Last Tuesday I strolled down the street to Piazza Bologna to meet and chat with my friend Danilo. I had just come from my apartment where I had been spending time with the Lord and listening to the last of Tim Keller’s talks on Reasons for God. I arrived in the piazza and found Danilo amidst the hustle and bustle. Walking around a bit we found an empty park bench and took a seat.
It so happened to be less than a week before the upcoming Italian elections (which ended today with Silvio Berlusconi regaining power for a third term). Surrounded by all things political, shooting the breeze with Danilo did not prove to be difficult. I asked Danilo, a modern history major, to shed a little light on political life in Italy. Trust me when I say that Italian politics are more complicated than you would believe.
As we sat and talked, the conversation naturally steered from politics to more important things. Danilo had been talking to a guy in his dorm who happened to be an atheist. They had been talking and Danilo had asked him why he was an atheist and what had led him to that point in his life where he believed that there was no possible way for God to exist. He said that there are two types of thinking in the world: faith and reason, which are diametrically opposed to one another. He said that he could not believe in God because when it came to believing in faith or trusting reason, reason won out.
Often I am not able to see how God is moving or working directly through me, but when I am able to see Him work it is something that makes me get really excited. This was one such case. That morning, the Tim Keller sermon I had listened to was titled Doubt: What should I do with my doubts? He talked about how as believers we all are on a continuum of doubt. Somedays we have great faith and other days we experience doubt. What is amazing about faith is that the strength is found in the object of our faith (Christ) and not in our ability to cling to that faith.
Richard Dawkins, an evolutionary biologist and an atheist, writes in his bestseller The God Delusion that the major battle of our generation is not creationism vs. evolution but rather naturalism vs. supernaturalism. As I listened to Tim Keller explain it, he made it clear that this creates a false dichotomy, that it is not naturalism (reason) vs. supernaturalism (faith) but rather a faith in naturalism vs. faith in supernaturalism or to put it in other words, faith vs. faith or belief vs. belief.
Talking to Danilo that day, I was able to explain to him what I had just learned in a talk that morning. He could then go back to his friend and explain to him that it was not in fact faith vs. reason, but rather his faith a naturalistic worldview vs. faith in a supernaturalistic worldview. This week I hope to be able to go to dinner with Danilo and his friend and explain more what it means to believe in God.
On a side note, check out this article on the upcoming Ben Stein movie called Expelled from Relevant Magazine. Ben interviewed a professor in the movie and asks him to explain the origins of the universe. Apparently the professor had a hard time convincing Ben that matter arrived “on the back of crystals” and got quite frustrated. The movie is a critique of the scientific world and their intolerance to anyone who questions evolution and believes in intelligent design.
Thanks for sharing that glimpse into your day. That is so awesome when God blesses you with the opportunity to use what He has just shown you. We were talking about giving and displaying our best for God in cell group last night. I asked the girls what that means. We had just been talking about how some people call GUM a cult. So I said that some people think you aren’t giving God your best if you don’t wear a suit when you preach. You have to make sure that you define what best is by what the scripture says and not what other people say. The example wasn’t deep but I think they related to it. I love that God gives you what you need when you need it. Sorry for such a long comment! Love you! Mom