J. P. Moreland - Scaling the Secular City

1987 by J. P. Moreland

Published by Baker Academic
a division of Baker Publishing Group
P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287
www.bakeracademic.com

Ebook edition created 2014

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meansfor example, electronic, photocopy, recordingwithout the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

ISBN 978-1-58558-071-2

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture is taken from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1952 [2nd edition, 1971] by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture marked NIV are from the Holy Bible, New International Version. NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com

To my mother and father,

who created the space

for me to find

the One in whom we live

and move and have our being

A wise man scales the city of the mighty

And brings down the stronghold in which they trust.

[Prov. 21:22]

Contents

Foreword

C. S. Lewis once wrote: To be ignorant and simple nownot to be able to meet the enemies on their own groundwould be to throw down our weapons, and to betray our uneducated brethren who have, under God, no defense but us against the intellectual attacks of the heathen. Good philosophy must exist, if for no other reason, because bad philosophy needs to be answered.

Scaling the Secular City is not just another apologetics book. This is a fresh, up-to-date defense of the Christian faith by a bright mind. J. P. Moreland musters new arguments, tackles new problems, and reveals penetrating insight as he gives reasons for the historic Christian faith. His rich background in philosophy, science, and theology is manifest in the helpful way he operates on the borders of these disciplines. His insights into the contemporary philosophical issues make him one of the ablest young apologists in America.

This book not only will help the average Christian, but also will challenge the best scholars. It is another good example of the renaissance of classical apologetics in a day that refuses to either capitulate to the philosophical skeptics or give a reason for our hope.

Norman L. Geisler

Acknowledgments

I t is a great delight for me to acknowledge several people who have helped me in preparing the present work. Four thinkers bear special mention. I want to thank Josh McDowell for first introducing me to the joy and importance of apologetics. Norman L. Geisler has been a constant source of encouragement and his writings and life have been a consistent role model of courage in contending for the Christian faith. William Lane Craig has given me several suggestions on earlier drafts of this manuscript and his writings have influenced much of my thinking. Finally, I owe more than I can mention to my friend and philosophical mentor Dallas Willard. His gracious spirit and tenacious mind have been inspiring.

Several people helped me with the preparation of the manuscript: Rich Tucker, Gloria Matarazzo, Kathy Fesmire, Mary Garland Considine, Richard Loper, and Ron Scheller. Their labor made my task easier. Allan Fisher at Baker has been a delight to work with. In addition, my friends Bill and Patty Roth, Klaus and Beth Issler, Greg and Debbie Kappas, Walt and Marty Russell, Tim and Bobbi Smick, Jim and Jeanie Duncan, Jim and Carol Dethmer, and John Glenn, have been especially helpful to me.

Finally, I thank God for my wife, Hope, and my little girls, Ashley and Allison. Anyone who engages in the rigors of apologetics and philosophy runs the risk of becoming dry and out of touch with the emotional side of life. These wonderful women in my life have loved me dearly during this project. My love for them is the sine qua non of my life.

Introduction

I n recent years there has been a noticeable increase in the number of intellectuals who embrace historic Christianity as a rational worldview. In philosophy, at least seven journals are produced by Christian theists and in 1978 the Society of Christian Philosophers was formed. This society includes several hundred professionally trained philosophers who embrace some form of the Christian faith. In science, there has been a crisis in the neo-Darwinian version of evolutionary theory, and sociologists and philosophers of science have raised objections which have called into question the truth claims and rationality of science as a discipline. The American Scientific Affiliation and the Creation Research Society list among their members several hundred professional scientists who believe that real facts of science and the Christian faith are compatible. In New Testament studies there has been a clear movement since the 1960s toward a more conservative view of the New Testament materials.

Taken by themselves, the trends listed do not prove that Christianity is true or even rational. But these trends do point to the fact that a number of thinkers believe that secularism is an inadequate view of the world and that a rational apologetic can be given for historic Christianity. This volume is a work in Christian apologetics which attempts to state and defend some of the arguments which support the rationality of the Christian faith.

It is important for the Christian community to engage in apologetics for at least four reasons. First, Scripture commands us to defend the faith and gives us several examples of such activity. Genesis 1 does not merely assume the existence of the God of the Bible, but attempts to refute ancient Near Eastern concepts of deity by arguing that there is one God and that he created everything. The Old Testament prophets often appealed to the facts of history, prophecy, creation, or providence to reason with other nations. In the New Testament, Jesus authenticated his own credentials by urging people to consider his works. He met honest questions with evidence, as is seen in his encounter with Thomas. In Acts, Paul reasoned with unbelievers and gave evidence for the gospel by appealing to creation and the facts surrounding Jesus life and resurrection. Jude 3 and 1 Peter 3:15 explicitly command us to contend for the faith by giving a rational answer to those who question our faith. Scripture does warn us against using bad philosophy (Col. 2:8) and thinking that philosophy alone can illumine the content of the gospel or lead someone to faith (1 Cor. 1:1825). But such warnings do not militate against the practice of good apologetics.

Second, apologetics can help remove obstacles to faith and thus aid unbelievers in embracing the gospel. Certainly the Holy Spirit must be involved in drawing men to Christ. But a preacher is not absolved of the responsibility of preparing his sermon just because the Spirit must apply the Word of God to the lives of his listeners. In the same way, ambassadors for Christ are not excused from the responsibility of defending the gospel. The Spirit can use evidence to convict men of the truth of the proclamation.

Third, apologetics can strengthen believers in at least two ways. For one thing, it gives them confidence that their faith is true and reasonable; therefore, apologetics encourages a life of faith seeking understanding. Further, apologetics can actually encourage spiritual growth. A persons ability to grow in Christ is in some measure dependent on what that person is able to see in the Scriptures and the world around him. Some people cannot see patterns in a great work of art even though they are staring at the canvas, because they have not been trained to see those patterns. Similarly, some people cannot see God at work in the world or understand and appropriate certain features of the Bible because they have not been trained to see those patterns. Instead, they view the world through secular glasses. Their subconscious structures cause them to interpret events and statements in ways which stifle growth. Apologetics can focus attention on some of those secular structures, call them into question, and release the self to view the world in a way more compatible with a Christian worldview.