The Danger of Empiricism

I recently finished teaching a course entitled, Epistemology and Worldview. My nerdiness is emphasized in that I was excited to teach it and loved every moment of it (well, except the grading).

Epistemology is the study of how we know what we know. In this course, we addressed three ways of knowing: revelation (basically God speaking to us directly), reason (using logic to know), and empiricism (looking at hard facts).

So much of society today is driven by empiricism. Church structures want to know how to prove what works in gaining people. Numbers mean that growth has occurred. Christians want to prove God and his ways beyond any shadow of a doubt. Psychological interventions are increasingly driven to provide hardcore evidence that change has occurred.

The benefit of empiricism is that it's hard to argue with it. We know the sky is blue. To argue otherwise indicates problems with perception. This model works well (in many cases, but not all) in a traditional medical setting. Was the heart surgery effective? Well, is the heart beating? Is the patient alive?

Empiricism becomes further entrenched in society with the increasingly litigiousness of our culture. Someone sues you, and you each need to prove your case. Revelation does not stand up because there is an element of subjectivity. But does that mean it's untrue? In a court of law, it's essentially inadmissible. But something you can touch and measure is perfect.

So we increasingly try to measure and objectively describe all aspects of life. But it doesn't work in all aspects. Truly measuring one's spiritual life is impossible in my estimation. There are things we can point to, but it's like measuring and proving how much your spouse loves you. Even if you could measure it, it takes the life and essence out of the object.

The same thing is true in mental health. Using my primary patient population, I can measure how often the teen self-injures. But is the presence or absence of self-injury a true marker of health or illness? Few would argue that its presence marks health, but its absence also does not mean health.

This is the problem and danger of empiricism. When we try to focus on symptoms and measuring, we miss the true goal: Human flourishing as we put on the character of Christ.

Empiricism has its place, but we need to not overemphasize it or put it higher than other epistemologies. All are useful and important in gaining a full, holistic picture of life.

The Danger of Good Enough

As many of you know, my wife and I are adopting. We had our second and longest homestudy visit on Saturday. The social worker mentioned the work of Ira Chasnoff when exploring in utero substance exposure. The video below addressed the issue of "good enough" when it comes to policy decisions and life. It's something I've heard many times before, but it really hit where I think I'm struggling with frustration in many institutions.

So often, particularly in the mental illness institutions, decisions are made for what is good enough. But as my dad frequently told me (especially in the dating arena), the good is the enemy of the best.

When people's lives are stake, why do we advocate for good enough? Why do we feel satisfied with just meeting the good enough goals in our own lives?

While it is important to know limitations and be realistic, I have been increasingly appalled at the lack of motivation and decisions to really challenge to raise the bar and standards higher. How are we ever going to become more like Christ if we always settle for good enough?

@CommonEngBible Lenten Readings #CEBTour

The Common English Bible, my newest favorite translation, is offering a free Powerpoint presentation (embedded below) with Lenten readings for anyone to use. My church has been using the CEB for several months, and I have been quite impressed with how useful and accessible it has been. So check out the presentation if you're interested!

The Common English Bible - Lenten Readings

View more presentations from Common English Bible

Monstrous Faith + GIVEAWAY @mattmikalatos @TyndaleHouse

Last year, I reviewed Matt Mikalatos' first book, Imaginary Jesus, which I absolutely loved, particularly from a perspective of the psychological dimensions of faith. He recently released a second book, Night of the Living Dead Christians through Tyndale House Publishers. Here is a great video interview with Matt (who happens to be a Star Trek fan, too, which makes him awesome in my book):

watch on tyndale.com

I've been long looking forward to reading this book, but since I've been overworking, my wife has graciously agreed to review it at this time:

The other day as I walked around Barnes and Noble, I was amazed at the sheer amount of "monster mania." It seemed like almost every single book in the fiction section featured vampire after vampire, werewolves, and zombies. There's no doubt about it, monsters are "in." And I'll admit, I do enjoy a good vampire/werewolf novel! But it seems like the genre has been...well, a little overdone.

I was a little skeptical at first that Matt Mikalatos' new book, Night of the Living Dead Christian, would be anything new. I even wondered if it might take the annoying tone of so many other Christian books, denouncing how evil a fascination with creatures might be (a.k.a. "anyone who reads Twilight is on the path to hell!") So I was pleasantly surprised to find out how much FUN this book is! You can tell that the author is a bit of a scifi/movie geek, and I mean that in a good way...there's a definite fondness for all things monster coming through the writing.

Mikalatos takes on the classic movie monsters with a great sense of humor and irreverence, playing up the stereotypes in a unique and clever way and relating them to cliched Christianity (for example, I loved the fact that the zombies were stuffing flyers praising their fearless church leader into doors around town, on a mindless mission to convert brains rather than eat them). It reads like a humorous novel, and never feels "preachy," yet grapples with some big questions and issues about our faith in an insightful way. At one point, when asked about why the werewolf doesn't consider himself a Christian, he replies "If claiming to be a Christian meant personal transformation, the world would be a far different place. As it is, I know far too many Christians who are worse men as Christians than they were as pagans." So true!

I also found interesting the way that Mikalatos inserts himself as the main character, something I have rarely if ever seen done in literature. It seems to break many of the "rules" of writing, and that's part of what makes it so awesome. It doesn't seem to be done in an arrogant way, but rather shows a snarky, self-depricating wit that is a lot of fun to share in.

All in all, this book is an enjoyable ride, and will fit nicely into any monster lover's bookshelf. I'd definitely recommend it to all my fellow "doomed to hell" Christian Twihards. ;)

Laci Morgan


I have a certificate for a free copy of the book to give away here on the blog. In order to enter, leave a comment saying why you would like a copy. You can get additional entries by (1) following me on Twitter, (2) retweeting my Tweet about this post, and (3) subscribing to my blog by email or RSS. Leave a comment on the blog letting me know you did these (if you already follow me on Twitter or subscribe to my blog, that counts). The contest will close on Sunday at midnight. I will need a way to contact you, so either leave your email address, subscribe to the comments feed, or check back here.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

The Gospel According to Dickens @christianaudio

I haven't read any of Charles Dickens' original writings since probably middle school. At that point, I know I never really appreciated the beauty of his work and words. I recently listened to christianaudio's version of A Christmas Carol, which is one of their best audiobooks yet. Simon Vance's narration was excellent, with an engaging dramatization.

At a recent Bible study, someone brought up how A Christmas Carol was particularly a message about caring for our neighbors. While most of us have heard the story many times, hearing Dickens' original words really sent the message about the power and importance of loving our neighbor. While God was never explicitly mentioned, the Gospel is written all over this classic.

While it is a short book that can be easily found for free, christian audio is also offering it for free for this month!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

When the Bottom Drops Out @PastorRobBugh @christianaudio

I had high hopes for Robert Bugh's When the Bottom Drops Out, which explores the challenges to life and spirituality when we face the deepest pains. Bugh's personal experiences definitely lend credibility to his encouragement to find faith in the darkest of circumstances. Unfortunately, the book can be frequently disjointed, moving between anecdotes, theologizing, and references stories of pain in the Bible.

Bugh's books shone brightly when he validated the emotional pain involved when the bottom of life drops out. However, just when the recognition of the reality of the situation was becoming strong, Bugh would switch to abstract theologizing. This would turn the book into more of a cognitive intervention to an emotional problem that served more to invalidate than help encourage.

The book was not bad, it just seemed like Bugh was trying too hard to provide a profound theology and reflection on the pain of life.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

The Poor Tactics of #180movie @TBBMediaGroup @audrajennings

I was intrigued by the marketing related to Ray Comfort's documentary 180, claiming to instantly change people's minds about abortion through one question.

The film is short and available for free online through their website and on YouTube. While I am quite pro-life (that's another subject for another time and more complex than any politicos want to make it), I actually disliked this documentary and found it ineffective with fallacious arguments.

Are there similarities between abortion, the Holocaust, and murder? Depending on one's view, sure, there could be. However, how we make those comparisons are central.

Comfort jumps from one topic to another in quick-fire succession, not really allowing his interviewees time to think and consider his arguments (not all of which are good or fair by any means). Also, even though he says people changed their minds (and admittedly, they said they did), we need to remember some principles of social psychology. When you have someone in your face who is aggressively interrogating you and you know they won't leave you alone until you agree with them, especially if you don't have a good argument in contrast, then you, too, might simply agree to get out of a situation. While some of the participants seemed truly moved, others seemed to be more annoyed.

I would be more curious to interview them months later to see if it stuck.

He also demonstrated a stereotypic proselytizing that is quite aggressive, emphasizing that someone will go to hell because they are a lying thief. Besides the fact that he does not define blasphemy accurately, this sort of approach has consistently been shown to not lead to lasting change. It's great for the moment to make a decision based on fear, but there is no presence of an individual being drawn to the amazing love of Christ.

Rather, Jesus is simply presented as a really good lawyer. We like to have them around us and on retainer, but we're not likely to be good friends with them...

What I would like to see in drawing people toward Christ and toward the reduction of abortions is not fear tactics and shame-based polarities, but rather toward love and appreciation for life in all forms and situations. It's about improving the world, not just avoiding sin.