Announcements!

Dear Readers,

I have launched a new ministry website entitled Science, Reason & Faith. My general apologetics and worldview articles will continue to appear here at Hard-Core Christianity, but from here on out, my science/philosophy of science/science-faith integration articles will appear at http://www.sciencereasonfaith.com. I wanted a main site that focuses on my particular area of specialty without giving up my general blog.

At the new site, I have just made the announcement that my first book is being released in April! It’s an apologetics book for elementary age children, and is the first in a planned series. I’m very excited about that. Come on over and check out the details.

In Christ,

Melissa

European Witch Hunts and the Christian Church Part 2

This post is part 2 of 3. Part 1 can be read here. 

The Realities of the Witch Hunts

The period of European witch hunts is generally defined as the four centuries between 1400 and 1800. Perhaps in part because of the intriguing, sensational nature of the subject, witch hunts have been blown well out of proportion in terms of their prevalence and victim estimations. According to Stark, “Few topics have prompted so much nonsense and outright fabrication as the European witch-hunts. Some of the most famous episodes never took place…and even the current ‘scholarly’ literature abounds in absurd death tolls.”[1] A responsible estimate for the number executed is approximately 60,000, with the bloodiest period of hunting occurring between 1550 and 1650.[2]

Popular stories of witch-hunting fanaticism frequently tend to overshadow the reality, which is that most inquisitors and judges were intent on reaching just verdicts.[3] Indeed, the rate of convictions, around fifty to fifty-five percent, was as low as criminal convictions of any kind ever went during that time period.[4] Accusations of witchcraft were almost always localized, rural incidents, and whenever local control was over-ridden, acquittal was the usual result.[5] The death penalty was not a foregone conclusion of a witchcraft conviction, though it was the usual sentence in some areas, only because that penalty was the typical penalty for any significant offense.[6] Execution of witches was usually carried out by means other than burning at the stake.[7] Those who were burned were often, but not always, mercifully killed by other means before being burned, the latter of which was thought to prevent resurrection of the body.[8]

It is a tragic truth that some accused witches were tortured into giving confessions of witchcraft, a fact that likely encouraged the occasional voluntary confessions. The accused were sometimes tortured by methods thought to “test” whether or not an individual was a genuine witch.[9] For example, a widely held belief in England was that witches would not sink in water. “Swimming” or “floating” a suspect involved tying the left thumb to the right foot and the right thumb to the left foot, tying a rope around the waist (to retrieve the innocent sinkers), and then tossing the suspect into the water to see whether or not they would float.[10] Perhaps as a result of the pain or the threat of pain, fantastical accounts of witch sabbats, magical flight (including, but not limited to, using the traditional broomstick), sexual intercourse with the Devil, and practice of maleficia were confessed, further heightening the fears and other motivations of the accusers.[11] Sensible, decent people then took measures to extinguish what they perceived as dangerous evil in their midst.

In the third and final post in this essay series, I will discuss what the Church’s involvement was (and was not) in the European witch hunts. 

---

[1] Stark, 202.

[2] Ibid., 203.

[3] Ibid., 204.

[4] Ibid.

[5] J.P. Sommerville, Online Course Materials, University of Wisconsin, Madison. URL: <http://faculty.history.wisc.edu/sommerville/367/367-131.htm> (Accessed October 26, 2012).

[6] Stark, 204.

[7] Brian Pavlac, “Ten Common Errors and Myths about the Witch Hunts, Corrected and Commented,” Prof. Pavlac’s Women’s History Resource Site. (2 May 2012). URL: <http://departments.kings.edu/womens_history/witcherrors.html&gt;  (Accessed October 25, 2012).

[8] Stark, 204.

[9] Sommerville, Online Course Materials, University of Wisconsin, Madison.

[10] Ibid.

[11] Stark, 202.

Atheist “Churches”: Desperation and Denial

Although atheist “churches” have been around for quite some time, various news outlets have been spotlighting them recently, so I thought I’d offer a few observations and comments.

BBC News reports on the atheist Sunday morning service:

The theme of the morning is “wonder” – a reaction, explains Jones, to criticism that atheists lack a sense of it.

So we bow our heads for two minutes of contemplation about the miracle of life and, in his closing sermon, Jones speaks about how the death of his mother influenced his own spiritual journey and determination to get the most out of every second, aware that life is all too brief and nothing comes after it.

The audience – overwhelmingly young, white and middle class – appear excited to be part of something new and speak of the void they felt on a Sunday morning when they decided to abandon their Christian faith. Few actively identify themselves as atheists.

[A]ttendee, Gintare Karalyte, says: “I think people need that sense of connectedness because everyone is so singular right now, and to be part of something, and to feel like you are part of something. That’s what people are craving in the world.”

There is an ironic inconsistency here, and it floors me that the atheist leaders and participants are (apparently) oblivious to it. They are working to manufacture meaning, virtues, and values—but by definition, meaning, virtues, and values cannot exist if God does not exist. Be careful to understand exactly what I’m saying here. To be sure, individuals can have subjective ideas about meaning, virtues, and values, but without an ultimate standard for all, each person can arbitrarily make up their own and no one is in a position to say that ANY of them are real. So, atheists can gather together to celebrate whatever ideas and opinions they wish, but they cannot claim that those ideas and opinions are based on truth. Yet, their behavior implies that they believe in things like objective meaning, virtues and values, despite the fact that they have no grounding for them whatsoever. It can only be about what they like or what they dislike. For example, an atheist in a non-Western country may place a high value on genocide while an American atheist might value total pacifism toward fellow man. Without God, neither view can be called correct, for there is no transcendent law by which to judge. The atheist cannot even support their fundamental value judgment that atheism is better than theism.

Human beings all have a sense that there is something greater than the individual self; that is what drives the “craving” mentioned by the atheist service attendee (above). People are indeed desperate to fill a void in their soul, and everyone attempts to fill it in some way or another. I’ve observed this my entire life, and I’ve personally lived through failed attempts to draw life meaning from people and things that were incapable of providing it to any satisfactory extent. The atheist “church” movement is just one more exercise in futility. They actively deny God in their vain quest for the things only God can provide. They may fool themselves into a sense of satisfaction, but deep down, they will continue to thirst.

I think Dr. William Lane Craig articulates the situation quite well in his monologue, “The Absurdity of Life Without God”:

If death stands with open arms at the end of life’s trail, then what is the goal of life? Is it all for nothing? Is there no reason for life? And what of the universe? Is it utterly pointless? If its destiny is a cold grave in the recesses of outer space the answer must be, yes—it is pointless. There is no goal no purpose for the universe. The litter of a dead universe will just go on expanding and expanding—forever.

And what of man? Is there no purpose at all for the human race? Or will it simply peter out someday lost in the oblivion of an indifferent universe?

…

What is true of mankind as a whole is true of each of us individually: we are here to no purpose. If there is no God, then our life is not qualitatively different from that of a dog. As the ancient writer of Ecclesiastes put it: “The fate of the sons of men and the fate of beasts is the same. As one dies so dies the other; indeed, they all have the same breath and there is no advantage for man over beast, for all is vanity. All go to the same place. All come from the dust and all return to the dust” (Eccles 3:19-20). In this book, which reads more like a piece of modern existentialist literature than a book of the Bible, the writer shows the futility of pleasure, wealth, education, political fame, and honor in a life doomed to end in death. His verdict? “Vanity of vanities! All is vanity” (1:2). If life ends at the grave, then we have no ultimate purpose for living.

There are only two logically coherent options here:

1) Acceptance of the utter meaninglessness of the universe and of life, recognizing that there are no such things as objective value, virtues, purpose, or morality. Mankind and the universe are merely cosmic accidents that will eventually cease to exist. The end.

or

2) Recognition that God exists, therefore there is transcendent meaning in the world, and objective values and morality exist. Our life has purpose and the way we live matters–for eternity.

So, atheists can organize together and rant against religious faith. Their evangelists can gleefully crow about how they escaped religion and how they want to help mankind “break free of the shackles” of theistic belief—but they dwell, tragically, on the wrong side of the dungeon wall.

And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.            

—Jesus, John 8:32

European Witch Hunts and the Christian Church Part 1

 “A man or a woman who is a medium or a necromancer shall surely be put to death. They shall be stoned with stones; their blood shall be upon them.” –Leviticus 20:27

Few topics have suffered the plight of revisionist history as severely as the European witch hunts. Christian fanaticism is often blamed for the atrocities that took place in the name of snuffing out witchcraft, but like other events in human history, the actual explanation is extremely intricate and will likely never be understood comprehensively. However, much fact can be teased out of the abundant folklore; recent scholarship can be analyzed for a better understanding of witch hunt history and the involvement of the Church. This article, the first in a three-part series, will briefly outline key facts of the European witch hunts of the 15^th through 19^th centuries and seek to demonstrate that, while the Church certainly played a part, claiming that it deserves the ultimate blame is misleading and a gross oversimplification of the complicated dynamics involved.

 Witches and Witchcraft

For the purpose of this discussion, it is important to define precisely what is meant by the terms “witch” and “witchcraft.” A careful distinction must be made between “magic,” “sorcery,” and “Satanism.”[1] According to historian Rodney Stark, “ordinary magic was widely practiced in this period and was much like magic everywhere, involving simple charms, spells, and potions…By itself, magic was seldom regarded as a serious misdeed.”[2] The use of magic to harm others was labeled “black magic” or “maleficia.”[3] Examples included causing bad weather, blighting crops, inducing illness, and bringing about still-births or miscarriages.[4] This type of activity is sometimes referred to as “low magic.”[5]

Sorcery is a highly sophisticated form of magic that involves dedicated training. According to historian Brian Pavlac, “High Magic, often called sorcery, requires deep learning and scholarship of arcane texts, formulas, and rituals in order to master formidable supernatural forces such as demons.”[6] Sorcerers, both male and female, were known for performing certain curses, spells, alchemy, divination, astrology, and necromancy.[7]

Satanism goes beyond magic to be classified as religion, incorporating the worship of, and collaboration with, supernatural evil entities, including Satan.[8] It is Satanism that was the concern in the European witch hunts and used as the justification for the death penalty.[9] Witches were those who were believed to be practicing Satanism with intent to bring harm to others, usually through low magic methods. According to historians Alan Kors and Edward Peters, “The role and power of Satan is critical to the concept of witchcraft as it had evolved in Christian Europe, as is the concept of the pact between Devil and witch.”[10]

Even educated Europeans believed that witches existed, conspired and acted in secret, plotted evil against their neighbors in service to Satan, blasphemed God, roasted human babies for consumption, and participated in wild sex orgies with each other and with Satan himself.[11] Among ordinary people, a fearful superstition developed about actual Satanists with the power to cause others harm.[12] Confessions, whether voluntary or extracted by torture, fueled the superstition. Political rulers came to be influenced by the branch of theology known as demonology and its new scholastic claims about the capabilities of evil forces to affect the natural world.[13]

In my next post (part 2 of 3), I will discuss the historical details of the witch hunts and expose the common exaggerations perpetuated by popular media and quasi-historical writings.

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[1] Rodney Stark, For the Glory of God. (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2003): 205.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Ibid.

[5] Brian Pavlac, Witch Hunts in the Western World. (Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood Press, 2009): 7.

[6] Ibid.

[7] Stark, 205-206.

[8] Stark, 206.

[9] Ibid..

[10] Alan Charles Kors and Edward Peters, Witchcraft in Europe, 400-1700 (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2001): 265.

[11] Stark, 201-202.

[12] Stark, 207-208.

[13] Pavlac, 17.

Professor John Lennox Lectures on Science and God at Oxford Union

Dear Readers,

I encourage you to view this short lecture by one of my favorite Science and Religion scholars, Dr. John Lennox.

“Nonsense remains nonsense, even if high-powered scientists utter it.”

—Lennox

Fossils, Faith, and Fallacies

I see this bumper sticker around town occasionally, and it always makes me shake my head. While I get a measure of amusement from such a blatant logical error (which I will explain below), I’m mildly frustrated by the apparent lack of education of those promoting such a slogan.

Now, what exactly is meant by the statement, “We have the fossils. We win.”? The implied claim is that the fossil record supports an evolutionary emergence life’s grand diversity, therefore, gradualistic evolution is the correct view of natural history. If you run a web search of this slogan, you will find that promoters of the bumper sticker (and of the meme graphic that floats around on social media) use it specifically against Intelligent Design theory (ID) and various forms of creationism. They often go even further, making the metaphysical claim that the fossil record disproves Christian theism and supports atheism. The little fish-with-legs symbolizes this far more extreme implication by making a mockery of the Christian ichthus symbol.

Now, whether or not the fossil record supports a gradualistic, branching emergence of species diversity has been hotly debated. Some (even some non-theists) have argued that what the record truly exhibits is a pattern of appearance–stasis–extinction of animal types. For the sake of the argument, I am going to grant the claim that the record exhibits some gradualistic change of plants and animals and a discernible sequence of species appearance, showing an increase in the sophistication and diversity of life over time. Make no mistake; I am NOT granting that the record exhibits an unbroken biological genealogy from one or several ancestral life forms, because it cannot; this is an inherent limitation of paleontological records. Inferences to that effect may be drawn of course, but those inferences go beyond the actual fossil evidence.

The focus of this post is to demonstrate that the bumper sticker above and its promoters commit both the straw-man and the false dichotomy fallacies. The sticker’s intended implications cannot be used against ID theory or as a legitimate argument against  Christianity.

Intelligent Design and the Fossil Record

First of all, Intelligent Design (ID) does not rule out common descent, the theory that the history of life followed a diverging pattern of descent that can be traced back to one or several original life forms. ID remains neutral on this point. To be clear, it is true that some ID proponents have expressed doubts about common descent, but those doubts are not part of formal ID theory. The chief claims ID is making are 1) that nature exhibits evidence of design (such as highly specified genetic coding, which is far more sophisticated than any computer software ever devised by man), and 2) that physics and chemistry alone are not sufficient to account for the origin and all complexities of life.

[Indeed, ID is compatible with, and lends evidential support to, theistic religions. Or, if you're a particularly imaginative type, something akin to the film plot of Prometheus (though good luck dealing with the infinite regress problem).]

Simply put, granting a gradualistic pattern in the fossil record doesn’t affect ID theory one way or the other. Because of this, attempting to use the fossil record against ID commits the straw man fallacy by portraying ID incorrectly.

It should be noted that ID theory does not get one all the way to Christianity, because the theory does not, and cannot, speculate on the identity of the Designer.  That’s the job of philosophical, historical, and theological investigation. ID is only concerned with the observable evidence, the capabilities (or lack thereof) of purely natural processes, and information theory as it applies to biochemistry.

Essential Christian Doctrine and the Fossil Record

We can now address the fish-with-legs and ask: If, for the sake of argument, we grant that the fossil record exhibits some form of gradualism, does that threaten the essential Christian doctrine of divine creation?

No, it doesn’t. Allow me to explain.

Genesis 1:11 reads:

And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.”

1:24reads:

And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds–livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.”

What exactly are these verses saying? We should be careful not to read too much into the text. C. John Collins, one of my favorite Old Testament scholars, explains:

Some suggest that the word kind is roughly equivalent to ‘species’ and that the text is opposed to any notion of new species developing from old ones. There are two problems with such statements. First, the meaning of [the Hebrew word for 'kind'] does not support it; and second, it is not what Genesis actually says. As to the semantics of [the Hebrew word for 'kind'], the term here is not as technical as ‘species’; it rather means something like ‘category’ or ‘variety,’ and its basis for classification is the appearance…This does not say that these are the only ‘kinds’ that ever were or could be. (Pages 58-59, Genesis 1-4: A Linguistic, Literary, and Theological Commentary; Emphasis, mine.)

In other words, nothing about the biblical account of creation rules out species divergence during natural history, after the creation of the first plant and animal life. Rather, the text speaks of God causing the earth to bring forth categories of plants and animals. Original life forms could have been created (at strategic points in history) with a great deal of latent potential for genetic variation. This idea accords very well with the “Cambrian explosion” fossil phenomenon. We are still being faithful to the biblical text and to the doctrine of God as Creator of all life whenever we infer that, in addition to creation events, potential genetic variation became realized over time to greatly diversify the plant and animal kingdom. (The theory of human evolution and the related fossil finds present a unique case where theology is concerned, and I will devote an entire future post to that topic. For now, just know that I do not believe the fossil evidence, nor the molecular data, make a historical Adam scientifically implausible.)

The bottom line is, even if the fossil record is interpreted as showing a gradualistic pattern with higher organisms appearing later than lower ones, and change of some species over time, this says nothing against the essential doctrine that God created all life and fully intended all of the organisms that have ever existed or will exist. (And, significantly, it also does not rule out successive acts of divine creation.) Because of this, the bumper sticker slogan/symbol commits the false dichotomy fallacy by implying that one cannot embrace  Christianity and also recognize a gradualistic pattern in the fossil record.

Sorry Mr. Pithy Bumper Sticker Writer. Epic failure.

Intellectually Responsible Christianity

Whenever I talk with fellow Christians about the necessity of an intellectually responsible faith, I often receive a response that is a mixture of agreement and anxiety. Most Christians would agree that our belief system should not look like the secular caricature–a blind leap past the cliff edge of rationality. However, in some important respects, many believers are at a loss for how to improve upon loving God with their minds. The vast number of books, journals, articles, video lectures, online courses, and formal degree programs overwhelms them, and sadly, many never begin at all, choosing instead to continue through life with an intellectually shallow, emotions-driven faith. Others do just enough studying to make them dangerous.

In this post, I’d like to offer a short set of guidelines for Christians who wish to be obedient to the command to worship God with their minds while avoiding the common pitfalls that, quite frankly, produce more stumbling blocks for unbelievers than they remove.

1. Getting Started

Becoming an intellectually responsible Christian is a challenging, lifelong process! Don’t allow this fact discourage you. The journey is, without a doubt, deeply fulfilling and continually rewarding. Set reasonable, short-term goals for yourself and don’t allow the sheer volume of available resources overwhelm you.

I recommend starting out with the new revised and updated edition of J.P. Moreland’s Love Your God with All Your Mind: The Role of Reason in the Life of the Soul. Take your time with it. A good goal might be a couple of chapters per week, making notes and highlighting key passages along the way. You’ll want to review your notes and highlights in this book every couple of years.

2. Tackle Key Topics, One at the Time

It’s important to be well-rounded in your knowledge, but this doesn’t mean that you  have to master every subject related to Christianity (as if that were even possible). I suggest that you read at least one high-quality overview volume from a respected scholar in each of these main categories:

Essential Christian Doctrine– Whether you are a new Christian or you were raised in the church, you will greatly benefit from becoming more familiar with the central doctrines of the faith and how to identify heresy. A good way to approach an independent study of Christian doctrine is to tackle one subtopic at the time. I recommend obtaining a single-volume general theology textbook for your library, such as Classic Christianity: A Systematic Theology by Thomas Oden. This is a hefty tome, as are most comprehensive theology texts, but don’t let that discourage you! Start from the beginning, work through a chapter, and then take a break to do some of your other reading before coming back. Don’t set any sort of deadline for finishing, just commit to studying it regularly.

Church History– It’s extremely important to understand the history of our faith and how the church has impacted  society over the past two thousand years. An excellent introductory volume is Church History in Plain Language: Fourth Edition by Bruce Shelley.

Origin of the Bible– This topic is essential to a deeper understanding of our faith and for the project of Christian apologetics. A wonderful text is The Canon of Scripture by F.F. Bruce.

General Apologetics– There aren’t enough hours in the average life span to become a specialist on every facet of Christian apologetics, but you at least need exposure to them. A very nice, dependable volume is Christian Apologetics: A Comprehensive Case for Biblical Faith by Douglas Groothuis.

Defense of The Resurrection– This is a central topic for Christian apologetics, because it is the central doctrine for Christianity itself. You need to be familiar with the basic arguments for the historicity of the resurrection. I recommend The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus by Gary Habermas and Michael Licona.

Origins– Where did the universe come from? How did life begin? Is man made in God’s image, or is he simply the product of blind biological processes? These are fundamental questions, and we need to be able to discuss them responsibly. More on this in the next section.

3. Read More Than One Perspective on Controversial Topics

Some topics pertaining to the Christian belief system are HIGHLY controversial. Whenever you are ready to brave these waters, it is crucial that you read different points of view FROM GENUINE PROPONENTS OF EACH DIFFERENT VIEW. This is a lesson I learned the hard way!! Don’t accept one person’s word about the views with which they disagree, because mistakes are often made when someone attempts to characterize an opposing viewpoint. Furthermore, almost no one manages to be unbiased whenever they defend their favored view against another. Read what the “other guy” actually says! Get your information straight from the horse’s mouth, so to speak.

For example, if you are studying biological origins, read offerings from at least four well-qualified authors: an intelligent design proponent, a theistic evolutionist, an old-earth creationist, and a young-earth creationist. A wonderful way to do this is to buy a volume that contains essays from multiple authors. A nice starter book is Three Views on Creation and Evolution edited by J.P. Moreland and John Mark Reynolds. Another helpful text is Science and Christianity: Four Views  edited by Richard Carlson. Finally, an EXCELLENT treatment of the earth-age controversy is John Lennox’s short book, Seven Days That Divide the World: The Beginning According to Genesis and Science.

4. Don’t Give Up! 

Setting out to become an intellectually responsible Christian is a wonderful lifelong endeavor. The more you learn, the more you will desire to learn. If you go through a season of life that is particularly hectic, it’s okay to set aside your serious studies for a time, but make sure you get back with the program as soon as possible, even if you have to ease back in a little at the time by watching scholarly lectures on iTunes (Biola University has a DYNAMITE collection of free videos!), listening to podcasts, or reading short articles from reputable sources. Keeping the brain juices flowing could be as simple as loading your iPod with lectures you can turn on during your commute or your gym session.

You can do it! Glorify God with your mind! You will never be the same!