Engaging God's World, Chapter 5

I think that Plantinga did a better job with this chapter than he did with previous chapters. He still is not as interesting to read as CS Lewis, but he does make some good points. The first point that stuck out to me was that people who are doing well don't long for the kingdom as much as people who are poor, experiencing medical problems, or facing other hardships. I think that it is very true that prosperity can lead to a less vibrant faith. When we seem to have things under control ourselves, we don't see as much of a pressing need for salvation. Also, some of the strongest and most sincere Christians I have ever seen were those who I met on mission trips that lived in poverty.

One point that I disagree on is Plantinga's distinction between "good" and "prime" citizens. What this implies, although Plantinga does not actually say this, is that some citizens are better or more important to God than others. This is not true because all of us, even those of us who are most active Christians, have fallen into sin and need God's grace. I am not saying that we should not be active Christians. We still need to work hard for the kingdom of heaven, but we should do it out of gratitude for our salvation, not to be distinguished over other Christians. I think that "prime" is a bad term to describe active citizens of the kingdom.

Another point that I agree with is that many non-Christians still often seek out parts of the kingdom of heaven. They are looking for the same kind of shalom that we are, but they unfortunately can't find it outside of Christianity. That is why many non-Christians still are good people. Many of them go to great lengths to help their neighbor, beyond what many Christians do. I think that it is sad that these people are unable to find the peace that they long for.

Plantinga then goes on to explain how learning at a Christian college does more than just prepare us for a job, but also to help renew the world. While it is a good point and I do agree with it, it has been repeated so many times to me here at Calvin College that I really didn't get much new insight from reading it again. While I do think that a Christian liberal arts education is a good thing, I don't think that Calvin needs to explain it to us so many times.