HOORAY FOR ME!

If anyone doesn't know who Steve Brown is, go to either of these links: www.keylife.org, www.stevebrownetc.com. His Saturday night talk show, Steve Brown Etc. airs on two radio networks including Radio America, and a bunch of his cohorts (hey you guys!) promote the show on Wednesdays with a live web stream called Etcetera, which is also at the second link I wrote. You should listen to them, You can even hear me call in on the last two episodes of Etcetera. Everyone is really cool and very funny.

But anyway, Steve invites his listeners to send him questions about God and the Bible. So, this is what I wrote.

I've been reading a lot of philosophy lately, Emmanuel
Kant in particular, and I think I've come upon
something interesting. I don't think anyone can
underestimate the influence he has had on modern
culture and I have heard many Christian thinkers,
correctly, criticize Kant for leaving the door wide
open to secularism.

Now if I understand Kant correctly, he basically said
that we have synthetic a priori judgments that enable
us to experience and interpret reality. We cannot
apply these things to God because he exists beyond our
experience. He went on to say that when we, through
experience, come to learn something new, we are not
altering our view of reality. We are altering reality
to fit within this framework of understanding. So far
I think he is right. We are, as Ravi Zacharias puts
it, semi-transcendent beings.

I believe Kant's error was one of omission rather than
commission. He didn't seem to believe, as I do, that
God can, and does, reveal himself within the bounds of
our understanding and that our understanding of
reality must ultimately conform to God's Word. Which
is why the Bible is so important. It is our only
source of ultimate truth.

This is how he left the door open to secularism. We
are left with the idea that reality is subjective when
it clearly is not.

So what is my point? Secularism got it's foot in the
door because of the knee jerk reaction, By Christians,
to Kant. They only railed against the things that he
was wrong about and didn't understand the things he
was right about. Human nature, I guess.

So what do you think? Am I a heretic? Am I delutional?
Or, do I have a point? I'm always willing to hear that
I'm an idiot and I don't know what I'm talking about.

Thanks
Geoff Bosco (just some dude)



This was his response:

July 13, 2005

Mr. Geoff Bosco
gbosco@yahoo.com

Dear Geoff,

Thanks for your email. Appreciated your question on
Kant.

You, of course, are quite right about Kant. He is seen
as a demon... when, in fact, he was nothing of the sort.

The "omission" to which you refer is, however, a
rather big one.

One should read Kant and Kierkegaard, to wit, when
reason has taken one as far as one can go... the "leap"
is a good one. As you may know, Francis Schaeffer
hated Kierkegaard... but, then, he was reacting to the
"mush."

Just so you know, I believe that the "categorical
imperative" of Kant has an element of wishful thinking
to it as it was, I think, with Lewis. And you're
right... that's why the Bible is so important.

You are a good and thoughtful brother.

Bless,
Steve



Yay!!!!