True Paradox
How Christianity Makes Sense of Our Complex World
How Christianity Makes Sense of Our Complex World
The complexity of the contemporary world is sometimes seen as an embarrassment for Christianity. But law professor David Skeel makes a fresh case for how Christianity offers plausible explanations for the central puzzles of our existence and provides a comprehensive framework for understanding human life as we actually live it.
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I rather liked this book.
The primary reason I am a Christian is because it is the only religious system (and ‘religious' for me covers a lot of ground)I know of whose mode of thought is based on paradox. Christianity answers all the big questions paradoxically. Philosophically, it is very sophisticated; psychologically, it is very adult. One reason I have a hard time reading most atheist writers and pontificators is that they don't deal with paradox at all. Many of them don't seem even to realize it is a thing to deal with. So a book that approaches the Faith from a standpoint of paradox is a real joy for me.
Skeel did not write the perfect book. He starts out of a line of thought and, though he always deals with what he begins, he sometimes doesn't go far enough with his thinking, and sometimes doesn't seem to notice even deeper levels of paradox and sophistication in the areas he deals with. But although I say this book is not perfect, I am happy to report that it is very good.
He begins by stating that he wants to talk about complexity and how Christianity is well-suited to explain the real complexity of the universe we live in. I appreciate this. I cringe when I hear Christians say, “Christianity is so simple, even a four year old can understand everything perfectly!” I believe that the person who first said that had a meaningful, necessary point to make and the statement was completely true, but now, after so many repetitions by so many people who seem to think it is the final word, it has become garbage. Christianity, since it deals with God, Life the Universe, and Everything, is infinitely complex, and it although – since it is so complex – it is well-suited to persons who can understand only a simple thing, it is large enough for the greatest human mind to grasp only a tiny part of. Its explanations and big picture describe the world as it is very well, and no good service is done by denying that complexity.
He addresses five areas of paradox:
1. Our ability to form ideas;
2. Beauty;
3. Suffering;
4. Justice;
5. Our hope for an afterlife.
When he talks about beauty and justice, he focuses on the paradoxes inherent in the fact that we humans even care about such things in the first place. Good work. As a law professor, he especially enjoys dealing with our attitudes toward justice and various paradoxes involved, things I would never have thought of.
I wish he had dealt with this paradox: If the materialists are right, then the world and all in it is essentially meaningless. If that is the case, O Materialist, then what is my reason for listening to you? The internal logic of their argument seems to say that they shouldn't bother making the argument in the first place, or I shouldn't waste my energy paying attention to them.
I recommend it for anyone who has a hint of how philosophically satisfying the Christian Faith really is, or for somebody who doesn't but would like to catch a glimpse. The book offers only a glimpse, but it is a good glimpse.
