Southern Seminary – Dan DeWitt

Puppets and Their Beloved Strings

Dan DeWitt — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 19:39:54 +0000

Sam Harris quickly cast the gauntlet for a new expression of atheism in the wake of the 9-11 terrorist attacks. His first book, “The End of Faith,” is an open letter, a short one at that, citing religious belief as the motivation for much, if not all, evil in the world.

Though more serious works have followed, Harris’ first book was not much more than a paperback rant. He set his sights higher with “The Moral Landscape,” which is predominantly a philosophical work punctuated with scientific references. Though the subtitle claims “How Science Can Determine Human Values,” the reader might separate the science from the philosophical assumptions and question how much support is left for the author’s thesis. But who can blame the guy for trying to tackle one of the largest difficulties that plagues a reductionist worldview.

If we were to concede for a moment that Harris is right and science really can determine our values, we should go all the way and accept the conclusion of his most recent book that claims free will is an illusion. This book is less of an attack on religion, and more of an honest look at the implications of Harris’ view of the world.

Why Arthur Christmas Preaches A Better Gospel

Dan DeWitt — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 15:06:21 +0000

“Our sins, when laid upon Christ, were yet personally ours, not his,” said John Bunyan, ‘so his righteousness, when put upon us, is yet personally his, not ours.”

Arthur Christmas and John Bunyan might agree on this point. Well, kind of. At least one scene from Arthur Christmas preaches a better gospel than many well known Christian authors and speakers today. I watched Arthur Christmas with my twins on the big screen last year. We rented it and watched it again yesterday to kick off the Christmas season.

I was struck by a scene, a seemingly insignificant one in light of the rest of the movie, that I had completely forgotten about. Early in the movie the audience is exposed to Santa’s new modus operandi. No reindeer needed here, Santa is flying a state of the art space ship. His elves do more than the prep work, they do, pretty much, all the work. And this leads me to Arthur’s gospel.

Instead of a good and bad list, elves now scan children to see if they are over the good threshold and thus deserving of a gift and not coal. One elf scans a sleeping boy, and when his goodness isn’t quite good enough, he turns the scanner on himself to make up the deficit. And herein is a powerful illustration, not a perfect one, but nonetheless, a picture of “imputed righteousness.”

This wonderful doctrine simply says that in order to be good enough for God, that God had to take our sin upon himself and impute Christ’s righteousness to us. We’re not good enough. And so God turned the scanner on himself. This doctrine is at the heart of the Incarnation.

Read the rest at Theolatte.com

The Father of Secular Humanism Has Died

Dan DeWitt — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 16:49:48 +0000

Though he preferred, albeit jokingly, the title “grandfather,” he is remembered as the “father” of secular humanism.

Preferences of generational titles aside, he was an important public intellectual and he is now dead. And I think the atheism/theism dialogue at large will suffer from the loss.

Before his death on October 20, 2012, Paul Kurtz served most recently as Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at the State University of New York at Buffalo. Kurtz is the author of many works including the influential document the Humanist Manifesto II. He also founded Prometheus Books and multiple organizations promoting secular thought: Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, the Council for Secular Humanism, and the Center for Inquiry.

Richard Dawkins described him on Twitter as, “A great, if lately troubled, figure in the skeptic and secular humanist world.” Why does Dawkins call him troubled? It is likely because of the criticism Kurtz received for resigning in 2010 from the very organizations he founded (Prometheus Books excluded) due to his concern over the tone that the new atheists were taking. R. Joseph Hoffmann, a friend and colleague of Kurtz, describes the chasm from Kurtz’s vision for humanism verses the new atheist campaign:

Read the rest at Theolatte.com

The Last Word: Maybe Not

Dan DeWitt — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 14:29:00 +0000

“I want atheism to be true,” writes professor Thomas Nagel, “and am made uneasy by the fact that some of the most intelligent and well-informed people I know are religious believers.”

Thomas Nagel is Professor of Philosophy and Law at New York University. The previous quote from his 1997 book The Last Word continues with these words, “It isn’t just that I don’t believe in God and, naturally, hope that I’m right in my belief. It’s that I hope there is no God! I don’t want there to be a God; I don’t want the universe to be like that.”

This passage is quoted on a regular basis by Christian apologists. It is a helpful insight into an atheistic worldview, and, perhaps, though it will surely be contested by secularists, an insight into a certain kind of moral bias that can influence a rejection of theism. But I have a feeling Nagel’s admission will soon be eclipsed in its use by apologists in light of his latest publication.

Read the rest at Theolatte.com

Unbroken & Unashamed

Dan DeWitt — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 15:49:54 +0000

Born in sin I knew no other way.

Condemned within, until the day.

When in grace, I was remade:

In my natural state, with hellish fate,
Unworthy was my only trait.

I was:

Untrue.

Ungodly.

Unfaithful.

Uncaring.

Undesirable.

Unholy.

And unacceptable.

I was unloving and unlovely,
but never deemed unlovable.

For I have been unbroken
through his unconditional love
by the unstoppable mercy
demonstrated in the unutterable darkness
of the wrath-born cross.

Read the rest at Theolatte.com

To the Moon and Beyond

Dan DeWitt — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 20:55:43 +0000

In the mid 1950s audiences roared as Ralph Kramden, played by Jackie Gleason, jovially threatened Alice, his sitcom wife, to send her “to the moon!”

The scene was comical for several reasons, not least of which was Gleason’s comedic genius.

The idea of going to the moon contributed to the comedy, but by the end of the 1960s it was no longer a laughing matter. The world sat spellbound in the summer of 1969 as Neil Armstrong accomplished the unthinkable and took “One small step for man; one giant leap for mankind.”

Armstrong died on Saturday, August 25, 2012. History will forever remember him by his famous words spoken from outer space. While most are familiar with what he said, fewer still know of what he did moments before offering his legendary quote. He and his fellow astronaut Buzz Aldrin observed communion immediately before exiting the spaceship to leave an indelible footprint on the moon. It seems their trip to space brought them closer to God in more ways than one.

In our day it is common to think that science has buried God beneath a pile of empirical data revealing his irrelevance. This is an unfortunate myth in the faith and science debate, and it is one that is particularly false when it comes to space travel. The late Chuck Colson published an informative article several years ago outlining many astronauts who have been outspoken about their Christian faith. It is well worth your time to check it out here.

Thinking of space travel and faith always reminds me of the memorable response C.S. Lewis once offered to an atheist cosmonaut from Russia.

Read the rest at Theolatte.com

Death’s Obituary

Dan DeWitt — Fri, 08 Jun 2012 18:22:47 +0000

Death follows hard after breathing beings;
He ain’t stoppin’ ’til he freeze your feelings;
Or seize your nerves and leave you reeling.
This is no joke: its been told before;
It’s too late when he’s knockin’ at your door.

Read the rest at TheoLatte.com.