Wednesday, February 04, 2009

The Truth Project

On the invitation of someone that attends a denominational church in my town, I have attended for the last two weeks what is in reality, the second and third installments of a modular series called The Truth Project.

This work, produced by Focus on the Family, is a DVD series, each lesson broken down into hour-long segments. The group at large is then broken down into smaller "discussion groups," where what is taught during the lesson can be given at least a small degree of traction in the mind before one leaves.

This program is stunning. And though I am one who demurs from any real criticism of apostolic organizational issues (as I'd have to get in a very long queue do do it anyway), I do feel that this kind of thing is something we rarely see. And since apostolics are entering the world of academia at unprecedented rates, it would be wise to fully comprehend the philosophical, anthropological, musical, and humanistic poisons that await--not the blatant things that assault one's faith at face value, but the subtle "pernicious lies" as Dr. Tackett calls them--that place us in handcuffs we aren't even aware are being applied.

The Cosmic Cube

The video features a one Dr. Del Tackett, who using an apologetics framework derived from CS Lewis' Mere Christianity. The first session I attended involved a central theme of the program, involving the "Cosmic Cube," or "The Box." This box contains every philosophy, moray, theory and prognostication man can possibly conjure to explain the universe. God, of course, lives outside the box, where his Transcendency is ignored, impugned, and explained away. Dr. Tackett-- supremely gifted teacher--illustrates how luminaries like Carl Sagan, Rousseau, Maslow and Hawking, along with a myriad of ancient philosophers--all try to explain a cold, limited accidental existence, while battling with the very voice of creation which proclaims God is who He is.

What Is Evil?

The third installment details the over saturation of Abraham Maslow's teaching particularly his "Hierarchy of Needs." By the time one has written about this goofy, pyramidic chart for tenth consecutive class, Maslow becomes the default standard, even if it is from narcoleptic coercion.

Dr. Tackett doesn't shy away from the world's foremost humanistic thinkers, but plunges headlong into what they've really established. And using Maslow's assertions that there is no "inherent evil" in man, coupled with his "self-actualization" capstone, Tackett exposes alarmingly inconsistent theories, incapable of marrying at the altar of logic. Footage from various adversarial events, interviews from notorious killers claiming "self actualization devoid of a God," and man-on -the-street comments intersperse throughout, giving cultural snapshots of these theories in play.

But his main point being, that even atheists admit to there existing what they call "evil." They just can't see it emanating from a fallen state. And to do so means they have to admit to a "broken" plan, with an "unbroken" one being preferential. Thus an arrow--pointing upward.

I know I ran long here. Click here to view the trailer (see the long version), or the picture to see the events surrounding this. A smart, and scriptural, look at rebuilding our arts and sciences.

UPDATE: Or . . . just watch this:


-R

5 comments:

brian said...

Awesome Ron--it is disturbing to see more and more Apostolics take on the philosohies of the world under the guise of being enlightened or educated--
L

Doofus said...

Or at the very least, understand that the secularist compass sits close to a rare-earth magnet of denial. This allows us to go in knowing that these theories and philosophies have a distinctly humanistic cant-thus allowing for helm-adjustment.

Thanks!

-R

aahrens said...

Wow Ron, this is amazing. I think the words "slow poison" fit perfectly here. Thanks for sharing this - I'm going to suggest it for our home fellowship groups at church.

AA

James Wilder said...

Ron, I was able to be part of one of the very first Truth Project sessions in 2007 while I was in Seattle, Washington. I took the DVDs home that weekend and have used this content ever since. Amazing, succinct, well-produced stuff for sure! I'm a big fan of Del Tackett's teaching style.

cephas said...

While The Truth Project equips Christians with some compelling teaching, it is also full of demonstrably inaccurate information. I compiled together a response site, called "The Truth Problem," if you're interested.

http://www.thetruthproblem.info