Empirical Theology... The Road into Darkness

This is a very sobering testimonial from a young woman who has apostatized and is on her way to hell.

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2013/07/15/the-atheist-daughter-of-a-notable-christian-apologist-shares-her-story/

It's very sad to read and I cannot imagine the grief and sorrow her parents are experiencing as a result of this.

Ultimately it is God Himself who must change the heart and only those 'who endure to the end' will be saved.

This truth (of Grace and Perseverance) is dynamic. It is paradoxical. There is a latent danger in Christian circles... a danger which places so much emphasis on rationality that in the end the doctrines of Scripture itself are over-scrutinized and begin to collapse.

The Thomistic tradition has always sought to demonstrate and prove through reason and logic the existence of God and the veracity of theological truth.

The problem is it can go only so far. The method itself ultimately can put faith to the test. You're using a certain set of criteria that has to be willing to stop when it can go no further. And yet for those trained in the method, used to thinking that way... it's hard to do. This tendency has brought down many Christian strongholds and turned places like New England into hotbeds of rationalistic secularism.

This system ultimately trended toward an Empiricist worldview which in the end more or less brought down Thomism and destroyed the 'proofs' for the existence of God. They are at best inconclusive.

I would argue it's the wrong method for approaching questions of faith. It's a mistake to subjugate metaphysical truths to the empirical test.

As far as the question which for this young woman served as the breaking point... the answer is really not that difficult.

Although I will admit for those who think in terms of systematic cohesion, it may prove somewhat difficult. For those who believe metaphysical mysteries can be dissected, it may be very problematic. It obviously did for her.

There are universal moral laws which reflect the person and character of God. He commands them because they 'are' intrinsically good. Things like lying, theft, murder, prohibitions against idolatry etc.... are all intrinsically good in that they reflect the integrity of Truth.

More could be said but that will suffice for the present.

There are other commands and laws which are moral not because of their intrinsic universal value... but they are good because God commands them.

Here's the rub. The whole methodology this girl grew up with contains within it (I think) a certain arrogance. It presumes that man can probe the depths of God. They believe that God has instituted laws of logic and thus the universe and even the mind and activities of God Himself are subject to them.

Not only are these laws which govern the cosmos, they would believe the laws of logic reflect the mind of God, they are universal values that are part of his character.

God is to them an expression of the purest logic or to read that the other way...logic is the purest expression of God's character.

I believe that the laws of logic are mechanisms God has 'created' for this world. They are part of creation and it is a mistake to impose them on God. Impose I believe is the correct word.

Ultimately what is happening is that God is being put (as it were) under the microscope. They are seeking to explain God as it were.

There is a certain rationalism at work here. I'm not speaking of the school of thought which has historically been antagonistic to Empiricism. I'm speaking of the elevation of the mind of man wherein man thinks he has the ability to apprehend and in some cases comprehend the mysteries of the deity. I would argue the tools they are using... the laws of logic... are paltry and incapable of probing these transcendent glories.

Because man is incapable of properly grasping the cosmic order and is unable to properly understand the infinite complexity of the grace-redemption paradigm or its foundation, the ultimate mystery of the Incarnation, God has chosen to speak to man in typological and symbolic terms. The typology can also be applied in eternal (a-temporal) methods. He can speak of future yet certain actions to people in the past through actual historical events which are symbols of these eternal truths.

For example the conquering nation of Israel in the Old Testament can exhibit typologically the Final Judgment. The Canaanites received the eschatological trial and judgment they deserved... thousands of years before the actual and true Final Judgment. Eternity invades or intersects with time via these symbolic means God has provided...namely his covenant people Israel.

Because God is not bound by time and in his love for us seeks to communicate eternal truths in a form finite and temporal beings can grasp at... it is his prerogative as Creator to institute laws and commands which may 'seem' to violate universal moral principles.

Because the Israelites acted as proxies under Divine mandate, their slaughter of the Canaanites was not unjust. They may have been as individuals, in their hearts, committing murderous sins to be repented of. They may have acted with improper wrath and not as mandated executioners. But that's beside the point.

It was perfectly just and moral for God to bring Judgment on the crimes of the Canaanites.

In terms of the other moral laws of the Old Testament, the dietary laws, the temple system etc...  these were temporary laws that served a didactic purpose. They were teaching lessons about eternal redemption in a symbolic and a-temporal fashion. They were teaching about something eternal that had not yet been executed in time. God in his love applied these truths in a context ancient Middle Eastern people could understand. This is true from the suzerain covenant formulae and the cutting of covenants, to the societal structures.

These commands were moral not because they reflected universal intrinsic truth. They were moral because God had commanded them to serve his purposes in history and made them stipulations of his covenant administration on Earth. Thus when they were no longer needed they were set aside. All the lessons had been completed and finished by Jesus Christ the True Israel...the lessons the first Israel (like the First Adam) had failed to grasp.

Thus they were done away with. Thus we no longer have the temple system. All those things God had commanded, from the building to the candles, to the priesthood, robes, altars, instruments, sacrifices, incense, the land and its political structure, the dietary laws, the civil codes, even the Sabbath. All these things have been done away with.

This is not the elimination of universal moral laws. This is not a change in something that was fundamental or absolute.

Does this represent a bifurcation in logic? Not at all.

The problem with this poor young woman is that all along rather than submit to God's revelation she was taught to subjugate it to a criteria that elevated man's reason. This has ever been a problem with many theological schools of thought.

In the end, this school of thought is basically saying...

If I can't understand it, then it must not be true.

And once you realize this, you'll start to see this basic way of thinking clouds almost every theological debate.

Empiricism (knowing by the senses, by that which can be demonstrated and proved) is the foundation of Modernism. It has built skyscrapers and sent man to the moon... but it cannot probe the eternal depths.

I pray this beautiful young woman will be awakened from the stupor of death which has beset her heart. She may yet be rescued but I fear her father's methodology may prove inadequate.