Monthly Archives: December 2013

In Memoriam: Don Kobe

Kobe-web

Our fellowship lost one of our members when Don Kobe (Physics) passed away on December 3. Those of us who knew Don were impressed both by his gentle spirit and his desire to use his life to glorify Christ. He was a professor at UNT from 1968 until 2008, and received professor emeritus status in 2009. He was a Fulbright Scholar to Brazil and China.

Don described his spiritual journey in an essay The Quest for Truth:
“Even though I had loving parents, as a teenager I felt very lonely. I stuttered and that exacerbated the problem. I began to wonder whether life had a purpose and even whether it was worth living.

“In order to seek an answer I began reading the New Testament in my junior year of high school. I was very impressed with what Jesus said and did.

“One night, after reading what Jesus said about himself, I decided to put my trust in Him. I accepted his promise of forgiveness and eternal life. That gave a meaning and purpose to my life. It was the best decision I ever made!”

College philosophy class brought a new round of doubts. After reading Bertrand Russell, he initially decided that agnosticism was the only intellectually defensible position to hold. But he began to read C.S. Lewis:

“I began to realize that there were many compelling reasons to believe in God. I regained my faith, which was made stronger by my intellectual struggles.

“The Christian faith is not a leap in the dark, but a decision that is based on historical and other evidence. The Christian faith goes beyond reason, but is not unreasonable or contrary to reason. To be a Christian you don’t have to commit intellectual suicide. Intellectual difficulties can be resolved. After intellectual barriers are resolved, it is still necessary for an act of the will to trust in Jesus Christ.”

One of Don’s achievements was the publication of an essay on Martin Luther and science.