Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught.
- Luke 1:1-4
For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me.
- John 17:8
If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
- James 1:5-8
“Descartes came to the conclusion that mathematics owed its certainty to the following set of reasons. Mathematical demonstrations began from a minimal number of premises of the uttermost simplicity, a simplicity so basic and so obvious that it was impossible to doubt them, such as that a straight line is the shortest distance between two points. The demonstrations then proceeded deductively by one logical step at a time, each step being irrefutable, and usually very simple, again indubitable. And then – the thing that entranced everyone who came under the spell of mathematics – you found that in moving only by logical steps, each of which was simple and obvious, from premises each of which was also simple and obvious, you began to reach conclusions that were not at all simple and not at all obvious: whole worlds of unanticipated discoveries started opening up before you, many of them amazing, many of them of great practical usefulness, and all of them reliably true. And there seemed to be no end of these undiscovered worlds: mathematicians were forever opening up the way to unexpectedly new ones, as Descartes himself had done.”
- Bryan Magee, The Story of Philosophy
“Good philosophy must exist, if for no other reason, because bad philosophy needs to be answered.”
- C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory
René Descartes (1596-1650) had a philosophy of discovery. He wanted to find out who he was and what this life is all about. He is famous for the statement: “I think, therefore I am.” Actually, the quote was stated in Latin “Cogito, ergo sum.”
Descartes created a philosophy of the dualism of mind and body being separate entities.
But in mathematics, he found comfort.
These days, we have people in college arguing that there is no objective truth, but Descartes argues here that we cannot doubt that one plus one is two and two plus two is four. And we can still today plot these mathematical equations on a graph using the Cartesian coordinate system of x, y, and z axes.
When you are thinking, looking for certainty in life, having something that is so basic that it is indubitable is a comforting thing.
And it may not seem logical when looking for and finding God. Belief in God seems foolish to those who do not believe. But once you discover God, you look back and see that trusting in God Almighty is the only answer that makes sense. And grasping that answer provides comfort. As C.S. Lewis wrote, you might have one hundred options to be the road that might provide an answer, but once you find the true answer, there can only be one road to get there.
If you like these Tuesday morning essays about philosophy and other “heavy topics,” but you think you missed a few, you can use this LINK. I have set up a page off the home page for links to these Tuesday morning posts. I will continue to modify the page as I add more.
Soli Deo Gloria. Only to God be the Glory.
Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley 
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