I recently had the opportunity to interview popular speaker, writer, blogger, and Dean of Boyce College, Dan DeWitt. The questions focus around his most recently novella, The Owlings.
Messer: Why did you set out to write a “Worldview Novella?”
DeWitt: I’ve had the idea of a worldview focused story with talking owls for some time now, but it was after watching an interview with Richard Dawkins that I made up my mind to get to work. Dawkins published his book “The Magic of Reality” a few years ago, but I recently stumbled upon a video of him in which he flippantly dismisses anyone who believes the Bible as “stupid” and says that his book is aimed at helping young readers understand, and adopt, a naturalistic worldview.
Messer: Obviously, you have an interest in propagating the Christian worldview. Yet, you didn’t write a book full of propositional statements (i.e. Naturalism says X; Christianity says Y). Rather, you wrote a beautiful, compelling story. What value does “story” have in our worldview formation, and why did you choose this medium over another?
DeWitt: In the back of the book, I mention in the discussion guide for parents, “Every person has a worldview and every worldview is a story.” Every worldview has a belief about the beginning, the current moment, and even the end. Each worldview has an author, chance in the case of naturalism, and God in the Christian narrative. In the end it is not about what story is the most compelling, but which is actually correct. The gospel is simply a better story but it also has the added advantage of being true.
Messer: While the book is appropriate for a young audience, you do address some pretty complex issues (including the quantum vacuum!). Why should we go out of our way to discuss such “heady” things with our children?
DeWitt: That is a perceptive and funny question. I actually had forgotten that I mention the quantum vacuum in the book, but it was more for parents who might read this with their children than for their children themselves. Though I don’t explain it in any amount of detail, I want a discerning parent, perhaps a skeptic parent, to see a reference like this and perhaps realize that this is a part of a thought out, though brief, contrast of two worldviews and not just an easy stab at convincing children. But there is also an element that I want young readers, my twin boys who are eight years old for example, when they are exposed to what the Apostle Paul describes as “plausible arguments” (Col. 2:4) to think to themselves, “I’ve heard about this before and remember that there are some problems with this theory and that there is a Christian response.” A mentor of mine once called this the “law of first mention,” which he explained to me as the authority someone holds when they are the first to introduce a significant or controversial idea. I want to be aggressive in establishing the position of “first mention” because of the explanatory power of the Christian narrative.
Messer: The Owlings centers around a boy, Josiah, who has a deep love and connection with nature; specifically, his family farm. Josiah grapples with the question “did I come from nature or God?” In school, he’s taught that there is only nature. The reflex of a parent who has a child being taught Naturalism in school might be to downplay nature. You do the opposite; you speak of nature as being “clues” to “beyond nature.” Further, without giving too much away, Josiah doesn’t ultimately sacrifice his relationship with the nature he loves. Why should a parent embrace the dignity and complexity of nature in response to their child’s naturalistic education?
DeWitt: Because nature is God’s handiwork. Because it displays his glory and because it invites our reflection and directs our attention upward. In Romans Paul says that God has revealed his invisible attributes, his eternal power and divine nature. We should allow nature to do its job well and beckon us to worship the Creator. We can learn something of God in studying nature; as Johannes Kepler once said, studying the natural world allows us to “think God’s thoughts after him.” Studying nature allows us to revel in God’s power, mourn the curse and its effects upon creation, and long for Christ’s return and the new creation. The Christian story allows for an appropriate response to nature understanding its beauty and also its ugliness, the peaks of the Rockies and the despair of a tsunami.
Messer: What does Clive the owl mean when he refers to senses beyond smelling, hearing, etc…?
DeWitt: The human experience is either the greatest hoax ever or it is the most profound clue in understanding the nature of reality. Either our moral inclinations, our religious longings, our sense of beauty, our perception of our own personhood, are all real, which the Christian account allows for, or they are illusions caused by chemical reactions in our brain. Bertrand Russell once said something like “What science cannot teach us man cannot know.” This is, of course, self contradictory since it is not a scientific value but a philosophical one. Russell’s worldview doesn’t allow for non-scientific categories which eventually erodes the foundations of nonphysical values like morality and even human optimism. I believe our greatest senses are non-physical. They certainly point to the most important truths.
Messer: In the study guide you quote Carl Sagan as saying the Cosmos is “all there is, or ever was, or ever will be.” What sort of effects does such a worldview have on a society?
DeWitt: In some ways it does very little because most people aren’t concerned with making sure their value systems are consistent with their worldview commitments. Duke University philosophy professor Alex Rosenberg, in his book The Atheist Guide to Reality, does a good job, in my opinion, of giving a mostly honest depiction of what reality looks like if the cosmos is all that exists. He concludes that personhood, moral distinctions, and free will are all illusions hoisted on us by evolution to aid our survival. In the final evaluation, if the cosmos is all that is we will lose the very foundation of what it means to be human.
Messer: Josiah is mentored by a parliament of owls which includes such characters as Dorothy, Clive, Gilbert, and the intimidating Reuel. You’re known for teaching classes on the literature produced by the Inklings. Tell us what role the namesakes of these owls have had on your personal development.
DeWitt: I’m thankful you noticed. Many readers don’t pick up on this, which surprises me because I feel it’s pretty obvious. The “owlings” are my depiction of what these great authors would in animal form. Much like Balaam’s donkey, I see the owls as spokespersons. I just thought I would add a little personality in and what better candidates than Dorothy Sayers, Clive Staples Lewis, Gilbert Keith Chesterton, and John Ronald Reuel Tolkien.
Messer: At one point, it’s said of Josiah and his friend Addi that they love to “bask in their imagination.” You are the Dean of a college which requires every major (Biblical Studies, Business, Education, etc.) to have a firm foundation in the Great Books. Why are Homer, Dante, Thucydides, and Milton valuable for a 21century imagination?
DeWitt: God has made us as whole persons. To ignore the imagination is to disregard a central part of the Imago Dei. In my experience, it is what both captures my intellect and captivates my imagination that leaves the greatest influence. The only way to develop and hone this skill is to linger in the thoughts and words of those whose stories have a proven track record of opening the eyes of the imagination to greater realities. I don’t claim to be a teacher in this domain, but I do hope to be a consistent student.
Messer: In this installment, Naturalism is addressed. What sort of themes do you hope to address in future installments?
DeWitt: My current goal is to write a total of five books in this series. I plan to systematically move through the worldview questions in James Sire’s important book The Universe Next Door. Though he has a total of seven categories or questions that he deals with, I think it will be best if I simplify it a little. The next book will touch on epistemology and the one after that on what it means to be human. My goal is to publish a book each fall and then in the spring offer a related Bible study that goes deeper on the particular topic of the respective book.
Messer: Thank you for your time!
DeWitt: My pleasure. I’m honored by the depth of questions. <>
