G. K. Chesterton, by Ernest Herbert Mills, 1909. Public domain.
Joel Kontinen
Why are bizarre beliefs, such as the multiverse and a universe teeming with alien civilisations, rampant in our day?
British author G. K. Chesterton (1874–1936) might have the answer:
“When men stop believing in God they don't believe in nothing; they believe in anything.”
This quote is widely attributed to Chesterton, although it obviously does not appear verbatim in his works; it was first recorded as 'The first effect of not believing in God is to believe in anything' in Emile Cammaerts’ book The Laughing Prophet: The Seven Virtues and G.K. Chesterton (London: Methuen & Co., 1937].
Chesterton was especially critical of atheism and Darwinian evolution.
Bizarre beliefs tend to either ignore or try to explain away cosmic fine tuning that is evident everywhere, from the micro to the macro.
Source:
Knowles, Elizabeth. (ed). 2004. Oxford Dictionary of Quotations. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Image courtesy of the Institute for Creation Research (ICR).
Joel Kontinen
Science, scientism and reason are popular words that many people understand precisely the way they want to.
Sceptics have re-defined science. It used to be a search for the best explanation, but somewhere along the way Darwinists hijacked the word, making it the search for the best naturalistic explanation.
This has had far-reaching consequences. Some have embraced thinking that hails from the teaching of Eastern philosophers and they question the very reality of our existence.
Elon Musk, for instance, believes we might be living in a computer simulation.
Many other sceptics think we are insignificant. This is what Bill Nye, the 2010 Humanist of the Year, believes about humans:
“I'm insignificant. ... I am just another speck of sand. And the earth really in the cosmic scheme of things is another speck. And the sun an unremarkable star. ... And the galaxy is a speck. I'm a speck on a speck orbiting a speck among other specks among still other specks in the middle of specklessness. I suck.”
Consciousness and free will are hard dilemmas for Darwinists and so is the existence of the self.
Recently, Robert Lawrence Kuhn wrote an article on Live Science in which the difficulties brought by Alzheimer's to his 100-year old mother prompted him to take a critical look at selfhood.
He seems to think that while the self might be real, it is material, located in the brain.
While sceptics might invoke reason for this choice, ignoring all but the material dimension is not very reasonable.
As British writer G. K. Chesterton put it, atheists have a doctrine against the supernatural. This eventually leads to the destruction of reason.
The Bible takes an entirely different approach. We are made in God’s image and as such we are accountable to Him for all our deeds, choices and misdeeds.
And He freely offers us pardon, friendship and eternal life through faith in Jesus.
Source:
Kuhn, Robert Lawrence. 2016. Is Your 'Self' Just an Illusion? Live Science (7 September).
Natural selection did not built these ruins. Most of us would agree that intelligence and careful planning were needed and that the passing of time did not improve things.
Joel Kontinen
How do you get everything from nothing?
The short answer is that you can’t, regardless of how many million years you try. Contrary to what some atheists like Stephen Hawking say, there is no way the entire universe could make itself and everything in it.
Quantum fluctuations cannot salvage bad thinking.
It might be good to remember what Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874–1936) said about this atheistic dilemma:
“It is absurd for the Evolutionist to complain that it is unthinkable for an admittedly unthinkable God to make everything out of nothing, and then pretend that it is more thinkable that nothing should turn itself into everything."
Chesterton was a famous writer and Christian thinker who was not afraid to criticise Darwinian evolution and atheism.
While evolution is an ideology that has passed its shelf life, Chesterton’s thoughts are as fresh as they were two or three generations ago.
In his book Orthodoxy, British author G. K. Chesterton (1874–1936) wrote on the illogical thinking of sceptics:
“Somehow or other an extraordinary idea has arisen that the disbelievers in miracles consider them coldly and fairly, while believers in miracles accept them only in connection with some dogma. The fact is quite the other way. The believers in miracles accept them (rightly or wrongly) because they have evidence for them. The disbelievers in miracles deny them (rightly or wrongly) because they have a doctrine against them.”
Chesterton was right. The only reason for not believing in the supernatural is to reject the supernatural. The apostle Paul wrote:
“For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.” (Romans 1:20, NIV).
Source:
Chesterton, G. K. 1986. Orthodoxy. In Collected Works. Volume 1. San Francisco: Ignatius Press.
Many sceptics assume that eyeglasses are the result of intelligent design but the eyes behind the glasses came about through blind Darwinian processes.
It might perhaps be good to remember what English author G. K. Chesterton (1874–1936), who is known as a great defender of Christianity, said:
“When we were children we were grateful to those who filled our stockings at Christmas time. Why are we not grateful to God for filling our stockings with legs?”
Skeptics are fond of focusing on evolution, reason and rationality. But is there a connection between these concepts?
It might be interesting to keep in mind what British author G.K. Chesterton (1874–1936) said of evolution in his book Orthodoxy:
“Evolution is a good example of that modern intelligence which, if it destroys anything, destroys itself. Evolution is either an innocent scientific description of how certain earthly things came about; or, if it is anything more than this, it is an attack upon thought itself. If evolution destroys anything, it does not destroy religion but rationalism."
Source:
Chesterton, G.K. 1986. Orthodoxy. In G.K. Chesterton. Collected Works. San Francisco: Ignatius.
G. K. Chesterton was not afraid to defend biblical Christianity. Image: Wikipedia
Joel Kontinen
Militant atheists, such as Richard Dawkins, have recently lifted up their voices in an attempt to convince others of a worldview that does not tolerate anything that smacks of the supernatural. Before their time, however, a very original English gentleman was already debating atheists and agnostics and exposing the logical fallacies of their ideology. “Atheism is indeed the most daring of all dogmas”, he said, “for it is the assertion of a universal negative.” Yes, he did use the word dogma – a synonym of the word doctrine that Dawkins used in Ben Stein’s film Expelled: No intelligence Allowed . They both used the words in the same sense.
Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874-1936) was a famous writer and Christian thinker. At a time when many famous European writers were either agnostics or atheists, Chesterton was not afraid to defend Christianity. He debated men like George Bernard Shaw, H. G. Wells, Bertrand Russell and Clarence Darrow and inspired other Christian writers, especially C. S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. Chesterton answered some of Richard Dawkins’ arguments before anyone had even heard of Dawkins.
Opposing evolution was not very popular in Chesterton’s days but he was not afraid to say what he thought about origins issues. Instead of being content with superficial arguments, he dug deep into the underlying causes: “The Christian is quite free to believe that there is considerable amount of settled order and inevitable development in the universe. But the materialist is not allowed to admit into his spotless machine the slightest speck of spiritualism or miracle.”
Indeed, some of his though-provoking ideas were aimed at the evolutionary worldview: “It is absurd for the Evolutionist to complain that it is unthinkable for an admittedly unthinkable God to make everything out of nothing, and then pretend that it is more thinkable that nothing should turn itself into everything.”
Apologetics is often defined as a rational defence of Christianity. However, Chesterton did not feel he was defending the faith. Instead, he engaged in a witty discussion with unbelievers and beat them in their own game, leaving a trove of memorable quotes for all subsequent generations, including our own.
Sources:
Montgomery, John Warwick. 2002. The Un-Apologist. Christian History 21:3. http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-2136757_ITM
Knowles, Elizabeth (ed.) 2004. Oxford Dictionary of Quotations. 6th ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
I’m a translator and writer currently living in Finland. I have three academic degrees: a BA in Bible and Theology, an MA in Translation Studies, and an MA in Biblical Studies.
Olen koulutukseltani sekä filosofian maisteri (pääaine: englannin kielen kääntäminen ja tulkinta) että teologian maisteri (Uuden testamentin koulutusohjelma). Lisäksi olen suorittanut BA-tutkinnon (Raamattu ja teologia).
Posts
