Part One- Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed

In a "youtube" video of a Veritas presentation I recently had the privilege of listening to Professor Dallas Willard a Christian philosopher speaking on the role of "skepticism" in American culture particularly in American universities. I had heard that he passed away recently and would be sorely missed. Here is a tribute paid to his life by a former student on the J.P. Moreland website:

The Steady Confidence of Dallas Willard

Posted by: Juliet Setian

May 14, 2013


Dallas Willard at USC. Courtesy of Becky Heatley.

I met Dallas Willard my first year at USC (1995), as a student in his "History of Western Philosophy" class. I didn’t know anything about him but even the first day I remember being struck by his kindness and gentle presence. His lectures were more like conversations: he would make eye contact with us, smile and encourage us to question him, saying, “Anyone speaking so much is bound to make mistakes, so you make sure you stop me.”

The very first thing that struck me, however, was when reading the class syllabus I noticed he didn’t have the title ‘Ph.D.’ next to his name. It simply said Dallas Willard. I remember being puzzled by this and thinking, “He can’t teach here without a Ph.D.? What’s going on?” A few years later I read in The Divine Conspiracy:

"The hunger for titles and public awards in human life--indeed, in religious life--is quite astonishing... The children of the kingdom...are to have none of all this. ‘Don’t seek to be called ‘Professor’ or ‘Doctor,’ Jesus says, ‘for you have only one teacher, and all of you are students"

I loved how slow and soft-spoken he was because it allowed me to think through the difficult concepts, and thinking back, I’m convinced, this gave him an opportunity to pray for his students and invite God into our midst, even while lecturing. I was deeply blessed during these lectures as were many others. He was as brilliant as gentle and caring.

One day, a Buddhist monk, also a student, asked Dallas if he could teach the class about Buddhism (this was a philosophy of religion class). Dallas graciously agreed and stepped aside. I remember there was a lively discussion afterwards. I can hear Dallas’s words now, “If there were a better way, Jesus would be the first one to encourage us to take it.” What quiet and steady confidence!

By the time I was done at USC (1997), I had dropped my deeply dissatisfying, atheistic view of the world. I had come to a point where, after desperately seeking God, I could say, “I have finally found Him-- in Dallas Willard.”

Thank you, God, for the gift who was Dallas Willard!

That indeed is Christian confidence- to allow a Buddhist monk to teach in your own classroom. Of course in the context of philosophy it is certainly understandable, but it does demonstrate that if you are of the truth, and love the truth and are fully persuaded and grounded in truth and that all those things are fully comprehended in Jesus, then you are not going to feel threatened by other worldviews. In the video I watched, which is the first time I had listened to the man, I was struck by his openness and gentle way. He was speaking to philosophy students at a Veritas Forum which is introduced by the clip below.

His subject was "Skepticism: and what is it good for?" and the essential role it plays in the search for truth so long as we understand the distinction between hard skepticism and "targeted skepticism" a phrase he used often.
Dallas Willard PhD.

'Truth has become an ominous topic, and we want to try to explain why that is, and partly it is- because it is so important.  Truth is so important because of its role in life. I like to use the figure of a sighting mechanism on a rocket or a gun- if the sighting mechanism is true then if you use it well, you will hit the target. And truth in general is like that. Truth is what enables us to deal with things that are not right in front of our nose, we are able to sight them and deal with them without seeing them. Now while truth is simple in its nature, truths are often exasperatingly complicated and we have to have a way of dealing with truth that we can't make present to our senses or set before our mind. And thats where evidence and logic comes in. That's why it's so important logic enables us to ascertain truths which you cannot simply bring before us. As it turns out that's an awful lot of our truths...method is all important in dealing with truths so truth is simple in itself, kind of threatening, absolutely important and for example on the campus we are constantly dealing with it...So it's really important to understand why it's so important. Veritas Forum- Truth Forum comes out of a situation where truth is in trouble, socially and on the campus and it attempts to revive an interest and encourage the ability to deal with truth.'

'Skepticism is an attitude that calls claims to knowledge into doubt and gives a working space for people who wish to keep the integrity of their beliefs, but also as we'll see in a moment wish to inquire further into the issue that may be coming up. Now skepticism can be broader or narrower in scope but the point is that we do not- or do not necessarily- have knowledge of a certain kind, we may think we do, there may be others who wish us to think we do, or at least to think they do, but that is what is in question. Skepticism is not doubt though it may be involved in doubt. Skepticism is the question: is this really true? Is this really knowledge? and it goes into the details that may be involved in an elaborate system like Galileo calling into question the Geocentric system of our Solar system.  '

'There are two main things that skepticism is good for, and one is to undermine illegitimate claims to authority and that has historically been one of the really vital things that skepticism has done, and we'll talk more about that. The second thing is, it initiates inquiry, it stimulates inquiry and given the human condition a little stimulation in that respect is often very much needed. And I must say I am a little bit worried about our campuses because I'm afraid that the spirit of inquiry is not as strong as it  should be and perhaps as it once was...' 

Willard gives a definition of truth:

'Basically a thought or statement is true if what it is about is as that thought or statement represents it...truth is very simple...children pick it up very quickly...however scary it may be, we really can't drop the word -it's so central to life.'

Speaking of his many years serving on various accreditation committees he quotes from the handbook used for guiding accreditation :

'and the very first standard...says this:  An institution of higher education is by definition dedicated to the search for truth and it's dissemination, and the statement goes on to discuss that and says among other things says those within an educational institution have as the first concern- knowledge evidence and truth.'

Here is a sample of the question and answer session:

Question: 'How would you respond to the idea that skepticism has run its course and that isn't necessarily the most important thing we need to be doing in our education institutions and that do you believe that a true rational inquiry in an institution can commence without religion?' 

Dallas Willard: 'These are tremendously important issues and I guess I would respond to the last point first. Religion does not oppose rationality inherently, but on the other hand it tends to institutionalize itself and in that context can become quite irrational. And I think it’s really the part of those who are religious and who believe in religion to deal with that and to insist upon having evidence for one’s beliefs as far as one can. My fear is that the secular world will be taken over by irrationalism  Precisely because it cannot give a rational basis for choosing good and evil and living a life that conforms to the highest of human ideals and I do think that skepticism in one sense has run its course and I think that’s very unfortunate because of the reasons that I've tried to give this evening. Targeted skepticism is in many ways the only hope of humanity. I do think we need more skepticism, not less but it needs to be well channeled and targeted as I say. And it needs to be under logical control and not at the behest of social impulses. what we've seen in skepticism in the past has often been socially impelled and not logically impelled and what we need to do as Christians is to recover the logical drive towards truth that helps us respond to questions in religion and in other areas in ways that help those who want to understand to understand and to know what to do about the issue involved.'

Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, Berkely, Oxford, Cambridge and others were all Universities founded on Christian principles. The "queen" of the disciplines by which all the other disciplines were centered around was Theology, because the knowledge of God was the presupposition of all the other branches of knowledge, it was, so to speak, seen as the glue that held it all together, it helped make sense of everything else. Dallas Willard renews the call to have a targeted skepticism towards secularism and how it and other philosophical pressures have so reshaped these learning institutions. He speaks gently but powerfully about how instead of fostering open inquiry many universities are now acting as a huge authority:

'Over a period of time theology and all that was built around it disappeared from the universities, so I want to leave you with just this fact to think about. The university system in its history was basically built around, in the Western world, was built around things like John 3:16. People actually believed it and they thought that it was a part of  knowledge for the most part, that's a fact, now here's a question: What happened? How did that change come about? How did it come about that this was set aside, and instead of this kind of truth -secularism takes its place? I'm not questioning that, I'm just saying how did it happen? Generally speaking people don't know how it happened. Was it that someone somewhere found out that John 3:16 was false? Or that it was not knowledge or something of that sort? Well a lot of people have thought that but if you were forced to trace it down and make it stick it might be hard to do. And so this is where we need to be skeptical. We need to be skeptical about John 3:16, we need to make it a topic of inquiry, but we also need to be skeptical about secularism. See one of the hardest things to do- is to be skeptical about the things that are in most need of skepticism. And if anything could be done about that on the campuses it would be a great renewal of intellectual life on the campuses. Now you have to look at the consequences of rejecting religious truth from the domain of truth, of identifying it with feelings. Where does that leave you? What does secularism give you to live by? '

'So you're secular- congratulations... What's next? And once we've got away from the idea that we need to get away from religion- then we have got to face the question- of what we're going to live by. And that is where our skepticism needs to take hold- it needs to drive us to inquiry and we need to go back to things that often look very familiar, but in fact really aren't, and we haven't thought about very much- on both sides of the question, secularism or God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son... Because these are so important for human life. Skepticism is vital in education and we need to have a revival of it, targeted skepticism to help us pursue the knowledge that we need to live by and not just to pass courses.'

All of this points to the value of targeted skepticism, that we need to ask questions and we need to learn  what the right questions are. The problem with education is it becomes institutionalized, that is, it becomes an unquestionable authority in its own right, and in as much it is institutionalized it ceases to promote knowledge. Truth becomes a matter of current "orthodoxy" the accepted view of reality and questions are not allowed of that orthodoxy. Open dialogue is 'verboten'. The areas of concern in these institutions are many and varied. One area is when the theory of evolution cannot be questioned, why intelligent design is not considered.

People become afraid to speak or ask questions because it could mean lower grades, or loss of opportunity or even- as is now documented- employment discrimination on the basis of belief, for even questioning the status quo. We need to ask these serious questions of other institutions also, particularly the Church which is after all the bastion of religious truth, knowledge and morality. This may not involve any change in current "orthodoxy" but it will- if questions are asked and encouraged- effectively guarantee a maturity that would otherwise fail to take place. Like a good parent, the role of authority in the church is to make ones's self redundant. Redundant in the sense that  people no longer take it (the truth) on authority but they are thoroughly grounded in it and own it for themselves. We don't just believe, but we know why we believe.

If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you. Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you. These things I command you, that ye love one another. John 15:7-17 (emphasis my own)

One of the most potent arguments for how much God holds and values human sovereignty dear to his heart is indicated through Christ’s relationships with others. What do I mean by “human sovereignty”? By that I mean the privilege we as humans share of being able to be self aware, responsible moral beings. Many see the word “responsible” and fail to see that it entails the idea of being able to respond correctly to reason, to what is fair and good and reasonable. While we remain children no doubt we need the authority of adults, but what would be thought of the adult who wishes to perpetuate childhood?


In fact if we were determined to be true to the following injunction it is essential that we ask and be involved in dialogue:

   Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. John 8:31,32 

It is interesting that these were believers, they were followers of Christ, and so already followed "the Truth" personified, but his imperative was that they continued in his word, not that they be satisfied with the level of truth they already knew. Jesus assumed that they were not yet free, or at least not entirely free, that knowing truth will make us free is strong language and it was not lost on the people who already had strong views about their freedom as the verses following show.

Here is the Dallas Willard video courtesy of the Veritas Forum:

In the video below, theologian R.C. Sproul talks with Ben Stein about the dumbing down of American educational and scientific culture by the authoritarian stance on asking difficult questions about commonplace assumptions, and the new documentary which brings it to the public mind- "EXPELLED: No Intelligence Allowed."

The film contends that the mainstream science establishment suppresses academics who believe they see evidence of intelligent design in nature and who criticize evidence supporting Darwinian evolution and the modern evolutionary synthesis as a mainstream conspiracy to keep God out of science laboratories and classrooms. (Wikipedia)

 

Here is a 7 minute trailer to the documentary "EXPELLED: No Intelligence Allowed"

We see the same subject elucidated in the book by Allan Bloom over 20 years ago:

The Closing of the American Mind is a 1987 book by Allan Bloom. It describes "how higher education has failed democracy and impoverished the souls of today's students." He focuses especially upon the "openness" of relativism as leading paradoxically to the great "closing" referenced in the book's title. Bloom argues that "openness" and absolute understanding undermines critical thinking and eliminates the "point of view" that defines cultures. [For Bloom, openness in this sense refers to the openness of relativism where all ideas are treated and seen to be equal and should be recieved 'openly' as equal and valid and thus denies the exclusive nature of objective truth]

The Closing of the American Mind is a critique of the contemporary university and how Bloom sees it as failing its students. In it, Bloom criticizes the modern movements in philosophy and the humanities. Philosophy professors involved in ordinary language analysis or logical positivism disregard important "humanizing" ethical and political issues and fail to pique the interest of students. Literature professors involved in deconstructionism promote irrationalism and skepticism of standards of truth and thereby dissolve the moral imperatives which are communicated through genuine philosophy and which elevate and broaden the intellects of those who engage with these imperatives. To a great extent, Bloom's criticism revolves around his belief that the "great books" of Western thought have been devalued as a source of wisdom. Bloom's critique extends beyond the university to speak to the general crisis in American society.(Wikipedia)

And, as they say, when America sneezes, New Zealand gets pneumonia!

All of the above is hopefully to add a cultural background to the video found through the link below, which is a well directed expose of a dire situation:   Part Two- Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed