We need to beware are of a false situation where we set up a straw man. We present not the real view in all its strength, but rather a caricature of what it says and is, Which is all too easy for anyone to knock down. This is downright dishonesty, and we as Christians must have nothing to do with such twisting of the truth. Rather we must present the other view as best we can and at the same time seek to understand it. Then we must ask whether or not it is internally consistent. If someone keeps on contradicting himself then there is no hope of understanding what he says, far less judging its truth or falsity. If one minute he says, 'I like you', then he goes on to say 'I hate you', we are at a loss to know what is actually being said unless he explains himself. It is the same with people who say something and do the opposite. The communist proclaims freedom and liberty for all, but the record of religious persecution behind the Iron Curtain is plain for all to see. There is no hope of the communist being believed as long as religious persecution continues.
The first test of any view is whether or not it is consistent. Does it make sense on its own terms? Is it coherent? If it is incoherent we can do nothing with it. It can only be thrown away unto the dustbin. Then we need to go on to the second level of test. That is to ask whether or not the view corresponds with the facts. Does it really fit the facts? When we read a report of a football game we expect it to be a true description of what actually happened. That is the whole point in reading a newspaper or watching the pews on television. The account given is supposed to correspond with the actual facts of the situation. If it didn't we would soon change papers and switch channels.
Sometimes this is called the picture theory of facts. In this idea, the words we use to describe something are seen as a picture. We hold up the picture and compare it with reality-what it is supposed to represent. A good picture will be exactly like reality. A bad picture will mislead us and give us a wrong impression. A view must be consistent before we can make sense of the picture it gives. When we are clear about that picture we can ask if it really is accurate or not.
This is not so simple as it looks. When the physicist tells us that the world is made up of electrons, neutrons and protons, we have a look and can't see any of them. We don't even know what to look for. Yet he is telling us that the picture of reality offered by the description of electrons, neutrons and protons is more exact than the picture of solid objects which common sense shares. The physicist is saying that his way of looking at things helps us understand why things do what they do, and helps us , interpret the world so as to be able to cope with it better. This is exactly what different world views and beliefs offer. They present us with different ways of looking at the world and say that their way is the best. As far as possible we then have to ask whether the different accounts really do picture reality. Take the universe as an example. If we look at the stars and planets in motion, we can say that they are all the result of chance. A big (or a little) bang started the whole thing off and everything simply fell into the kind of order and place that we see when we look out on a starry night. The Christian offers a different picture of a Creator God who sets the stars in their places and sustains their movement. There is order in the heavens because God created it so, not because it just happens to be the way it is. Here then are two competing pictures of reality and we must choose between them.
That brings us to the ,third test. How are we to decide between two views which are both internally consistent, which both in a way correspond with the facts, and which are still saying contradictory things? There must be a test for adequacy. Which_ view is the better one? I do not believe that as Christians we can escape from this last test of what actually works. Paul knew this. He said if Jesus did not rise from the dead, if there is no power over death, then we are of all men most miserable. In other words, if the resurrection of Jesus is a lie and is not an accurate picture of how things are, then Christianity is a load of rubbish. If it is true it must work and it must work better than the alternatives. In the end the quality of Christian living must differentiate the Christian from other people, Fruit tells. Results show. So somehow we must compare different beliefs to see which makes the biggest and best difference to mankind.
This is not some new kind of approach. It is as old as the gospel itself. Paul wanted the Good News of Christ to be relevant to people of his day. He was in Athens and saw blind alley beliefs all around him. There were altars to every kind of God-even to the unknown God. That was Paul's starting point ( Acts 17:16f.). He used the beliefs people were familiar with and showed that in Christ t ere was a better, fuller understanding of God. That is the aim of this book: to begin with the beliefs of modern man and show the inadequacy of these dead-ends when compared with the riches of knowing Christ.
Now we see the method for comparing belief systems. Firstly, is a belief self-consistent? Secondly, does it correspond with the facts? Thirdly, is it the most adequate alternative available? This cuts both ways for the Christian. On the one hand he now has a way of dealing with views which challenge the Christian position. He has a procedure to follow and that is what I have tried to develop in this book. I have taken on the alternatives to show how they are blind alley beliefs in that they are often inconsistent, sometimes fail to correspond with the facts, and are a poor substitute when compared with the truth and reality of Christianity.
On the other hand, the method also provides a means of testing the truth and adequacy of Christianity. Is it self-consistent? Does it correspond with the facts? Is it the best alternative available? To all these questions, I believe it is possible for us to say a hearty 'Yes!' It is the job of the theologian and preacher to show the truth of that 'yes' by what is said and written. And it is the task of every Christian to show the truth of the `yes' by the quality of their lives.
We do not need to be afraid of beliefs that lead people up blind alleys. We must show them for what they are-misleading and wrong. At the same time, we must also proclaim the great and glorious facts of Christianity and its truth today for all men. This is the Truth, the Way and the Life-Jesus the Christ.
What we have really been describing is not some newfangled method for the Christian, but rather the proper and common method of scientific procedure. This is what the scientist claims he is doing all the time. Sometimes, alas he cheats, but that is not necessary. We have nothing to fear from such science, indeed it provides us with one tool to show the truth of the gospel and the blind alleys into which Communism, , Materialism and Existentialism lead people today. Of course, when we talk to people we rarely find that they swallowed all of these beliefs as a whole. They are too incredible for that. What happens is that most people take a bit of a piece of another and end up with a mixture. If you can follow what I am trying to show, you will have also learned how to begin to untangle the true basis which lies behind what people say and believe. This takes time and there are no short cuts. But once you and they are clear on that basis, you will be able to test whether or not that basis will do, or whether Christianity is a far better alternative to offer and accept. Jesus was able to do this. He was able to discover immediately the point people had reached and what they believed at heart. He knew what was important to them. He was able to begin from that point and to take them on to the full truth and realisation of the Good News. We can learn in His footsteps by applying the truth of the gospel to different beliefs which people in our society and culture hold today by showing them what the old hymn says is true:
| None but Christ can satisfy, None other name for me, There's love, and life, and lasting joy, Lord Jesus, found in Thee. |
David Cook who was Paul's teacher at Theological college and now at Oxford.