Kerley: Michael and common ground

With the launch of this column last week, we officially set sail on a grand and far-reaching journey that will eventually take us from the uttermost reachesofthe cosmos, to the very depths of human consciousness in order to investigate and possibly answer the ageold question; “Is God dead?” If you missed last week’s column, grab a back copy, catchup, and welcome aboard!

As part of a research project a few years ago, I had an opportunity to interview a person, we will call him “Michael,” regarding, among other things, belief in the Bible. Michael would certainly be labeled religiously skeptical, but he was particularly critical of the Christian doctrine of inspiration and authority of the Bible. One of the questions I asked during the interview was; “Do you think the BibleistheinspiredWordofGod?”His answer is incredibly interesting, and it gives us a window through which to gaze into how a significant majority of the world’s population views theism in general, and Christianity in particular. Michael answered the question regarding the inspiration of the Bible saying; I don’t think it was. I think inspiration comes in many forms like artist who write songs because of inspiration. I think the Bible could be written in the same way just like any book, song, or other art. But I think it is in some ways art because it is a creation of man but it is also handpicked in certain ways because it has gone through different interpretations.

I appreciate Michael’s openness, but what is fascinating is that in answering he also gives his personal answer to the ultimate question we are pursuing. As far as Michael is concerned, the Christian God is dead because He probably never really existed in the first place. But there is a world-wide body of theists, and Christian believers who argue quite strongly that the Michael’s of the world are tragically mistaken. In fact, Christians are commanded by Scripture to defend their faith and to “give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you” (1 Pet 3:15 NIV). And it is from the Greek word apologia, (defense) that we get the name apologetics. In that way, Christian apologetics can be defined as “the defense of Christianity.” But if the Michael’s of the world place no value upon the Bible, then how, exactly, can a Christian talk with Michael about Bible things, without using the Bible? More than that, from exactly where will this “evidence” of God’s existence come if not from the very pages of Scripture? To each in turn.

The nineteenth-century American RestorationMovementleaderAlexander Campbell once said we choose “to speak of Bible things in Bible words.” For any Christian, that is certainly sound advice. But since Michael has taken that preferred option away, we find ourselves looking back to last week and what can be made of common ground existing between believers and unbelievers alike. On orthodox Christian doctrine, The Fall of mankind had a significant effect upon the mental and intellectual capacities of the human mind, especially regarding the capacity to grasp spiritual truths. While all Christians agree a change occurred, thedegreetowhichTheFalldepraved human mental capacities is widely debated within Christianity. Many believe that the unbeliever is totally depraved, and incapable of grasping even the simplest spiritual truths makingevangelismallbutimpossible. But there is a strong argument to be made that The Fall did not totally deprave mankind’s capacity to grasp spiritual truths. Rather, the Christian evangelist has much to share with the unbeliever that the unbeliever can discern as truth and grab hold of. This is where common ground lies; an overlapping area where a believer can present spiritual truths, and the unbeliever can rightly understand and respond.

Turns out, common ground is abundant, and it most often comes from the natural world, or what is termed “natural theology,” or “the book of nature,” and it provides valuable evidence we can use in our investigation of whether God is dead or not. That means that the book of nature includes everything from the moon and the stars, to your pet dog, to the very thoughts in your own mind. Thatalsomeansthattheevidenceswe are looking for can be found in human histories, philosophical reasoning, and scientific discoveries. It turns out Christians have a very strong case to argue using the available evidence in the natural world to defend the fact that God really does exist, and therefore, no, God is not dead.

But the Christian might, and in fact must ask; “is it right to practice apologetics and to defend God aside from use of the Bible exclusively?” There just seems to be something wrong about doing that. After all, everything that the Christian says and does must have warrant, or we might say must have approval from Scripture. If Protestant Christianity holds firm to “Scripture alone” (sola scriptura), how is it that Christian apologetics can use science and history, and even philosophy to defend God’s existence? Remember it is Paul who seems to speak so critically, and so strongly about philosophy to the church at Colossae (Col 2:8). Is there a “thus saith the Lord” that will allow us to proceed? Can we find scriptural warrant for the use of science, history, and philosophy in defense of God? I think we can. It seems to me there is the strongest indication that we can not only from Paul, but from God Himself. With that in mind I look forward to next week as our journey continues.

Gloria in excelsis Deo!

Ty B. Kerley, (DMin. candidate, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) is an ordained minister who teaches Christian apologetics, and relief preaches in Southern Oklahoma. Ty and his wife Vicki are members of the Waurika church of Christ, and live in Ardmore.