What Difference Does It Make If God Exists?

Notes on Apologetics study from On Guard by William Lane Craig, Chapter Two

"I'm just gonna live my life and be as good as I can. When I die, hopefully my good will outweigh my bad, and if there is a God, then I hope He'll let me in to Heaven. I'll find out then for sure if God really exists."

Ever heard that? Ever said that?

I remember as an unbeliever, I thought many of those kinds of things. I kinda thought God existed, but I didn't have enough reason to think that it mattered if I came to know anything about Him; either He would accept me or not.

I'm so thankful that He's made it much more definite and knowable than that. Some people would retort, "How arrogant to think you can know that you will be accepted by God!" To that I would say this: It's not arrogance, because it has nothing at all to do with me or my goodness. It's only by the righteousness of Christ alone [His right-ness, by God's standard] being applied by Him to my heart and life that I am made acceptable. All I did was repent of my sin [my wrong-ness, by God's standard] and receive what He did for me and all mankind who will receive His gift [Christ's right-ness].

Many cannot seem to get even to this point in God's truth because they get hung up on why it even matters that God exists. Their view is that, if He does exist, He is seemingly completely removed from all that goes on in the world...just look at all the evil we see on a daily basis! Where is He if He exists? What difference does it make?

I believe I will get the chance to deal with the problem of evil later in Chapter 7 in this book, but for Chapter 2, Craig starts with the task of showing why it matters at all. Craig says, "By showing them the implications of atheism, we can help them to see that the question of God's existence is so much more than merely adding another item to our inventory of things -- rather it's an issue that lies at the very center of life's meaning. It therefore touches each of us at the core of his being." (pg. 29)

Reductio ad absurdum is a term used in formal logic to describe "a reduction to an absurdity; the refutation of a proposition by demonstrating the inevitably absurd conclusion to which it would logically lead." (dictionary.com) In other words, showing that something must be true by proving that its opposite would lead to an absurd outcome.

Craig uses this logic, reduction to absurdity, not necessarily to prove God's existence, but to show that the most significant question a person will ever ponder is whether or not a supreme, all-powerful Creator of the universe exists. "No one who truly grasps the implications of atheism can say, 'Whatever!' about whether there is a God." (p. 30) 

Many philosophers have argued that if God does not exist, then life is absurd. What does this mean? It means that if God does not exist, then there is no ultimate meaning to anything in life...no intrinsic value within life...no conclusive purpose for existing.

If there is absolutely no meaning, value, or purpose in life, then we can define life itself as absurd.

"If atheism is true, then life is really objectively [based on known fact] meaningless, valueless, and purposeless, despite our subjective beliefs [personal opinion] to the contrary" (pg. 30).

This is the key. Because while an atheist will say that there is no meaning, value or purpose to life, he will still live his life as though it has all three.

Now, in order to keep these posts from becoming a verbal equivalent to this:

I will expand on this train of thought next time. Surely you can understand why I needed to chew this one bite at a time....

And Now, A Random Recipe

This isn't going to flow well from my last post to this one. But I've always said I'm a little eclectic, anyway. :-)

Today I was going to make a simple tuna casserole for my kids for lunch. If you've never had it, it's just a box of mac and cheese (made), a can of tuna (drained), and a can of cream of mushroom soup -- all mixed together.

Sidenote: That is not the recipe I logged on to blogger to share with you. Please keep reading.

I was out of cream of mushroom soup, so I made some. Sortof.

Here's the recipe that I used. This is a powdered mix you make and store, and when you want a cream soup (mushroom, chicken, celery, etc.), mix 1/2 cup of this powder with 1-1/4 c water and cook until thick. Then add the butter to melt. It's wonderful!

Cream Soup Recipe

2 c dry milk
3/4 c cornstarch
1/4 c chicken bouillon granules
2 T dried onion flakes
1 tsp. dried thyme leaves
1/2 tsp. dried leaf basil (optional)
1/2 tsp. dried leaf oregano (optional)
1/2 tsp. ground marjoram (optional)
1/2 tsp. black pepper
2-3 tsp. butter

Combine all ingredients except butter together and store in airtight container. To use, mix 1/2 cup powder with 1-1/4 c water and cook until thick; add butter. This equals approximately one can of cream soup. The mix makes enough to equal 9 to 10 cans. For cream of mushroom or celery, saute the mushrooms or celery in the butter before adding to the cooked soup.

Enjoy!

New Task for an Old Friend - On Guard

Hello Blogger.

I was just thinking.

I've been reading a lot lately on Apologetics. It's an area of my Christian faith that I hope to be studying for a long time, and some of it can be challenging to digest. And I'm still in the elementary stages of it. 


Maybe it would be good if I turned to you, Blogger, as a tool to record the things I'm learning. I, like most people, tend to learn things best when I am able to regurgitate what I've just taken in. Perhaps it will spur others to think on these things as well.

Sounds like a win to me. I can't take the hand cramps it would cost for me to write all this stuff down in a traditional journal anyway.

So, without any warm-fuzzy welcomes, welcome to my self-discussion. Please feel free to join in if you have something constructive or otherwise encouraging to share. Part of my problem with this particular book I'm working with (which I will share in a moment) is that there are "Talk About It" sections about which I have no one to talk to.

Oh now don't get me wrong...of course I have people in my life I can talk to about this. My husband always listens (albeit sometimes against his own will), and my sister Rachele will listen to anything I have to say. My sweet friend Ronda has a shared love and excitement for this topic, too. But at 5:30 in the morning, they simply aren't available.

Blogger is.

So, away we go.

The book I'm using (aside from the Bible, the Word of God, of course) is called On Guard, Defending Your Faith with Reason and Precision by William Lane Craig.

Craig is "Research Professor of Philosophy at the Talbot School of Theology. A respected debater, prominent Internet presence (www.ReasonableFaith.org), and the author of Reasonable Faith, Dr. Craig is one of the most influential defenders of Christianity in our day."

That's taken straight off the back of the book. I'm resourceful that way.

I can tell you that Craig also has not one, but two PhDs (how do you make that plural?); one in Philosophy, the other in Theology. He has authored or edited over 30 books and has written over a hundred articles in professional journals of philosophy and theology.

So I'm gonna say he's got a few credentials.

Of course, credentials don't necessarily mean that you know what you're talking about...or that you are in touch with reality for that matter. Certainly people have gone through 87 years of graduate work and emerged unable to choose an outfit for the day or cook a grilled cheese. But it helps to know that the guy has at least done some homework, and he's not some high school drop out who's still flying high on his acid trip days in the 70's and imagining all manner and sorts of convoluted rubbish.

Okay. So that's out of the way. Back to the book.

It's entitled On Guard, Defending Your Faith with Reason and Precision, published by David C. Cook of Colorado Springs, CO, just in case you wanna run out and getcha some.

Chapter One - What Is Apologetics?

Even though the term "apologetics" sounds like "apologize", Craig says apologetics "is not the art of telling somebody you're sorry that you're a Christian! Instead, it comes from the Greek word apologia, which means a defense, as in a court of law. Christian apologetics involves making a case for the truth of the Christian faith." (p. 13)

For those who question if this is a necessary process for a believer to undertake, he points to God's words as penned by Peter in his first letter, chapter 3 verses 15 and 16: "Always be ready to give an answer [apologia] to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with courtesy and respect."

The courtesy, or gentleness, and respect parts are pretty important. Have you ever gotten into a discussion with someone who was not courteous and respectful? Didn't it shift your gears from thoughtful and rational to defensive and irrational? That's human nature; it happens to all of us when we feel we are being attacked.

Craig gives three reasons why it is important for the Church (meaning the Body of Christ: the collective group of all believers everywhere, regardless of denominational backgrounds) to be able to give a defense for what we believe:

1. Shaping Culture - we live in a culture that neither understands believers nor comprehends our beliefs. He mentions the fact that our major universities were founded on the Name of Christ centuries ago, but are now hostile toward Christianity. Why is this so? Because we have allowed the Christian foundation to erode and the sands of secularism to be washed in. We need to help unbelievers understand what we believe - and why - so that we don't lose our voice in this culture.

2. Strengthening Believers - when we learn to express why we believe what we believe, then we are more confident to help others to do the same. A believer who is confident is able to persevere in times of doubt or persecution (which do come). Craig states, "People who lack training in apologetics are often afraid to share their faith or speak out for Christ because they are afraid someone might ask them a question." (p. 19) If you have an answer (apologia), then you are a much more bold to speak up. Another reason that the Church needs this training is because without understanding why we believe, many are more apt to walk away from their beliefs after being confronted with questions and doubts they can't answer. It's the reason so many of our young people end up straying from the foundation their parents laid when they were kids. They simply aren't connected to that foundation well enough with knowledge. In fact, very little if anything has ever been built on that foundation by the time they leave for college or the real world as adults.

3. Winning Unbelievers - obviously an unbeliever is going to be more willing to listen to someone who can answer their questions and reason with them over their skepticism. Some examples are Lee Strobel and C.S. Lewis. Lee Strobel (author of The Case for Christ and The Case for Faith) has stated that he's lost count of how many people have come to Christ because of his apologetic arguments in his books. Strobel himself was led to faith in Christ only after a two-year investigation of the claims of Jesus using his journalism and law examination skills.

C.S. Lewis "rejected Christianity as a teenager for both personal and intellectual reasons. However, as an English professor at Oxford in his twenties and early thirties, Lewis was exposed to writers and friends who offered convincing reasons first for theism and eventually for Christianity. Lewis became a Christian and began to use his intellectual and literary talents to articulate and defend the Christian view of the world. He became one of the most influential Christian apologists of his generation." (p. 23)


While it is the Gospel which leads to salvation, it is apologetics that helps skeptical unbelievers deal with the questions of their mind, which may eventually lead them to the point of being willing to hear the Gospel with a receptive heart.

The Study Guide lists a number of statements that unbelievers might make in response to the Gospel, and it asks the reader to share or write down my response. I will choose one. Or two.

Hypothetical Statement #1:

"I used to go to church, but when I didn't get anything I prayed for, I realized that there wasn't any God listening."

My response:

That's a reason that is suitable for why a child doesn't believe in Santa Claus.

There is only one prayer that God will answer for the unbeliever: "Save me!" Only then and afterward do we have the capacity to pray with His interests in mind and not our own. This is because it is at the point of salvation, when we've submitted to His Lordship, that the relationship of Father and child begins. Prior to that, an unbeliever asking God for a new car is equivalent to somebody else's kid that you've never seen before approaching you in the church parking lot asking you to hand over the keys. Suuuuuure.

Hypothetical Statement #2:

"How can you believe that this guy that lived 2,000 years ago came back to life from the dead?! Do you expect anyone else to do that? It doesn't make any sense!"

My response:

1. The Scriptures are an historical account of those who knew Him best and their experiences with Him...including eyewitness accounts of His Resurrection. There are over 5,000 original copies of New Testament manuscripts still preserved today. There are a little over 2,000 copies of Homer's Iliad original manuscripts today and only 49 copies of all of Plato's works. Why would you accept the history of Homer and Plato to be accurate, but question the historicity of the New Testament?

2. Many hundreds of other people who are not recorded in the canon of Scripture also wrote in letters and diaries of their own eyewitness accounts of seeing Him alive after seeing Him crucified.

3. There is more documented evidence of people witnessing His Resurrection for over a month after His death than there is written evidence of Christopher Columbus' sailing the ocean blue and finding North America almost 1,500 years later.

Reasonable? I think so.

He Blinded Me with Science!

Brown Eyes rolled into double digits this fall.

He's my quintessential middle son. After I wrote that, I had to do a quick search to make sure that I knew what all I was including in that statement. The website I was checking out says that there are two types of middle children...Brown Eyes would be the quintessential Middle Child #2: outgoing, friendly, loud, laid back, and patient. And loud. Did I mention that one already?

Anywho, he is the most tender-hearted kid I know. And I don't mean that in a wimpy, thin-skinned kind of way; I mean he has more compassion and tenderness than should fit in his little body.

So I'm getting off track...he turned 10. And he's sweet. So I wanted to do something special for his birthday party. He also loves science, so rather than trying to find some awesome party-in-a-box thing, we got creative.

I observed that we should have areas in which we could analyze as many areas of science as we could. So here's a sample of what we did to construct his day in a Weird Science kind of way:

So of course we had to activate the thing with some solidified carbon dioxide (a.k.a. dry ice)...

...and some creepishly huge insects in jello lab jars in the windows...

...eyeball beakers were certainly in order...

...as well as a petri dish cake. Complete with multiple bacteria and lab rats.

We had a substantial collection of experiments to investigate, and we initiated the plan with a scavenger hunt Data Discovery game.

Hopefully, you've noticed by now how much linguistically scientific I have become since this party.


Ummmm....yeah. Anyway. Back to discovering data....

I wrote clues with a lemon juice and corn starch composite on regular paper, and classified a set for each team. One clue connected with the next so that the team collectively determined what clue they were to find next. Can you guess what picture they were to find based on this clue?

Once they evaluated and understood the clue, they had to search for a picture of that clue that I had hidden in the yard. At that point, they opened up the paper to reveal the next clue. (I had a separate line of clues for each team.) Watching them run around the yard trying to be the first team to find all of their clues was the best part of this game.

Once they had discovered all their clues, this was the specimen they found...

And now that they each had their own set of protective eyewear, we were ready for some experiments...

We concocted a silly bandz lava lamp using oil, water, food coloring, alka-seltzer, and of course, science-shaped silly bandz!

We interblended white school glue, Borax, and food coloring to make the classic Gooey Gunk, which many of the boys had never handled before. If you've got boys and have never made this, go here for the recipe. It's a good dose of awesomeness for a kid.

Lil'bit's face cracks me up in this one...

We also put a penny inside (almost) clear balloons, blew it up, and then shook the balloon in a circular motion to illustrate centripetal force.

We performed a couple of other small experiments before going inside for cake and ice cream, but I have to say this picture just beats all...the moment the best friend of the birthday boy realized his beaker was staring at him...

And last, but not least...we burned off a little steam with an explosion of epic proportions...mentos and diet coke.

We tested several of these explosions, but this was the best picture recorded...and the very first one we launched. We estimated about 30 feet of diet coke lift.

Incidentally, if you are ever in need of either 1) all kinds of science-related equipment or accessories; or 2) wasting a profusion of time unnecessarily, you must visit the American Science and Surplus website. I haven't laughed that hard from shopping in a really long time. The product titles and descriptions are hilarious!

My personal favorite: the product title for temporary tattoos = Rebel without a Commitment

Have fun!

Rising Out of the Ashes and the North Georgia Fair

So. December was pretty much a blur.

After a fiendish case of strep throat immediately followed by bronchitis, once able to lift my head off the pillow I was suddenly faced with the monstrous task of making homemade gifts and cards, baking no less than 12 dozen cookies, freezing homemade pumpkin puree, ALL of my Christmas shopping (and I was shopping for everyone in my family PLUS for grandparents' gifts to the kids), and shipping everything except what was to be opened here in my own home...in just a little over a week.

I hardly remember the whole thing.

I shipped DH's grandmother's gift to her, and when I talked to her after Christmas, I made the mistake of asking if her cookies made it in good shape. "What cookies? I didn't receive any cookies."

Oops.

I haven't experienced foot-in-mouth like that since the last time I mistook a lady's distended midsection for a reason to celebrate.

Oops again.

Let's go ahead and throw in the fact that I needed to wrap all those gifts I bought, plan, shop for, and cook a sizable Christmas dinner, including pies and hors d'oeuvres that no family could ingest on one day. The whole time I was thinking to myself, "I'm not cooking again for another week. We'll live on this all week, just get it done." I did; and we did.

Now, before you get the crazed idea that I'm complaining, allow me to set the record straight: I am most certainly not complaining. I love doing these things. It's just that I usually do them over about a three week period...not all at once like that.

And so I will conclude this portion of today's post by saying that the Christmas season as a whole was a sweet time, and a glorious display of what God can do through a very tired girl in a seemingly hopeless situation.

Next year, a Vitamin C regimen is on the agenda beginning with Thanksgiving.

Now that you know what got me off track, let's finish catching up on the ol' blog, shall we? Back to last fall....

North Georgia Fair


We went to the North Georgia Fair, which is always fun. I'll just share a few pictures and captions and call it a night. It was a fun day, but the one thing that really sticks out in my mind is my own personal "that figures" moment.

For the months of September, October, and into November, I was successfully staying on an "eating plan" that consists of low carbs and very low sugars. When I get going on something like this, it's usually pretty easy for me to stick with it as long as I have healthy options.

But on this day, I was at a Fair, for crying out loud.

I really thought I was doing pretty well skipping past all the corn dogs, funnel cakes, and homemade sweet potato fries and heading straight for the Cajun booth selling steak wraps. Think about that: the only carbs are in the tortilla and a few in the grilled veggies, but really...that's not too bad for a Fair! Nevermind that the "wrap" was the size of a submarine; that's beside the point.

Afterward, I was waddling walking around feeling pretty good about myself. I got a "wrap" at a Fair.

Do you know that less than 20 minutes later, we turned a corner and saw a Greek salad bar?

At a Fair.

All of sudden, my I-actually-found-the-most-healthy-food-at-a-Fair attitude deflated. I missed out on a Greek salad...and on bragging rights.

Other than that...and sweating profusely...we had a rather fun day.

Here's the kiddos with their foot-long corn dogs.

Brown Eyes with his homemade root beer bottle.

 Brown Eyes decided he wanted to do some rock climing...

 Almost at the top!

Back down safely...whew!

 DH at the Fair.

Lil'bit on his way up to the top of the inflatables.

Both times I tried to get his picture coming down this slide, there was a little girl that hadn't gotten off yet...I was cracking up!

 This is my favorite picture from the day...it pretty much sums up how we all felt.

Mr. Potato Sack Race and Other Childish Shenanigans

Lil'bit had him a new birthday, which catapulted me right into the series of parenting that no longer includes a toddler or preschooler. Wow. Time...it does fly.

I figured this slideshow would be the best way to document his Toy Story 3 party. Notice in the picture of Buzz and Woody "defending the galaxy"...they are standing in front of a bowl of Milky Way candies...aha ha...I slay me. Enjoy!

The Time I Made My Family Drive Six Hours for a Cheeseburger

That title makes me sound a little demanding. I'm really not very demanding. But when I'm in the mood for a good ol' Whataburger, I'm not gonna let a little thing like distance get in the way.

Have you ever had a favorite something that you would really go out of your way to get to...even if it meant dragging your whole family down with you?

I was born and raised in South Texas. Whataburger and I share the same hometown, which means that where I grew up, there are more Whataburgers than fleas on a dog.

Bad analogy.

Let's say: there are more Whataburgers than fries in a Whata-size.

Better analogy.

My point: I ate a lot of Whataburger. Number 7 with cheese, please. All the way. Unless it's time for breakfast, in which case I'd like a Bob: Breakfast on a Bun.

The closest Whataburger to where we live now is in Birmingham, Alabama. I live in Georgia. There are Whataburgers in Alabama and Florida, but somehow the WB family has neglected the state of Georgia. Believe me, I have sent many a-complaint to WB Headquarters.

So when my birthday rolled around in September, I decided I wanted that Number 7...in spite of the three hour one-way drive.

Well it was my birthday; I wasn't about to go alone.

DH was all for it, because he loves the WB as much as I do. And my boys are always up for a road trip, so we set out on the interstate in want of a great burger and fries.

The trouble was that I had no idea what else we'd do while we were in Birmingham. But I figured there had to be some antique stores or something that I could torture my all-male family with, so I was content with that.

However, it's not like me to go somewhere and not have some kind of an idea, so I did a little research first. I found an old bookstore in downtown Birmingham called Jim Reed Books and The Museum of Fond Memories. (Sidebar: when the owner answers the phone, he says, "Reed Books...." I thought that was worth posting.)

The quote at the top of his website was a review of the store:

"To call Reed Books an 'old bookstore' is a bit like saying the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel has a good paint job." -- Allen Johnson Jr., author

As a lover of just about all things old, and especially old books, I just had to go there.

I was not disappointed...about the Whataburger or the book store.


We found the Whataburger first as it was just about lunch time and we were all starving.

This was the lovely lady who greeted us at the counter. She knew something was up when I walked in with my Nikon 35 mm camera taking pictures. I never saw her without that sweet smile on her face. She just about made my day, and I think we might have improved her day, too. She could not get over the fact that we had just driven in from North of Atlanta just for Whataburger.

We ate our wonderful, hot, delicious lunch and laughed with the staff and the other customers in the restaurant, who were as sweet as pie. And to prove it, that wonderful lady gave us all free fried pies before we left, just because we came all the way there just to see them. It was a treat well worth waiting for.

Here's Mini me after our meal, a.k.a. Les Miserables.

We made our way back on the road to look for this bookstore I had read about, and it revealed itself about 20 minutes later. Getting out of our truck parked on the curb in front of the store, I could hardly contain myself. There were squeals and claps and beaming smiles oozing from my being. I hadn't even entered the store yet.

We finally got past the storefront, which was interesting in and of itself, and much to my amazement we opened the door to this.

Immediately to the left of me just inside the door was this.

We didn't need to find any other antique store; this was going to suit my purpose juuuuuust fine.

We spent three hours in this one store, and I didn't even get to see everything. What's even more amazing than that is the fact that in three hours, my three boys didn't even get bored! Well, maybe a little at the end, but I'm telling you there was something for everybody in this place. Mini me got a couple of Star Wars books, Lil bit got a cheap plastic hero mask from the 1970's (huh?) and I got a coupla things for my birthday, too.

 
This glorious cabinet housed books that Mr. Reed kept locked away until someone asked to see them. They were either extremely rare, extremely old, or otherwise extremely expensive. In his acute discernment, he sensed my quivering excitement and pulled a book out of this cabinet that was no less than 450 years old and let me flip through it.

I was dumbfounded.


So much so that I forgot to take a picture of it before he put it back in the cabinet. :-/


Once we left antiquity paradise on earth, can you guess where we stopped before going home?

We had to eat dinner, didn't we?