He Is There and He Is Not Silent

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He Is There and He Is Not Silent is a philosophical work written by American apologist and Christian theologian Francis A. Schaeffer, Wheaton, IL:Tyndale House, first published in 1972. It is Book Three in Volume One of The Complete Works of Francis A. Schaeffer A Christian Worldview. Westchester, IL:Crossway Books, 1982. This is the third book of Francis Schaeffer's "Trilogy."

Christian apologetics is a branch of Christian theology that defends Christianity against objections.

Contents

Overview

He Is There and He Is Not Silent is divided into four chapters, followed by two appendices. The first of these chapters deals with metaphysics; the second, morals; and the third and fourth, epistemology. The first appendix concerns revelation and the second the concept of faith. To give the reader an idea of what the book is about, an overview of "Chapter 1. The Metaphysical Necessity" is presented.

Metaphysics branch of philosophy

Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that examines the fundamental nature of reality, including the relationship between mind and matter, between substance and attribute, and between possibility and actuality. The word "metaphysics" comes from two Greek words that, together, literally mean "after or behind or among the [study of] the natural". It has been suggested that the term might have been coined by a first century CE editor who assembled various small selections of Aristotle’s works into the treatise we now know by the name Metaphysics.

Epistemology A branch of philosophy concerned with the nature and scope of knowledge

Epistemology is the branch of philosophy concerned with the theory of knowledge.

Revelation Revealing a religious truth

In religion and theology, revelation is the revealing or disclosing of some form of truth or knowledge through communication with a deity or other supernatural entity or entities.

Table of contents

Introduction

Chapter 1. The Metaphysical Necessity

In the opening chapter, Schaeffer, after briefly defining "metaphysics," states two dilemmas concerning humankind. First, he claims that humans exhibit "mannishness" and have a personal nature, separating them from the impersonal, but that humans are also finite. Second, he points out the contrast between the nobility and the cruelty of man. He then presents his view of the two classes of answers to these dilemmas.

First, what Schaeffer calls the "Line of Despair" (and associates with existentialism): that there is no logical answer to the dilemmas, and that all is "chaotic, irrational, and absurd." Schaeffer characterizes this view as impossible to hold in practice, because order is necessary for life. Schaeffer also accuses advocates of this viewpoint of utilizing logic when it suits their arguments, but attacking logic when it is convenient.

Existentialism Philosophical study that begins with the acting, feeling, living human individual

Existentialism is the philosophical study that begins with the human subject—not merely the thinking subject, but the acting, feeling, living human individual. It is associated mainly with certain 19th and 20th-century European philosophers who, despite profound doctrinal differences, shared the belief in that beginning of philosophical thinking.

Logic the systematic study of the form of arguments

Logic is the systematic study of the form of valid inference, and the most general laws of truth. A valid inference is one where there is a specific relation of logical support between the assumptions of the inference and its conclusion. In ordinary discourse, inferences may be signified by words such as therefore, hence, ergo, and so on.

The second class of answers Schaeffer postulates is that logic exists, and that the subject of metaphysics is open to rational discussion. Within this category, Schaeffer discusses three specific answers: first, existence ex nihilo, that all that exists "has come out of absolutely nothing." Schaeffer labels this answer "unthinkable." Second, Schaeffer lists the "impersonal beginning," and along with it, "reductionism." His criticism is that such an answer fails to give meaning or significance to particulars. Furthermore, he alleges that there is no proof that an impersonal beginning could produce complexity or personality. Schaeffer also attacks pantheism in this vein, which he labels "paneverythingism," propounding that while it provides an answer for unity and universals, it fails to explain the origin of diversity and particulars.

In metaphysics, particulars are defined as concrete, spatiotemporal entities as opposed to abstract entities, such as properties or numbers. There are, however, theories of abstract particulars or tropes. For example, Socrates is a particular. Redness, by contrast, is not a particular, because it is abstract and multiply instantiated.

Sentience is the capacity to feel, perceive or experience subjectively. Eighteenth-century philosophers used the concept to distinguish the ability to think (reason) from the ability to feel (sentience). In modern Western philosophy, sentience is the ability to experience sensations. In Eastern philosophy, sentience is a metaphysical quality of all things that require respect and care. The concept is central to the philosophy of animal rights because sentience is necessary for the ability to suffer, and thus is held to confer certain rights.

Pantheism is the belief that reality is identical with divinity, or that all-things compose an all-encompassing, immanent god. Pantheist belief does not recognize a distinct personal anthropomorphic god and instead characterizes a broad range of doctrines differing in forms of relationships between reality and divinity. Pantheistic concepts date back thousands of years, and pantheistic elements have been identified in various religious traditions. The term "pantheism" was coined by mathematician Joseph Raphson in 1697 and has since been used to describe the beliefs of a variety of people and organizations.

Finally, Schaeffer introduces the answer of the personal beginning. In addition to providing an explanation for both complexity and personality, Schaeffer writes that the answer to the dilemma of both unity/universals and diversity/particulars may be found in the doctrine of the Trinity.

Trinity Christian doctrine that God is one God, but three coeternal consubstantial persons

The Christian doctrine of the Trinity holds that God is one God, but three coeternal consubstantial persons or hypostases—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—as "one God in three Divine Persons". The three Persons are distinct, yet are one "substance, essence or nature" (homoousios). In this context, a "nature" is what one is, whereas a "person" is who one is. Sometimes differing views are referred to as nontrinitarian. Trinitarianism contrasts with positions such as Binitarianism and Monarchianism, of which Modalistic Monarchianism and Unitarianism are subsets.

Returning to the two dilemmas given at the beginning of the chapter, Schaeffer describes what he calls the "Personal-Infinite God." On the side of personality, Schaeffer posits a "chasm" between God and Man, on the one side, and the animal, the flower, and the machine on the other. On the side of infiniteness, Schaeffer moves the chasm to between God and Man. The existence of this "complete chasm," Schaeffer says, is the origin of our confusion on issues of metaphysics.

Schaeffer finishes the chapter by concluding that there is a "God who is there," reprising the titular phrase of his book, The God Who Is There . However, he extends beyond this by describing revelatory knowledge, via the idea that God has spoken: "He is not silent."

<i>The God Who Is There</i> book by Francis Schaeffer

The God Who Is There is a Christian apologetic work written by American philosopher and Christian theologian Francis A. Schaeffer, published in 1968. It is Book One in Volume One of The Complete Works of Francis A. Schaeffer A Christian Worldview, and is the first book of Francis Schaeffer's "Trilogy." It was written before Escape from Reason but released after that second book was written and published. The third book in the Trilogy He Is There and He Is Not Silent was published in 1972.

Chapter 2. The Moral Necessity

Chapter 3. The Epistemological Necessity: The Problem

Chapter 4. The Epistemological Necessity: The Answer

Appendix A. Is Propositional Revelation Nonsense?

Appendix B. "Faith" Versus Faith

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