Christ Or Chaos – Dan DeWitt

It is singing a song, and all of the physical exploration humankind may ever attempt cannot exhaust its glories. Because its glories are not its own. The heavens declare the glory of God. And deep down we know this to be true. Even if sometimes it takes a story of another world to bring us face-to-face with the reality of our own. Laura Miller, contemporary author and columnist, con- fessed that the book that had the most influence on her was Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

A skeptic, Miller describes the Narnia stories as changing her life. “In one of the most vivid memories from my childhood, noth- ing happens,” Miller writes.’ This monumental nonevent occurred after she read about the secret passage to Aslan’s world. That moment plagued her with a longing to go there in person.

Miller says the Narnia stories spoke to her “across a spectrum of yearning.” But in the end, her yearnings are unfulfilled. She concludes, somewhat sadly, that these de- sires must be illusions: Life, unlike stories, has no theme, no formal unity, and (to unbelievers at least) no readily apparent meaning.

That’s why we want stories. ‘No art form can hope to exactly reproduce the sensations that make up being alive, but that’s OK: life, after all, is what we already have. From art, we want something different, some- thing with a shape and a purpose.* The Major Anthem , For Thomas, however, these stories have power—not because they give us a door into another world, but because they give us a window into our own.

The power of story is in offering us a theme, a formal unity, and an apparent meaning for our lives, to use Miller’s categories. But most humans live as though these things actually exist. We want them, and we live as though they are real. That’s because God has placed eternity in our hearts. And when we stop long enough to consider what life looks like with the kind of “formal unity” Miller describes, as when we read stories like those about Narnia, something resonates deep inside us.

Such stories pull out the innate knowledge that our own world is charged with a greater glory than we have ever imagined. The heavens are singing, and like Aslan’s song, we simply want to sing along. There is something that feels like a sort of force pull- ing us in this direction, prodding us to live for something greater than nature.

It is something we just can’t quite seem to put our finger on. Science can’t explain it. But we can’t deny it. It invades our existence like water seeking its own level. It refuses to be ignored. I think it’s the goodness of God. It is his kindness leading us to repentance. It’s a Wonderful World The world is indeed filled with wonder.

“Dan DeWitt is a sharp, rigorous thinker who can communicate deep truths in a way people can grasp. This book shows the way forward in the struggle between Christ and our reigning secularist cultural mood. Buy three copies of this book. Get one copy for an unbelieving friend, to think through the claims of Christ.

Get one for a young Christian, unsure of his or her faith. And then read one copy yourself, to equip you to engage your neighbors with the cred- ible good news of Jesus Christ.” Russell Moore, President, The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission; author, Onward “Dan DeWitt has written a pithy, intelligent, and delightfully readable book that takes aim at—and hits squarely—the old questions raised by the so-called new atheists.

Having debated atheists Christopher Hitchens, Michael Shermer, and Daniel Dennett, I can say authoritatively that DeWitt has neither over- simplified nor overcomplicated the issues. Every serious-minded Christian would do well to read this book.” Larry Taunton, Executive Director, Fixed Point Foundation “A wonderfully accessible book, perfect not only for college students, but for seekers and doubters as well. Dan takes sophisticated reasoning on some of the most difficult questions and really puts it on the bottom shelf.”

J. D. Greear, Lead Pastor, The Summit Church, Durham, North Carolina; author, Jesus, Continued …: Why the Spirit inside You Is Better Than Jesus beside You “Thanks to Dan DeWitt for a very readable and articulate conversation about the power of the gospel in the face of various forms of opposition. DeWitt’s discussion will be useful to anyone who would consider the claims of Chris- tianity in the context of other treasured options and objections.

In recognizing the power of presuppositions for any view we hold, DeWitt explains how only the presuppositions of the Christian faith can provide the foundation that other views claim to offer.” K. Scott Oliphint, Professor of Apologetics and Systematic Theology, Westminster Theological Seminary; author, Covenantal Apologetics nae uly hin wees q\agi- oe. 4 ea ~ a cole AA ah vil 06 cra rie “es wl OTT) eal ie of me chime etinmigg mele She, ee ee en We a eger® (eee hia apr “Son 4,504!

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.

Book Information

• Unique ID: b9b9304e555e226a
• File Extension: .pdf
• File Size: 5,125,363 bytes (4.888 MB)
• Title: –
• Author: Unknown
• ISBN: 9781433548963, 9781433548994, 9781433548970, 9781433548987
• Pages: 147
• Language: English (en)

Reading & Word Statistics

• Estimated Reading Time: 164.88 minutes
• Total Words: 32,975
• Total Characters: 197,997
• Average Words per Page: 224.32
• Average Characters per Page: 1346.92

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