The Fall of Practical Reason 3

As promised, here's part 3 of my thoughts on the issue of practical reason and how it relates to our fallenness as humans. But first, a recap.

In post 1, I highlighted the apparent tension between the biblical account of man's fallenness pervading his reason, and the phenomena of seemingly very smart people using their practical reason very well. Practical reason, as mentioned previously, is reasoning with respect to what to do; it has to do with the actions we perform. In part 2, I suggested a way to look at this problem by drawing a distinction within the realm of practical reason itself, namely, the distinction between

(a) how we should achieve our goals/desires/aims (instrumental reason), and
(b) the kinds of goals/desires/aims we should have (telic reason).

I suggested that there's basically not that much a problem with people with regards to (a) - that is to say, most people function not to badly with respect to their instrumental reason. Sure, there are those who are subject to conditions such that even with instrumental reason, they fail to act rationally. One might take for example, a person suffering from depression who actually desires to get well, and believes that the best way to do that is to seek medical attention, and somehow just cannot find the motivation to do it. (There is, of course, to a lesser extent, the same phenomenon whenever we just want to laze in bed despite all reason not to.) But these are the exceptions rather than the norm. For most of us, fallen as we are, we nevertheless function ok in being motivated to do the things to achieve our goals.

Now in this 3rd part, I want to say what has gone wrong with our telic reason. I wish to highlight just how fallen this aspect of our reason is, and also why it is a part of our reason as opposed to merely our desires. Consider first a simple case, The Incredible Sulk.

The Case of The Incredible Sulk:
Tommy (5 years old) is unhappy that his mother did not buy him the $3 million Ferrari he saw zooming past on the street. As a result, he wants everyone around him to be unhappy as well. So he tries to sulk for the whole day, knowing that his parents do not like it. He also knows that by doing that, he would have to miss his favorite dinner as punishment. Moreoever, it is pretty tiring to sulk the whole day and pretend no one else exists. Yet, he simply wants to do it to spoil everyone's mood.

Here, it seems that Tommy prefers his own unhappiness as long as others around him can be made unhappy as well. We might say that he was rebellious, recalcitrant, or incorrigible, even. But at the same time, it seems that his desire is irrational, unreasonable. One might want say to Tommy, "Hey, look here boy. It's silly to do that!" And by "silly", we don't just mean something that is morally wrong, but rather that there's something intellectually, rationally deficient about him. And this is the point I wish to highlight here. It's downright foolish of Tommy to have such desires. What good might be gained from making everyone, including himself, unhappy?

But on further reflection, don't we do that all the time? We desire temporal comfort more than eternal security - many would rather laze around on Sunday than go to church when invited. We desire things that we know would lead to short-lived pleasure and long-term consequences. We do and say things that hurt others and don't benefit ourselves. Our desires are directed to the immediately pleasurable rather than the ultimately good, to convenience rather than right principles. Our goals become the mere satisfaction of current desires, without reflection on whether these are worthy, righteous, honourable, commendable desires. Indeed, these words have been rendered almost 'out-of-fashion' by the relativistic, do-whatever-you-want, respect-my-rights (including my right to be downright stupid, we might add) culture of today.

In fact, the whole question of life's purpose, or teleology, is swept aside under the carpet. (Only to re-emerge in the angst of teenage life, the stark reality of mid-life and the quiet desperation of old age.) Ask the question today, "what kinds of goals/desires/aims should I have?", and you are likely to get a strange reply along the lines of, "do whatever you really want. Follow your heart." Which sounds oh-so-nice, until you realise the question hasn't been answered at all. Phrased another way, the original question is simply "What should I want? What should my heart desire?", and the reply becomes just "Want what you want, and desire what you desire." Some help that gives.

The modern world is particularly prone to this paralysis of purpose. And it is not surprising, because we have lost the ability to reason properly with ourselves what is best. We either think that there is no best, that the best is unknowable, or that everyone's best is up to them. We are blind, in fact, to the all-surpassing worth of Christ, to the glory of the eternal God, to the satisfaction of our deepest needs in Him. At least, until He does a special work in us.

And that, I think, is the crux of the fallenness of practical reason. We can diagnose it in many ways, we can identify it's failings as we did above; we can also sum it up in 4 words: we don't desire God. And that is the worst kind of answer one could give to the question in (b): what should I desire?

The one object that is supremely good, righteous, loving, glorious and worthy, we have failed to seek Him and want Him. We have irrationally rebelled against Him, to our own detriment. The telic aspect of our practical reason is found sorely wanting. Of course, this is inseparable from the moral dimension. But it is also a matter of reason. So then, the Biblical writer reminds us,

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding." Proverbs 9:10

glimpse of the heavens

Lift your eyes and look to the heavens:

Who created all these?

He who brings out the starry host one by one,

and calls them each by name.

Because of his great power and mighty strength,

not one of them is missing.

Isaiah 40:26

Hubble Captures a Perfect Storm of Turbulent Gases

For more awe-inspiring works of creation, see http://hubblesite.org/gallery/album/nebula_collection/

Why is grass green? (Or The Pleasure of God in His wise creations)

How many are your works, O LORD!

In wisdom you made them all;

the earth is full of your creatures. (Psalm 104:24)

If one day you were walking along a path, and all of a sudden you notice something strange about the field next to you. The grass is blue. What would you think? I guess it would be: "Wow, amazing how the grass is blue!" or "Wah, how come got blue grass one?!" Something to that effect.

But think about this. Why is grass green in the first place? There's no logical reason for it. It's not like 2+2=4: we can see that this is a necessary thing. But why is grass green? It does not have to be, but God made it so.

And today we have taken it for granted. We have forgotten the sense of wonder that we used to have. Look at babies. Mere life is interesting to them. The fact that I have two legs and five toes on each of them - wow! What a joy! The fact that different things feel so different, look so different, and smell so different, and taste so different! Look at the sparkling eyes of a child - they shine because of wonder and delight in life itself. They do not take things for granted.

God was wise to make grass green, to give it that particular smell when freshly cut, and to give it that little shine off each blade. It doesn't have to be like this. What is colour anyway? Why make the world in a thousand different shades and nuances, blends and tones? Oh, that poignant sunset of red, gold and countless shades matching between, that glorious sunrise of yellow dawn, the azure, blue sky and fluffy white clouds floating by. The shimmering face of water, a million sparkles of reflection, the good brown soil and the great green trees that tower beside.

Or think of the roar of a lion, the crashing of waves, the chirping of a bird, the excited bark of a dog, the shattering of thunder, the whistling of the wind, the richness of a baritone singing, the grace of a soprano, the soothing words of comfort, the giggles of a child, the whispers of a close friend, the sigh of a loved one. What if there were no sounds at all? What if everything sounded the same? What then, of your favorite music, of your friends' laughter, even the sound of the tap dripping?

Think of your favorite food, ah - the hot and spicy, the sour and tangy, the salty and sweet, the bitter and vinegary, the luscious and the succulent, the creamy and the smooth - ahhhh. What would life be without taste? The crisp bite into a fried chicken wing, that crunchy munch into a potato chips, the simple fragrance of rice, the juicy watermelon - have we taken all these for granted? What a wonder that these things should even exist!

And we haven't even mentioned touch and smells... come up with your own examples... But lose not your wonder. May God grant us the eyes of a child, that we may delight in the manifold wisdom displayed in His creation.

But is enjoying created things idolatry? Not if we enjoy it because of God. Enjoy it, and glorify God by enjoying His wisdom in the universe, His power in the storm, His creativity in millions of plants and animals, His artistry in the human form, His goodness in providence in nature, His sustenance in natural laws, and ultimately His glory in all. See beyond nature to the Creator of nature. And never cease to wonder at the greatness of such a God.

Biologists spend whole lives trying to understand how a cell works, taxonomists scratch their heads over how to classify the vast variety of created things, chemists marvel over the patterns and connections of molecular structures, physicists blow their minds on the sublime activity of the subatomic realm, philosophers argue endlessly over the relation of the body to the mind, psychologists struggle to comprehend the individual, cosmologists discover vast regions of space and marvellous galaxies further than our mind can conceive, and artists and poets die trying to capture the beauty that the world displays. How little of creation we understand after thousands of years.

Be any of these if you want, but more importantly, know the One from whom all good things come forth. For if you choose to set your eyes only on the world, soon it will be dull and unsatisfying, and like Darwin, you'll wonder where your wonder went. But delight, above all, in God, seek Him, and you shall enjoy even the things He gives. That's the way it works, and may God help us daily.

trust

Trust in the LORD with all your heart

and lean not on your own understanding;

In all your ways acknowledge him,

and he will make your paths straight.

These familiar verses, taken from Proverbs 3:5-6, have been read countless times by myself. Even in my old primary school ACJS, I recall these words displayed prominently upon the walls.

But how difficult they are to live out.

I wonder how often we trust God, let alone with all our heart. Sometimes, it is hard to measure. But lately, I have realised that we can perhaps know through the second line - how much are we leaning on our own understanding? When a decision is to be made, when a crisis comes, when something we do not like happens, how do we react? So often, we take control ourselves. I dont mean that we take control of the situation or control the circumstances; what I mean is that we react out of our own will and understanding. We tend to grasp, to want to react our own way, to interpret the situation with our own understanding, and not pausing to let God come in.

Leaning on our own understanding doesnt refer to using the intellect and mind that God has given us. I think it refers to reliance. Do we ultimately put our reliance on our own understanding, our own 'wisdom', or in God Himself? Do we see Him as the totally sufficient, all-satisfying God, who is both sovereign and good? Many times, we may have a feeling that we should obey God in a certain thing, but we extinguish or ignore that notion by reasoning it away, using our own understanding of the situation. We either rationalize by being too practical, too idealistic, too emotional, too rational - whichever fits what we want. And when obedience goes against what we want, it is difficult to trust. It seems easy to trust God in games which you excel in, in subjects you like, in dealing with happy situations. But whether we have really that trust, only a crisis will reveal. Because when a crisis comes, the natural way, the fallen way, is to lean on our own understanding. It is only when we are truly filled with the Holy Spirit, and sensitive to Him, that we can stand a chance against our own understanding.

In all your ways acknowledge Him. See the unequivocal statement. All our hearts, in all our ways. There is no exception, no loophole to find. I doubt anyone who truly follows this will ever find it easy. In fact, it must be impossible but for the grace of God. I suppose God demands the humanly impossible, in part so that we have to acknowledge His divine strength, to plead for His grace and depend on it, to realise how small, how weak, how foolish we are. And if we truly trust and obey, there comes the straight paths, there comes the dawning realisation of our past foolishness, there comes the emerging delight of God's glory and His wonderful ways.

Because ultimately, all good things come from above. (Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. James 1:17). If we go down the wrong path, even the temporary pleasures will one day seem dull and terribly unsatisfying. But if we walk the straight path today, then even the pain and discomfort will be transformed into nuggets of His wisdom and grace, and the path shall lead ever-closer to true happiness.

truth and beauty at the camp

finally, a post the subject of which may be able to do justice to the title of my blog...

sometimes we are so tired, so distracted, or so concerned with duty that we forget the wonder of serving God. i seem to be one of the culprits.

but even to such a person as I, God was pleased to show me His grace and His wonderful work throughout the camp. so although reflecting on the camp now may be a tad late, it's better that than never...

I'm sure that accounts and anecdotes of God's guidance during the camp will differ - my brother has done a very nice post full of his own thanks to God - but like how a diamond reveals it's beauty through the reflection of light on its different faces, so too, we only highlight glimpses of various facets of His encompassing grace.

for myself. i have to confess that i wasnt in too good a mood going into the camp. but how God has given me the chances to serve and share in His ministry is really amazing... firstly, I was really glad that a street e seeker actually responded and brought his friends on the 1st night. the first time i rushed out of camp during the 1st evening, i walked all the way to Serangoon mrt to meet him, but he wasnt there and i had to half-run, half-walk back in order to make it for the singspiration session to play e keyboard. then of all times, the seeker called me during the most mediatative part of the session and i had the very exciting task of trying to continue playing with one hand and putting my hp on silent mode with the other. once the singing was over, i went out again to pick the guys up. And after the first night, we actually managed to persuade the seeker to stay for the whole camp, and one of the friends to come the next day. all these, of course, is by His grace - i mean, if i was the seeker, i dont think i would have stayed with a bunch of strangers, no matter how jovially jolly they were. thanks too, to those who helped take the seekers so willingly and readily.

secondly, as many have already mentioned, the weather was simply fantastic. the only times it rained were when we had indoor programmes - so uncannily had the sky matched our planning. but then again, nothing's uncanny and there are no coincidences with God. and not forgetting the afternoon of exhausting sports station games when the sun was obscured with clouds to give us welcome shade the whole time.

thirdly, must really thank God for how the programs managed to flow smoothly. anyone in the committee would know the multiple changes and adjustments we had to make during the planning, right up to like the last few days. even then, i think nobody could be sure how everything would turn up and how the people would respond. And for me, it was the fact that i was in charge of like 3 major programmes that took up a lot of time, that was rather pressurizing. But again, things managed to get sorted out despite last minute preparations of some logistics and adjustments in timing. and really really thank God that the speaker for the 2nd day talk was good. I had some qualms about bringing in my NUS lecturer, especially after the talk was modified to include youths, but she more than aquitted herself of any doubts i may have held. I wouldn't say that she held everyone spellbound throughout the 2 hours, but at the very least she got everyone listening to every word she said and a hearty response for the activites and discussion.

fourthly, the responses of the seekers. at least one salvation and others interested. for myself, God put the task of speaking to a seeker who was quite a rare breed, if i may use such a phrase! without elaborating further here, it would suffice to say that such a person helped me to really have to think and employ not just intellectual arguments but also sincerity and love in talking to him. despite the many obstacles, i think he really made much progress throughout the camp after talking to yq, uj and myself. And despite the rarity of such a type, he was truly a 'seeker' and not just someone we invited. I believe that God helped him to have the desire and sincerity to seek. And God will bring him all the way if He so pleases.

lastly, I think that the valuable thing gained through the camp was serving God together with all the committee pp and others involved. truly, as Wei En said, there is a shared bond that results from shared values and conviction. Indeed, we are saints together on a journey, and the ones we really help are ourselves when we serve. Not superhumans that are immune from pressure, frustration or tiredness. Not angels that are free from irritation, mistakes and conflicts. Not heaven-dwellers who rejoice to praise God and delight in every little work. No, we know that too well. Not those, but saints - sinners redeemed and chosen by His grace alone, given the priviledge of serving, despite our weaknesses, despite our wrongs. And if we all know our own faults, then truly it is His goodness, that has made the camp so great. If we know our shortcomings, then it is truly Him that is glad to fill them up with His providence. If we know our weakness, then it is surely His strength that brought us through. And if we know our limits, then is it not His own power that accomplishes His purposes, even giving us the chance to be part of them?

And the amazing thing is, that is really why we are not solitary Christians. When we are weak, where does God's strength come in? Many times, it comes through others. When we need a lesson, how does God teach us? Through fellow Christians as well - through the interactions, the encouragments, even (or especially) the conflicts. Thanks a lot - all of you fellow servants.

So, wherein lies the truth and beauty? In our lesson of dependance and trust in God. If we do that, we get the strengh, He gets the pleasure of displaying His goodness and power. We are satisfied by Him, and He is glorified.

So then, soli Deo gloria.

thoughts on suffering from John Piper

"[God] calls us into the obedience of suffering not to demonstrate the strength of our devotion to duty or to reveal the vigor of our moral resolve or to prove the heights of our tolerance for pain, but rather to manifest, in childlike faith, the infinite preciousness of His all-satisfying promises." - John Piper

Suffering in the Christian life is ultimately for joy. It is hard to believe this, especially when we are in the midst of suffering. But consider the multiple verses -

"By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward." Heb 11:24-26

"Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." Heb 12:2

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." James 1:2-4

"But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you." 1 Peter 4:13-14

In Piper's book Desiring God, the concluding chapter is on suffering, and it is particularly enlightening. According to Piper, the kind of joy that accompanies suffering as a Christian is not just a side-effect, it is something that we are to pursue. Both our Lord Jesus Christ and Moses chose suffering not for its own sake, but for the greater joy that it would bring. There are many different reasons to rejoice in suffering, and Piper gives many examples from the Bible as well as from the testimonies of many persecuted Christians and missionaries.

Ultimately, only suffering for a greater hope and joy can exclude pride or self-pity from resulting. If we focus solely on self-denial for its own sake, then there is no point. Self-denial is always for something greater - forsaking the temporal pleasures for the eternal ones, forsaking the worldly things that tantalise but never satisfy, for the fountain of joy that is God. Look at Paul's words:

"If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus for merely human reasons, what have I gained? If the dead are not raised, 'Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.' " 1 Cor 15:32. In other words, if there is no hope of the resurrection, there was no point in Paul's suffering. If there was no greater joy, then he would be more pitied than all men, for he had forsaken the ordinary comforts of a Roman citizen, the good life that a person of his ability could easily have led.

I must admit that it is hard to really apply all this. For one, I am hardly facing any sort of direct persecution for being a Christian. And secondly, the attitude of joy is not something we can suddenly decide to have, and then have it. But as Piper says, if we are truly walking in obedience to God, any kind of suffering that we encounter is suffering as a Christian. And while we can't give ourselves that capacity to delight while suffering, we can pray for it, and at least be willing to take the focus off ourselves, and by reading His words, and taking them as truth, make the first step towards that. Don't underestimate the willingness, even that doesn't come easily enough. Remember that the joy is commanded. There is no separation between delight and duty. Delight is our duty.

art

trying to balance my time between school, ministry and doing that wed gig has been taxing at times.... through this time the age-old question has resurfaced again: what's the value of music, or more general, art itself?

i mean, if we are to do everything to the glory of God and for His purposes, perhaps i can say that school is for equipping myself and preparing myself to make a living so that i can serve Him, while being a good testimony in the process (ideally - not that i keep to this very well), and for ministry the idea is also there. but what about pursuing music? is it just making some sounds in a dim cafe, producing vibrations in the air? perhaps the least i can say is that i can thank God for the gift of music and enjoy it in the process. the next step may be to communicate this pleasure of music to others. but how to communicate the God behind all good things? Or is it a long term thing, when people see your life and hear your music and are able to give credit to God? or perhaps, more practically, it helps in improving my musical sense so that i can better contribute to playing and training musicians for the worship service? or even, can a Christian be a Coltrane? that is, attaining profound spiritual heights through music? why does music feature so strongly in worship through the ages?

(is there a difference between a cook giving gastronomical delight and a musician giving aural enjoyment? or maybe a cook is there for the basic survival need of food? or why did God bother to create so many pretty flowers, majestic mountains, deep, strange, glowing undersea creatures which we may never see, and give us taste buds so subtle and varied? any pragmatic reasons?)

many questions.

at the same time, i think, if i'm doing this then i'd better set a good testimony of how a Christian musician behaves, and i think it will certainly differ in certain respects from the 'norm' of a typical jazz musician.... need to be really aware of this...

well, in the meantime, have decided to do 4 more gigs - one more month, and after that, we'll see about it. need to pray for wisdom in e meantime...

atheism self-refuting?

here's something I came across reading Zacharias… i’l l try to put it in more rigorous form:

1. Atheism is the positive assertion of God’s non-existence.
2. The positive assertion of God’s non-existence is an absolute negation.
3. Making an absolute negation requires infinite knowledge.
4. Only God has infinite knowledge.
5. Thus, infinite knowledge is required to make the assertion that there is no Being with infinite knowledge, and thus atheism is false. (this does not imply that theism is true, btw.)

well, though it sounds promising, I have some reservations abt this argument. maybe there is a weak link in point 3. what do you guys think?

[edit: I think point 3 is very questionable and point 2 as well. Suppose God tells me that there are no unicorns. Since I believe in God's testimony, I make the positive assertion of the non-existence of unicorns. Either that is an absolute negation or it is not. If it is, then obviously point 3 is false, since I don't need infinite knowledge to make that assertion. If it is not an absolute negation, then why should the positive assertion of God's non-existence be an absolute negation?

Thus, it is not surprising that this argument isn't convincing.]

finding time

'At daybreak Jesus went out to a solitary place. The people were looking for him and when they came to where he was, they tried to keep him from leaving them. But he said, "I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent." And he kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea.' Luke 4:42-44

'Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed. ' Luke 5:15-16

Was reading Ordering Your Private World by Gordon Macdonald, on how to recapture and prioritise our time. The best example has to be Jesus Himself. According to Macdonald, He understood perfectly why he was on earth, what His mission was, and used His time according to the criteria of His mission. And He budgeted time for the gathering of inner strengh and resolve in order to prepare for spiritual warfare. He spent 30 years before beginning His public mission. He spent 40 days praying in the wilderness before starting His ministry. He prayed before the choosing of the twelve.

Some inspiration, hopefully, for those of us for whom time still slips through our grasp. And I believe that the truly non-negotiable aspect of everyday is really communion with God through the Word and prayer. Yet is the most easy to forsake, because no one ever protests or cries out when we fail in our QT.

finding joy

been encountering Jonathan Edwards quite a bit lately... first through reading Desiring God by John Piper, then this evening at the Stephen Tong expository preaching... perhaps I should read this esteemed theologian myself. Interestingly, the sermon just now was given by another Reformed preacher from Indonesia today-and it touched on the balance that Christians should have between truth and emotion.

too oft we have seen the extremes: emotional expression almost to the point of fanaticism without the anchor of truth; or the dry and empty formalism of mere concepts and creeds, true though they be.... but how do we strike a balance?

like Piper, the preacher today also quoted Jonathan Edwards freely: and the main point seems to be: real joy and right feelings come only from the knowledge and understanding of the truth (this does not mean a mere logical understanding, but a real perceving of the truth). A Christian, having access to the truth through the Word, should apprehend it with real feeling through the Spirit who enlightens us to the truth. That is to say, no less - a Christian should be the happiest person today, because he has the most profoundly satisfying Object in the universe: God. (This kind of thinking rings throughout John Piper's words.)

But how then, really, does joy come?

1. Understanding and appreciating the sovereignty of God.
2. Knowing the most terrible obstacle to everlasting and infinite joy - not poverty, not suffering, not injustice, not those hurts we get from others - but sin against God.
3. Cultivating a life of thanksgiving and counting our blessings.
4. Submission to God's truth and His will. (I think in the psalms, we can see the sheer unabashed delight in obedience to God's law. Not dutiful submission, but DELIGHT.)

guess it's not for this little 1st post to elaborate on the above points. But i think that it's really worth thinking abt. Sometimes we fall into the trap of simply doing out of duty - but recently i'm being challenged that this is simply not enough. (which is why i think Aristotle is closer to the Bible than Kant as far as moral philosophy and an understanding of human virtue goes. But more of this next time, if I ever get down to doing such a comparison.)

meanwhile, i hope i havent scared away all potential readers. :)