According to contemporary culture, what you see is what you get. Nothing exists beyond the material universe. So the world is a closed box - a cosmic cube that embraces all of reality.
But when God is excluded, philosophy loses its universal reference point and cannot discover true reality. And without God, it makes so sense to talk about right and wrong.
Key Scriptures Mentioned in the Video
Mark 9:2
Romans 12:2
2 Corinthians 3:18
Colossians 2:8
2 Timothy 2:24-26
Themes
Philosophy, according to Dr. R.C. Sproul, is "a scientific quest to discover ultimate reality." This would seem to indicate that philosophical ideas about truth are closely aligned with the biblical definition given in Lesson 1: truth = reality. The 1828 edition of Websters Dictionary included the following affirmation: "true religion and true philosophy must ultimately arrive at the same principle." The definition also asserted that philosophy aims "to enlarge our understanding of God." God, of course, has been edited out of subsequent editions of the dictionary. This is consistent with the perspective of contemporary culture, which has been taken captive by the unfounded assumption that "the cosmos is all there is or ever was or ever will be" (Carl Sagan). Another way to say this is that current thought pictures reality as a closed box - a cosmic cube - in which there is no room for anything that cannot be sensually or materially perceived. The problem is that with the lid of the box closed and God excluded, philosophy is deprived of a universal reference point and thus crippled in its "scientific quest for ultimate reality." As a result, it cannot answer the most basic questions about right and wrong behavior.
Points to Watch For
Dr. Tackett persuasively argues that even the most outspoken adherents of "cosmic cube" thinking and relativistic ethics - thinkers like Carl Sagan and William Provine - cannot possibly live by their own reductionist and materialistic principles. On the other side of the coin, he suggests that many contemporary Christians have been unwittingly taken captive by the assumptions of our age ("conformed to this world"). He concludes the lesson by challenging students to think more aggressively about what it means to be "transformed by the renewing of the mind" (Romans 12:2).
Key Terms:
Assumptive Language
Powerful and deceptive use of words in which a seemingly simple statement is made, hoping the hearer will buy the simple statement without recognizing the huge assumptions that come with it. When one buys the simple statement, you buy its assumptions without knowing it.
Biblical worldview
A formal worldview based ultimately upon that nature, character, and being of God as it is expressed in His infallible Word and His creation. It becomes the foundation for a life system that governs every area of existence.
Capricious
Impulsive, unpredictable, characterized or subject to whim. Not guided by steady judgment, intent or purpose.
Carl Sagan
An American astronomer and proponent of scientific naturalism who promoted the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI). Cosmos was the most watched television show on PBS of all time (more than 600 million people have seen it since it first aired in 1980), and his novel Contact was made into a film of the same name in 1997 staring Jodie Foster.
Cosmic Cube
The philosophy that has consciously or subconsciously captured our culture which says the material world is all that is, was, or ever will be; nothing exists outside of the box. This philosophical position has severely damaging implications.
Epistemology
the branch of philosophy that studies the nature of knowledge, its foundations, its presuppositions, and its extent and validity. How we know what we know.
Ethics
Formal worldview
A comprehensive set of truth claims that purports to paint a picture of reality.
Fundamental biblical presuppositions
God is and He has revealed Himself to us through His creation (general revelation) and through His Word (special revelation).
Hollow and deceptive philosophy
Philosophies that are based on human traditions and worldly principles that set themselves up against God's truth claims. See Colossians 2:8
Immanent
Present in and involved in the created universe. God is at work, actively involved with His creation, but separate from it. (see "Transcendent")
Metamorphoo
Greek for "transformation." Root of the word metamorphosis. This is the primary goal of The Truth Project: for individuals to be transformed into the likeness of Christ by gazing on the face of God. This process is not easy and we often struggle with God's Truth claims in the "cocoon." Metamorphoo is used in Romans 12:2Where it is usually translated as "transformed."
Metaphysics
the branch of philosophy that examines the nature of reality, existence, and the relationship between mind and matter, time and space, fact and value.
Morality
The rightness or wrongness of conduct; that which is. Habits of life or the practices of an individual or culture.
Naturalism
Truth and reality are derived from nature and natural causes. Rejects all spiritual and supernatural explanations of the world and holds that science is the primary basis of what can be known.
Particulars
Individual truth claims'; the small details that describe "particular" objects.
Personal world view
The set of individual truth claims that you have embraced so deeply that you believe they reflect what is really real and therefore they drive what you think, how you act, and what you feel.
Philosophy
The love of wisdom. The systematic examination of basic concepts such as truth, existence, reality, freedom, etc. Webster's 1828 dictionary definition:"The objects of philosophy are to ascertain facts or truth, and the causes of things or their phenomena; to enlarge our views of God and his works..." True religion and true philosophy must ultimately arrive at the same principle.
Postmodernism
cluster of philosophies with the underlying assumption that no one worldview or belief system (metanarrative) can claim to be the truth, which often results in relativistic thinking and the use of language as a power play.
Pragmatic
more concerned with practical results than with principles or truth.
Primary doctrine
Theology and Anthropology. Who is God and who is man? These are the two basic foundations for a person's and a culture's worldview.
Reductionist
1. considering or presenting something complicated in a simple way, especially a way that is too simple
2. relating to the belief that complex living systems can be explained by the laws of physics and chemistry, or having this belief
Spiritual Naturalism
Truth and reality are derived from nature and natural causes. Accepts a spiritual dimension to this world, but adds spirit inside the Cosmic Cube and, as a result rejects and transcendent creator.
Transcendent
Existing outside, above and independent, of the material universe. God is transcendent, but also immanent.
Universals
Broad "universal" truth claims that provide meaning to the smaller "articular" questions life. "Universals" provide answers to the great philosophical questions we face.
Utilitarian
relating to or advocating the doctrine that value is measured in terms of usefulness, concerned with practicality.
William Provine
A professor of evolutionary biology at Cornell University who is an atheist and adamant opponent of intelligent design.
