Brett quotes Sir Francis Bacon…
"If a man will begin with certainties, he shall end in doubts; but if he will be content to begin with doubts he shall end in certainties."
I wonder if Sir Francis Bacon is certain about this assertion. If so does that mean he is destined to end in doubts? Hmmm…
This little illustration simply goes to show that we all start with presuppositions or faith assertions. To deny this is to purposely delude oneself. Brett is not absque fide. He is primo fide like all of humanity. Different than where he had been, however, now his primo fide is in his own speculative abilities unaided by God’s revelation. This leads to the denial of God and the supernatural leading to Brett’s naturalistic/materialistic worldview now.
The problems with naturalism are grave (literally). There is no afterlife because there is nothing but material. Naturalism has no warrant for immaterial entities like “laws of logic” or “morality.” Brett has claimed to use his logic along with intuition and experience to arrive at his conclusions. However, when Brett uses logic (immaterial, transcendent entities) he is borrowing from the Christian’s worldview. It is only the theistic (and specifically Christian) worldview that can account for non-material “laws of logic.” Ultimately, Brett will not be able to functionally live consistently with his newfound worldview. He desires to appreciate the beauty of the garden without having to believe that there are fairies (or aliens or God) underneath it. However, in a naturalistic worldview there are only random collections of material. There is no beauty or ugliness. Only in a Christian theistic worldview is there a God who defines that order/harmony/organization is good so that one can then appreciate a beautifully organized garden. Naturalism will ultimately lead to despair because mankind was not designed to live in that framework. In naturalism, there is no warrant for purpose, hope, beauty, values, morals, rational thought, grace, and love—only material. Thank God that He has limited our capabilities to fully and consistently live as if this worldview were true. Family and friends of Brett should also thank God that He will not allow Brett to fully live consistent with his new found assertions. Otherwise, there would be nothing warranted in naturalism to compel Brett’s moral commitments to fidelity in marriage (or any concept of marriage at all!), ethical dealings in relationships, sacrificial service for family, righteous behavior at work, logical thinking, that killing is wrong, that love is right, etc.
I will now conclude my response with this passage: Rom 1:18-25.
“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened . . . For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator who is blessed forever."
In Brett’s post entitled, “Life without God,” he opts to suppress that which is obviously evident to mankind when he says, “If there were such a powerful, intelligent being, it would be no surprise for that being to create something complex.” Precisely! This is what Scripture means by the claim that God has made it evident to mankind in creation. Instead Brett works hard to suppress the obvious and opt for the impossible—“I am awestruck by the amazing complexity which seems to have arisen from simple natural processes.” Brett ends up worshiping the creation rather than the Creator just as the degenerative cycle depicted in Rom 1:18-25 describes. Out of his mouth comes truth juxtaposed next to efforts to suppress the truth.
Brett has forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living waters, and made for himself a cistern, a broken cistern that can hold no water (Jer 2:13). So, now because I love Brett and because he is my friend, I exhort him to repent and turn back to the Living God and to His Son, Jesus Christ, who shed His blood for Brett’s apostasy and before whom Brett will stand one day. When/if he does repent, only then will he be able to see clearly the warrant for his faith and the reasons to believe. Now it is up to God to help him choose to believe what is true. That is my prayer for my friend, Brett.
Primo Fide in Yahweh and His Son by which I “see”,
Love,
Brent
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