Rationally Correct and Emotionally Uncomfortable

“If we are forced to choose between being rationally correct but emotionally uncomfortable, and irrationally incorrect but emotionally comfortable, we frequently choose to be irrational.”

- Raymond Ruble, Critical Thinking, 48.

“Today Christianity is the most successful single phenomenon, statistically considered, in all of history.”

- Paul L. Maier,  “Introduction” in Eusebius; The Church History, 9.

The Benefits of Local Government

I was recently trying to explain to a friend of mine some of the basic principles upon which I base my philosophy of government. I was amazed to read a verse this morning (which I don’t remember reading before) that seems to explain one of these principle very well.

“If you see in a province the oppression of the poor and the violation of justice and righteousness, do not be amazed at the matter, for the high official is watched by a higher, and there are yet higher ones over them” (Eccl 5:8).

Solomon connects the oppression of the poor and the violation of justice and righteousness with multi-layered bureaucracy that places power further and further from the people. It has been observed throughout history that power has the tendency to corrupt those who have it. Lord Acton wrote, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” His conclusion is that the extent of the power is proportionate to the corruption.

How do we construct a government that reduces the probability of this tendency playing out? By allowing as much power as possible to be held by as many as possible as close to the people as possible. All I’m really talking about here is an emphasis on local government. This gives ownership, responsibility, and accountability to the people and those who lead them. It means that leaders are leading in their own communities so they have a vested interest. The well being of their lives, and that of their family and friends is directly affected by their leadership. And they are directly accountable to the people they are leading.

I would not argue, thought, that there is no need for centralized government and I acknowledge that there are certain matters that are best dealt with at that level. Some believe that an emphasis on local government with more leaders than less is inefficient. I have two responses to this argument. First, I believe local government is much more effective in preventing the oppression of the poor and the violation of justice and righteousness, which is more important than whatever efficiency may be in mind. Second, I would argue that the efficiency of a centralized government is an illusion. The further government gets from the people that it is supposed to be serving, the more resources are required to maintain it.

Sherlock Holmes, Spock, and Philosophy

I recently watched one of the old Sherlock Holmes movies starring Jeremy Brett. In it, he made this statement:

“If you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.”

- Sherlock Holmes

About a week later I watched the new Star Trek movie. It was a very cool moment when, in a moment of mystery and confusion, Spock (the logical Vulcan) said, “If you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.”

I can’t help but wondering if this argument might be of some use in philosophical discussions about God and reality. To be sure, we are constantly blinded by our preconceived ideas and prejudices about what we want reality to be. It is therefore easy for us to rule out what seems improbable to us because it is not what we hope for. I am therefore using the term ‘improbable’ to refer to what seems so to finite human perception.

I would argue that it is not possible to establish with reason and evidence that the existence of God is impossible. If it is true that questions about God are difficult to establish with absolute certainty due to his invisible nature and our limited knowledge, I believe that one can make a powerful and irrefutable argument that God is the most probable explanation of this world. I believe that if we exercised pure reason and observable evidence, we would find that Jesus Christ is indeed “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14;6).

The Problem of Goodness

“What Darwinism has never been able to account for is human kindness or altruism. . . . The evolutionary explanation for altruism is really just selfishness in disguise. . . . But that, of course, isn’t altruism at all. . . . In contrast, Christians understand that while all of us are born with the capactiy for selfishness and curetly, we are also capable of caring for others. . . . Recent advances in neurobiology show that the impulse toward altruism may even be hardwired. . . . Our opponents are always quick to point to the problem of evil in the world. But as we can see, an equally important problem exists for the secularist: the problem of goodness.”

- Chuck Colson, “The Problem of Goodness,” Christianity Today (Dec 09)