Christian and atheist scholars seek to make sense of our innate desire for personal freedom.
We have a hunch that the typical student or faculty member at The Ohio State University would say that Christianity is opposed to the experience of personal freedom. If Christianity is a myth with outdated morals, then the ethical teachings in the Bible are prohibitive of human freedom. But Jesus’ teachings in the gospels and later New Testament epistles convey the opposite, that true freedom comes from following Jesus Christ and being united to Him by faith.
How could that be?
Gregory Ganssle is a Christian philosopher that has written on this subject in his book, Our Deepest Desires. In this book Ganssle argues that true freedom is not about the ability to do whatever we want, true freedom is the ability to be the people we are meant to be. If that’s the case, Ganssle argues that secularism does not have the resources on its own to provide true freedom. Maybe there is more to Christianity than most students on our campus understand.
On Feb. 28th we host Dr. Ganssle along with atheist philosopher Erik Wielenberg to talk about this very subject. The event is open to the public and you’re welcome to attend, as it is a great way to see how Christians can humbly make a case for the viability of Christianity in the public square. Visit thethompsoninstitute.org.
