Apologetics without Apology Apologetics without Apology by Mark Brumley Greek word apologia Always be prepared to make a defense to any one who calls you to account for the hope that is in you, yet do it with gentleness and reverence (I Peter 3:15) Definition of Apologetics without Apology Apologetics without Apology by Mark Brumley Natural Apologetics Christian Apologetics Catholic Apologetics Natural = Philosophy = Reason Alone Christian & Catholic = Theology = Reason and Revelation Apologetics without Apology Apologetics without Apology by Mark Brumley Why do some people see bread and some people see Jesus? Apologetics without Apology Apologetics without Apology by Mark Brumley The Light of Faith and the Eyes of the Intellect Apologetics without Apology Apologetics without Apology by Mark Brumley Apologetics and Evangelization Understanding TERMS Clear or Unclear Judging PROPOSITIONS True or Untrue Reasoning ARGUMENTS Logically Valid or Invalid The Nature, Power, and Limitations of Apologetics The Nature, Power, and Limitations of Apologetics Handbook of Catholic Apologetics by Peter Kreeft and Fr. Ronald Tacelli SJ A Mini-Lesson in Logic A term is clear if it is intelligible and unambiguous. A proposition is true if it corresponds to reality, if it says what is. An argument is valid if the conclusion necessarily follows from the premises. If all the terms in an argument are clear, and if all the premises are true, and if the argument is free from logical fallacy, then the conclusion must be true. Kreeft and Tacelli, p The Nature, Power, and Limitations of Apologetics The Nature, Power, and Limitations of Apologetics Handbook of Catholic Apologetics by Peter Kreeft and Fr. Ronald Tacelli SJ Probable Arguments and Converging Clues The Nature, Power, and Limitations of Apologetics The Nature, Power, and Limitations of Apologetics Handbook of Catholic Apologetics by Peter Kreeft and Fr. Ronald Tacelli SJ Is this argument probable or demonstratively certain? Faith and Reason Faith and Reason Handbook of Catholic Apologetics by Peter Kreeft and Fr. Ronald Tacelli SJ Definition: The Object of Faith The object of faith means all the things believed This faith is expressed in propositions. Propositions are expressions of the content believed without propositions, we cannot know or tell others what God we believe in and what we believe about God. Kreeft and Tacelli, p Faith and Reason Faith and Reason Handbook of Catholic Apologetics by Peter Kreeft and Fr. Ronald Tacelli SJ Definition: The Act of Faith The Four Dimensions of Religious Faith Emotional Feeling of trust or confidence Hope deeper than a wish Intellectual Stable and unchanging belief Belief deeper than an opinion Volitional Act of the will; commitment to obey Love deeper than a feeling Heart Choosing our fundamental option of yes or no to God and thus determining our eternal identity and destiny Faith and Reason Faith and Reason Handbook of Catholic Apologetics by Peter Kreeft and Fr. Ronald Tacelli SJ Definition: The Object of Reason The object of reason means all that reason can know. This includes three kinds of things, corresponding to the three acts of the mind in classical Aristotelian logic. It means all truths that can be [a] understood by reason (that is by human reason alone without faith in divine revelation), [b] discovered by human reason to be true, and [c] proved logically, without any premises assumed by faith in divine revelation. Kreeft and Tacelli, p. 35 Understood (Apprehension) Discovered (Judgment) Proved (Reasoning) Faith and Reason Faith and Reason Handbook of Catholic Apologetics by Peter Kreeft and Fr. Ronald Tacelli SJ Definition: The Act of Reason The act of reason means all the subjective, personal acts of the mind by which we (a)understand, (b)discover, or (c)prove any truth. Kreeft and Tacelli, p. 36 Faith and Reason Faith and Reason Handbook of Catholic Apologetics by Peter Kreeft and Fr. Ronald Tacelli SJ Definition: The Act of Reason UnderstandingDiscoveringProving By reason alone and not part of divine revelation What a star is made of That Pluto existsThe Pythagorean theorem By reason and by faith in divine revelation Why the universe is so well ordered The historical existence of Jesus That the soul does not die Not by reason, only by faith in divine revelation Gods plan to save us How much God loves us God is a Trinity Kreeft and Tacelli, p. 36 Faith and Reason Faith and Reason Handbook of Catholic Apologetics by Peter Kreeft and Fr. Ronald Tacelli SJ Five Possible Answers to the Relation Between Two Sets of Things A B B A A = B ABAB Faith and Reason Faith and Reason Handbook of Catholic Apologetics by Peter Kreeft and Fr. Ronald Tacelli SJ Faith is a subclass of Reason = Rationalism R F Rationalism holds that everything we can know by faith can be understood, discovered, or proved by reason, but not vice versa Very few Christian thinkers have claimed this. Anselm seems to have been one Hegel was a very different kind of rationalist Today Hegels kind of rationalism is quite popular, but Anselms is totally extinct. Kreeft and Tacelli, p. 38 Faith and Reason Faith and Reason Handbook of Catholic Apologetics by Peter Kreeft and Fr. Ronald Tacelli SJ Reason is a subclass of Faith = Fideism F R Fideism contends that the only knowledge we can have is by faith fideism must mean that either that all truths, outside religion, come under some kind of nonreligious faith The main candidate for this nonreligious faith is faith in reason itself. Pascal, for instance, argued that to trust reason in the first place must be an act of faith and not rationally provable Kreeft and Tacelli, p. 39 Faith and Reason Faith and Reason Handbook of Catholic Apologetics by Peter Kreeft and Fr. Ronald Tacelli SJ Faith and Reason are Interchangeable = Identity F = R an identity between what is knowable by faith and what is knowable by reason, is a logical possibility, but no one we know of has ever held it. Kreeft and Tacelli, p. 39 Faith and Reason Faith and Reason Handbook of Catholic Apologetics by Peter Kreeft and Fr. Ronald Tacelli SJ Faith and Reason are Mutually Exclusive = Dualism F R Dualism is a popular position today [It] simply divorces faith and reason, placing them into two separate compartments. It usually does this by (a) reducing reason to scientific, mathematical, and empirical reasoning and (b) reducing faith to a personal, subjective attitude. Kreeft and Tacelli, p. 40 Faith and Reason Faith and Reason Handbook of Catholic Apologetics by Peter Kreeft and Fr. Ronald Tacelli SJ Faith and Reason Connect and Intersect = Partial Overlap F R If this is the correct position, it follows that the Christian apologist has two tasks: to prove all the propositions in class b and to answer all objections to the propositions in class a Christian thinkers do not all agree about how many of the propositions of faith can be proved by reason, but most have held that some could (thus apologetics is possible) but not all (thus apologetics is limited). Kreeft and Tacelli, p a b c Five Possible Answers to the Relation Between Faith and Reason F R R F F = R FRFR Only need Reason to know everything Faith for matters of Religion, Morals, etc. and Reason for everything else There is some overlap/connection between what is known by Faith and what is known by Reason Only need Faith to know everything Everything I can know by Faith I can know by Reason and vice versa Faith and Reason Faith and Reason Handbook of Catholic Apologetics by Peter Kreeft and Fr. Ronald Tacelli SJ Faith and Reason Can Never Contradict Each Other: Only Falsehood Can Contradict Truth The authors on Summa Contra Gentiles I, 7 Either Christianity is false, or reason is false, or if both of them are true there can never be any real contradictions at all between them since truth cannot contradict truth We can misunderstand the faith, and we can misuse our reason. Opinions can certainly contradict faith, but reason itself cannot. Kreeft and Tacelli, p. 42 Faith and Reason Faith and Reason Handbook of Catholic Apologetics by Peter Kreeft and Fr. Ronald Tacelli SJ Faith and Reason Can Never Contradict Each Other: God is the Teacher in Both Faith and Reason The authors on Summa Contra Gentiles I, 7 Every possible argument against every Christian doctrine has a rational mistake in it somewhere and therefore can be answered by reason alone. If this were not so then one of those arguments from unbelievers against one of the doctrines of Christianity would really and truly prove Christianity untrue. Kreeft and Tacelli, p. 43 Faith and Reason Faith and Reason Handbook of Catholic Apologetics by Peter Kreeft and Fr. Ronald Tacelli SJ There are three ways to be foolish: (a) to misapprehend or misunderstand or fail to grasp; (b) to be ignorant, to fail to know or discover; and (c) to be illogical and faith to prove, to commit a fallacy. At least one of these three follies, or mistakes, corresponding to the three acts of the mind, must be present in every argument against the truth, and therefore also against the truth of the Christian faith. And since these three follies are follies of reason, right reason can refute them. Kreeft and Tacelli, p. 44 Object: What is understood (Expressed by a term, which is clear or unclear) Act: Understand Problem: misunderstand Object: What is understood (Expressed by a term, which is clear or unclear) Act: Understand Problem: misunderstand Object: What is discovered (Expressed in a judgement, which is true or false) Act: Discover Problem: fail to discover or ignorance Object: What is discovered (Expressed in a judgement, which is true or false) Act: Discover Problem: fail to discover or ignorance Object: What is proven (Expressed in an argument, which is valid or invalid) Act: Prove/Reason Problem: commit a fallacy Object: What is proven (Expressed in an argument, which is valid or invalid) Act: Prove/Reason Problem: commit a fallacy The Objects, Expressions, Acts and Problems of Reason Absolute Relativism by Chris Stefanick Absolute Relativism by Chris Stefanick Are Science and Religion Really Enemies? by Fr. Tadeusz Pacholczyk False Dilemma If we do not pass gun control laws now, we will never stop the rising number of murders in Chicago Giving only two options when many exist Ad Ignorantiam Science cannot tell us about the outer limits of the universe so the universe must be infinite Claim that a statement is true or false because it is unknown Ad Baculum If you do not comply with the distribution of certain healthcare procedures, there will be severe monetary consequences Appeal to force Ad Misericordiam Look at these poor mothers who are burdened with the care of so many children in sub-Saharan Africa, we must promote population control Appeal to pity Ad Populum Statistically most Americans are in favor of limiting the practice of Abortion, thus it should be limited Appeal to majority Ad Verecundiam Dr. Smith has doctorates in medicine, law and physics and he says that the city should expand to outlying areas. Thus, Nashville must develop better commute systems to and from the suburbs. Appeal to fame or expertise Ad Hominem You cannot listen to what she has to say, cant you see what kind of life she is living! Personal Attack Hasty Generalization Two adults have drowned in the last week off the coast of Finland. We must mandate swimming lessons for all adults because clearly they do not know how to swim Considering only exceptional cases False Analogy The Church cannot tell me what I should do in my personal life, just like the government cannot tell me what color shoes to wear! Comparisons which seem similar but are actually different Post hoc, ergo propter hoc Just after a cold spell came through I developed an earache. The change in temperature caused my earache. After this therefore because of this Begging the Question Nike is the most quality basketball shoe on the market just look at how quality they are! Failing to back up a claim Circular Reasoning For greater financial stability you need to have a larger savings account, because the more you have in savings the more you are financially secure. Assuming what you are arguing for Straw Man A small tax cut should be made for small-business owners. A tax cut! How can we afford billions of dollars of lost revenue to selfish and greedy business owners who do not even care for the needs of their own employees. Distorting the opponents position Composition/Division Composition: This iPhone malfunctions regularly. All iPhones are junk. Division: The Ford Mustang won this years top prize for design quality. Its engine is the best designed engine in the world. Drawing false conclusions from a whole or its parts Non Sequitur Affirming the Consequent: If it rains, the ground gets wet. The ground is wet, therefore it rained. (If A then B, B, therefore A) Denying the Antecedent: If it rains, the ground gets wet. It is not raining, therefore the ground is not wet. (If A then B, Not A, thus not B) Conclusion does not follow from the premises Fourteen Arguments for the Existence of God The Ontological Argument God as Greatest Possible Being FR, p ; peterkreeft.com #13 Fourteen Arguments for the Existence of God The Ontological Argument Anselm's Version 1.It is greater for a thing to exist in the mind and in reality than in the mind alone. 2."God" means "that than which a greater cannot be thought." 3.Suppose that God exists in the mind but not in reality. 4.Then a greater than God could be thought (namely, a being that has all the qualities our thought of God has plus real existence). 5.But this is impossible, for God is "that than which a greater cannot be thought." 6.Therefore God exists in the mind and in reality. From: Peter Kreefts 20 Arguments for the Existence of God Fourteen Arguments for the Existence of God The Argument from Change/Motion (Aquinas) God as Unmoved Mover CC, p ; FR, p ; peterkreeft.com #1 Fourteen Arguments for the Existence of God The Argument from Efficient Causality (Aquinas) God as Uncaused Cause CC, p ; FR, p. 24; peterkreeft.com #2 Fourteen Arguments for the Existence of God The Argument from Time/Contingency (Aquinas) God as the Self-Existent Necessary Being CC, p ; FR, p. 24; peterkreeft.com #3 Fourteen Arguments for the Existence of God The Argument from Perfection (Aquinas) God as the Absolute Perfection CC, p ; FR, p. 24; peterkreeft.com #4 Fourteen Arguments for the Existence of God The Argument from Design (Aquinas) God as the Mindful Designer CC, p ; FR, p ; peterkreeft.com #5 Fourteen Arguments for the Existence of God The Kalam Argument God as the Personal Mind Who Caused the Universe peterkreeft.com #6 Fourteen Arguments for the Existence of God The Kalam Argument God as the Personal Mind Who Caused the Universe peterkreeft.com #6 1.Whatever begins to exist has a cause for its coming into being. 2.The universe began to exist. 3.Therefore, the universe has a cause for its coming into being. Fourteen Arguments for the Existence of God The Argument from Miracles God as the Supernatural Power Behind Miracles CC, p ; FR, p. 25; peterkreeft.com #9 Fourteen Arguments for the Existence of God The Argument from Miracles God as the Supernatural Power Behind Miracles CC, p ; FR, p. 25; peterkreeft.com #9 1.A miracle is an event whose only adequate explanation is the extraordinary and direct intervention of God. 2.There are numerous well-attested miracles. 3.Therefore, there are numerous events whose only adequate explanation is the extraordinary and direct intervention of God. 4.Therefore God exists. Fourteen Arguments for the Existence of God The Argument from Desire God as the Fulfillment of an Unfulfilled Desire FR, p. 30; peterkreeft.com #16 Fourteen Arguments for the Existence of God The Argument from Desire God as the Fulfillment of an Unfulfilled Desire FR, p. 30; peterkreeft.com #16 1.Every natural, innate desire in us corresponds to some real object that can satisfy that desire. 2.But there exists in us a desire which nothing in time, nothing on earth, no creature can satisfy. 3.Therefore there must exist something more than time, earth and creatures, which can satisfy this desire. 4.This something is what people call "God" and "life with God forever." Fourteen Arguments for the Existence of God The Argument from Conscience God as the Source of Absolute Moral Obligations CC, p ; FR, p. 31; peterkreeft.com #15 Fourteen Arguments for the Existence of God The Argument from Religious Experience God as the Supernatural Reality Experienced by Many FR, p. 30; peterkreeft.com #18 Fourteen Arguments for the Existence of God The Argument from Religious Experience God as the Supernatural Reality Experienced by Many FR, p. 30; peterkreeft.com #18 1.Many people of different eras and of widely different cultures claim to have had an experience of the "divine." 2.It is inconceivable that so many people could have been so utterly wrong about the nature and content of their own experience. 3.Therefore, there exists a "divine" reality which many people of different eras and of widely different cultures have experienced. Fourteen Arguments for the Existence of God The Common Consent Argument God as the Ultimate Being Deserving of Reverence FR, p. 30; peterkreeft.com #19 Fourteen Arguments for the Existence of God Pascals Wager God as the Best Bet CC, p ; FR, p ; peterkreeft.com #20 The Problem of Evil by Peter Kreeft