i love philosophy

I love philosophy.

I have a hard time explaining why I love it so. I know that it has its limits and must always submit to scripture, but I love it all the same. It teaches me to think well about everything. It reveals my biases (of which there are many) and shows me the things that really matter (of which there are few). Ecclesiastes is the only book of pure philosophy in the Bible (and therefore the greatest one ever written - Peter Kreeft), and the conclusion of the author is that only God matters. All else is meaningless and vanity.

The best books I've read, and the most memorable lectures I have heard have been written or given by Christian philosophers. People who have devoted their lives to the pursuit of wisdom and truth, while knowing that all wisdom and truth is found in Christ. By and large the most influential philosopher in my life is Peter Kreeft. He is classically trained in philosophy (meaning he knows and reads people like Plato, Aristotle, St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas, and many others), but makes the big ideas accessible to common people. Apart from the Bible, his works continue to have the strongest influence on my spiritual life.

The most recent insight from him is in regards to Pascal's Wager. Many Christians are familiar with this philosophical argument. Either God exists or he doesn't. Either you live to please God or you don't. If God does not exist and you don't live you please him, you lose nothing. If God does not exist and you don't live to please, him, you gain nothing. However, if God does exist and you don't live for him, you lose infinitely. If God does exist and you do live for him, you gain infinitely. Until hearing a lecture by Kreeft on this topic, I had always assumed it was an argument for the existence of God that was somewhat weak. However, Kreeft points out that the purpose of this exercise is not to prove God's existence, but to show the reason man does not live to try and please God is because of his selfishness and passions. Any betting man knows the most logical choice, but men still choose otherwise. It is not logic guiding their rejection of God, but their passions and desires.

Boom. Roasted.

Like I said...

I love philosophy.