Philosophize or Fossilize!

"How is the CAVE doing this year?" It was the President and Senator of the Philosophy Club, coming by our table in the SURC (Student Union Rec Center) to drop off a flyer advertising their weekly meeting. “You know I’ve met more students who are interested in the Cave than those looking for Christian Fellowship.” I said, “Philosophical discussion seems to be pretty popular.” “We’d like to get some more coming to our meetings.” They told me. “Well, I think we can agree that everyone needs to think more deeply about Life’s serious questions. They don't seem to be beating down the church doors looking for answers . . .that's why I'm here.” “It’s especially important to think through where we’re getting our information, who we choose to trust.” “That’s why at the Cave, one of our 3 introductory Questions is epistemological: ‘How do we know?’ People haven’t thought through what they accept as sources for Truth and what their criteria are for belief!” “And you can’t just tell someone, ‘this is what the Bible says,’ and expect them to believe it.” added the club's senator. “That’s right,” I agreed, “but I always let them know up front that I do believe in Divine Revelation, and the views I’m going to put forth are informed by my confidence that God has spoken.” “One of my favorite topics to look at is how language functions.” Said the club’s president. “Absolutely,” I agreed, “there’s a reason that Greek mythology sees language as a gift from the gods. Christianity agrees that language is a special means for us to relate to God.” In John 3 while Jesus is talking to a man named Nicodemas, he criticizes him for not interpreting figurative language correctly. When Jesus says ‘You must be born again,’ Nicodemas answers by taking it literally.” “So how was he supposed to take it?” “Jesus was using the analogy of birth to talk about a spiritual reality. Like a parable, he ‘throws alongside’ a visible thing, birth, to describe something invisible, the new birth. If we don’t recognize language that is meant to taken figuratively, we can’t understand some important truths about the spiritual realm.” Our conversation then turned to a discussion of meeting times and which students are coming. It is my hope and prayer that students who have limited their search for knowledge to the stuff of this material world might consider the things God has revealed in His Word and through His Son.

#philosophy #apologetics #culture #campus