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By: Pastor Schlicht

My Dad used to take me fishing. After trolling for walleyes, we would drop the anchor and cast into weeds near the shore. Our boat was a shallow, 14-foot Lund made of aluminum. It was easy to get in and out of the water but it would drift quite easily, even with the anchor down. Every 20 minutes or so I had to pull up the anchor and Dad would reposition the boat. Then he’d give the word and I’d watch those 15lbs of iron sink out of sight.

Understanding your anchor point is necessary when fishing but even more so for faith. We all have a reference point from which we establish our thoughts and behavior. In psychology it is often called an anchor point because it restricts us to certain possibilities like an anchor restricts a boat’s position. When the anchor point is manipulated, the boat can reach different locations.

A common example of anchor point manipulation happens in sales. It’s the difference between seeing a shirt listed for $40 or seeing the same shirt listed for $50 but a sign next to it says “20% Off!”. The price is still $40 dollars, but the one on sale shifts your point of reference in assessing the value of the shirt. Your anchor is dragged and now the proverbial boat can reach new waters, in this case spending more money on a shirt. You weren’t planning to spend $40 dollars, but “it was such a good deal!”

Anchor point manipulation doesn’t just happen in marketing. It is more dangerous when it is used, purposefully or unwittingly, to attack Christian faith. Humanism’s emphasis on scientific truth is a strong wind that has dragged many Christian anchor points far from Scriptural truth. 

For instance, just while driving around neighborhoods in Madison I see signs in the front lawn that say some of the following: “In this house we believe…Science is real. No human is illegal. Love is love. Kindness is everything.” I want to agree with these statements but I know that there’s far more behind these words and much more that I’d be agreeing to by affirming these seemingly obvious sayings. Yet, there are many who have a difficult time discerning the issues behind such statements and being healthily critical of such sweeping phrases. (Notice, I said “healthily critical”, not completely opposed.)

For instance, do I believe that science is real? Yes, of course, I love science. It is as real as any other discipline. But there needs to be space for critical thinking and the acknowledgment of biases within the field. Again, “science” needs to be defined because many people haven’t thought through what they mean when they use the term. (see Faith and Science Part 1) The other difficult part of such a sign is the assumed connection of the statements. In other words, “Since we believe science is real (i.e. because we aren’t idiots!), we also think that no human is illegal, that love is love, and that kindness is everything.” Now, these connections are implicit but all the phrases are on the same sign for a reason. It is a subtle pull.

As it happens, anchors are dragged further when they are moved subtly.  The devil doesn’t grab our anchor and try to yank it off of Scriptural truth. He, in crude wisdom, blows a constant wind. Over time the incessant small waves drag our anchors little by little away from a worldview that prioritizes God and his Word. It’s the reason that your faith is never stationary. Even if you think your anchor point is set, if you don’t check and reset it regularly, you’d be surprised at just how far you can drift. 

Be on the lookout for phrases that start like this, “You can’t really believe that…” Or “Anyone who still thinks that…” Or “Thankfully, we all know…” These are anchor draggers! They are trying to reset your point of reference for thinking by their incredulity. (You may not agree with the statement, but you don’t want to seem crazy!) Remember that God’s people will often seem foolish to those whose anchor point is far away from the Bible. 

Let me give you a practical example. “How could anyone believe in the miracles of the Bible today?!” Just stop for a moment and think: How would you respond? How would your child respond?… It would be good to remind yourself that any belief in God already includes the precondition of miracles. So unless you are completely atheistic then you believe in miracles. The fact is that there are many people who do not believe in miracles today, but they also think that they have a soul and think that they will go to “a better place” when they die. This is not intellectually consistent. What is consistent is to remember that if there is a God, (something which the design of the universe, the incomprehensibility of existence, energy, matter, etc., all strongly suggest) then he can choose to bend or break the laws of nature which he put in place for his purposes. In fact, if you believe in God everything is a miracle. The fact that your heart is beating should be no less impressive than a man walking on water, if not more so. 

This leads into our topic for next month: Reclaiming Our Wonder of God’s creative work in the natural world. Much more could be said, but I pray this article has given you good food for thought. I would encourage you to reach out with any questions. And please consider taking our Bible 101 class here at Eastside, regardless of how long you’ve been a member. Take it with your family! It is so important to study God’s Word, to review the underlying consistency of Scripture, and continually anchor ourselves on the solid foundation of Christ. “We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.” (Hebrews 2:1)

[This article is Part 3 of 4. Part 1 focused on the False Conflict between faith and science. Part 2 focused on Conflicting Premises of science that assumes there is no divine intervention.]