Academia & Ecclesia

“But none of us like to believe that things that happen to us are coincidences. We’re all hard-wired to believe that things that happen to us are significant.” Lawrence Krauss (Theoretical Physicist / Anti-theist) As a Christian who constantly and critically examines one’s beliefs (religious ones in particular), I always find myself living in the midst of what I call "doxastic dilemmas". The term "doxastic" has something to do with belief. A doxastic dilemma can refer to a case where an agent has to make a profoundly perplexing choice between two contradictory beliefs that appear to represent two equally possible states of affairs. For instance, as a Christian, I believe that God elects, for reasons utterly unknown to humans, some humans to serve God in the midst of an ungodly world. The Bible abounds in stories about the heroes of faith who, supposedly, had personal experiences of God’s special providence. As a matter of fact, I also have my own experiences of

"Being a Christian philosopher is a distinctive kind of missionary work. The proximate goal is not the personal conversion of die-hard secularists for whom belief in God is not a live option. It is rather to expose and dislodge anti-religious prejudice and to foster understanding. Understanding philosophical problems involves appreciating the costs and benefits of alternative solutions. The theoretical map is not complete without Christian options. The role of the Christian philosopher is to develop Christian approaches in, say, ethics and metaphysics and philosophy of mind with such rigor and detail as to exhibit their coherence, explanatory power, and fruitfulness. The aim is to show that Christian theories are strong enough to be viable competitors in the theoretical market-place. Such work is a form of service to the Truth, and for that very reason is good for professional philosophy" Source:  http://www.epsociety.org/userfiles/art-AdamsM%20(Ch