“And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6)
The two requirements for pleasing God are clear in the previous verse: (1) One must believe God exists; and (2) One must also believe God is personal, or a rewarder of those who seek Him. If Satan can blind men to the first category, they will never consider the second category, namely the work of God in human history through the person of Christ.
Various methods have been used throughout history to obscure men from believing in God. In our day nothing appears more blinding than secularism. By secularism, I mean specifically philosophical positions such as “logical positivism” or “scientism,” theories which accept only empirical data as true knowledge. I’ve written elsewhere that this is a philosophical position which is itself not scientifically verifiable. In other words, such theories do not stand up to their own test.
Myths like “Christianity is at odds with science,” or “Atheism is purely based on science” are freely bantered abroad with boldness. Such claims cannot be substantiated historically or in our present day. As James Hanaam has so eloquently illustrated in his recent book The Genesis of Science, the scientific method is an invention of monotheism. Nonetheless, our culture continues to allow myths to masquerade as truth. As G.K. Chesterton once said, “Fallacies do not cease to be fallacies because they become fashions.” Why is it that in our day fallacies have become the vogue?
Perhaps the following quotes will help to shed light upon such questions:
The following quote comes from “The Last Word” written by Thomas Nagel, Professor of Law; Professor of Philosophy and Bioethics at New York University:
“In speaking of the fear of religion, I don’t mean to refer to the entirely reasonable hostility toward certain established religions and religious institutions, in virtue of their objectionable moral doctrines, social policies, and political influence. Nor am I referring to the association of many religious beliefs with superstition and the acceptance of evident empirical falsehoods. I am talking about something much deeper – namely, the fear of religion itself. I speak from experience, being strongly subject to this fear myself: I want atheism to be true and am made uneasy by the fact that some of the most intelligent and well-informed people I know are religious believers. It isn’t just that I don’t believe in God and, naturally, hope that I’m right in my belief. It’s that I hope there is no God! I don’t want there to be a God; I don’t want the universe to be like that.”
The following quote comes from a book review of a Carl Sagon book written by Richard Lewontin, Harvard University Professor of Biology Emeritus, Alexander Agassiz Professor of Zoology in the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Emeritus:
“Our willingness to accept scientific claims that are against common sense is the key to an understanding of the real struggle between science and the supernatural. We take the side of science in spite of the patent absurdity of some of its constructs, in spite of its failure to fulfill many of its extravagant promises of health and life, in spite of the tolerance of the scientific community for unsubstantiated just-so stories, because we have a prior commitment, a commitment to materialism. It is not that the methods and institutions of science somehow compel us to accept a material explanation of the phenomenal world, but, on the contrary, that we are forced by our a priori adherence to material causes to create an apparatus of investigation and a set of concepts that produce material explanations, no matter how counter-intuitive, no matter how mystifying to the uninitiated. Moreover, that materialism is absolute, for we cannot allow a Divine Foot in the door.”
While some will argue that these quotes are used out of context, there is nothing in either the book nor the article referenced that would lead the reader to anything other than a straightforward understanding of the excerpts presented here. At the very starting point, before science is pursued, it seems a decision has been made, quite devoid of any evidence, to reject the existence of God. It appears that eyes have been blinded from the very beginning.
As Francis Schaeffer once said, “I believe that pluralistic secularism, in the long run, is a more deadly poison than straightforward persecution.” I’m inclined to agree with him. The next two days we will consider how 2 Cor. 4:6 offers a concise theory of everything through creation, incarnation, and regeneration.
………………………………………………………………………Psalm 19:1-3 “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard.”
Romans 1:18-20, “for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
Every day this week I will post a brief article on the topic of “A Christian Theory of Everything.” These posts are taken from a sermon I preached this weekend on 2 Corinthians 4 entitled, “Creation, Incarnation, & Regeneration: An Explanation of Reality.” I will post the audio and my sermon notes next week. (Part 1) (Part 2)
