Dear Friends of Reasonable Faith,
| |
This has been a busy month with fingers in many pies! I try to balance my working hours between study, speaking, writing, conferring with colleagues, and working on my Systematic Philosophical Theology. There’s a lot going on at once!
| |
 |
[From L-R] Joan Contreras, William Lane Craig, Raul Jaramillo
|
| In April, besides recording Reasonable Faith podcasts with Kevin Harris, I did a very interesting interview with a Latin American podcaster Joan Contreras (that is a man’s name) on God and Time. Since that is a topic that is dear to my heart but which I rarely get to talk about, I really enjoyed our fascinating conversation. I also did a Zoom call with students in France for Nick Repack’s Christian Grads Fellowship, answering their various questions about the resurrection of Jesus, a particularly apt topic just before Easter. Some of their questions were very provocative, such as “If we believe in the resurrection, why not also believe in the miracles of Mary and Our Lady of Fatima?” and “What are we to do with mythological Christ figures that predate the earthly ministry of Jesus?” and “Since the resurrection is scientifically improbable, why shouldn't we wait until we have more historical evidence to better understand these facts?”
| |
I also had the privilege of doing a Zoom call with members of the reading group for Systematic Philosophical Theology organized by Tyson James. This is a reading group which is open to anybody to join. They read the volumes and then have discussions together online. I’ll be meeting from time to time with the group to discuss their questions about the volumes they’re reading. We had a great time of interaction to kick off our first meeting together.
| |
In late April, I had another podcast interview with our Latin American Reasonable Faith Chapter Directors, this time on Doctrine of Salvation. These guys are so sharp, so our conversation was theologically deep and nuanced, dealing with issues like predestination, justification, freedom and necessity, the fall and its consequences, and on. I’m proud to be partnered with them! I also recorded a podcast with Sean McDowell responding to ten clips from an interview that Alex O’Connor did with an ex-Christian by the name of Rhett that has gone viral with over two million views. What especially struck me is that Rhett said that his curiosity is inversely related to his confidence. The more curious he is about something, the less confident he is about it. He claims that that is why he walked away from Christianity. But then later in the interview, he said that he is almost certain that there is an explanation of Christianity’s origin that does not involve Jesus’ resurrection from the dead! That sort of confidence betokens an incredible lack of curiosity on his part. Where does this sort of confidence come from? It’s not based on the evidence. I wish he had the curiosity to look into the evidence for Jesus’ resurrection!
| |
|
I don’t think I’ve mentioned yet my collaboration with David Hutchings on a popular level book (as yet untitled) based on my apologetic arguments. David is a talented young British writer who has written popular books like God, Stephen Hawking, and the Multiverse. The task of scientific popularization is extremely difficult and rarely mastered. It requires that one know the science accurately and yet be able to communicate it in terms that the layman can understand. Sir Arthur Eddington was a great popularizer of contemporary science. By contrast, Stephen Hawking was an utter failure in this regard. David is a high school physics teacher as well as an author who knows my work well. I have never met anyone who can communicate difficult philosophical and theological ideas in such an entertaining and understandable way. His use of analogies is especially brilliant. He has now written four chapters of the new book, and I have reviewed them and suggested minor revisions or improvements here and there. I am extremely excited to be partnered with him in this endeavor.
| |
To give you some idea of the effectiveness of his work, let me share with you what he told me about a couple of persons who have read his most recent chapter on the fine-tuning of the universe. One chap, who himself works in physics and describes himself as an atheist, wrote back, "Loved the new chapter. Really well put together. . .very strongly points towards a deistic origin to the universe. You must write more!" He says he is keen to continue exploring evidence for the existence of God and is reveling in the deeper thinking that the book is bringing him. A second chap, also with a background in physics, said that when he read the fine-tuning chapter, it “felt like a gateway drug for nihilistic atheists wondering why they are here at all. It's superb. It is such a profoundly good argument. I cannot stop thinking about it." The experience has been life-transforming for him. He has now abandoned the atheism which dominated his previous life, is praying regularly, reading the New Testament, and using the material in the chapter to speak to others - including his own family - about “how clear the existence of God is at the end of every line of reasoning”. He has offered to endorse the book on publication, hoping that future readers will experience the same sense of freedom and truth that he is now living out on a daily basis, knowing that God gives purpose and meaning to his life.
| |
David will require a couple more years to complete this book, but the progress and quality is so extraordinary that I wanted to share it with you.
| |
|
Systematic Philosophical Theology
| |
 |
WATCH: Dr. Craig Unboxing Vol. IIa
|
| I’m excited to report that vol. IIa of my Systematic Philosophical Theology has now been released! It appeared so soon after the first volume because the two volumes were in production simultaneously. This second volume deals with the attributes of God, including incorporeality, necessity, aseity, simplicity, omniscience, eternity, omnipresence, omnipotence, and goodness. This volume is not only much longer than volume I but also much more substantive. This is a volume that requires considerable philosophical background to understand. It is intended to help shape the scholarly landscape with respect to the nature of God. Therefore persons lacking the necessary background are better advised to read or listen to my Defenders 4 lectures on the “Attributes of God,” which cover the same material at a level suited to laypeople. Since volumes IIb and III are not yet in production, the time gap between the first two volumes and the next two will be much longer. That’s a good thing because it will give fellow philosophers and theologians the time to digest the first two volumes.
| |
As for me, I am deep into the study of ecclesiology or Doctrine of the Church. One of the most significant aspects of this locus is the sacraments. I have chosen to focus my attention first on the Lord’s Supper (or the Eucharist) because that is where the literature is most abundant. Study of this subject involves, first, biblical interpretation of the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ Last Supper, his Bread of Life discourse in John 6, and Paul’s remarks about the Lord’s Supper to the church in Corinth. Then it involves a study of the various interpretations of the Eucharist down through church history, a prolifically developing tradition from such seemingly meager biblical foundations. It is astounding how elaborate and exotic some of these theories of the presence of Christ’s body and blood in the Eucharist have come to be! For example, Thomas Aquinas thinks that the bread and wine are miraculously transformed into the body and blood of Jesus, even though the properties of bread and wine endure without being properties of any subject, but rather are floating, as it were, without a subject. Hidden by the properties of the no longer existing bread and wine, Christ’s body and blood exist wholly and simultaneously wherever the Eucharist is being celebrated around the world. Should a mouse or a dog happen to eat the consecrated elements, Aquinas thinks that it also consumes the body and blood of Christ, just as we do. And this is only the tip of the iceberg! In addition to the biblical and historical material, I’m also delving into contemporary discussions of the Eucharist by Christian philosophers.
| |
These are even more wacky than the historical views. For example, one Christian philosopher seeks to explain the simultaneous presence of Christ’s body in various places by appealing to time travel, as when the time traveler goes back into the past and meets himself!
| |
Our spring campaign for sustaining donors to Reasonable Faith has begun. Take a look at the various premiums we are offering for becoming a strategic partner. I’m most excited about being able to offer either volume I or volume IIa of my Systematic Philosophical Theology to our top-tier strategic partners. I hope that many of you will be able to take advantage of this wonderful opportunity.
| |
For Christ and His Kingdom,
| |
A vital channel for accomplishing our mission at Reasonable Faith is through the writings of Dr. William Lane Craig.
As people encounter the truth, we hear the stories.
Read this book review from a member of the Systematic Philosophical Theology BOOK LAUNCH CLUB:
"Just what I’ve come to expect from Craig. He is deeply familiar with the relevant research, he is rigorously logical himself, and he writes with exceptional clarity and precision. First-rate scholarship that beautifully answers questions I’ve wrestled with for a long time, and beautifully answers others I didn’t even know to ask. I’m eagerly looking forward to the coming volumes!"
- Kory Queen
| |
|
|
|
|
