Navigate
  • Home
  • Our Story
  • Categories
    • Articles
    • Book Reviews
    • Interviews
    • Live Discussions
    • Podcast
    • Talks
  • Topics
    • Apologetics
    • Epistemology
    • Free Stuff
    • God
    • Moral Argument
    • Naturalism
    • Reformed Epistemology
    • Science
    • Street Epistemology
    • Theology
  • Shop
  • Free Resources
  • FAQ
  • Get in Touch
  • Donate?
  • Follow Us
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • SoundCloud
    • YouTube
  • Articles
  • Book Reviews
  • Interviews
  • Live Discussions
  • Podcast
  • Talks
8K
756
2K
564
Subscribe
Capturing Christianity

Exposing the Intellectual Side of Christian Belief

Capturing Christianity Capturing Christianity
  • Home
  • Our Story
  • Topics
    • Apologetics
    • EAAN
    • Epistemology
    • Faith
    • Interviews
    • Live Discussion
    • Moral Argument
    • Naturalism
    • Science
    • Street Epistemology
    • Theology
    • Reformed Epistemology
  • Shop
  • FAQ
  • Get in Touch
  • Donate?
0
  • Articles

An Abductive Moral Argument (Part 4, Moral Transformation)

  • April 9, 2018
  • One comment
  • 5 minute read
  • 933 views
  • David Baggett
Total
0
Shares
0
0
0

Previous posts have touched on metaphysical and epistemic matters. Those are the real heart of the abductive moral argument, so far as I can see. But the nature of abductive inferences is that they should be subjected to further tests, and a fertile additional investigation can involve what Immanuel Kant called “moral faith,” which has two parts. The first is moral transformation, which will be discussed here, and the next is moral rationality, which will be discussed in the next entry.

Moral Transformation

Doctors cannot fix certain chronic problems; the best they can do is provide medicines that help alleviate and manage certain symptoms and make life more comfortable for the patient, even while the affliction persists. Although medical practitioners are rather limited in what they are able to do, the body is remarkably resilient in its ability to ward off diseases, recover from various injuries, and heal itself. This is why proper nutrition and exercise are so important, because they enable the body to do what it does best. Chronically undernourished or sedentary bodies eventually become impaired in their ability to perform their proper functions. There is a crucial difference between genuine health, on the one hand, and merely treating conditions, on the other, however much a blessing the latter can be.

A similar distinction holds in the arena of morality. One option is merely to deal with symptoms, settling for marginal moral improvements, avoiding hurtful consequences by our actions. True achievement of integrity, virtue, and holiness, though, requires considerably more. In light of what seem to be some deeply entrenched patterns of selfishness and moral weakness endemic to the human condition, however, we need profound resources to meet the moral demand and effect the needed change in our character.

Inevitable Moral Failure

Benjamin Franklin once tried to do this on his own, setting himself to the formidable task of achieving moral perfection. In “Arriving at Perfection,” an excerpt from his Autobiography, he wrote about his plans to conquer all that either natural inclination, custom, or company might lead him into, but “I soon found I had undertaken a task of more difficulty than I had imagined. While my care was employ’d in guarding against one fault, I was often surprised by another; habit took the advantage of inattention; inclination was sometimes too strong for reason.”

C. S. Lewis once wrote that there are two facts [that] are the foundation of all clear thinking about ourselves and the universe we live in: First, human beings, all over the earth, have this curious idea that they ought to behave in a certain way, and cannot really get rid of it. Secondly, that they do not in fact behave in that way. They know the law of Nature; they break it.

Immanuel Kant, similarly, recognized an exacting moral demand and a correlative inability on the part of human beings to meet such a demand, at least without some sort of outside assistance. Is radical moral transformation possible after all? Can we be transformed? Perhaps because of his Lutheran upbringing, Kant was quite sure that human beings have a deep moral problem, a tendency to be curved inward on themselves, an intractable ethical taint, a deeply flawed moral disposition in need of a revolution. Kant saw clearly that the moral demand on us is very high, while also recognizing that we have a natural propensity not to follow it.

In both Kant and Lewis, the suggestion seems to be not just that we happen to fail to meet the moral demand, but that our failure is inevitable. We have a problem, one too deep for us to solve on our own. Scotus wrote of an “affection for justice” and an “affection for advantage,” arguing that we’re born with both inclinations. The former is concerned with doing the right thing for its own sake, the latter with doing that which benefits ourselves. Both are legitimate motivations, but we’re also born, he argued, with a tendency to privilege advantage over justice, which needs to be reversed.

The Best Remedy

But there’s hope this can happen, and, if Christianity is true, a hope that won’t disappoint. Christianity says the needed resources for transformation are available. Although we can’t meet the moral demand on our own, God himself has made it possible, if we but submit and allow him to do it through us. It will require a painful process, but it is possible.

Having started his book Mere Christianity with talk of the moral gap (to borrow a phrase from the title of John Hare’s excellent book on this topic) between what we are and what ought to be, Lewis then explained his reason for doing so, and his explanation is a telling one. The passage is his concluding paragraph of Book 1:

My reason was that Christianity simply does not make sense until you have faced the sort of facts I have been describing. Christianity tells people to repent and promises them forgiveness…. It is after you have realized that there is a real Moral Law, and a Power behind the law, and that you have broken that law and put yourself wrong with that Power—it is after all this, and not a moment sooner, that Christianity begins to talk. When you know you are sick, you will listen to the doctor. When you have realized that our position is nearly desperate you will begin to understand what the Christians are talking about. They offer an explanation of how we got into our present state of both hating goodness and loving it. They offer an explanation of how God can be this impersonal mind at the back of the Moral Law and yet also a Person. They tell you how the demands of this law, which you and I cannot meet, have been met on our behalf, how God Himself becomes a man to save man from the disapproval of God.

God can do more than merely ameliorate the symptoms of our chronic moral malady. In the face of our urgent need to become not just better men, but new men, for a revolution of the will, for radical moral transformation, the death and resurrection of Christ is indeed “good news.”

Part 1  |  Part  2 |  Part 3  |  Part 4  |  Part 5  |  Part 6

If you enjoyed reading this blog post, consider supporting us on Patreon!

Total
0
Shares
Like 0
Tweet 0
Pin it 0
T A G S
  • Apologetics
  • Moral Argument
David Baggett

David teaches philosophy in the graduate wing of the Rawlings School of Divinity at Liberty. He's authored or edited about a dozen books on topics ranging from philosophy and popular culture, American religious history, C. S. Lewis, philosophy of religion, ethics, and moral apologetics. He is also the executive editor of MoralApologetics.com.

SUBSCRIBE. BE AWESOME.

Get updates on new posts, upcoming live discussions, and more.

1
Leave a Reply

avatar
wpdiscuz_captcharefresh
1 Comment threads
0 Thread replies
1 Followers
 
Most reacted comment
Hottest comment thread
1 Comment authors
Brenda von Ahsen Recent comment authors
avatar
wpdiscuz_captcharefresh
  Subscribe  
newest oldest most voted
Notify of
Brenda von Ahsen
Guest
Brenda von Ahsen

Moral transformation is not a good argument for the truth of a belief. Muslims, Hindus and other religious cultures also claim their morality can transform your life. It doesn’t make it true.

Vote Up0Vote Down  Reply
10 months ago
about
Free 60-page eBook!
Join our super cool email list to receive a copy of our free 60-page eBook (and other cool stuff). Btw, Christianity is true.
Subscribe!
Recent Discussions
  • Hell Debate: Does the Bible Teach ECT or Annihilationism? Chris Date vs James Martin
    • January 17, 2019
    • 1.7K views
  • Two Philosophers Debate the Ethics of Sex – Tim Hsiao vs Benjamin Watkins
    • November 30, 2018
    • 703 views
  • the euthyphro dilemma
    The Euthyphro Dilemma, Matt Flannagan vs Jason Thibodeau
    • September 22, 2018
    • 1.1K views
  • Andrew Harland-Smith
    Is Molinism True? Andrew Harland-Smith vs John Limanto
    • August 24, 2018
    • 1.1K views
Trending Articles
  • Christianity, Religious Disagreement, and Equal Weight Theory

    • 2
    • 10 min
    • 2.8K
    View Post
  • Book Review: Ancient Near Eastern Thought and the Old Testament

    • 1
    • 8 min
    • 1.5K
    View Post
  • Have We Moved Past the One Gospel of Jesus Christ?

    • 1
    • 5 min
    • 1.3K
    View Post
  • CC014: Exploring the Contingency Argument with Dr. Josh Rasmussen (Part 1)

    • 9
    • 2 min
    • 1.1K
    View Post
  • Is Evolution Compatible with Original Sin? (A Thorough Analysis)

    • 0
    • 21 min
    • 936
    View Post
Twitter Feed
avatar
Cameron Bertuzzi
@CapturingChrist
308 Following
756 Followers
Here's a sneak peak of a project I'm working on... https://t.co/7PcPQVRHIV
2 hours ago
  • Reply
  • Retweet
  • Favorite
In case you've been wondering what to read next: https://t.co/1y45cJAJvN
2 hours ago
  • Reply
  • Retweet
  • Favorite
Jesus is alive, btw.
3 hours ago
  • Reply
  • 1 Retweet
  • Favorite
Follow
Follow Us!
Facebook 8K
Twitter 756
YouTube 2K
Instagram 564
Next Level Campaign

Help us become an official non-profit organization!

🔥🔥🔥 New blog post, fam! "Is Belief in God Falsifiable?" [Link to read full post in bio.] One story about what distinguishes science from some other human pursuits, is that scientific theories must in principle be falsifiable. That is, there must be some way that it could be possible to show via observation that they are false. This story is very popular among scientists, and also popular among the kind of people who claim to very much love science. 55 0
When I experience doubt, it’s usually tied in some way to sin. Battling the sin is a way of battling the doubt. What about you? How do you deal with doubt? 47 3
But for real this is super spicy. 74 3
Here’s an argument for God from abstract objects: (1) Mathematical truths depend on minds. 68 10
Meet professional philosopher and Christian apologist Dr. Douglas Groothuis. 90 4
Thoughts? 89 5

SUBSCRIBE. BE AWESOME.

Get updates on new posts, upcoming discussions, and more!

Follow Us!
8K
756
2K
564
Random Posts
  • CC010: A Defense of Reformed Epistemology (Part 1)
    • 2 min
    • 1.4K
  • An Abductive Moral Argument (Part 4, Moral Transformation)
    • 5 min
    • 933
  • outsider test for faith
    Analyzing The Outsider Test For Faith (Part 3)
    • 7 min
    • 2.9K
  • What is “Street Epistemology”? (Part 2)
    • 10 min
    • 4.4K
Topics
Advice (2) Annihilationism (2) Apologetics (73) Atheism (5) Atheology (3) Bible (4) Book Review (6) Contingency Argument (3) Discussions (2) Divine Hiddenness (2) EAAN (4) Empty Tomb (2) Epistemology (19) Evolution (2) Faith (5) Fine-tuning (3) Free Stuff (2) Genesis (7) God (5) Hell (2) Interviews (6) Jesus (5) Live Discussion (15) Mike Almeida (2) Moral Argument (12) Naturalism (3) Objections (3) Old Testament (2) Ontological Argument (3) Outsider Test (3) Personal (2) Philosophy (2) Plantinga (5) Podcast (4) Probability (3) Problem of Evil (2) Reformed Epistemology (11) Religious Diversity (3) Resurrection (7) Science (7) Street Epistemology (15) Textual Criticism (2) Theology (24) Tyler McNabb (3) Warrant (2)
Advanced Search
Calendar
February 2019
SMTWTFS
« Jan  
 12
3456789
10111213141516
17181920212223
2425262728 

Input your search keywords and press Enter.

wpDiscuz