Just a Bit of Coloured Paper?
I remember once when I had been giving a talk to the R.A.F., and old, hard-bitten officer got up and said, "I have no use for all that stuff. But, mind you, I'm a religious man too. I know there's a God. I've felt Him: out alone in the desert at night: the tremendous mystery. And that's just why I don't believe all your neat little dogmas and formulas about Him. To anyone who's met the real thing they all seem so petty and pedantic and unreal!"
Now in a sense I quite agreed with that man. I think he had probably had a real experience of God in the desert. And when he turned from that experience to the Christian creeds, I think he really was turning from something real to something less real. In the same way, if a man has once looked at the Atlantic from the beach, and then goes and looks at a map of the Atlantic, he also will be turning from something real to something less real: turning from real waves to a bit of coloured paper. But here comes the point. The map is admittedly only coloured paper, but there are two things you have to remember about it. In the first place, it is based on what hundreds and thousands of people have found out by sailing the real Atlantic. In that way it has behind it masses of experience just as real as the one you could have from the beach; only, while yours would be a single glimpse, the map fits all those different experiences together. In the second place, if you want to go anywhere, the map is absolutely necessary. As long as you are content with walks on the beach, your own glimpses are far more fun that looking at a map. But the map is going to be of more use than walks on the beach if you want to get to America.
-Mere Christianity

After recently finishing our section on philosophy, I though it necessary to make a final conclusion that I myself am comfortable with. It is of utmost importance to understand that the nature of reality is indeed knowable. We do not make assumptions about what is real, we make conclusions that can be tested empirically. For example, when you and I come in contact with a mystery Christmas cookie in that holiday gift box, we can draw conclusions about the reality of that treat. Is it chocolate? Is there a hint of peanut butter? Will eating this cookie make me feel more like a fatty than before? Will waring it send me on a sugar rush half way to the top of mount everest only to crash somewhere between the couch and my bed? As silly as it seems, reality is knowable. It is fascinating to understand that there is indeed something real in the universe, but more so that we have the faculties to understand that reality and how it applies to our lives.

So how does knowing reality relate to apologetics? Is it really necessary for believers and unbelievers alike stop and analyze every aspect of life to determine the measure by which we are living? Leaving introspection aside, I believe that we should at least be confronted with the idea that the world around us is uniquely discoverable, and not just in a scientific way. If we understand truth to be absolute, then truth helps us conclude that there is absolute reality. If there is absolute reality, then our philosophy is absolute and discoverable. In other words, God intended that you and I would be able to seek out and comprehend what is real. This was the pursuit of the prophets, the apostles, early church fathers, and modern man alike. What a privileged place Christianity offers as starting point to answer life's important questions. Think about it; If I think that my brain was not intended for the purpose of thinking, as C. S. Lewis states, then how can I trust that thought? Yet there is purpose in thinking, there are conclusions that can be drawn, and it was intended to be thus. Can we really conclude, with certainty, that God has gone to such great lengths to hide himself? On the contrary, great lengths of revelation have been made for us to really know him...

Last night I had coffee with some of the greatest friends in the world. Our conversation has precipitated this post and I hope that it will be a blessing to you.

Is it necessary to define truth? A better question may be, "Is it necessary to define anything?" Without proper definition, a fruit fly is no different than a mouse; A heart is no different than a pancreas; Absolute truth is no different than relative truth, etc. But this is not consistent with the world around us. We live in a world that is orderly and defined. It is not orderly because it is defined...but it is definable because of its ordered nature. Definition, therefore, allows us to associate with, and make use of the order that we find.

R. C. Sproul rightly defines truth as, "That which corresponds to reality, as perceived by God." Why do you suppose that he included that dependent clause? I believe that it is because God's view of reality is the only one without distortion. It is the only view that has not been influenced by muddled perceptions and false ideas. God, the eternal creator, has the purest understanding of the way things are. It is then our highest pursuit to see reality as God does.

"How is it that we can be privy to God's perception of reality?" Although it is not an easy question to answer, allow me to make a simple effort that could be expounded into chapters and volumes.
God is always moving us from generals to specifics. General grace to specific grace. General love to specific love. General truth to specific truth. General revelation to specific revelation. Paul wrote to the Corinthians, "For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known," (1 Cor 13:12). When God makes himself known to man in a specific revelation, it is through the following order: The Scripture, the person of Christ, and the ministry of the Holy Spirit. The order is necessary because without a proper understanding of the scripture, we will not have a proper understanding of Christ, nor the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Understanding specifics about God has been the undertaking of every real Church in history, regardless of denominational ties. If you and I are to pursue God, reality, or even truth, then we need the perspective of the purest persuasion.

Finally, the latter word of the title is just as necessary...influence. Seminary has taught us to avoid reading meaning "into" the scripture, called isogesis. Instead, we are to lay aside our prejudice, our experience, our knowledge, and our limited understanding to approach the meaning found in the scriptures, called exegesis. Which hermeneutical principle you practice is a matter of influence. Who, or what, is being influenced as we pursue knowing God? Are we attempting to influence the scripture by reading into the text? Are we so tied to denominational doctrine that we lack freedom to be influenced by the purest interpretation of the scripture? I am not suggesting that we leave our churches, not by any means (more on the importance of the church at another time). I am simply saying that if we are to enjoy knowing God's truth, or his perception of reality, then we are to do so with purity, laying aside our own thinking, and preparing to be influenced, not in a general way, but specifically. When it happens to you, as it has so many others, you cannot help but define it as the greeks did, rhema. 

Dear Readers,
The following article was written by a GGCA student, Jeremy Schultz. Jeremy is a junior in our high school and has some thoughts worth reading. See below.
The Desperate Search for Answers

There remain numerous, diverse philosophies in the world today that attempt to answer life’s guiding, pressing questions. The word “philosophy” in literal terms means to be a “lover of wisdom”. The first part comes from the Greek root word “Philo”, which is the love, and the other part is the word “Sophia”, which is the wisdom. This word is generally used as a definition of what an individual person or group truly believes about life. A person’s philosophy is a
conclusion drawn from that person’s worldview; the “lens” through which they perceive life.

Philosophy relates to truth in the way that it can help tell us as human beings what is real. Truth is that which corresponds to reality, so it would make sense that absolute truth means absolute reality. We have been given certain aids that help us as people determine what parts of life are real in order to develop a philosophy that is true and that matches up with what actually exists.
These complex interpreters are called our five human senses – taste, smell, touch, hearing, and sight. We use these all the time to directly detect and interact with our world around us. Other methods used to know what reality is are technological instruments that we have created, as well as scientific models that we test through our own reasoning and logic to determine what life is.

The universal questions that I mentioned earlier have had an answer attempted to be given to them countless times using all of these methods from philosophy. Some of these thoughts include: Who are we? Where did we come from? (origin) Who or what is the first cause? How did we get here? Why are we here? Where are we going? (destiny) These general seeming questions bring about even deeper questions such as: What is thinking? What are purpose, meaning, and value? Is anything wrong with anything?!!! After looking through these all-
important questions, it may seem too overwhelming to even attempt to answer even just one of them. This really leaves one last ultimate question that takes priority over all of them: Where is The Answer found? My friends; it is not found through sight, but it is found through His Faith. 


There are three main popular, modern philosophies which attempt to give reasonable answers to life’s “essential” questions. The first, and probably the most popular, is called “naturalism”. This is the belief that reality is composed solely of matter, and that all phenomena can only be explained by natural causes and through natural terms. The underlying assumption is that only the physical exists, and that there is no supernatural aspect to it. The problem with this philosophy is that if the universe always existed, and the natural has been around forever, then what is the underlying purpose behind that occurring? What about human emotions, thoughts, and feelings? Is it all just meaningless, “super-cala-fragilistic-expi-aladocious” nerve impulses in our brain, or is there something called a mind that really exists and carries out these many  characteristics? It is already well established that we have a body, but what about a soul and spirit? With naturalism, there is no purpose whatsoever.

The next major philosophy out there is called “non-naturalism”. As you can imagine, it directly contradicts and opposes naturalism. It states that life cannot be reduced to or explained in only natural causes. Its’ underlying assumption is that reality, and therefore truth, is not knowable and cannot ever be figured out and known (agnosticism). The problem with this belief is that if life is just an “illusion”, then why do the thoughts, decisions, and actions of  human beings affect them in such an undeniable, profound way? Why is there morality – a sense of right and wrong? Why do we have empathy for other human beings and seek this word we call “justice” in life? Why is there pain, heartache, and suffering in the universe? What we hold to be true cannot just be an imaginative impression or make-believe misconception with a certainty that cannot be absolutely confirmed. With non-naturalism, there is no  meaning.

Another philosophy that is becoming more and more popular in the new age we live in is called “post-modernism”. This philosophy tells us that reality is  interpreted differently on an individual basis, based on a person’s own mind and experiences. The underlying assumption is that you can choose what aspects/components of the universe are real. It’s basically “what you want it to be”. The only issue is that our own experience of life cannot give us all  knowledge that has ever existed. How can we trust our own minds? If relativism and pluralism are the only ways to view life, then the three logical principles of the law of non-contradiction, identity, and the excluded middle would not manifest themselves as clearly as they do now in our world. Is
everything a matter of our own taste, or is there some truth to it all that brings to light the reality? With post-modernism, there is no value at all. The last philosophy is the one of “supernaturalism”. This is described as the condition
or quality of existing outside the known experience of man or caused by forces beyond those of nature. Here, the underlying assumption is quite a unique one. The belief is that a spiritual world exists. To say you believe in the supernatural is to say you believe in a power that goes way above and beyond what we could ever ask or think as people to exist.

There is only one philosophy; supernaturalism, that accepts and supports the reality of suffering in all that exists. It is the only philosophy, I believe, out of all the others out there, most consistent with the world we know and live in. No other philosophy can say that suffering matters, or offer the hope that some sort of deity could possibly exist. Supernaturalism points us toward the spiritual, which leads to Christianity and God as the Creator. Christianity is the
only real belief among all the religions out there under supernaturalism that not only accepts suffering for what it is, but explains the cause, give us a purpose for it in life, and offers the strength to go through it. Not only does it explain the reason for these deep parts of man’s being and personality, but Christianity is the ultimate general revelation that God is the only deity who
created the universe and its contents.

Not only is this revelation important if we are to understand what is real, but specific revelation is just as important once we believe on Jesus Christ. We believe on Him by accepting what the Bible says about Him and what He did for us. Once this is established in a person’s heart, we are not only eternally secure in Him, but we know Him and we begin to know what is real. This is the heart of specific revelation. It is so personal. S.S. Smith stated something very profound. He said, “True religion and true philosophy must ultimately arrive at the same purpose.” This statement says that the philosophy that is ultimately true needs to have the religion that is the only way to view life as its origin. The philosophy will provide support for the religion, while the religion will “back up” the philosophy in a vigorous way in return. This is the way that they will both arrive at the same ultimate goal or purpose. Christianity is vastly different than any religion in the way that it doesn’t necessarily need the philosophy of
supernaturalism to support it, let alone prove it. It stands by itself as the only way to understand what is real; straight from the Creator to the human heart. The Bible says in Colossians 2:8, “Beware, lest any man take you captive by philosophy and vain deceit; after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ”. Verse 10 goes on to say, “Ye are complete in Him, which is the head of all principality and power”. This really sums up what
His Faith is, as opposed to our human sight and perception of reality through philosophy, which could never be corresponded to by His Truth.

Jeremy Schultz

The topic of reality is certainly an interesting one. It is one of those subjects that we think about often, whether or not we realize it. In the past few weeks, we have studied different ideas that relate to answering the question, "What is real?" Richard Dawkins, in The Magic of Reality, notes that we can discover reality in three different ways. It is this topic that has provoked the content of this entry.

Dawkins notes that we can understand reality directly, using our senses, or indirectly through instruments that aid our senses, as well as by testing mental models and seeing how they correspond to reality. As a naturalist, knowing reality is limited to the knowing cosmic world. This assumes that all of life's questions (Why am I here? Where am I going? Why is there suffering? What is life's meaning?) must be answered naturally, within the cosmic order. This is why the atheist often notes that, "We do not understand everything, but we are making progress...this is goal of science..." (or something of the sort). But I would like to discuss another means by which we biblical philosophers can know what is real.


Christians, in the truest sense of the word, are not purely naturalistic in regards to our philosophy. A super-natural philosophy understands that, although the cosmos is indeed natural, there is a reality that transcends the natural order. This supernatural reality is not merely fanciful or imaginary, but is rooted in evidences (for another entry) that point to one who exists eternally. I believe this understanding provides us with a complete picture of reality. If God does indeed transcend the natural order and reveals himself to mankind by general and specific means, that means that reality is more than what I can see, taste, touch, smell, hear, or even imagine. There is another way by which we can discover reality, and that is through divine revelation. 

This may come as a surprise to some. They may think, "That's too subjective! Can't someone make up anything and call it 'revelation?'" Allow me to qualify this understanding. If the idea of revelation is to be taken seriously, then it must rooted in objectivity and wisdom; philosophy, after all, is the "love of wisdom." The prophets understood revelation as an "uncovering" of that which is hidden. It doesn't mean that we uncover that which can be "imagined," in a subjective sense. But rather, we uncover the that which was previously not understood, yet exists. The apostle Paul said it best:

Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But as it is written, "No eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart imagined what God has prepared for those who love him..." these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. 
1 Corinthians 2:6-10

 Revelation's objectivity is found only in His word and by His Spirit.
...more to come soon...