Apologetics & Anthropology

Dave Tetrick, a former student of mine who is with the Peace Corps in Burkina Faso, told me he values his Westmont education now because of how it has enabled him to learn how to understand those he has been called to serve. He said his philosophy course on “The New Atheists” provided an opportunity to understand and appreciate those with whom he doesn’t agree. When I discuss the New Atheists with students, my emphasis is on an apologetical defense of belief in God. What Dave told me convinces me that an “anthropological” understanding of unbelievers would also be valuable.

No End to the Reading of Books

My formal education started at Phantom Lake Elementary in Bellevue, Washington. Sometime early in my seven years there, I decided I would read all the books in the library, starting with the very first book on the shelf and working my way one by one from there in Dewey Decimal order. That scheme, like many similar ones in years to come, was short-lived; the initial book lacked sufficient luster to hold my interest, and the project went by the wayside. But my aspiration to be an academic generalist was born that day nonetheless, and I still want to know everything.