Intellectual Promiscuity—Letter to the Reserved Christian

I haven't been on here for a while and I apologize for that. However, there is a reason why I came back—other than the reason that I need to blog. There is a book that I recently purchased by Christian philosopher James P. Moreland entitled "Love Your God with all Your Mind." In it he presents a case first by showing that the Christian-Evangelical community is flanked with "empty-headedness" among the leadership as well as the church at large. This alone is enough to perturb the common Christian off his or her seat to action. However, he doesn't stop there. He goes to show that because of the church's lazed attitude throughout the centuries (more specifically the 18^th century), there was a drastic shift in the learning that travailed the academy. Moreland writes,

As Friedrich Nietzsche said, once God died in Western culture—that is, once the concept of God no longer informed the major idea-generating centers of society turned secular—there would be turmoil and horrible secular wars unchecked by traditional morality because the state would come to be a surrogate god for many.

Although many who read phrases like these don't see the inherent (philosophic) ideas behind this, it evident that most of the metaphysical and epistemic tragedies bereaved most of the academic world for a cheaper version of reality—a material reality. One of my favorite heroes of the 20^th century put it like this: "False ideas are the greatest obstacles for the reception of the gospel." It is the case that the academy is the center for ethical notions of practical living—and it is taught in the public square of the academic elites. There is a current rush over the public school system (and by this, I mean the state is launching an attack against parents who desire to teach their own children). Certain "demagogues" currently have the semblance of being devils. They disturb the peace of the American consensus. But are these people on to something? Do they have some knowledge forehand not seen by the public?

Dr. G.L. Bahnsen, when his Always Ready was first published in 1996 stated in chapter 1 that some people—the consensus—would have the general public believe that there isn't a real need for Christian schools (or private schools for that matter) since they basically teach the same things—with the exception of Bible readings and prayer. Is that true? Do we not have prior commitments when we look at, say, logic, math, geometry, etc.?

Moreland's voice is also heard in the vibrations of Lindsey, Gerstner and Sproul in Classical Apologetics when they wrote that the death of the church will not come from blunt force from the saeculum. It will come from the inexorable blow of irrelevance. The church will simply disappear from the world. Where Christianity was the voice of the sciences, it will merely be the voice of emotional bystanders whose dub worthy name will be "lunatic." So what does the church do when it is amassed with these epithets and insults? How will she defend herself when she has left the very arsenal by which emboldened the rise of the 18^th century Visigoths of science and philosophy?

SOLI DEO GLORIA,

Julio Martinez, Jr.