Thursday, March 13, 2008

The Tin Woodman's worldview


A few weeks ago, I was tucking my boys into bed. I had recently finished the book of Beatrix Potter's Bunny stories, so it was time to choose something new to read them before they dozed off. I looked on their bookshelf and saw an old copy of L. Frank Baum's The Wizard of Oz. I had never read the book, and hadn't seen the movie for many years. I prefer to read them imaginative books, usually with some element of fantasy or fairy tale, so Baum's book seemed a good enough choice.

I've been reading a chapter to them every night or two. The last time we opened the book, we read through the chapter where Dorothy and the Scarecrow meet the Tin Woodman, rusted and groaning. Once the Tin Woodman is well oiled and functioning, he declares that he will accompany the others on their journey to find the Wizard of Oz. He narrates his lengthy tale of woe, sharing with Dorothy and the Scarecrow how he was tragically kept from marrying the munchkin woman he loved and how he had once been a real man, losing his body parts piece by piece. He had been repaired by a tinsmith until he was completely made of tin. He explains to them that he had carelessly stayed out in the rain one day, rusting until he was completely frozen in place.

He mentions that, during his time of frozen solitude, he had "had time to think that the greatest loss I had known was the loss of my heart. While I was in love, I was the happiest man on earth; but no one can love who has not a heart." (The Wizard of Oz, Grosset & Dunlap, 1981, p.43)

The Scarecrow philosophically responds that he would rather have a brain because "a fool would not know what to do with a heart if he had one." (p.44)

To this, the Tin Woodman replies: "I shall take the heart . . . for brains do not make one happy, and happiness is the best thing in the world."

This says something about the worldview of the tin man.

I wonder what "happiness" is, for the tin man. I wonder what L. Frank Baum thought "happiness" was. I have not finished the book, so I don't know yet whether this comment was a statement of Baum's own worldview or if it belonged only to the Tin Woodman. Regardless, the Tin Woodman seems to be describing what most living souls today believe to be true. "Happiness is the best thing in the world."

You might ask yourself what affect this statement has on your own life. Does this describe your own worldview?

In Kingdom Triangle, J.P. Moreland gives thorough attention to the topic of happiness in relation to our worldview. As you have probably already determined, the word "happiness" must first be defined. Certainly our understanding of what happiness is will affect our analysis of the Tin Woodsman's (and our own) worldview.

Moreland explains succinctly that the modern definition of happiness is: "pleasurable satisfaction". Is this your own understanding of happiness? When we seek happiness, are we seeking merely pleasurable satisfaction? It's worth mulling over.

J.P. Moreland and Klaus Issler also discuss the topic of happiness in their aptly titled book, The Lost Virtue of Happiness. In both this book and Kingdom Triangle, Moreland explains that pleasurable satisfaction (modern happiness) is a primary goal of the "empty self". (I highly recommend reading these books for his full discussion of the empty self.) But, the empty self seeking pleasurable satisfaction is a recipe for endless disappointment, Moreland argues in so many words. This is one large aspect of the widespread depression and discontentment today. The reason for this is that we have replaced classic happiness with modern happiness.

Moreland writes:
"According to the ancients, happiness is a life well lived, a life of virtue and character, a life that manifests wisdom, kindness, and goodness." (The Lost Virtue of Happiness, Navpress, 2006, p.25)
This wording was very useful for me. As you can see, classic happiness is the result of a very specific type of life. But in a worldview which embraces modern happiness, that "happiness" is always the primary goal of one's life, the treasure being sought above and before all else. It drives us to manipulate people and circumstances, subtly or not, to achieve our own ends. This pursuit has as its purpose the filling of the empty self. Self. Think about how often that word, that person, is our central focus.

Having this knowledge, I think we are required to decide which we desire, a life of virtue, duty, and character, resulting in classic happiness - or - pleasurable satisfaction for the Self?

My guess is that the Tin Woodman was not thinking of happiness in the classic sense when he shared his ideas with Dorothy and the Scarecrow. To him, fulfillment of his desires was the best thing he could imagine. To him, that was the extent of his happiness. He could have said, "
I shall take the heart . . . for if I had a heart I could devote my life to loving and serving others in imitation of Christ." Sure, that sounds silly - it's just a story after all. But the point is - how closely does our own worldview match that of the Tin Woodman?

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Faith and reason

I am coming to appreciate more and more the importance of logic and reason for the Christian mind. I think that people in secular western society are more likely to respond to this kind of reasoning when Christians argue for their beliefs (which Moreland would argue can actually be justified as knowledge, not just "blind faith").

I've had some time to research the topic a bit myself and have found some great resources. My purpose in posting today is to share these resources with you. I encourage you to use these resources in your own personal study. They will both strengthen your own certainty of your beliefs, and prepare your mind for defending the truth of your Christian worldview to others. There are thoroughly developed arguments for things like the existence of God and the creation of the universe, all based on reason alone. Since non-Christians don't have reason to believe the Bible is a credible resource for our case, it is only proper for us to understand what reasonable arguments exist for our beliefs.

My wife and I both regret that logic wasn't a topic in which we were trained in our school system. Now, I realize what a great asset logic is for the successful presentation of several Christian beliefs.

There are currently a handful of excellent Christian philosophers and apologists. They have made much of their knowledge available for free. Here are a couple sites to look at as you seek to grow in this area of your Christian worldview:

Stand To Reason

Reasonable Faith

Both of these sites have podcasts from which I have benefited greatly. I highly recommend listening to these podcasts on your computer or iPod. "Stand to Reason" is hosted by Greg Koukl and "Reasonable Faith" is hosted by Kevin Harris. He talks with Dr. William Lane Craig about philosophical issues. Craig also has another podcast called "Defenders" which can be downloaded from the iTunes store for free.

If you check out Stand to Reason's website and podcast, you will soon hear names of other apologists to study, so I will not attempt to give you such a list here. But I will reiterate that you can't go wrong with J.P. Moreland's writing. I will also recommend a book I have in my personal library called, Philosophical Foundations for a Christian Worldview. It's a large and thorough volume by Moreland and Craig.

Press on, dear saints.