I especially appreciated this bit:
StudentSoul.org: Your parents are from Taiwan but got you started in basketball when they moved to California. What has been their role in your life, both in terms of basketball and your faith?
Jeremy: It’s huge. They brought me up in a Christian home and taught me what it means to be a Christian. But the thing I appreciate most about them is they don’t judge my basketball performance on how I do individually in terms of statistics. They make sure that I have the right attitude, that I don’t yell at my teammates or the refs and that I’m always under control. It’s very helpful because when they watch a game, they don’t judge my performance the way the sports world judges it. They make sure I have a godly attitude when I play and when I don’t, they call me out on it and make me accountable. That’s just so valuable because win or lose, whether you play well or not, you want to reflect God’s image, and they hold me to that. For that I’m very grateful. I’m very blessed by God!
How much is a Jeremy Lin Golden State Warrior jersey?
ReplyDeletePatrick, TUAD why are most first-rate scientists and philosophers embrace atheistm if there people are rational?like the scientists in the National Academy
ReplyDeleteLonelyBoy,
ReplyDeleteIf you don't mind, I think a better rephrase of your question is this:
Why are a lot of smart or very smart people atheists?
And extending upon that question, suppose there are some Christians who think that choosing and embracing atheism is an unintelligent decision. So then the question becomes a bit more specific:
Why do smart or very smart people do dumb things (like choosing atheism)? [This question is obviously from a Christian perspective.]
Or reduced simply to:
Why do smart people do dumb things?
I have several responses:
(1) We're all sinners. And sinners will do dumb things.
(2) King Solomon was one of the wisest people ever, if not the wisest, and he did dumb things. Especially towards the end of his life.
(3) With regards to the issue of atheism, it's not all a matter of intelligence and IQ. There is also the matter of Original Sin and an unregenerate mind and heart. I would submit that that is more of a factor as to why scientists and academics embrace atheism more than Jesus rather than their IQ.
(4) There is a passage in Corinthians somewhere about God choosing the foolish in the world to shame the wise.
Just my 2 cents worth.
LonelyBoy asked:
ReplyDeletePatrick, TUAD why are most first-rate scientists and philosophers embrace atheistm if there people are rational?like the scientists in the National Academy
In addition to TUAD's good points:
1. I'm not familiar with academic philosophy and philosophers so I don't know if what I'll say applies to them or not. But I'll focus on science and scientists since I'm familiar with them.
2. I don't know that "most first-rate scientists" are indeed atheists. I'm not saying it's untrue. I'm just saying I haven't seen any reliable studies or stats to back up this claim. Possibly they're out there. But at the moment, my point is we shouldn't necessarily take it as fact.
3. Besides, how does one adjudicate who is "first-rate"? By publication quantity and quality in top tier academic journals? By media attention? By public perception or "fame"? By sheer intelligence or brainpower? (And how do we measure "intelligence"? By IQ tests?) By a combination of these or some other multifactorial approach?
Yet sometimes a scientist makes a monumental scientific discovery but not based purely on intellectual giftedness. He just happens to be in the right place at the right time. Take Watson and Crick's discovery of the structure of DNA. I don't think it was their intellectual brilliance, per se, that led them to the discovery. They had a lot of (unrecognized) help from Rosalind Franklin, who did a lot of the hard footwork, which provided the empirical evidence.
Other times uber intelligent scientists don't ever make such significant discoveries. Sure, Richard Feynman won the Nobel for his work on QED. But in the grand scheme of the history of science was it earth-shattering work?
4. It's possible the most intelligent scientists aren't the ones most widely known.
5. Similarly, it's possible the most intelligent people aren't scientists.
6. As TUAD alluded to, there are other issues besides pure reasoning, logic, rationality, truth, etc. It's not that they don't find theism and Christianity reasonable and true. Perhaps they do. Rather, it's that they don't want to pay the price to embrace Christ. For some people, it might be that they don't want to jeopardize their academic career. For others, it might be that they lust after belonging to "the inner circle" (BTW, see the Mark Studdock character in CSL's That Hideous Strength for an illustration here). As John 12:42-43 records for us: "Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God."
7. This is what comes to mind right now. I might try to say more later but I'm pretty busy so gotta go. Sorry for such a quick, incomplete response. Again, maybe more later if I can find the time.
I see hope you can explain some more
ReplyDelete