Introduction to Apologetics Essay Example for Free

Introduction to Apologetics Essay Introduction This is a critique of L. Russ Bush’s The Advancement. In order to properly ascertain the individual components as well as the overall success of Bush’s work, this article deploys the use of a general summary, followed by a section of critical interaction, and finally a conclusion. In the end, elements of Bush’s argument prove invaluable, while others miss their target. Summary Chapter 1 begins with an historical review of the modern worldview formation. This includes first the secular worldview, inspired by the focus on freedom inherent in the Enlightenment. Bush then begins to explore the details of  the Christian alternative. This discussion reaches a climax as he notes the contrast of the new and old worldviews. â€Å"In the earlier view there is a natural stability in both history and in nature. Progress or decline are products of a person’s relationship or lack of relationship to God, and neither is inevitable historically (15).† Ultimately Bush concludes, â€Å"The older worldview is not true (just) because it’s old, and it too may be in need of refinement in light of better understandings of the Bible, but authentic Christianity is the best antidote for a culture that is dying from the venom of the Advancement (17).† See more: how to write an introduction Chapter 2 begins to unveil the components of the overall worldview, that which Bush calls The Advancement. Here, again, Bush delves deeper into the historical relationships ¬Ã‚ ¬ among science, secularism, and Christianity. He addresses the historic belief, â€Å"God operates outside of the cause-and-effect pattern discernable in the Universe (20)†. Bush notes that while cause-and-effect reasoning was originally limited to certain areas of study, modernity and postmodernity have witnessed cause-and-effect spreading into countless fields (21). In addition, Bush explores the origins of modern materialism, uniformitarian thought, and evolution. From here he displays the historic influence of these philosophies on modern ethics. The most critical issue of ethics is the loss of humanness at the hands of the animal origins suggested in evolutionary theory. â€Å"Humans are no longer human. They are simply naked apes (35).† Chapter 3 explores The Advancement and Theory of Knowledge. The core of this address deals with the epistemological battle between conflicting philosophies of objective and subjective truth. Bush notes that naturalism demands that the human mind is merely an effect of the system that created it. Therefore, he believes that this, in turn, places scientific study, amongst other things, at the mercy of subjective relativism (40). Bush compares this to multiple epistemological views based on a theistic foundation. After several theories, he ultimately concludes that naturalism has reclassified biblical ideas as culturally, rather than divinely, inspired (52). The collective result of secular modernism is a â€Å"loss of political freedom† and â€Å"moral accountability† (50). Chapter 4 explores Modern Theistic Alternatives. Bush points to various groups of non-biblical philosophies such as process theology and open theology, which recognize the potentiality, and even perhaps the need for God. However, he concludes that these beliefs are incomplete at best and through these beliefs, â€Å"Ultimately, God is naturalized, and the modern worldview prevails (64). â€Å" The following two chapters investigate naturalistic evolution. Bush spends Chapters 5 and 6 addressing the seven assumptions of evolutionary biology (65-72), ten axioms of modern scientific thought (72-76), and four basic beliefs of modern thinkers (77-78). He follows this groundwork with five simple objections to naturalistic evolution (80-83). Critical Interaction Overall, Bush’s outline follows a semi-logical progression. However, in spite of the overall congruency, certain elements are lacking the necessary ingredients for a successful dissertation. Ultimately, Bush’s massive undertaking becomes his downfall. The very concept of the Advancement is a hodgepodge of component worldviews. In his attempt to attack this umbrella concept, Bush ends up falling victim to the same weakness as postmodernism. Ambiguity and muddled worldviews become self-contradictory. The book gives the impression of a single soldier fighting a multitude of swarming enemies. In his worthy attempt at defeating the collective Advancement, Bush ends up using the wrong ammunition on the wrong enemy. This happens in two ways. First, though he has the foresight to break down the overall concept into its respective components, he often reverts back to addressing the overall mentality, which does not technically exist on a broad scale. The postmodern beast is like a series of viruses that morph in their formation from host to host. The only way to attack it is piece by piece. The combination of postmodern beliefs never takes the same form from person to person. Therefore, addressing it as a collective whole ultimately fails.  Second, he frequently attributes relativist beliefs to naturalism and vice versa. Bush’s, lack of clarity is pervasive throughout the book. He bounces back and forth between this multitude of worldviews and theories, often with little description of how he intends to relate them one to another. Bush tends to make broad, sweeping statements that render worldview differentiation difficult to assess. â€Å"To the modern mind†¦ progress is inevitable (15).† In context, It is difficult to discern whether Bush is referencing secular minds, Christian minds, or the all-inclusive popular opinion of modernity, irrespective of religious foundation. As Bush acknowledges, chronological limits are not always clear and ideas surface gradually (7). Phrases such as â€Å"modern mind† become increasingly ambiguous in the midst of paragraphs and subsections, which themselves are bouncing between religion, secularism, time periods, and keystone philosophies that transcend designated periods or belief structures. The end result is a dizzying series of statements that present more frustration and confusion than clarity and conclusion. Specific statements that lack citation further confound Bush’s message. In Chapter Two, he claims that there are three ideas that make up the longstanding alternative worldview of Christianity: â€Å"stability in nature, spiritual warfare, and historical change initiated by divine intervention (9).† Bush gives no indication about where he has derived these three ideas. He does this multiple times throughout the book. Chapters 5 and 6, as mentioned in the summary, are made up of lists of apparent assumptions, axioms, and beliefs that represent the foundations of multiple worldviews. However, again, Bush neglects to cite his reasoning for calling upon these specific elements of each worldview. This may leave readers questioning the authenticity of the claims, and if it doesn’t, perhaps it should. These lists are especially important to the overall purpose of the book as they represent the summation of alternative worldviews, which Bush is seeking to critique. Witho ut clarification of source and accuracy, readers should be cautious in adopting his overall strategy, though individual responses still have value. In addition to issues of clarity and viability, Bush has a tendency to evaluate secular worldviews from the subjectivity of a Christian understanding. This is most evident in his repeated portrayal of naturalism as ethically unviable. While this may certainly be true, and while it may provide a valuable argument in some light, Bush confuses the need for morality with the need for truth. His response to the loss of humanness associated with natural evolution is, â€Å"It is not an optimistic picture (78).† While this is certainly a viable proclamation, it ultimately does little to answer the question of truthfulness. Morality is contingent upon truth and not the other way around. â€Å"The truth of moral and logical principles does not correspond to reality in the same way as do statements about observable empirical facts.† Assuming that God’s truth is correct, then a lack of morality is a viable argument. However, the argument relies upon the presupposition that God’s truth is, in fact, correct. Bush continually fails to fully consider the worldview he addresses. One example of this is found in his discussion of â€Å"Why Modern Thought Fails†(59-61). Again, he seems to confuse the ultimate reality of objective truth, with the anthropomorphic limitations of subjective truth. â€Å"Truth, as it has been traditionally defined, does not exist necessarily in this modern scientific worldview. There is only momentary correctness, warranted assertions, and majority opinions (60).† This is not an accurate assessment. Bush is simply acknowledging that human subjectivity and limitation keeps humanity from discovering ultimate truth. That does not mean that this truth does not exist. The true divergence in the two worldviews lies where the ultimate truth is found. For science, ultimate truth is in natural law. That does not change based on our momentary correctness, assertions, or opinions. Likewise, biblically speaking, humanity operates similarly, but God is the ultimate source of truth rather than natural law. Human subjectivity exists in both models, and this momentary understanding may be accurate or inaccurate. However, the point is simply that human subjectivity fails to influence ultimate truth in either model. Bush misses this in his conclusion, â€Å"The relativism of modern thought is†¦ self-defeating (80).† This is simply not true. Relativism only acknowledges the finite nature of human understanding. Conclusion Like an under trained spy in the enemy’s camp, Bush’s Christian worldview and reliance upon morality remains overly influential in his assault on the mixed set of hypotheses that make up The Advancement. His inability to remain focused on a single worldview sucks the reader into a tornadic war against a constantly shifting, ever-growing enemy. In the end Bush may succeed in refuting the validity of the umbrella view of The Advancement, on the basis of self-refutation, but fails to win the individual battles that truly matter. Bibliography Bush, L. Russ. The Advancement. Nashville: Broadman Holman, 2003. Groothuis, Douglas. Christian Apologetics: A Comprehensive Case for Biblical Faith. Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2011.

Critique of a Website Essay -- Website Design Analysis Essays Papers

Critique of a Website Web sites are just like magazines, newspapers, brochures, menus, or even directions on how to make nitroglycerin from house-hold goods, in that they all have to be put together in such a manner that whoever is reading or browsing over it will be able to clearly distinguish this from that. In this sense, a critique of any particular web site will have justification, while carefully considering also that this is an altogether new medium of information exchange. Now, all of this talk of togetherness is actually a general reference to basic design principles, such as color coordination, if color is used, text size, font choice/ style, art integration, accessibility, and just plain and simple design of the page. For example, it wouldn't be all that appealing to the eyeball if a page being viewed had all the text jumbled up in a corner, so small your eyes were bleeding by the time you figured out that it wasn't even worth the trouble. Darn. It's important to rememeber, especially these day s, that what you read is as important as how it looks. Have you ever tried reading an interview in a Raygun magazine? Kinda hard, right? Design totally for its own sake is nice, as art that is, and admittedly it looks cool. However, it's two in the morning and you're standing in line at the corner 7-11 trying to pay for your 40 ounce bottle of Kool-Aid, and you happen to see that your favorite MTV Pearl Crap-clone band is on the cover of this hip magazine and you go to read it, but you can't. It's not because to you failed elementary school three times in two years, but because the maestro in charge decided to get fancy with it and thought it'd be cool if he hid the text under a black box or likewise photograph. I like to loo... ...the misifits skull in the background. nice. http://www.lehigh.edu/~pj12/kubrick.html --clockwork orange... at times I wish I had those eye-lid clamps for some of my classes, that and bottle of visine, too. it's a nicely designed page, with lots of information on his films. I forgot he was the one who directed dr. strangelove, a personal classic of mine. http://www.ee.pdx.edu/~caseyh/horror/hellraiser/ --i'm a clive barker fan, so this one was an obvious pick for me. lots of information anybody could ever want to know about the cenobites and the hellraiser mythology. http://nw.demon.co.uk/barkerverse/ --the official clive barker web site... duh. I particularly enjoyed this site because it contained much information on him and plenty of graphics and pictures from his new movie, Lord of Illusions, and others. Besides, it was nicely put together.

Parental Control

Parenting during childhood is about nurturing and taking care of the child’s simple needs. The parent is the one in complete control, when the child becomes an adolescent; they need a feeling of their own independence. The goal is for the adolescent to gradually be treated as an adult individual with an equal balance of power between parent and child(). When a child becomes an adolescent their needs grow to fit their new maturity and environment. They have social developed, in which their psychological needs come into play, competence, relatedness, and autonomy (Kakihara & Tilton-Weaver, 2009). To grow these needs, parent control has to be open and supportive of the adolescent. The authoritarian parent demands for perfection and is unresponsive to the child’s needs. The child may feel neglected and distant from their parent. They may also feel overly pressured to meet the high standards set by the authoritarian parent. Permissive parents are the opposite, as in they have very low standards for achievement and have no rules for order. The parent acts in a laissez-faire manor, in which they allow the child to do as they please, without any discipline or praise for their actions. Typically, children raised by permissive parents fail to mature into adolescence and tend to lack respect for the rules of society (Fite, Stoppelbein, & Greening, 2009). Ultimately, passive parents become more liberal parents resulting from the continual defiance and rebellion that their adolescent children express towards their parenting efforts (Keijsers, Frijins, Branje, & Meeus, 2009). The goal is to be a combination of authoritarian and permissive, which is referred to as an authoritative parent. The authoritative parent is highly supportive, and takes time to explain to the child why they may have been punished for their actions (Fite, Stoppelbein & Greening, 2009). In addition to the authoritarian, authoritative and permissive styles of parenting, each parent also has a particular style of parental control. The two main styles of parental control are behavioral and psychological. The authoritarian parent favors controlling the adolescents’ behavior by setting limits, enforcing rules, in an overbearing way. The other type of control, psychological, is the parent using feelings and emotions to control them without the adolescent realizing. (Keijers, Frijns, Branje, Meeus, 2009). In an act to prevent adolescents from delinquency and following the â€Å"wrong crowd† parents try to seek information from the child without making them feel belittled. For delinquency to be prevented, parent involvement must be present, as well as the adolescent’s willingness to listen. When parents fail to react as a supportive parent, they run the risk of their child reacting in a reckless and careless manor. In a study done by Keijsers, Frijins, Branje, and Meeus (2009), noted that adolescent delinquent activities were stronger in families with high levels of parental support. A significant part of raising an adolescent is trusting the child to confide in them (2009). The way parents track their child at the age of adolescents depends a great deal on the amount of information in which the child discloses. The adolescent has greater control of what they are willing to admit, and the relevancy of it. Parents are often unaware of their child’s social life and after school activities. The less the child is willing to share the more the parent may be forced to believe they’ve been engaging in delinquent activities. In the case that this is true, perhaps the child is fearful of disclosing disappointing information. Peer influence plays a major role in the adolescent’s development. Much of their time is spent with friends during this time of development. Whether or not the parent takes part in controlling who they associate with and what they do depends on the supervision*. The relationships adolescents create are the people they will spend a majority of their time with. These are the friends that will they’ll want to impress, feel accepted by, and eventually become their most influential source of approval (Trucco, Colder, & Wieczorek, 2011). Children linked to a misbehaving group that have trouble following authority are more likely to be the child of a laissez-faire parent. The laissez-faire parent gives their child no means of rules or discipline, so when the child is put in a school like environment they’ll have no respect for the rules or consequences (Trucco, Colder, & Wieczorek, 2011). However, parents who don’t approve of their child’s relationships should first get to know their friends before making judgments. Adolescents hold their friendships very highly, a parent forbidding the child to see their friend may result in backlash of problem behaviors (Kakihara & Tilton-Weaver, 2009). Withhold info References

The Illusion Of Technology - 1535 Words

The Illusion of Technology The thinking process of a child’s mind is one of the most significant aspects of their development. The neuropathways intrinsically wired into the central nervous system can be incredibly impacted by the rapid over load that technology constantly exposes children to. A child’s brain is like a sponge, and when electronic devices are repeatedly absorbed, there are some serious long term effects. This can hinder children’s physiological development, attention span, reading comprehension, and emotional behavior. Modern age should be very cautious regarding the replacement of organic authentic aspects of life with that of screens and gadgets. Substituting hands on interaction with hardware is hindering sensory intake from the beautiful world surrounding us. This could potentially lead to a narrow perception and lack of awareness, especially in the growing young cognitive mind. Technology has a significant negative impact on children, and should be closely monitored an d limited. It is a common theory that the technology benefits children in their process into adulthood. The invention of technology has resulted in magnificent outcomes. It’s no wonder society has encouraged the mind set of â€Å"tech savvy† children. Some of these technological applications have shown to help cognitive skills, social belonging, and increase the ability to take in information within distractions at an increased rate (How Technology is changing the way Children Think and Focus).Show MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Eisenheim The Illusionist : Reality And Reality1680 Words   |  7 Pageshat, we have all witnessed it. That’s the extend of it though, no black magic, no sorcery, few events that could not be explained in some way or another. 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