Enlightenment
“…the way we know Christianity to be true is by the self-authenticating witness of God’s Holy Spirit… and this is the case for believer and unbeliever alike.
…although arguments may be used to support the believers faith, they are never the basis for that faith. For the believer, God is not the conclusion of a syllogism; he is the living God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob dweling within us.”
The above is quoted from William Lane Craigs book, Apologetics: An Introduction, pp. 18-19. I guess I had forgotten how directly he spoke to the issues I have been thinking on recently.
Today in church I was thinking about this, and I came to these verses, which speak of enlightenment by the Spirit:
” ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ the Lord replied. ‘Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen of me and what I will show you. I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’ (Acts 26:16-18, NIV)”
“For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ (2 Cor 4:6).”
What a contrast with the “enlightenment” of the eighteenth century, which enthroned human reason above all.
Craig distinguishes between knowing Chrstianity to be true, which is by the inner witness of the Spirit, and showing Christianity to be true. He says that Christianity can be shown to be true in that in can be shown to be systematically consistent: it fits the facts of experience and obeys the laws of logic. Christianity fits the facts, but cannot be known by those facts.
“One of those listening was a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message (Acts 16:14, NIV).”
I don’t know how I slipped into the evidence mindset, as if I could find God through science or reason. These things can never lead me to the conclusion of God without the inner work of the Spirit. Something has to happen inside.
