Artists, Scientists, and the Natural World

Yesterday we saw Carlsbad Caverns. This beautiful and interesting system of caves draws both artists and scientists to study its wonders. The former come to see and portray the stunning formations as they appear; the latter come to examine and understand these fascinating “speleothems” as they have developed. C.P. Snow observed that these two groups tend to inhabit two different cultures. But they can find common ground in their love for natural wonders. The artists help us experience them more fully and the scientists enable us to know them more deeply. A complete awareness of God’s creation requires both approaches.

The Greatest Love of All

According to Whitney Houston, “the greatest love of all” is “to love yourself.” According to Jesus, the greatest love of all involves laying down your life for your friends (John 15:13). The first kind of love entails self-affirmation. The second kind requires self-sacrifice. They can't both be the greatest. Which is better? Jesus assumes we will love ourselves when he commands us to love others as we love ourselves (Mark 12:31). But he also says, “For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it” (Mark 8:35).

What Makes a Core Text Religious?

What distinguishes religious core texts from non-religious core texts? This question seeks a general criterion for placing core texts into the "religious" and "secular" categories. Such a criterion would guide the process of categorization with respect to particular works generally recognized as core texts. A candidate criterion might define religious core texts as core texts that contribute affirmatively to a religious view of the world. Then there would need to be a conversation about what would count as a religious view of the world and what it would mean for a core text to contribute affirmatively to such a view.

How to Honor an Author

Honoring the author of a text requires first attempting to understand what the author intended to say. Consequently, readers who adopt hermeneutical approaches that preclude the possibility of reading for authorial intent are disrespectful to authors. But courtesy to authors also requires evaluating what they have said (always leaving open the possibility that you have misunderstood them). Are the author’s assertions and claims important and true? Are the author’s suggestions and instructions useful and beneficial? Are the author’s assurances and promises reliable and constructive? Are the author’s questions interesting and thought-provoking? In short, have the author’s literary goals been fulfilled?

What is Hell Like?

Hell is not a place but a condition in which a person experiences separation from loving communion with God. God made us to be fulfilled only when we are lovingly united with God and other God-lovers. Anyone who lives outside this loving fellowship will suffer as a result. The biblical pictures of hell are metaphorical ways of portraying this unhappy condition. Since we are embodied souls, we experience our separation from loving communion with God in physical and mental ways. So the biblical imagery, though metaphorical, is fitting, and dramatizes the reality of living apart from loving communion with God.

Christian Philosophers as Teachers

As a philosopher, I want to teach my students to think for themselves. As a Christian, I want to model for my students a commitment to Christ. If I had only the first goal, I would refrain from revealing my convictions to them. If I had only the second objective, I would introduce them to fewer criticisms of Christianity. But since I am a Christian philosopher, I strive to encourage my students to combine honest evaluation of Christianity with confident submission to Christ. In the future, I plan to be more sensitive to my students’ intellectual, temperamental, and developmental differences.

Nāgārjuna & Jesus

In the Mūlamadhyamakakārikā, the Buddhist philosopher Nāgārjuna argues for an ontological middle way as a basis for salvation from suffering. He rejects nihilism (according to which nothing exists) and essentialism (according to which objects have an enduring existence). He reasons that “things” are merely products of our conceptualization, and that we need to cease reifying our experience to find peace. Since suffering is based on attachment due to overvaluing things (including oneself), one can avoid suffering by realizing that nothing endures as an appropriate object of desire. But Jesus calls us to suffer in order to love God and others.