Christianity––or any religion for that matter––is considered nothing more than a preference and a hobby in our secular age. Religious talk seems meaningless and embarrassing. We must accurately face the postmodern critique of Christianity, and offer an account of the world that satisfies the postmodern subjectivist as well as the rationalist.
If The Odyssey is so good that it is still in print after thousands of years, don’t you think it might be worth a read? If Bach is still treasured 250 years after his death, would you consider that there is something you’re missing? The question of art and beauty is not abstract and philosophical, it immediately concerns what it means to live a good life and enjoy the best possible experiences. The postmodern axiom, that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, turns out to threaten your happiness! The Christian impulse, which sees beauty in the universe, grounded in the nature of God, once again matches our deepest intuitions and our critical conclusions about art, beauty and the good life.
Elie Wiesel’s book Night proved to be too dark for the podcast. It is one of the more chilling, horrific and stirring accounts from the Holocaust. Wiesel documents in short, clear, unvarnished terms how he lost his family and his faith. But atheism is a worldview which, ultimately, makes no distinction between putting a Jew or a pizza in an oven.
Jordan Peterson has challenged and revitalized our postmodern conceptions of meaning, morality and religion. But without the metaphysics of Christianity, it is unclear how some of Peterson’s optimistic claims can be grounded. The result is that he sounds like an atheist when he talks to a Christian, but he sounds like a Christian when he talks to an atheist. Without a literal God, the Jungian psychologist is essentially an atheist with extra steps. Regardless, is Peterson ultimately a friend or a foe of traditional Christianity?
From Ricky Gervais to reputable scholars, the contemporary trend for atheists is to argue for the assumption of atheism to avoid the burden of proof. But is it true that atheism doesn’t make a knowledge claim, and therefore is the rational starting point? Should we presume atheism when examining worldviews? Does atheism get a pass when shouldering the burden of proof? Does arguing for God sound a lot like arguing for Bigfoot? Definitions, details and discussion to follow.
Dostoyevsky says that self-deceit will lead to ruin. Peterson adds that virtue will strengthen you against despair when suffering strikes. Jesus has something even more profound to say about how the truth sets you free.
Christian thinkers have argued for millennia that only God can give objective grounds for the transcendent moral law. Fyodor Dostoyevsky flips that equation in the face of the death of God in Russia, “Without God, anything is permissible.” That is, if God doesn’t exist, there is no such thing as an act that is off limits, immoral or evil. Dostoyevsky warned that if Russia tries to live out the European Enlightenment worldview, then society will quickly realize that a godless universe is a lawless universe.
In Crime and Punishment, Raskolnikov lives out the logical conclusions of atheism, utilitarianism, and Nietzsche’s view of morality by murdering a useless old pawnbroker. Despite the logical justifications for his crime, Rodion realizes that moral laws are fixed in the universe, and he cannot escape his guilty conscience regardless of his rationalizations. An atheistic worldview says that sin is a construct, and Raskolnikov is a hero. But this is clearly wrong. Will Raskolnikov confess, repent, and turn to Christianity for forgiveness? Or will narcissism and ideology drive him to utter despair while his mind and his heart wreak havoc on what is left of his sanity?
Fyodor Dostoyevsky (1821–1881) is often regarded as one of the best novelists to ever live. He is known for his penetrating grasp of psychology, his understanding of the dark side of human nature, and his unbelievably accurate predictions of what the 20th century would hold if the socialist revolutionaries came to power. Dostoyevsky made an enormous impact on modern the modern worldview, contributing to 20th century realism, existentialism and literary criticism. His unsurpassed delivery of philosophical concepts in narrative form makes him a truly unique author in world history. Among his most famous works, Crime and Punishment is an excursion into the practical consequences of utilitarian ethics, an atheistic worldview and the absurdity of objective morality without a higher authority––all displayed in the form of a captivating murder mystery with engaging characters, plot twists and masterful prose.
Is Christianity a good or bad influence on society? Did Christianity inspire science, liberty, equality, morality and charity, or was it actually an obstacle to cultural progress? The late Christopher Hitchens said that religion poisons everything. Alvin Schmidt, among others, credit Christianity with the birth and growth of diplomacy, democracy, the sovereignty of the individual, and more. In the quest for truth, goodness can be a powerful witness.