The Continued Strength of Lewis' Moral Argument

I've found that there tends to be an ignorance both within the church and in the secular arena around the issue of morality as it pertains to religion. Pop atheists contend that no one needs religion to be moral, a position I quite agree with, but which many Christians do not. Certainly these same Christians have seen the ousted deviant behavior of many "moral" religious leaders, all while witnessing the kindness of a thoughtful agnostic neighbor. What, then, is the point of all this squabble about religion and morality?

It is to this question that C.S. Lewis commands such relevance even in the 21st century. It is his evidentialist approach to the Natural Law, or this "standard of fair play" that we all share, regardless of religious or social background, that allows both the misguided unbeliever and the Christian to better understand the gospel message.

Unbelievers (and possibly some believers) need to be informed that no one, from Jesus Himself to the Apostle Paul, ever claimed religion somehow caused morality. Indeed, Christ called no one good except God alone (Mark 10:18), and Paul wrote that Gentiles, without the benefit of the Jewish law, have some form of the "law" already written on their hearts (Romans 2:14).

It is from this basic understanding that we might engage the minds of thoughtful unbelievers to find in nature and human observation the basic first principle that Lewis was aiming for when it came to morality - that there is a universal moral standard and no one lives up to it. This is the bedrock of the unique message of the gospel.

Certainly conversations may evolve from here to an understanding of the Decalogue and the role of the OT laws in the framing this "standard," but this is neither necessary or relevant to the point at hand, which is to clear up false thinking that somehow religion in and of itself is magically the cause and provider of morality in society.

This is not to discount or discourage discussion about the moral standards proposed by an understanding of God, His Holiness, and His Word in the OT, or even to state that some proposed moral standards may or may not be better than others. It does, however, help to construct the plausibility of any standard at all. For if a self-evident moral standard can be inferred from everyday life and human observation, this will provide the credible base on which all other religious thought on the subject can be built.

It is this base that Lewis was a master at constructing. It has always spoken volumes to me when someone can relate everyday experience and basic rational observation to a belief in God. It then becomes icing on the cake when those same observations can be tied in with Scripture itself and a coherent view of the Christian worldview can be constructed. Lewis' moral arguments are one tool in his arsenal that effectively do just that.

This is one reason that I love Lewis. He was the first to show me, from the ground up, the coherence of Christianity in nature through rationality and human experience instead of throwing Bible verses around to state his case. It is also because of this that I believe he will remain relevant in the 21st century and his writings are an invaluable tool to our continued apologetic discourse.

Cory? Cory? Are you there?

Pithy title, wouldn't you say?

April 15th, 2009 (which was 4 days ago and tax day) marked the 5th month of marriage to my beautiful wife, Jennie. And a wonderful five months they have been.

Now I'll be honest, going from extremely single (think procrastinating on practical life matters and questionable hygiene) to very much married has been quite the adjustment. Fortunately, we have been surrounded by amazing people who have been at this for many years and a few others who haven't so nothing has been completely out of left field. It is a testament to the power of Christian community that these few months have been so fruitful for us, with mentoring from our pastor and friends helping us dodge many newlywed obstacles - from the practical to the spiritual.

That said, I just wanted to drop a line to let this lonely blog know that we are doing great, and that the silence this blog has enjoyed has been a combination of laziness and enjoying a new marriage (but mostly laziness).

Will the posts increase now that I'm settled in? Now that I've begun my first quarter back in school since last spring? Now that I've lived more life and have more to share?

Not sure, but at least you have a new entry to look at for the next five months.

Married!

Hello all!

Well, she showed up. I know, I was just as surprised as you are. But there it is. Family and friends, some from as far away as Indiana, others from as far away as Europe, came to jump aboard the California Princess and watch me get married. Although we are still gathering up an inventory of all the ways in which people loved us, gifted us, and sacrificed for us so we can send out an official thanks, let me give everyone right now a preliminary thanks for everything! It could not have been a better day. 80 degrees. No wind. No problems. Out on San Diego harbor enjoying friends, food, and fun. Here's a shot of the bride and groom. Ain't she pertiest thing you've ever seen?



I could not be married to a better woman. As she has been over the past year, Jennie remains a woman of profound beauty and grace, who loves God, and for whatever reason loves me as well. We had a great time in Kauai snorkeling, hiking, and just plain relaxing and spending time with each other. Surprisingly, we didn't have too many tiffs for the first week of spending every waking moment together! I thought that was a good sign. Here's a shot from our hike up the Na Pali coast on the north shore of Kauai:



So now we are getting settled into our new life. It's been nearly a month and we are figuring out life's fun little logistics, such as, who takes out the garbage? Who gets the mail? Who does this, that, and the other? My vote usually lies with Jennie. She finds that not to be so funny. I guess I don't blame her.

So that's it, really. Thanks again to all the people who in any way directly or indirectly helped make the wedding a success. And a special thanks to God for bringing me the gift of Jennie.

Wedding Day Approaches

Hey all,

So I haven't written a lick since I moved out of my old place...and let's just say a lot has happened since then. For starters, on August 15th, 2008, I asked my lovely girlfriend Jennie to be my wife...and she said YES!!

Now, she soon questioned (probably after many disappointed visits to the blog) why our engagement wasn't immediate fodder for an already neglected and dying blog. Her point was a valid one, but the more I pondered her question, the more I realized that a.) everyone in our immediate sphere knew we were engaged within 45 minutes of it happening and b.) probably 20% of that sphere is my actual blog traffic. Given those statistics, any visitor to the blog would hardly have been ingorant of our recent engagement. But lets drop it.

Today we are 3 weeks out from being married. Since I would expect most of my readers to be educated in basic mathematics, I will let you guess the wedding date by noting the date of this blog posting and adding 3 weeks. For those of you who are struggling, it is November 15th...:)

And that is really all I have to report. Things are moving along nicely, the usual female psychoticism about weddings notwithstanding.

Aside from that my movement toward truth is still underway. I look forward to getting back into school once we are settled in as a married couple and continuing to dwelve deeper into both the irrationality and illogic of atheism and naturalism, as well as move closer to Jesus Christ in my personal life.

See you at the wedding!

C

End of an Era

So tonight is officially my last night of beach living (at least for now) in San Diego. My roommates have moved up north to Hemet, CA, patiently living with relatives until John graduates from college and begins to teach. I will be moving about 15 miles inland to be closer to school, church, friends, and a certain little lady I happen to love. I have been here between the bay and the ocean for about a year and 3 months, and as amazing as it has been, like all good things it must come to an end. In case you never visited, here are some pics of the quaint little place I've called home for better than a year:









This place has been a special experience for me. It's not everyday you get to live on millions of dollars worth of real estate at a dirt cheap rate with two great people and a beautiful baby girl. It's actually a little depressing sitting here in the empty house, whose old wooden frame echoes when you move around in it because there is no furniture left to absorb the sound. Whether is was the summer BBQ's, the late night poker games on the porch, or the quick outings across the street to have a dip in the Pacific, this place has just provided some great, great memories.

But the greatest value of the place were the people I lived with, who too often went neglected because of my tendency to lock myself up in my room and bury my nose in books about the Bible. The times we did hang together certainly had a profound effect on me. It isn't too often you meet a better guy than John Luzzi, who is as laid back and humble as they come, and who has a true heart of a servant.

My other buddies asked me why I didn't try to stay here, get new roommates, and keep hold of this place as long as I could. I suppose I could've fought harder, but the truth is, besides the practical matters for leaving - closer to school, church, etc. - this place just wouldn't make sense without John and Holly. It wouldn't ever feel right without Remi the big black dog chasing skateboarders down the fence, or little Izzy giving those big smiles when you walked in the door. As the great theologian Dave Matthews rightly pointed out: "Turns out, not where but who you're with that really matters...."

And so from here I head East. Out to the blazing hot summer days with no A/C. Out to more city livin'. No more "good life" on the beach. But honestly, without the right people, this is just a building on the sand. I'll happily move to the heat to be in closer community with my other brothers in Christ and my lovely young lady.

Yep...hopefully I'm still singing that tune when I'm sweating in bed 20 miles from the ocean that used to be my backyard....

Dale Jr. Wins!

For those of you who don't know I'm somewhat of a Dale Earnhardt Jr. fan. Now, there are bandwagon Jr. fans who jumped on board with him because of his name, and there are fans like myself who followed him through the Busch Series and watched him come up through Cup. Either way, his (points) winless streak has ended. I'm ready for another one.



Happy Father's Day

C

Now...

...as a skeptic and cynic by nature I would question who exactly "heard" these guys pray, but assuming they did, this is pretty funny.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24765324/?GT1=43001

The question is, what about all the people who pray for deliverance and die? Any takers?