Gary discusses a recent interview in World magazine with author and apologist Frank Turek.
The assumption that all existence-claims are questions about matters of fact are all answered in the very same way is not merely oversimplified and misleading—it is simply mistaken. The existence, factuality, or reality of different kinds of things is not established or disconfirmed in the same way in every case.
We might ask, “Is there a box of crackers in the pantry?” and we know how we would go about answering that question. But that is a far, far cry from the way we go about answering questions or determining the reality of, say, barometric pressure, quasars, gravitational attraction, elasticity, radioactivity, natural laws, names, grammar, numbers, the university itself that you’re now at, past events, categories, future contingencies, laws of thought, political obligations, individual identity over time, causation, memories, dreams, or even love or beauty.
In such cases, one does not do anything like walking to the pantry and looking inside for the crackers. There are thousands of existence or factual questions and they are not at all answered in the same way in every case. Just think of the difference in argumentation and types of evidence used by biologists, grammarians, physicists, mathematicians, lawyers, logicians, mechanics, merchants, and artists.
It should be obvious that the types of evidence which one looks for in the existence of factual claims will be determined by the field of discussion, and especially by the metaphysical nature of the entity mentioned in the claim under question.
Dr. Stein’s remark that the existence of God is answered in the same way as any other factual question mistakenly reduces the theistic question to the same level as a box of crackers in the pantry, which we will hereafter call the “crackers in the pantry” fallacy.
The Great Debate: Does God Exist?
This book presents the full debate with included commentary, offering the reader a front-row seat to one of the most compelling philosophical showdowns in Christian history. It showcases not only the transcript of the debate but added explanations and insights throughout for an in-depth understanding of the presuppositional apologetic enterprise. The Great Debate: Does God Exist? will offer powerful and impactful explorations of faith, reason, and the foundations of your worldview in every area.
Buy NowGary discusses a recent interview in World magazine with author and apologist Frank Turek. Many of the answers Turek gives during the interview sound “presuppositional” which makes Gary reflect on the Great Debate between Drs. Gordon Stein and Greg Bahnsen in 1985.