Tag Archives: Religion

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There is no such thing as a religiously neutral intellectual endeavor

There is no such thing as religiously neutral intellectual endeavor — or rather there is no such thing as serious, substantial and relatively complete intellectual endeavor that is religiously neutral. – Alvin Plantinga

This is a very important point to bring up. After all, as Christians we have a point of view. A perspective on God in general and Jesus in particular. Plantinga’s point is that if you give serious thought to ultimate questions, you can’t be neutral. Neutrality in and of itself is not a virtue. Too much is at stake.

But what this observation doesn’t mean is that if you have a point of view about ultimate reality, you can’t be objective. We should always be honest about where we are coming from but we must also allow evidence and reason (reality) to correct our point of view. This is the kind of critical realism that allows us to make genuine progress in discovering more about the way reality actually is.

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Why hasn’t Christianity had more influence on major intellectual institutions?

“One reason Christianity has failed to exert much influence on the major intellectual institutions of America is that too many Christians hold their beliefs in an uninformed and precarious fashion. Instead of pursuing answers to the toughest questions an unbelieving world can marshal, they attempt to preserve certainty through ignorance and isolation, relying on platitudes rather than arguments.”-Douglas Groothuis (Christian Apologetics: A Comprehensive Case for Biblical Faith)

In short, a faith founded on unstable feelings and blind irrationality will not make much of an impact on the unbelieving world. Maybe that’s also why this kind of faith has so little impact on the believing world too.

We can do better. I lay out a vision for how Christians can cultivate a thoughtful faith in chapter 5 of my latest book. You can learn more about it here.

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Religion Is Not The Problem…People Are

Throughout history, power has been used in disturbing ways and religious beliefs have been co-opted for personal or political gain. Philosopher Keith Ward’s comments are helpful:

“No one would deny that there have been religious wars in human history. Catholics have fought Protestants, Sunni Muslims have fought Shi’a Muslims, and Hindus have fought Muslims. However, no one who has studied history could deny that most wars in human history have not been religious. And in the case of those that have been religious, the religious component has usually been associated with some non-religious, social, ethnic, or political component that has exerted a powerful influence on the conflicts.”

This observation about the history of warfare reinforces the critical point that all ideals, religious or irreligious, are capable of being abused. Upon reflection, most would agree that people are the problem, not religion. There are deeper issues at work. The human heart is corrupt.

The prophet Jeremiah’s words are as true today as when they were penned: “The heart is deceitful above all things,and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jer. 17:9). Sean McDowell and I go into more detail on this and other issues in our book:

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The Differences Are Worth Debating

“The differences between religions are worth debating. Theology has consequences: It shapes lives, families, nations, cultures, wars; it can change people, save them from themselves, and sometimes warp or even destroy them. If we tiptoe politely around this reality, then we betray every teacher, guru and philosopher—including Jesus of Nazareth and the Buddha both—who ever sought to resolve the most human of all problems: How then should we live?”–Ross Douthat

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Sound Bites and Slogans: “Religion is dangerous because it leads to so much violence and conflict”

When it comes to questions of religion and morality, our culture operates at the level of sound bites and slogans. And we need to be prepared to engage at this level. Now, I’m not suggesting we keep the conversation at the level of sound bites and slogans forever, because after all, these are the biggest questions in life and they deserve-even demand-thoughtful answers.

But we’ve all been in situations where it would have been great to have something helpful to say regarding our Christian convictions when we are put on the spot. Again, I am the guy who loves reading books just for the footnotes. These answers are not everything that could be said or even should be said. But they are a good and reasonable starting place when you don’t have much time.
I hope you find this series helpful to give you confidence that there are good answers to people’s questions available and to help you keep important conversations going with friends, family, and co-workers. For as Paul reminds us, we are to be “wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone” (Col. 4:5-6 cf. 1 Pet. 3:15).
“Religion is dangerous because it leads to so much violence and conflict”

I appreciate your concern, but I think the first thing we need to do is clarify which religion you have in mind because they all teach very different things. But beyond that, it doesn’t appear to me that religion is the root problem; people are. I think the lesson of history is that almost anything (e.g., politics, science, economics, or religion) can be abused or misused simply because people are involved, and people tend to manipulate, control, or exploit to get what they want. People are the common denominator. This strongly suggests that there’s something broken in the human heart. So for Christians at least, we’ll want to come back to the example, vision, and teachings of Jesus and ask if we are living consistently with that (e.g., loving our neighbors as ourselves). The teachings of the Bible, properly understood, are our standard. Anywhere Christians are out of line with that, then they are deviating from biblical Christianity. But that’s not a religion problem, that’s a heart problem. Thankfully, Jesus offers the solution for that.