Dr Paul Allen

There’s a classic scene in the 1997 film Men in Black that comes to mind as I think about the problems of fake news and disinformation and the solutions that Jonathan Rauch proposes in his book The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth. Government Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones) is explaining to Agent J (Will Smith) what their work of concealing and controlling alien life entails. At one point, K takes J to a newsstand and selects a stack of tabloids—the sensational publications that talk about children being born with three heads and why Elvis is still alive and performing in Wichita. “Best investigative reporting on the planet,” K says. “Read the New York Times if you want, they get lucky sometimes.” This is not just an exquisitely funny line; it’s a fitting metaphor for how a lot of people feel about the universe they actually live in. Where do we go for facts? Is there an objective answer to that question, or does it depend entirely on your worldview? Do people who think they kno...

According to new data from the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University’s American Worldview Inventory 2021 (AWVI 2021), the most prevalent “seductively-unbiblical ideas” embraced by American adults include: ** the spiritually inclusive idea that “having faith matters more than what type of faith you have” ** the belief that all faiths are of equal value ** belief in “karma,” the idea rooted in Eastern religions that you ‘get what you give’ ** the dismissal of absolute truth ** commitment to personal, subjective morality ** the idea that people are “basically good” ** the idea that success is determined by happiness, comfort, goodness, or fulfilled potential ** belief that sexual relations apart from marriage are morally acceptable ** the rejection of the notion that people are inherently sinful ** the conclusion that the purpose of accumulated personal wealth is unrelated to God’s purposes Surprisingly, the data revealed that even the 6% of adults who have a biblical ...

For the truth of the matter is that naked beliefs offer little consolation under the worst experiences of suffering and evil. To put this in the terms of Christian experience: in the dark hours of suffering, Christians want more than the assurance that their beliefs are consistent. They draw comfort only from the living Lord himself , from the Spirit whom he has graciously given, from a renewed grasp, a felt experience, of the love of God in Christ Jesus (Eph. 3:14–21).  That is not to say, however, that the set of beliefs is irrelevant. It is to say that, in addition to holding that Christian beliefs are true and consistent, the Christian, to find comfort in them, must learn how to use them. Christian beliefs are not to be stacked in the warehouse of the mind; they are to be handled and applied to the challenges of life and discipleship. Otherwise they are incapable of bringing comfort and stability, godliness and courage, humility and joy, holiness and faith. But be...

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