SMBI # 67 Ethics and Political Philosophy

Smoky Mountain Bible Institute

(Est. 2009) Lesson #67

Philosophy: what is it, and why does it matter? More importantly, as this is a Bible institute, why does it or even should it matter to a Christian?  We looked at Metaphysics last time, and considering some of the poor choices recently made by our Supreme Court, now is a very opportune time for us to examine our next topics: ethics and political philosophy.

If you wanted to become a real expert in this topic you could apply to the Political Science department of Manchester University which offers a Master of Arts in Ethics and Political Philosophy. If, however, you are only interested in a cursory overview of the topic, you have come to the right place!

Political philosophy is the study of topics such as politics, liberty, justice, property, rights, law, and the enforcement of a legal code by authority. It also studies what these things are, why (or even if) they are needed, what, if anything, makes a government legitimate, what rights and freedoms it should protect and why, what form it should take and why, what the law is, what duties citizens owe to a legitimate government, if any, and when it may be legitimately overthrown, if ever.

Political philosophy asks the question, “what ought to be a person's relationship to society?” The subject seeks the application of ethical concepts to the social sphere and thus deals with the variety of forms of government and social structures that people could live in – and in so doing, it also provides a standard by which to analyze and judge existing institutions and relationships.

The term "political philosophy" is synonymous with to the term “political ideology”, and often refers to a general view, or specific ethic, political belief, or attitude, about politics. Some consider it to be a sub-discipline of political science. We have in this topic scientific theory and philosophical ideas covering some of the same ground. For example, theoretical fields in the social sciences like economic theory are better handled scientifically, but they are still valid fields for philosophical questions.

The two are intimately linked by a range of philosophical issues and methods, but political philosophy can be distinguished from political science. Political science predominantly deals with existing states of affairs, and insofar as it is possible to be amoral in its descriptions, it seeks a positive analysis of social affairs – for example, constitutional issues, voting behavior, the balance of power, the effect of judicial review, and so forth. Political philosophy generates visions of the good social life: of what ought to be the ruling set of values and institutions that combine men and women together. The subject matter is broad and connects readily with various branches and sub-disciplines of philosophy including philosophy of law and of economics. Political philosophy is where one would seek to define terms like Liberalism, Conservativism, Socialism, Anarchism, and Environmentalism.

Historically speaking, the political philosophies that exist today are a product of thousands of years of trial and error. We can see by looking at the cultures, individuals, and eras of history that they are all foundational to the political philosophies that exist today For example, the ancient Hebrew, Chinese, Greek, and Indian cultures, medieval Christianity, individuals like Saint Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas, Islamic culture as it dominated during its golden age, medieval Europe, the Renaissance, the Enlightenment, Niccolo Machiavelli, and John Locke, just to name a few.

What the framers of modern day governments have tried to do, is learn from the past in a very utilitarian way seeking to use what works best. However, with respect to the life of a given civilization or government, a roughly 200-year cycle noted by an 18^th century Scottish scholar seems to hold true: “bondage, to spiritual faith, to courage, to liberty, to abundance to selfishness, to complacency, to apathy, to dependence, then starting over with bondage.” And because of human sin tempered by the grace of God we can see the perpetual motion of the sociological machine in various stages throughout the modern world’s civilizations.

I feel that our society is somewhere between the abundance and apathy part of the cycle. But we as Christians always have reason to be confident and thankful for God’s gift of provision in our lives. Some say our society suffers from a case of “affluenza”. But even while our high court sacrifices children and families on the altar of personal rights over and against God’s truth, we can and should still strive to be good citizens of the land we call home.

But we must keep in mind that we are citizens of two kingdoms. We thank God for the gift of the kingdom on earth of which we are citizens, and as long as that kingdom functions in line with God and his truth, we gladly submit and obey as good citizens should. However, when our earthly kingdom makes laws that are contrary to God’s, we must obey God rather than men, and be prepared to pay the price of that stand for God’s truth. Enough about politics though, next month let’s look at specialized branches of philosophy. Till then…

In Christ,

Pastor Portier

#66 Metaphysics

Smoky Mountain Bible Institute

(Est. 2009) Lesson #66

Philosophy: what is it, and why does it matter? More importantly, as this is a Bible institute, why does it or even should it matter to a Christian?  We looked at aesthetics last time and I don’t know about you, but I liked what I saw! Let’s tackle metaphysics this month. This is the study of the general features of reality, such as existence, time, the relationship between mind and body, objects and their properties, wholes and their parts, events, processes, and causation. Traditional branches of metaphysics include cosmology, the study of the world in its entirety, and ontology, the study of being. The philosopher René Descartes (1596–1650), a mathematician and scientist who spent most of his life in the Dutch Republic, is considered the father of modern Philosophy, and much of subsequent Western philosophy for that matter. His famous dictum, “I think therefore I am”, falls under this area of philosophy.

Metaphysics is a traditional branch of philosophy concerned with explaining the fundamental nature of being. This branch attempts to broadly answer two basic questions: “what is there?” and “what does it consist of?” Ontologically speaking, this is one of the hardest areas of philosophy to define simply because every answer brings about another ontological question of being. For example, the contents of a simple list of the categories of being have been in a state of flux since the first list was penned. Philosophers have many differing views on what the fundamental categories of being are. A broadly accepted list would look something like this: physical objects, minds, classes, properties, relations, space and time, propositions, events. This list is by no means exhaustive, and some items are abstract while others are concrete in nature.

Many philosophers have sought to simplify ontological categories. For instance, David Hume regarded space and time as nothing more than psychological facts about human beings, which would effectively reduce space and time to ideas, which are properties of humans (substances). Nominalists and realists argue over the existence of properties and relations. Finally, events and propositions have been argued to be reducible to sets (classes) of substances and other such categories. If that has your head spinning …welcome to the club.

Aristotle began the discussion on categories with his essay Categories, in which he discussed, among other things, ten categories. Since then, others, like Plotinus, Kant, Hegel, and Pierce, have added, modified, shortened, and lengthened Aristotle’s original list. Whether or not we like or dislike how any philosophers define categories, we all use the tools they have developed to describe what things consist of and how they function or exist. Even though much of this philosophical discussion is theoretical, in whole or in part we use ontological tools to explain things. Ontology deals primarily with the second question, “what does it consist of?”

The first question, “what is there?” is primarily a cosmological question. This is the primary realm of philosophy in which the Creation / Evolution debate exists. Because we cannot prove with observable science that which is in the past the question of how all that is came into existence is primarily a cosmological, metaphysical, philosophical question and as such needs to be discussed in the area of forensic historical evidence, not empirical science. However, before we get too deeply into that debate, we need to discuss the area of philosophy called logic, which I am saving for the end because it may take a few articles to do it justice.          

I think we have spent enough time on metaphysics and its questions of “what is there?” and “what does it consist of?” I think we will address ethics and political philosophy next time… that is, if we really do exist in the unforeseen nebulous possibility of a future time and place! J

In Christ,

Pastor Portier

Lesson #65 Aesthetics

Smoky Mountain Bible Institute

(Est. 2009) Lesson #65

Philosophy: what is it, and why does it matter? More importantly, as this is a Bible institute, why does it or even should it matter to a Christian?  Well, we took apart epistemology last month, so let’s look at aesthetics this month. Aesthetics, you may remember, deals with beauty, art, enjoyment, sensory-emotional values, perception, and matters of taste and sentiment. So, the proverbial disagreement over the color of the church carpet falls under this topic of discussion.

One might consider aesthetics to be a simple matter of personal taste, however while beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, that does not mean that there are not clear measurable scientific reasons why the beholder beholds beauty. You only need to look at cars as an example; we each have in our minds what a great car looks like, but that perception is influenced by many things. First, there are certain shapes and forms that are naturally pleasing to the human eye and brain, and there are certain colors that evoke different emotional responses as well. Those who design cars learn these things as part of their education, and through a relentless analysis of what customers like, are always trying to design something new and fresh while incorporating those trigger elements so that your impulse to purchase is firing on all cylinders, so to speak. And after the design process is complete, the marketing department goes into high gear to help you to covet what they have designed. None of this is a big conspiracy; rather, it’s simple above-board business practice in a free enterprise economy. We know that they are seeking to manipulate our aesthetic sensibilities and we like them to compete for our hard-earned money.

The word aesthetic is derived from the Greek word meaning “sensitive” or “sentient”. At its root, the word means to perceive, feel, or sense. The term "aesthetics" was first coined in German by Alexander Baumgarten in 1735. This branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of art, beauty, and taste, is more scientifically defined as the study of sensory or sensori-emotional values, sometimes called judgments of sentiment and taste. More broadly, scholars in the field define aesthetics as "critical reflection on art, culture and nature."

More specifically, aesthetic theory has practical implications, relating to any specific branch of the arts such as literature, film, music, painting, theater, landscape, sculpture, and any number of broad or narrow categories of art. Each of these areas of art theory have certain principles of aesthetics underlying the analysis of any work of a particular artist or artistic movement. These are agreed-upon principals upon which those who critique in a given area base their analyses. Of course, over time these principals can and do change, just like our taste in what a good car looks like changes or why I think the things we wore in the 1970s should never be worn by any later generation. 

Someone who works in this field might be called an esthetician, that is, a person who is versed in aesthetics, and seeks to establish meaning and validity upon which to base critical judgments concerning works of art, and the principles underlying or justifying such judgments. However, the term tends to be more commonly used to refer to a person trained to administer facials, or to advise customers concerning makeup or the care of skin and hair.

You probably know more now than you ever wanted to about aesthetics, but keep this in mind the next time you find a face or a flower or a sunset particularly beautiful: your creator loves beauty, order, and even symmetry, and he placed in each of us the ability to appreciate and enjoy his beautiful creation. He also gave us different tastes and different preferences, which can be helpful in the sense that we do not all want the same thing. If we did, it might lead to fighting over who should have it. Because God gives us so many various preferences, this is an area in which there is no right or wrong, so it is more important that we get along than it is for everyone to get their favorite carpet color.  So enjoy every gift God gives you: your life, trees, flowers, family, your spouse, music, food, drink, or whatever part of his glorious creation you particularly enjoy. As you enjoy them, thank and praise him for creating it and creating in you the ability to enjoy and appreciate it. (Aesthetically speaking, that is.)

In Christ,

Pastor Portier

Lesson #64 Epistemology

Smoky Mountain Bible Institute

(Est. 2009) Lesson #64

As we begin our walk through Philosophy, I am going to try to break it up into bite-sized chunks to make it a little more understandable. Let’s start with epistemology. So, in good Lutheran fashion… “What does this mean?”

            The word “epistemology” comes from the Greek “episteme” (knowledge), and “logos” (words/study of). So, epistemology is “the study of knowledge”; more specifically, the nature and scope of knowledge. Epistemology examines what knowledge is, how it can be acquired, and the extent to which it is pertinent to any given subject or entity. Epistemology is about issues having to do with the creation and dissemination of knowledge in particular areas of inquiry. We can thank Scottish philosopher James Frederick Ferrier for coining the term.

            Defining Knowledge is a tricky thing, as we can see in this quote from Donald Rumsfeld from a number of years back. “…there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns -- the ones we don't know we don't know.” But defining knowledge epistemologically is actually a little bit easier.

            There is a large list of words associated with any specialized are of study including psychology, but at the risk of oversimplifying it I will break it into four general categories and try to avoid using lot of jargon.

The four categories are:

·       Knowledge that we have, that has been verified or justified.

·       Knowledge which explains how that justified knowledge functions.

·       Knowledge of a person, place or thing.

(These first three are defined by some as Knowledge that, Knowledge how, and Knowledge of)

·       Skepticism. (Which, in essence, calls into question the existence and validity of the process that postulates the above three categories, and is one of the first of many “isms” contained in psychology.)

            Maybe an example will help us get our minds around this topic. We can have the first kind of knowledge about any simple mathematical formula (like 2+2=4). Understanding how addition works, to provide this verified piece of knowledge would be knowledge of the second type. Knowing how to bake a cake or a build a bookcase or drive a car would also fit into this second category. However knowing a mathematician who taught you how to do this math or the place of education, or for that matter, anyone, or anyplace you are acquainted with is knowledge of the third type. For further example let’s look at driving a vehicle:

·       Knowledge that people can drive vehicles.

·       Knowledge of how to drive a vehicle.

·       Knowledge of a driver and a vehicle, and a road on which to drive it.

The final category is not really an area or type of knowledge as much as it is an assumption or process. Skepticism questions the validity of some or all human knowledge. Skepticism does not apply to one specific type of philosophy, rather it is a thread that runs through many philosophical discussions of epistemology. The first well known skeptic was Socrates who claimed that his only knowledge was that he knew nothing with certainty. Descartes most famous inquiry into mind and body also began as an exercise in skepticism. He began by questioning the validity of all knowledge and looking for some fact that was irrefutable; in so doing, came to his famous dictum: “I think, therefore I am.”

I find it interesting that the Greek word mentioned earlier for knowledge has the same root as the Greek word for faith or belief. When we as Christians speak of salvation, our faith exists only because the Holy Spirit enlightens us. However, there are also many good forms of epistemological knowledge which we can also refer to when presenting that faith to others. For example, while I cannot claim to have first-hand knowledge of my savior I can point to reliable first-hand biblical accounts. I can also point to a half-dozen other reliable historical accounts that confirm Jesus Christ is who He claimed to be and did what He said He would do. While I may not fully know how Christ suffered and died for me I can still know that He did. You do not have to know how to drive to know that people can drive. We can certainly be acquainted with many people, places and things that serve to affirm and strengthen our faith. But finally, we must always be ready to answer the skeptic. As Paul says in His first letter to Peter, “be ready to give an answer for the hope that you have”. See you next month when we will tackle the topic of metaphysics.                    

In Christ,

Pastor Portier

Smoky Mountain Bible Institute (Est. 2009) Lesson #63

Smoky Mountain Bible Institute

(Est. 2009) Lesson #63

Philosophy, what is it and why does it matter? More importantly, as this is a Bible institute, why does it or even should it matter to a Christian? We must first briefly learn what it is before we can answer these questions. Philosophy is the study of the general and fundamental questions of reality, existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. In more casual speech, "philosophy" can refer to "the basic beliefs, concepts, and attitudes of an individual or group". The word "philosophy" comes from the ancient Greek, which literally means "love of wisdom".

     We could spend many articles on the history of philosophy. Suffice it to say, Eastern philosophy is organized by the chronological periods of each region. Western philosophy on the other hand has been traditionally divided into four eras - the Ancient, Medieval, Modern, and Contemporary. We will address any historical issues as they are pertinent to answering our questions above this year.

        Philosophy is divided into several sub-fields. Major areas of inquiry are; Epistemology, Logic, Metaphysics,
Ethics and Political, Aesthetics and ‘Specialized branches’. In the coming year we will focus on some of these areas as they pertain to our discussion of a Christian worldview.

Epistemology is concerned with the nature and scope of knowledge, such as the relationships between truth, belief, perception and theories of justification.

              Logic is the study of the principles of correct reasoning. Arguments use either deductive reasoning or inductive reasoning. Deductive reasoning is when given certain statements (called premises), other statements (called conclusions) are unavoidably implied. While Inductive reasoning also has a premise and seeks to supply strong evidence for (not absolute proof of) the truth of the conclusion. While the conclusion of a deductive argument is considered certain, the truth of the conclusion of an inductive argument is considered probable.

Metaphysics is the study of the most general features of reality, such as existence, time, the relationship between mind and body, objects and their properties, wholes and their parts, events, processes, and causation. Traditional branches of metaphysics include cosmology, the study of the world in its entirety, and ontology, the study of being.

              Ethics and political philosophy or "moral philosophy," is concerned primarily with the question of the best way to live, and secondarily, concerned with the question of whether this question can be answered. The main branches of ethics are meta-ethics, normative ethics, and applied ethics.

              Aesthetics deals with beauty, art, enjoyment, sensory-emotional values, perception, and matters of taste and sentiment.

Specialized branches Philosophy of language explores the nature, the origins, and the use of language. Philosophy of law (often called jurisprudence), Philosophy of mind explores the nature of the mind, Philosophy of religion explores the questions regarding religion, (We may spend a little time on this one) Philosophy of science explores the foundations, methods, implications, and purpose of science. Metaphilosophy explores the aims of philosophy, its boundaries, and its methods.

              This is, of course, a very general overview of philosophy. I got most of this from Wikipedia so if you want to read more that is a good place to start. To answer our original question, you can see just on the surface Christians use many of these things to explain, teach and understand our faith. It is important for us as Christians to be ready to give an answer for the hope we carry through the gospel and philosophy provides some good tools for us to do just that. Till next month keep loving knowledge   

In Christ

Pastor Portier     

Lessons # 61 & 62 Happy New Year

Smoky Mountain Bible Institute

Lesson #61

Break out your maps and histories as we travel again in our time machine to examine history & geography through a biblical worldview. Let’s finish our discussion of Solomon, who as I mentioned last month, served his first two years as king as a coregent until David’s death in 969 BC. Solomon begins his reign in 971 BC and dies in 932 BC, serving as Israel’s king for just over 40 years.

Solomon, in a dream, made his famous request of God for wisdom. I have, however, always been somewhat puzzled about Solomon, the wisest man of all history (according to 1^st Kings). He was promised and received wisdom, riches, and fame, but the Lord made this contingent on Solomon following Him as his father David had. The confusing thing for me is how such a wise man can think that it is a good idea to violate the 6^th commandment and take multiple wives. And not just a few wives, but according to 1^st Kings 11:1-3, 700 wives, and 300 hundred concubines (formally recognized mistresses). I can understand the politics of that time and how marrying women from many lands makes for good political relationships, but God instructed the Israelites not to marry foreign women, because intermarrying would lead to the worship of false gods. So why did Solomon, the wisest of all, do such a dumb and disobedient thing?

History reveals that Solomon was very aggressive in his foreign policy. In sealing treaties in ancient days, it was customary for the lesser king to give his daughter in marriage to the greater king (in this case, Solomon). Every time a new treaty was sealed, Solomon ended up with yet another wife. These wives were considered tokens of friendship and “sealed” the relationship between the two kings. In the process of doing all this, Solomon was utterly disobedient to the Lord. He was apparently so obsessed with power and wealth that it overshadowed his spiritual life and he ended up falling into apostasy, worshiping some of the false gods of the women who became married to him.

More importantly, in marrying more than one woman, Solomon was violating God’s revealed will regarding monogamy. From the very beginning God created one woman for one man (see Genesis 1:27; 2:21- 25). Deuteronomy 17:17 explicitly instructed the king not to “multiply wives.” Sadly, in his old age, his many wives led the wisest man of all time to commit the greatest of his offenses aginst God; worship and support of false gods. So Solomon was, like his father, a man after God’s own heart who was also guilty of adultery and murder. Like all of us at the same time being both saint and sinner, while it puzzles me, I can still understand and relate to Solomon’s unwise decisions.

Solomon built the largest, richest kingdom in his time, and some would argue, of all time. He builds the temple in just over 6 years from 967 BC to 961 BC, and his palace in 12 years, from 960 BC to 948 BC. This means he spent almost half of his 40 year regin on two massive building projects while conquering and establishing relationships with the surrounding countries. The most prominent of his visitors was of course, the Queen of Sheba, whose visit was around 940 BC, probably at the peak of his life and reign, with all of his wealth and strength on display through architecture, chariots, horses, and a family larger than most American small towns. There are even people in Ethiopia today who claim to be decendants of Sheba and Solomon, and they also claim to have the Ark of the Covenant which was brought there for safe keeping when the first temple was destroyed. At any rate, this powerful and wise man descended into wholesale idolatry in his old age, building temples, altars and giving sacrifices to the pagan gods of all his wives. He came to the end of his days in 932 BC, and soon after came the death of the Israelite united monarchy.

Note: much of this article is based on an article at Christian Answers.net; if you would like to read it, it can be found at: christiananswers.net/q-eden/rfsm-solomon.html

Have a blessed Advent & Christmas!

In Christ,

Pastor Portier

Smoky Mountain Bible Institute (Est. Aug 2009)

Lesson #62

            Happy New Year students and lifelong learners. Welcome back to class. I trust your Advent and Christmas celebrations were pleasant, fulfilling and enriching. The Smoky Mountain Bible Institute is just over 5 years old now and in that time we have covered Archeology, Biology, and Geology. In the last two years we’ve studied the combined topics of Geography and History. However, in those two years we covered only about half of the recorded history from Creation to the end of the united kingdom of Israel. With the prospect of another two or more years to cover the next 3000 years of history, I find myself yearning for a change in topic. Here at the Institute I have plans to eventually cover the topics of Philosophy, Social Sciences and finish with the field of Theology, so I thought for 2015 we would take a break from History and Geography and spend this year in Philosophy. That being said, next month we will delve into the topic of Philosophy. I give you the month of January to put away your maps and your histories and get ready to dig into the likes of Aristotle, Socrates, and Descartes.  Beginning in February we will look at fun topics like the ‘logical fallacies’, and other philosophical topics with fun Latin names like “Post Hoc Ergo Proctor Hoc” I know you just can’t wait. See you next month.

In Christ

Pastor Portier     

Lesson #60 Fixing a date through Solomon

Smoky Mountain Bible Institute

Lesson #60

Break out your maps and histories as we travel again in our time machine to examine history & geography through a biblical worldview. We now come to the last of the three kings who defined the Israelite monarchy. David makes Solomon his coregent two years before he dies in 969 BC.  Solomon begins his reign in 971 BC and dies in 932 BC, serving as Israel’s king for just over 40 years.

Solomon is a key figure for Biblical chronologists because he serves as a sort of anchor with multiple extra-biblical sources (sources outside the Bible) that affirm his existance and supplement our understanding of his chronology. This is also important because Solomon gets a lot less coverage in scripture than his predecessors do.

Kenneth Kitchen is a well-known and respected Egyptologist and archeologist at the University of Liverpool in England. The majority of the Egyptological community agrees with his chronological conclusions in the area of Egyptology; two of which are listed below. The biblical connections to and conclusions from these sources in the next two paragraphs are from Andrew Steinmann, Professor of Theology and Hebrew at Concordia University, Chicago.

           Pharaoh Sianum’s reign ends around 968 BC.  He is the king who conquered Gezer and gave it to Solomon as a dowry for his daughter (one of Solomon’s many wives). Solomon’s reign then would have had to have begun prior to the end of Sianum’s, and this lines up very nicely. The Tyrian King List preserved for us by Josephus also confirms Solomon’s reign from 971 to 932 BC.

Shoshenq The 1st’s invasion of Israel takes place around 925 BC. The Egyptian Pharaoh Shoshenq the 1^st corresponds to the Biblical king called Shishak, mentioned in 1 Kings 14:25 and 2 Chronicles 12:1. According to both Biblical and Egyptian sources, he invades and conquers Israel under King Rehoboam, who was Solomon’s son and successor.

There are numerous archeological discoveries from the time of Solomon as well. However, there is always a cloud of scholastic doubt hovering over these finds and claims because of a mixture of anti-Biblical views held by many in these vocations. They, of course, would never admit this bias. They claim their critiques to be scientific in nature while offering no evidence to support the doubts they assert. Here are a few examples from the respected National Geographic Society: (Note the uses of the word “tale” and question marks in the titles of the articles.) These articles provide no information to support the skeptical nature in which much of the information is presented. 

“King Solomon's Wall Found—Proof of Bible Tale? A 3,000-year-old defensive wall might be unprecedented archaeological support for a Bible passage on King Solomon”, by Mati Milstein in Tel Aviv, Israel, for National Geographic News, February 26, 2010. “King Solomon's Mines Rediscovered?” by Rebecca Carroll for National Geographic News, October 28, 2008. “Solomon's Temple Artifacts Found by Muslim Workers”, by Mati Milstein in Tel Aviv, Israel for National Geographic News, October 23, 2007. All three of these articles deal with real evidence that supports Solomon’s existence in a timeframe that is in keeping with Scripture. Even though no evidence is given against the Biblical connection, doubt and caution against leaning too heavily on Scripture for archaeology is a common thread in the articles. So while they present clear evidence that affirms Scripture, they cannot bring themselves to make that conclusion.

As Solomon is such an important character in fixing many other dates, I felt it important to give a little time to this topic. Next month we will discuss some of the highlights of Solomon’s life and reign

Till then, Shalom

In Christ,

Pastor Portier