Stress Test Devotional May 4
May 04, 2024
DAY 4
I have been making the case that faith is bound up with reason and that this fits the nature of human beings, the nature of scripture, because it is rooted in the nature of God. Yet in the same way Tertullian questioned whether faith should relate to reason, many secular intellectuals think reason can get along well without faith. In fact, some of them think reason must exist apart from faith entirely, and banishing religion to the sidelines is a necessary step in the path to true knowledge. But reason without faith soon finds itself in serious trouble. To begin with, we are not just thinkers, but moral agents with urgent existential life issues. If God does not exist, or if his reality is bracketed out, it becomes very difficult to establish purposes for our lives. Without the goal of loving and serving God, the cosmos becomes a process without end, driven by survival. It is up to the human will to confer meaning on what is ultimately chaos, and there is no larger purpose to discover within our world or ourselves. The idea that life is a great love story becomes wishful thinking.
Try to make an argument that altruism is better than selfishness without reference to God. (Don’t be surprised if it is impossible!)
FAMILY TIME—
Discuss how often in the day you are mindful of God and how often forgetful.
