The Big Questions and Church Leaders

Aristotle began his Metaphysics with the observation that people first began to philosophize out of wonder or marveling (thaumazein).  On those rare occasions that we late modern folks find an opportunity to contemplate things away from the noise, screens, and other distractions, we, too, might experience that same ineffable sense of wonder that motivated the ancient philosophers.  We may find that the universe presents itself to us as a question.  Even when we are confident about its answer (namely, God), the solution itself may raise other questions or puzzles.

Although questions of these sorts can be addressed in any theological discipline, the discipline of philosophy of religion is especially suited for such questions.  I would just call this “Faith and Reason.”

The newest video course from the Center for Christian Studies is on this very topic.  In 10 episodes, we explore various philosophical issues raised by theological claims about God, focusing on understanding and analyzing foundational religious issues in relation to basic philosophical principles.  In short, this video series explores why Christianity makes sense. 

Let me give an example of how a theological claim could raise a puzzling question to explore philosophically.  “Does God exist?”  This is a question that could be addressed biblically.  One need not read very far in Scripture to see the answer to that question; in fact, the first verse implies a pretty clear answer.  But apart from Scripture and so-called special revelation, there may be some reasoned disagreement about the question.  And so the same question can be addressed philosophically, or by what theologians call natural theology or general revelation.  Thus, we examine the various arguments that may be offered in favor of God’s existence.

Given the claim of God’s existence, another question is naturally raised: “Who is God?” or “What kind of God is this?”  And so we discuss the attributes of God.  To continue the example, let us take one of the most prominent divine attributes: omnipotence (or almightiness).  What does this mean?  That God can do everything?  But the Bible itself expressly states that there are some things that God cannot do.  So is it coherent to say both that God is omnipotent and that he cannot do everything?

Maybe you get the idea.  Despite the ambiguity of the phrase, philosophy of religion is a discipline with a very well-defined set of topics.  In this course, we deal with many of them, including faith and reason, God’s existence, God’s attributes, the problem of evil (which, by the way, is the one serious argument people make against God’s existence), miracles, and faith and science.

In the midst of a society that increasingly assumes the irrationality of Christian faith, I enjoy the opportunity to discuss faith and reason.  Against a common notion that Christian faith is somehow irrational, many aspects of reality point us to God and enhance our knowledge of God.  It is important for people to know that faith and reason are not two ways of thinking found on opposite ends of the spectrum.  Instead, Christian faith is not irrational.  At the same time, there is much about the naturalistic, atheistic system of belief that is irrational, though one does not hear this in popular culture or even in much of what passes for learned discourse.

So I encourage teachers and leaders in churches to devote some time in study to the topics covered in this video series.  There are at least two good reasons to study these topics:

1) Do it for yourself.  I have found that most people who lead in churches either already have or soon develop some interest in these types of questions.  Questions about God really are the most important questions that believers can contemplate, and they are more important than the questions and problems we tend to spend more time on. 

2) Do it for others.  For many church members, and perhaps for some leaders, it is enough simply to say that God exists, that he is omnipotent, that evil is not a problem, and so on.  But many folks in our churches are puzzled by various theological claims, and they have no reliable resources for solving the puzzles.  Over the years, I have heard from many Christians who are frustrated that their difficult questions have been ignored at church, and particularly by their ministers.  The Christian community instead ought to be a safe place for such discussions, and church leaders ought to be prepared to handle some of the difficult questions raised by the faithful about their faith.

The best way to delve into these issues is with the video series on Faith and Reason.

Episode 1. Introduction: In Defense of Faith

Episode 2. Faith, Reason, and Evidence

Episode 3. God’s Existence

Episode 4. Knowing God without Arguments

Episode 5. Divine Attributes

Episode 6. Problem of Evil

Episode 7. Miracles

Episode 8. Faith, Science, and Scientism

Episode 9. Morality and God

Episode 10. Apologetics of Despair

As with all our video series, Faith and Reason comes with a study and discussion guide for digging deeper and further reading. 

See excerpts from the course on our YouTube channel.

See the course on Faith and Reason.

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