Apologetics Lecture

Jun 23, 2024

Apologetics Lecture Notes

Key Concepts in Apologetics

  • Basic Necessary Conditions for Knowledge:
    1. Law of Non-contradiction
    2. Law of Causality
    3. Basic Reliability of Sense Perception
    4. Principle of Analogical Use of Language: Today's focus.

Principle of Analogical Use of Language

  • Important yet esoteric
  • Originates from inductive study of atheism
  • Critics of classical theism challenge basic elements:
    • Law of Non-contradiction
    • Law of Causality
  • 20th-century shift in philosophy towards language

God Talk Controversy

  • Emerged from philosophical focus on language
  • Led to the Theo thanatology movement (Death of God)
  • Rooted in logical positivism

Logical Positivism and Verification Principle

  • Principle of Verification: Only empirically verifiable statements are true
    • Empirical verification requires sense perception
    • Flawed: the principle itself cannot be empirically verified
    • Despite flaws, impacted criticism on theism: Statements about God aren’t scientifically provable or falsifiable
    • Statements about God are seen as emotive (emotional) rather than factual

Criticism and Rational Argument

  • Rational argument vs. physical evidence
  • Inference from the created universe to a Creator
  • Critics argue statements about God say nothing meaningful about objective reality

Impact of Enlightenment on Theology and Philosophy

  • Enlightenment dismissed the 'God hypothesis' for explaining the universe and human life
  • Rise of naturalistic explanations like spontaneous generation

19th Century and Beyond

  • Liberal theology naturalized Christianity, rejecting supernatural elements:
    • Old Testament prophecy
    • Virgin birth, atonement, miracles, resurrection
  • Emphasis on sociological and humanitarian goals
  • Pantheism: Everything is God and God is everything

Crisis in Language and Transcendence

  • Reaction against liberalism by emphasizing God's transcendence
  • Efforts to separate God from the universe: 'God is wholly other' (Karl Barth, German philosopher)
  • Overcorrection led to further language crisis

Next Session

  • Continuation on how the crisis of meaningful God-talk developed