's very easy to retreat into skepticism... but in my opinion, most of the time when people use it, it's just a sort of defense mechanism.

In our previous discussions, we've established that there is truth... independent of our perceptions. But what about our perceptions then? How much should we trust our perceptions? Should we be skeptical or gullible?

Let's put this on a spectrum ranging from -5 (uber-skeptical) to +5 (uber-gullible):

• (-5) You can choose to be veeeeeery uber-skeptical .
  
• (-3) You can be fairly skeptical and dismissive.
  
• (-1) You can be initially skeptical but willing to hear the evidence supporting the claim.
  
• (+1) You can take in new information but be willing to hear another side to the issue.
  
• (+3) You can be fairly accepting of new information.
  
• (+5) You can believe whatever anyone tells you, even if they said that the word "gullible" was taken out of the dictionary.

There are times when we are leaning toward the -3 and other times we lean toward the +3. It may depend on the source of information, our previous beliefs, previous information we've received and accepted, and how far-fetched the new information is (is it reasonable or is it just "far out there"?).

So here's my final conclusion: everyone has to decide how skeptical they are going to be. Is someone going uber-skeptical for the wrong reasons? Sometimes people do this as a defence-mechanism. Sometimes people do this as a form of rebellion. Sometimes the source of the new information has no credibility (meaning all trust you've had in that person or source is lost).

So here's what I'd like us to discuss in this blog: 1) Why do people use skepticism as a form of defence? 2) Why do people use it to rebel? 3) What causes us to not trust the source anymore? 4) When is it good or smart to be skeptical? 5) When is it bad or stupid?

I won't be able to post another blog for a couple days. This weekend is going to be very busy. So I'm giving a big topic to discuss for the next couple of days. (When I have time, I'll still comment :) )

Afraid of discussing Christianity

So far, we've discussed that truth and the existence of things does not depend on our perception. Just briefly, I want to discuss a few reasons why discussing religious issues can be difficult. One thing people will say is, "How do you KNOW?" ... as if I should have all the answers in my back pocket. (yeeeeaaah, right) So we will get into that question next, but to start this topic off, I'd like your input.

I think there are a bunch of reasons why we are afraid to discuss various personal issues with people (such as politics and religion). But before I give my thoughts as to why people might be afraid of talking with others about religion, I'd like to hear what ideas you have.

Why do you think people get butterflies in their stomach when trying to share the gospel with others? And if possible, be specific. What do other people do that makes us nervous?

New Look

Hey everyone,

I just wanted to give you all a head's up. We're changing the look of this blog a bit, but all other blogging activity will pretty much stay the same for now. Cool? ... Cool!

So stay with us and don't abandon ship! :)

Is "Truth" Determined By Culture?

Ok, here's the email that a friend received from her professor. Basically, my friend was questioning some things that were in the textbook such as...

that because there is dispute over the nature of the earth, there isn't a real truth about its nature. It [the textbook] reads: "This example...illustrates that truth is never just one thing". "These kinds of beliefs, or truths, may change throughout our lives..."

Here is the professor's response to my friend's email:

From the perspective being advocated in the book, "truth" is a matter of agreements. Not all cultures define phenomena in the same way, and language plays a significant role in how we construct our understandings of things. For instance, in our culture, we have 7 basic colors and variations on those (red, orange, yellow, etc.). But there are other cultures that have only 3 words for colors. Do they perceive reality differently? Who's to say?

With regard to time, you do, indeed, put in an objective amount of time (which could be called objective truth), and your perceptions of it will vary (subjective truth). But we, as a culture, choose to define time in a particular way. Our culture is very linear with time (past, present, future). But other cultures do not have that linear sense. Islanders, for instance, typically measure time in terms of recurring cycles and don't have any sense of "future" or "end" that Western culture does.

So, is your sense of time a belief? Yes, from this perspective. You agree to and use a particular time measurement system that has been agreed upon, and around which ways of living are constructed.

Now after reading this, how would you respond. You don't have to respond to the entire email (that may take a while), but perhaps pick out 1-3 things from this and tell how you'd respond. Also, do you see the confusion between reality itself and knowledge of reality in here?

So why the last blog post?

One reason why I wanted us to think of things that we have no direct access to with our senses is because when you go to college, you most likely will encounter a few professors who believe that all that exists is what we can measure physically. They would call themselves "physicalists". There are also people who are "naturalists" who believe that there is nothing "supernatural" (above and beyond nature) that exists.

What we want to do, if we get into a conversation with a person who is a naturalist, is to explain that there might be more than just the physical or the natural... that their view may be too "limited". The reason I say "might" is because sometimes it is helpful ask a lot of "what if" questions when talking with someone who is SOOO certain that their view is right and then later give reasons for why you think the "what if's" are actually true.

Of course, you have to "know your audience"... different people are convinced by different things. But God gives us plenty of "clues" to know that He exists... and these clues are both "physical" and "non-physical".

One thing I plan on getting into is a very common confusion between truth/existence and knowledge of truth/existence. The main debates do center around "knowledge of truth", but people will say in different ways, "I've never seen God, so I don't think God exists." You see the two categories of truth and knowledge getting confused in that one statement? The first half of the statement has to do with knowledge; the second half has to do with existence. They may also say, "If God exists, why doesn't God just show up?" The first half has to do with existence the second half has to do with our knowledge of Him via physical means.

In the next blog entry, I'll post some parts of an email correspondence a friend of mine had with a professor (of philosophy, I think) regarding "perception" vs. "truth".

(This is sad... I finally finished this post at 1:00am. Sheesh.)

I haven't seen it, so it doesn't exist!

The last blog had to do with truth and existence itself. Now we're going to discuss knowledge of truth. (These are two important distinct categories that people often mix together)

One of the more common objections I've heard from people who don't believe in God is where they say, "Well how do you know God exists? Have you seen Him?"

There's a hidden assumption behind these questions: they are basically saying if you see something, then that something exists; if you don't see it, it doesn't exist. Right now, I don't see Japan. Does that mean it doesn't exist? I've never seen, heard, tasted, or felt a single electron (for those of you who haven't taken chemistry yet, you'll learn about these. You can also look them up on the internet.) but yet scientists all agree that they're there. There's also your and my mind. You can't see it, taste it, touch it, smell it, and so on, but you can still see the effects of it. When someone thinks of 2+2=4, we're seeing the result of them using their mind.

So here's the thing I'd all of us to do for the next day or two...

can you think of things that we have no access to with our senses, but that we have good reasons to believe they exist? I gave a couple of examples that fit into this: the mind and electrons.

Truth - What's that?

For the next couple of days, I'd like to discuss the concept of 'truth': what it is and what it is not. Today I'd just like to throw out a couple of phrases that I've heard all different people say (especially when I went to college back in the 90's and also recently among many people preparing to become teachers in K-12 schools).

I'd like all of you who are reading this to think about the following statements. What's wrong with these statements? Is there a response you can give to the following statements to show why they are logically problematic? Does the statement collapse on itself? Is there a misuse of the word "truth" or "true"?

1. "There is no truth."
2. "I don't think it's true because I don't like it."
3. "Truth is just a state of mind."
4. "No one can claim to know truth."
5. "It's just my truth."
6. "That may be true for you but not for me."

Are there any other statements you've heard that misuse the words "truth" or "true"?

I decided to start on this topic, because if we aren't on the same page as far as the concept of "truth" is concerned (that is, if we all have different or even incorrect understandings of the word), the next main topics will be nearly meaningless. So for this next week we'll aim to get a handle on what truth in general is.

Comments anyone?

Do you want to write a thought that is not related to any of the blogs listed? You can post them here! Even if you want to say "hi", feel free. This isn't My Space... it's YOUR space! Ha! Bad joke.

We're up and running!

We've finally got this page all squared away and now it's time to get everyone linked. So for all people who are interested in discussing, please send us and email at illuminatelv@yahoo.com with your name and what username you plan on using. For your username, you can just use your first name if you wish, but if you're one of those secret-agent types that likes to be secretive and have an alias, you can choose a different username. Also if you'd like, in your email you can tell me what the three biggest topics are that you'd like to discuss or learn about.

And again, please bear with us for the first week or so while we work out any bugs we may encounter. Thanks!