Re: [asa] Feedback wanted (resurrection)

I think this is a fair question in many ways, Bernie, but I don't think 1
Cor. 15 is the right text. The context there is whether Christians, who
base their lives and eternal hopes around belief in the risen Christ, have
wasted their lives if Christ hasn't been raised -- and Paul's answer is a
resounding yes. But if Christ has not been raised, that doesn't mean
non-Christians have no hope -- in fact, they would presumably have more hope
than us -- v. 19, "If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to
be pitied above all men," suggests clearly that others would be better off
than us in that event. So the point in this particular passage isn't that
unbelievers have no hope; it's that believers in Christ have hope in Chirst
only if Christ really was raised.

If I were an atheist, I'd get really annoyed by "you have no reason for
living" and "you have no basis for your morality" arguments. Of course many
atheists can articulate reasons for living and reasons for morality; they
aren't all dark nihlists who are ready to hang themselves. If nothing else,
many would say, "my reason for living is that I enjoy life -- what more do I
need?" and "my basis for morality is that everyone should have a shot at
enjoying life -- why do I have to explain myself further to you?"

IMHO, reason for living / reason for morality arguments shouldn't be played
as argumentative trump cards. They should be offered, I think, in ways that
show the winsomeness of a living faith in Christ. Hopefully the atheist
will be attracted to the living Christ and realize the even deeper, even
richer, even more meaningful prospect of a life of faith.

On Tue, May 6, 2008 at 1:04 PM, Dehler, Bernie <bernie.dehler@intel.com>
wrote:

> You might want to ask Dan Barker what reason for living he has. I've
> heard the atheist response is "live for the moment" because that is all
> you have, but I've heard other philosophers say that that is even
> meaningless. I think they can only survive by blocking the question out
> of their mind. Everyone has the hope for eternal life in some way, even
> if it is a closet fantasy. Without that hope of eternal life,
> everything is futile. We come from nothing and go to nothing.
>
> 1 Cor. 15:
> 13If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been
> raised. 14And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless
> and so is your faith. 15More than that, we are then found to be false
> witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised
> Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are
> not raised. 16For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been
> raised either. 17And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is
> futile; you are still in your sins. 18Then those also who have fallen
> asleep in Christ are lost. 19If only for this life we have hope in
> Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: asa-owner@lists.calvin.edu [mailto:asa-owner@lists.calvin.edu] On
> Behalf Of rcmetcalf@thinkagain.us
> Sent: Tuesday, May 06, 2008 9:50 AM
> To: asa@calvin.edu
> Subject: [asa] Feedback wanted
>
> Hi All,
>
> I only recently joined this mailing list after a visit with Randy Isaac.
> I've been a member of ASA for quite a while, but somehow missed these
> discussions (in part because my time is rather full already!). Randy
> urged
> me to join and I've enjoyed following some of the threads.
>
> Since many of you have backgrounds in physics, I have a small request...
> My visit with Randy was preceded by an invitation to Tufts to debate Dan
> Barker on the Resurrection. I recently placed my opening presentation
> for
> the debate on YouTube.com. I was hoping some of you might be willing to
> look at it and offer feedback here in a thread. Constructive criticism,
> comments, praise, etc... are all welcome. The video had to be split into
> four parts since YouTube has a 10 minute upload limit. The total time is
> around 35 minutes. Search for Tufts Metcalf-Barker Debate to find it.
>
> I'll be lecturing on this on Saturday at New Life Church here in
> Colorado
> Springs, so your feedback will be quite valuable. Thank you so much!
>
> Blessings & grace,
> RC Metcalf
>
>
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-- 
David W. Opderbeck
Associate Professor of Law
Seton Hall University Law School
Gibbons Institute of Law, Science & Technology
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