The Consideration of the Alternative and the Burden of Proof

The Consideration of the Alternative and the Burden of Proof

May 8, 2020 | Apologetics, Epistemology - Trust

I had a dream recently, like I do every night, but this one was inspiration for a blog post. Most of my dreams are way too bizarre for the word bizarre, but this one was very specific. I made a friend when I got out of college and was involved in the Navigator ministry at USC, and had some part in leading him to Christ. We stayed friends after that, and he even attended Westminster Seminary with my wife and I for a time, but we lost connection with him somewhere in the mid-90s. The dream was simple. He showed up in the dream, and let me know he was no longer a Christian. I asked what he was, and he said nothing. I told him that wasn’t possible, that he had to believe in something! Then it was over. When I woke up I said to myself, I have to write something about this!

Most people are under the impression when they don’t believe in Christianity, or reject it, they are in some neutral place where belief or faith or religion isn’t required; they’ll just sit this one out for now. That, of course, is impossible, as I’ve argued here before. There is no metaphysical neutrality. As Dylan sang in his Jesus phase, you gotta serve somebody, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord, but you gotta serve somebody. (more…)

Trust, Absolute Certainty, and Crazy Times

Trust, Absolute Certainty, and Crazy Times

May 2, 2020 | Epistemology - Trust

We live in very strange times, as you may have noticed. Nobody knows who or what to trust, witness masks and gloves when you go to the store, or those who choose not to wear them (me!). Which “experts” should we trust? Politicians? A lot of people are fed up with their dictates. Media sources? No need to laugh. We’re seeing the profound implications of what happens to a society when trust breaks down, and it isn’t pretty. Civilization is fragile, and trust the glue that holds it together. Which brings us to the issue of certainty, how it’s related to trust, and how the expectation that absolute certainty is possible makes trust impossible. The problem is that if absolute certainty is possible, which is isn’t, then trust is unnecessary. To get the connection, we must understand something about epistemology, the study of knowledge, how we know things. You might wonder, what that six syllable word has to do with anything. Pretty much everything. To understand why will require a brief history lesson. (more…)