#2 Dr. David Hunt, The ‘Thoughtful Christian’: Perception (and Reality)

I. Review from Previous Week

lesson of Flat Earth Society

why Christians have some responsibility to reflect on reasons for believing
(1) responsible apologetics: the case we make to others
(2) understanding what we believe: the case we make to ourselves

II. Two intellectual challenges provide the context in which the case for Christianity must be made today:
1. there are objective standards that beliefs have to measure up to: truth, rationality, etc.
the sciences satisfy these standards to a high degree
but religious belief in general (perhaps Christian religious belief in particular) falls far short
so such beliefs must be rejected
2. there are no objective standards that beliefs have to measure up to
the only standards are those of the individual or culture that holds those beliefs
so all beliefs are equally acceptable
why this is worrisome

III. Virtues: qualities the possession of which makes something better at what it is or does
for example, sharpness is a virtue in a knife, because it equips the knife to cut better
human beings are complex, so there are many associated virtues

IV. Two whose stock has fallen:
↓ modesty
↓ chastity

one that’s mixed:
↔ frugality/simplicity/self-control

two whose stock has risen:
↑ self-esteem
↑ diversity

V. Another virtue that’s looking up:
↑ tolerance

This is the virtue that is exercised when one.
Allows (that is, does not prohibit, hinder, suppress, punish) beliefs one regards as false or
actions one regards as wrong, etc.

VI

Two kinds of truths?
A truth is subjective and relative when
it’s really about how the person who holds the belief views things (that’s the subjective part), and
it varies from one person to the next or one culture to the next (that’s the relative part).
A truth is objective and absolute when
it’s about how things are independent of what we happen to think about them (that’s the objective part), and
it doesn’t vary (that’s the absolute part)
When a truth is subjective/relative, it makes sense to speak of truth-for-me, truth-for-you, truth-for-her, etc. When a truth is objective/absolute this doesn’t make any sense at all.

VII. Where do you rate these questions between a statement like, "this pie is yummy," (which is an opinion) and "London is the capital of England," (which is as close to an objective fact as it gets)?

The Matrix is a better film than its two sequels.
It’s morally wrong to torture innocent children for fun.
2+2=4
God exists.

VIII. Protagoras: man is the measure of all things
truth is “constructed”
no truth, just “truth”
there is no “master narrative”
in sum: truth is subjective and relative, rather than objective and absolute

IX. This pushes everything to the left end of the spectrum. That’s crazy. Why would anyone hold such a one-sided view? Yet most people do.

X. One problem: this view refutes itself.

XI. Another problem: it collapses truth and belief

XII. Retreat to a “qualified relativism” where some things (world capitals, etc.) go on the right but everything else stays on the left.
Some problems with this, but no time to explore it adequately tonight.
Question: why head down the relativist road in the first place?

XIII. Self-esteem

XIV. Tolerance

XV. Morality is relative to the moral frame of reference. As long as it is understood that morality is a human construction influenced by human cultures, one can be more tolerant of other human belief systems, and thus other humans. But as soon as a group sets itself up as the final moral arbiter of other people’s actions, especially when its members believe they have discovered absolute standards of right and wrong, it marks the beginning of the end of tolerance, and thus reason and rationality. (Michael Shermer, Why People Believe Weird Things)

XVI. A final virtue: intellectual humility