Chapter 8 part 2 - or- Out of the same mouth the Holy and profane

I was thinking that the main point of this chapter might be summarized like this: People who do not believe in God and do believe that all of our moral faculties and desires are merely evolutionary leftovers, do not live their beliefs out. However, I'm not sure of this statement's power in reasoning with someone. As Keller points out, all of his arguments or clues are rationally avoidable. It's the weight of the mounting clues that is supposed to add up.
I've been thinking that Samantha's statement that 'people just don't want to think that much,' is the big clue killer. For example...
I say: You believe that the universe came in to being by a random turn of events in a scenario in which anything could have happened. Why do you expect the universe to continue in it's regular patterns when you have no reason to?
Skeptic says: If in the next moment everything changes, if I still exist, I will behave according to my new circumstances. I have no choice but to expect regularity, because that's my only experience. -or- I don't know, that's just the way it happens.
I say: You believe that love and desire for beauty are merely leftover emotions that helped our species survive better in the past, so why do you continue to allow those phantom feelings to play a central role in dictating your behavior?
Skeptic says: The feelings are stronger than my will. -or- I enjoy the feelings and that's all I care about. -or- I don't know, I just don't think about it like that.

These clues are on a philosophical level that most of us don't think about every day. We just react to the way things are. How can we expect nonbelievers to live in a way that is consistent with their professed world-view, when most of the time we live in rebellion against reality though we know the truth?
Mark Driscoll in discussing culture says,
"While it is important to recognize that ideas have consequences, I would discourage overemphasizing the cognitive aspect of your culture. It is common... for Christians to believe that there is a cause-and-effect relationship between the actions and philisophical framework underlying any person's moral decision-making process.
The truth is that most people are contradictions..." (The Radical Reformission pg. 95)

I think there is one important distinction between our Christian hypocrisy and the Nonbelievers intellectual inconsistency. Anyone else see a distinction.

Thoughts on Eight from a Greenhouse

Saturday Kristi and I were walking though one of the local greenhouses in St Paul. On really cold winter days I like to wander around scheming my plan of attack on the garden. (This is a different story.) As we walked around looking at the orchids we both were struck by the obvious clue of God laid out before our eyes. Wherever we looked we saw complexity, beauty, order, variety and other evidences of God's existence. Nothing that we saw supported the idea that any of this was the result of chaos or random effect. 

Chapter 7- Taking the Bible literally

I found this chapter to be quite helpful. I like the idea of looking at what preconceived notions we bring to the table when talking about the reliability of the Bible. Without even debating any of the facts or historical events recounted, you can maybe help yourself or someone else understand why he refuses to trust the Bible. I find this concept especially helpful when I encounter a passage that teaches something that I don't necessarily think I want to believe. Rather than squeeze the passage until it fits into my misshapen theology, I need to examine what beliefs I hold that cause me to reject the new doctrine and determine the source of those beliefs.

It took me quite a while to accept the Doctrines of Grace when I was introduced to them. If I had evaluated my beliefs at the time in the way Keller describes, rather than clinging to them because I wanted them to be true, I may have been able to see the truth sooner. I wonder what beliefs I hold now that are based on tradition or ignorance.
Ed
ps.- I like this song. It's about St. Augustine's conversion, but it reminds me of the way I feel when I realize that I have been fighting to hold onto faith in something false- "Augustine just woke up with a broken heart. All this time, he's never been awake before."
http://www.last.fm/music/Switchfoot/New+Way+to+Be+Human/Something+More

Chapter 6 -Science and the Bible

I know I got us a little off track during our discussion of this chapter. I thought that the chapter was very unhelpful and assumed that to be the case. Thank you to Amanda and Kami for pointing out how helpful this chapter was to you in terms of talking to your coworkers and friends. If anyone would like to author a post that deals more directly with the main ideas of this chapter, please do.
Because I have a different view than Keller about the importance of a literal Genisis in terms of sound doctrine and evangelism, I am including a link to a summary of what I believe is the important question when discussing whether or not we take the creation account in Genesis literally. The Answers in Genesis site does have some stuff that I think I disagree with (like teaching "creation science" in schools and some really tacky cartoons), but on this point, I think they are dead on. The first time I heard this argument presented, I did a 180 on the issue. Check it out and leave some comments.
http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/nab/couldnt-god-have-used-evolution
Ed