Emotion: A Short Introduction

 

Photo by Peter Conlan on Unsplash

It is somewhat paradoxical that emotion is one of the most beloved and one of the most underappreciated aspects of our nature. In popular culture emotion is appealed to in order to move us to action. Churches often foster an environment where emotion motivates you to repent or worship. Advertisements leverage emotion in order to move you buy something. Popular talent shows explicitly tell their singing contestants that their emotional involvement in the performance is as important if not more important than technical accuracy.

However, while popular culture regularly encourages us to have emotions and follow our passions, it doesn’t do much to help us understand what emotions are or how they are appropriately employed. We rarely hear questions like: What are emotions? Are emotional responses morally praiseworthy or blameworthy? Do emotions hinder reason? How do we become emotionally mature? Should we repress our emotions? What role do emotions play in the formation of moral beliefs?

Until we start looking at questions like this, our understanding of emotion will remain superficial. And a superficial understanding of our selves inevitably leads to practical problems.

Aristotle's Lasting Influcence

 

In his book Process and Reality, philosopher Alfred North Whitehead wrote “The safest general characterization of the European philosophical tradition is that it consists of a series of footnotes to Plato.” To be sure, the west is indebted to Plato for his momentous intellectual achievements. But the western emphasis on systematic empirical observation and interpretation comes from Plato’s disciple. Like the brilliant Sir Isaac Newton, Plato’s student Aristotle didn’t just learn various disciplines, he created them. Aristotle invented the disciplines of logic, biology, and ethics and he was considered the expert on these topics well into the middle ages.

Aristotle was born in Stagira Macedonia in 384 BC and was sent to Plato’s academy in Athens around the age of seventeen. After the death of Plato, Aristotle went to Assos for roughly 3 years and then moved again to the island of Lesbos. During this period, it is thought that Aristotle developed biology, with a focus on marine biology. His biological notes were so detailed that some of his observations were not confirmed until the development of higher-powered magnification. In 343 BC the king of Macedon asked Aristotle to tutor his son. Thus, Aristotle became the tutor of one of the most famous men in the ancient world – Alexander the Great.

Does that Bible Teach That We Have Free Will?

Photo by William White on Unsplash

The Bible has lot of things to say about lots of topics. It doesn't speak specifically about how much screen time kids in middle school should have, but it speaks to what we should put our time and energy into. Sometimes the Bible implies certain things about a topic. For example, when it says that we shouldn't murder, we can infer that if something is murder, we shouldn't do it (i.e. abortion).

Other times the Bible assumes that you already have some prerequisite  knowledge that doesn't need to be elaborated on. It's assumed that you have enough understanding to sufficiently grasp the main teaching point of the text.

I think the nature of free will is something like the last option. The Biblical authors assume that you have some concept of free will that you are bringing with you when you read the text. That's not to say that the Scriptures can't set the parameters for your view of free will. It just means that the Bible doesn't offer a treatise on the subject. So when we try to determine "what the Bible says about free will" we shouldn't expect it to directly address contemporary philosophical debates on the subject.

Resources For Those New To Apologetics

This post is for the purpose of giving people who are new to apologetics resources for developing their skill in apologetics. I'll probably add to this list as I have time.

In general, I don't like giving people popular level books. Part of it is because if people aren't willing to read the more scholarly articles, I think they probably need to not be doing apologetics. The other part is that many popular level books / articles on apologetics can be confusing. Here are some articles / sites / books that I recommend to get started in apologetics. I am including resources that are not specifically apologetics books because the task of apologetics requires you to have knowledge of a variety of topics.

Here are some apologists to avoid:

Alex McFarland
Josh McDowell
Ken Ham
Kent Hovind
Hank Hanegraaff
Ray Comfort

Books

Developing the Christian Mind

Love Your God with All Your Mind - Introduction to the Christian life of the mind. I recommend if this if you don't know how the life of the mind fits into your Christian life.

The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind - Exploration of the roots of evangelical anti-intellectualism and response.

Documentary Hypothesis

Introduction

A careful reading of the first five books of the Old Testament (Pentateuch) reveals peculiar literary, stylistic, and ideological characteristics. Some of these characteristics are more immediately noticeable, while others require some knowledge of the Hebrew language. More importantly, a large number of biblical scholars claim that the Pentateuch contains diverging literary, stylistic, and ideological characteristics which, they claim, imply different source material throughout the Pentateuch. In modern times, these “divergences” are taken as evidence that the books of Moses were written long after the death of Moses. The theory that adheres to multiple non-Mosaic authors of the Pentateuch is known as the Documentary Hypothesis.

The Potter's Freedom: The Vital Issue

Prior to starting my studies at Southern Evangelical Seminary, I read a book by Norman Geisler titled "Chosen but Free". I was intrigued by the book as it purported to be a balanced view of the doctrine of election.  At that time I was debating the topic quite regularly with my friends and this book was one of the few books available on the topic from a non-Calvinist perspective.

Not long after CBF came out, the reformed apologist James White wrote a book titled "The Potter's Freedom". This book echoed some of the more widely held criticisms of Geisler's position and capitalized on the "strangeness" of the views presented in CBF.  In this series of blog posts, I will not be responding to Geisler.  This is not because I necessarily agree with him on every point; it's simply that I want to focus on White's work.

In this blog post, I want to focus on what White calls "The Vital Issue."  According to White, there is a criterion that serves to delineate between the "supernatural religion of Christianity" and the "man-centered religions that surround us." This delineation has to do with whether or not you think the work of salvation is "perfectly accomplished by God for His own glory" or it "is dependent upon man's cooperation and assistance."

In short, the delineation is between monergism and synergism along with "The truth of predestination (God's freedom) and man's depravity (his will in bondage)."  White claims that you cannot truly be reformed apart from upholding sola fide AND the truth of God's absolute freedom AND man's bondage in sin. He spends a good deal of time juxtaposing Calvinism with what he calls man centered religions. The implication here is that Geisler's position (along with pretty much anyone who is not in line with his brand of Calvinism) is not truly Calvinistic and is therefore a man-centered religion.

Christianity and Mythology with Allan Di Donato

Wanted to post a really great lecture by Allan Di Donato on the topic of Christianity and Mythology. In this lecture he talks about what myth is and has some really interesting conclusions. I especially like his appeal to Jungian psychology as a possible explanation for common mythological themes.

Allan Di Donato is an instructor at Central Piedmont Community College where he teaches the classics. Please check out this lecture and comment!

2011-04-03 EH (Missions - Week 8) from Community Fellowship Church on Vimeo.