Douglas Groothuis > Quotes

“Without a thorough and deeply rooted understanding of the biblical view of truth as revealed, objective, absolute, universal, eternally engaging, antithetical and exclusive, unified and systematic, and as end in itself, the Christian response to postmodernism will be muted by the surrounding culture or will make illicit compromises with the truth-impoverished
spirit of the age.”
― Douglas R. Groothuis, Truth Decay: Defending Christianity Against the Challenges of Postmodernism

“Diversion consoles us - in trivial ways - in the face of our miseries or perplexities; yet, paradoxically, it becomes the worst of our miseries becuase it hinders us from ruminating on and understanding our true condition. Thus, Pascal warns, it 'leads us imperceptibly to destruction.' Why? If not for diversion, we would 'be bored, and boredom would drive us to seek some more solid means of escape, but diversion passes our time and brings us imperceptibly to our death.' Through the course of protracted stupefaction, we learn to become oblivious to our eventual oblivion. In so doing, we choke off the possibility of seeking real freedom.”
― Douglas Groothuis, Christian Apologetics: A Comprehensive Case for Biblical Faith

“In 1908, the prolific Christian apologist, novelist and essayist G. K. Chesterton faced a similar worry about the use of humility to forestall argument. "Humility," he wrote, "was largely meant as a restraint upon the arrogance and infinity of the appetites of man."28 For anyone to enjoy the grandeur and largeness of the world, "he must be always making himself small." But Chesterton worried that humility had moved from "the organ of ambition" to "the organ of conviction, where it was never meant to be. A man was meant to be doubtful about himself, but undoubting about the truth; this has been exactly reversed." Instead of true humility, one may
assert oneself, but doubt "what he ought not doubt-the Divine Reason."29 Chesterton frets that "the new humility" might give up on finding truth through reason entirely.30 Indeed, misplaced humility continues to bedevil discourse a hundred years after Chesterton's musings.31 Certainty is no vice, as long as it is grounded in clear and cogent arguments, is held with grace, and is willing to entertain counterarguments sincerely.”
― Douglas Groothuis, Christian Apologetics: A Comprehensive Case for Biblical Faith

“In the end, hope without truth is pointless. Illusions and delusions, no matter how comforting or grandiose, are the enemies of those who strive for integrity in their knowing and being.”
― Douglas Groothuis, Christian Apologetics: A Comprehensive Case for Biblical Faith

“Humankind cannot bear very much reality. -TS Elliot, quoted by Groothuis”
― Douglas Groothuis, Christian Apologetics: A Comprehensive Case for Biblical Faith

“The way we interact online becomes the norm for how we interact offline. Facebook and Twitter communications are pretty short, clipped, and very rapid. And that is not a way to have a good conversation with someone. Moreover, a good conversation involves listening and timing and that is pretty much taken away with Internet communications, because you are not there with the person. So someone could send you a message and you could ignore it, or someone could send you a message and you get to it two hours later. But if you are in real time in a real place with real bodies and a real voice, that is a very different dynamic. You shouldn’t treat another person the way you would interact with Twitter.”
― Douglas Groothuis

“We depend on various cultural forms-the syntax and semantics of English, the deliverances of modern astronomy-to know that the earth is round, but this in no way jeopardizes the objective circularity of the planet.”
― Douglas Groothuis, Christian Apologetics: A Comprehensive Case for Biblical Faith

“But in the smothering grip of evil, humans also turn on heaven. The wounded often move from questions to accusations, from accusations to rebellion and from rebellion to disbelief.”
― Douglas Groothuis, Christian Apologetics: A Comprehensive Case for Biblical Faith

“One reason Christianity has failed to exert much influence on the major intellectual institutions of America is that too many Christians hold their beliefs in an uninformed and precarious fashion. Instead of pursuing answers to the toughest questions an unbelieving world can marshal, they attempt to preserve certainty through ignorance and isolation, relying on platitudes rather than arguments.”
― Douglas R. Groothuis, Christian Apologetics: A Comprehensive Case for Biblical Faith

“Since our origin is noble, our end may be glorious. But redemption must originate from beyond the royal ruins of the self. It must issue from God above. What, then, is this salvation that God has offered us?”
― Douglas Groothuis, Christian Apologetics: A Comprehensive Case for Biblical Faith