The Right Questions: Truth, Meaning & Public Debate | Phillip E. Johnson

The Right Questions: Truth, Meaning & Public Debate | Phillip E. Johnson | Right Question Before Aruging Right Answer

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The Right Question...

	The Right Questions: Truth, Meaning & Public Debate Phillip E. Johnson InterVarsity Press, 2004 - 192 pages average customer review:based on 17 reviews view larger image
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Phillip E. Johnson pries the lid off public debate about issues at the core of what contemporary society deems true and meaningful. He outlines the questions we ought to be asking about scientific inquiry, public education, civil liberties, moral choices

The Right Question is Whether Life Was Designed by Intelligence, or Nothing

The Right Questions is the product of an accomplished scholar who is reflecting upon culture and society in light of his other books which provided an extensive scientific critique of naturalistic theories of origins. In this book, Phillip Johnson asks, "What are the right questions" in topics such as logic, the meaning of life, Genesis, and biological origins? It is only by asking the right questions that we will find the appropriate solutions to problems faced by society.

Johnson opens this book with a frank discussion of how his own personal trials and battles over health have renewed his faith. Johnson then reminds us that the key fundamental is not about the precise meaning of this or that passage of Scripture:

"The conflict is primarily not about Genesis, nor does it involve a clash between science and religion, or between science and faith. It would be much more accurate to say that it involves a clash between two religions and two definitions of science." (pg. 60)

Johnson observes, "In every university there are scores of faculty and students who are suffocated by the prevailing dogmas of scientific materialism or political correctness but who almost never get a chance to hear anything else." (pg. 51) Ruling creeds succeed when they keep their followers from exploring alternatives (pg. 73), which is why Darwinists refuse to permit discussion of the controversy over the science of Darwinism.

The right question that must be permitted for discussion in school is therefore, "Did the scientific evidence really support the philosophical conclusion (in a word, naturalism) that the Darwinists wished us to adopt, or could naturalism as a worldview survive only as long as dogmatic philosophical barriers protected it from the evidence that points to a designer?" (pg. 84) Once that question can be asked, Johnson is convinced that the chips will fall where the evidence leads.

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Right Question Before Aruging Right Answer

Johnson is passionate and erudite debater for the principle of asking the right question before answering. Famous for application of this in the area of origin of the universe, here Johnson provides brief but fascinating inquiry into not only the origin issue, but also worldview.

Clearly he provides the strategic impetus for attacking those who hide behind their answers and thwart asking the right question, whether it be in the philosophical or political or educational arena.

How frustrating is it when those in control will not allow true debate? One plays into this the book contends when allowance of the wrong questions to dominate the debate. He has admirably championed the cause of contending not with science but with philosophical naturalism. Not allowing the debate to center on Genesis but on John 1:1 is revolutionary.

His bravery in discussing his own humbling experience with stroke rehab is touching and instructive.

Challenging the question of the most important historical event to date should cause all, but especially educators and culturally elite to consider the factual data rather than philosophical bents. Worldview presuppositions certainly do shape what we allow to be discussed, taught to our young, and be allowed in our culture.

One wise person said that it is significant that one side will always be willing to discuss all options, while it is equally significant when some will allow not all options equal discussion. Johnson certainly is a proponent of all sides having their day in the discussion.

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Theonomo is right! (Review May 31, 2003)

This book is clearly written and deals with important issues in the public arena, particularly the wagons circled around Darwinism. Johnson's take on these matters is neither simplistic nor outdated. Some of his observations about the nature of Islam are particularly interesting in light of the Iraq experience since they predate the invasion of Iraq.

The Publisher's Weekly reviewer evidently did not read or did not understand the book. That review mischaracterizes both Johnson's manner and the content of "The Right Questions." It is obvious that the one-star reviewers did not bother to read the book and know very little about the subject matter.

Serious readers, even those firmly committed to evolution, ought to be left wondering why the origin debate, or at least discussion of the philosophical issues surrounding the debate, is a closed subject in our schools.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4

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