We are going into turbo mode for the rest of the quarter. Two reasons
- This is advanced material so we will focus more on fewer concepts from each chapter.
- Finishing the book will give us a good scope of apologetics.
Make sure you can access the online materials, especially if you are working from home.
Chapter 11
- To get an idea of what we’ll cover, check out this chapter’s introductory video.
Understanding the Faith (summitu.com) (go to “Table of Contents” -> chapter 11 and click on the video.)
- Fill out this outline for your notes.
- Bolded terms with colons mean I want you to define that term. Always try to consolidate the definitions (usually found in gray boxes) into a tight sentence or two. Otherwise, they’re often wordy.
- In addition to the textbook definition you write down, include something from the lecture in your definition section.
- (I’ll try consolidating the lecture at the end of each day’s outline.)
- If we have similar terms, I’ll have you “Compare and contrast “them to understand their distinctions better.
Friday 3/10/23
- Read Section 11.2
- Use this Notes Outline to fill out your notebook. Use
- The textbook
- Lecture (where applicable)
Notes Outline
Understanding the Faith, Chapter 11: Supernatural Good and Evil
- 1 –
- 2 – The Materialist/Naturalist Challenge to the Supernatural
- Materialism:
- Compare and contrast:
- Naturalism:
- Materialism:
Lecture
Miracles are an essential aspect of the Christian faith. I’m not sure that we’d care about Jesus’ words if he never performed miracles. That’s why atheists try so hard to discredit miracles. Materialism and Naturalism are the “beliefs” that these people hold to in defiance of faith.
Materialism is about “being” and what “is” (or is not). A materialist believes that physical reality or matter is the only existing substance. They are monists. Mono=one. There is no mind + body. There is just a body. Your mind is merely a result of physical neurons, organs, and electricity.
Naturalism is not about what *is* It’s about what is *known* A naturalist only believes in what they can explain through scientific investigation. If something exists outside of nature, they reject it or don’t care.
Though we are studying the philosophical aspect of these beliefs, materialism, and naturalism, appear in our everyday lives. For example, my first boss hired me as a teenager, and when I rededicated my life to Christ, I would talk to him about Jesus. He used to say, “I only believe in what I see, and all I see is what I worked my but off to get.”
He was a self-made person in his eyes, and since that was all he could understand, it was all he claimed to know or care about. Christians make peace with God by trusting in Jesus’ death and resurrection for our sins. We care about what he teaches us to care about. Our faith includes much that we cannot fully know, but it is not unreasonable. No one can know everything. How much are you willing to surrender to God?
Christians are dualists, meaning we believe in a physical reality, but we also see a spiritual reality. God is spirit, and our minds/souls exist in his image, physically and spiritually.