Something shifted inside me last Friday when I first read Philosophy, Crucified by Peter Limberg.
Oh no, say it ain’t so, I thought.
Camille and I had a very touching, beautiful experience last weekend related to our emerging faith, but it's all very personal, not something I want to discuss much here, as one should not sensationalize their spiritual experiences.
Since September of last year, we’ve identified as Christian. When we were young, we were baptized in the Church (I was baptized Orthodox, she Catholic), but we never attended. Now we are returning and learning: going to church, reading the Bible, taking an Alpha course, and so on.
For the past five years, Peter Limberg has been one of my primary teachers and a source of inspiration to me. I have always admired his personal radical transparency. And now, using a word that Peter has taught me not to fear, I feel cringe without fully understanding why.
I am put off by the title of this article. It reminds me of something stupid said by one of the great minds of the twentieth century. Stephen Hawking, in his book The Grand Design, famously stated, "Philosophy is dead. Philosophers have not kept up with modern developments in science, particularly physics. Scientists have become the bearers of the torch of discovery."
And Peter seems to now be saying that philosophy has not kept up with theology.
Still, I put too much pressure on philosophy to be something it was never meant to be. I was spiritually stubborn, and I did not want to take a knee. In essence, I made an idol out of philosophy.
It has never occurred to me that Peter was making an idol out of philosophy. I have no way of knowing what the future holds for him. My caution to others is that it is as easy to make an idol out of theology as it is to make an idol out of philosophy, or science.
I was spiritually stubborn, and I did not want to take a knee.
The act of submission to anything or anyone is seductive. I do not want to take a knee. I do not think I am being stubborn.
I recently finished outlining my framework for how I understand and, more importantly, practice philosophy. However, I wrote it primarily through a secular lens, lacking the spiritual richness of my emerging faith. I did my best to make the framework internally coherent, but on its own, it is incomplete and risks conveying that doing philosophy is all you need for the good life.
It’s not.
Adding theology and faith to practical philosophy and science is possible but that too will prove to be incomplete for many people. It seems to me that incompleteness is a state best accepted. There is no formula that will give us all we need for a good life. Peter has his way, which is fine, and I appreciate him sharing. His way is not my way but life offers many paths as each of us is utterly unique.
Philosophy is the handmaiden of theology.
Philosophy is many things.
Thomas Aquinas—friar, priest, philosopher, and theologian—advocated for philosophia ancilla theologiae: philosophy having a supportive relationship to theology.
Yes, Thomas Aquinas was a True Believer, which for me is a red flag.
Theology is the study of God and His revealed truth. It is both descriptive and prescriptive. According to Aquinas, theology is the higher “science,” or scientia, because it comes from divine revelation rather than from the human mind.
From 1970 to 1995 I was willingly held captive in a benign Christian cult. My experience upon exiting taught me that divine revelation is an illusion. Theology comes from the minds of men ( and Note: very rarely from women).
Belief is not the end of inquiry—or if it is, then it is the end of a foolish kind. Rather, belief is the beginning of a true inquiry, where philosophy, knowing its place, affords deeper reflection.
Belief, imo, is the beginning of a path towards becoming a True Believer.
The New Atheist movement was most popular around 2007, led by Richard Dawkins and the other “Four Horsemen”: Sam Harris, Christopher Hitchens, and Daniel Dennett…
I followed the New Atheist movement with considerable interest while always preferring to remain Agnostic. I have never been a True Believer in atheism nor a True Believer in Science alone. Fortunately, this movement did not amount to much.
Philosophy can serve the ego, meaning one’s philosophy can become a source of the feeling of being special, or, in extreme cases, the most special. This kind of philosophy is untethered from truth as found in divine revelation or the scientific method, and instead serves a “truth” discovered solely by the mind of the special individual.
It seems to me that truth found in divine revelation has served the ego of many men and caused much harm.
Truly understanding another worldview is too threatening an endeavour because it might expose where they are wrong, and being wrong in even one premise may have a cascading effect, disrupting their ability to carry out even the simplest tasks of life.
Yes. I have learned from experience how difficult it is for me to now have meaningful conversations with many Christians. My secular worldview threatens them at their core. I do not feel threatened in return.
Multiple worldviews, plurality, leads to fragmentation. Plurality is inevitable. Our existential challenge as human beings is to find a path to cohesive plurality, seemingly impossible in a world of True Believers.
In essence, philosophy needs to be crucified.
Philosophy needs to be crucified by Peter Limberg and those that follow him down this path.
God works in mysterious ways, and some people are called to discover truth outside a more prayerful or empirical mode of being, venturing beyond established theologies or sciences and arriving at surprising insights. Such philosophies, especially when expressed with a degree of artistry, can be impressive, fascinating, and deeply informative.
The above paragraph makes good sense to me when I omit the first phrase.
Only very recently, since my turn toward Christianity, do I feel that inquiry now comes from a whole place.
I very much appreciate people sharing their journey in life. Peter sets a great example. However, I hope that someday the collective wisdom of average and ordinary people will prove more useful than divine revelation.
There is a lot more to this story and I will leave some crumbs.
About Communitas, posted August 7, 2021
About Peter Limberg, posted August 1, 2023
About Loneliness, posted September 6, 2023
I have also been following the conversion of Jordan Hall to Christianity.
Back to Peter,
…one should not sensationalize their spiritual experiences.
Sensationalize, no. Share, yes, Likewise with secular experiences and this was my experience with Peter’s article.