Humanism is the major force in shaping law and morality in Western society. The subject of my previous posting is offensive to the humanist mind, because, to the humanist, the comfort and prosperity of humans is the highest goal of existence. That doesn't sound like such a bad life philosophy does it? I think conservative Christians too eagerly vilify humanists. They are genuinely trying to make a better world.
However, some humanists do away with any belief in God. They cannot contend with a supreme being who may interfere with their man centred ideology. That's a problem. There is a God. I refuse to enter the debate of whether there is a God. It's like the ink of a pen writing about the non-existence of the very paper it is writing on. Relatively recent* developments in the sinful arrogance of man have developed a world view in which no God exists.
*The context of "recent" is millenia past.
Another more populous group blend the Christian religion with humanism, bending God's love into an adapted form of humanism. In this hybrid form of the faith, Jesus becomes the world's greatest human rights activist. The international trend towards the upliftment of the poor and diseased is noble and vital, but it has provided an excellent middle ground between Christians and humanists. This middle ground is the construction site of an entirely new theology which is being taught and caught in churches worldwide. As a result, new Christians are more likely to be introduced to Jesus the Relief giver than Lord Jesus the Saviour.
Even hard line evangelicals will be surprised to hear the accusation of humanism woven into their ultimate purpose of "saving lost souls at all costs" . The ultimate purpose of God isn't to get people saved. If that were so, then one person in hell would mean that God's control over creation has been compromised and an eternal tragic failure has occurred. The ultimate purpose of creation is the glory of God. Our redemption and fellowship with Him is for His pleasure. I hate to say this, but a hell full of departed souls will not detract from the glory of God at all.
I can hear the humanists seething....
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Our greatest peril
While preparing to present the "Becoming a Contagious Christian" course, I watched a series of curbside questionnaires in which random people were asked to comment on their belief in God and how to get into heaven. Why was I not surprised when the responses were typically post-modern, ranging from rambling agnosticism to a determined opposition to a biblical world view?
A core aspect of resistance to the gospel message is the denial of the "setup" to the gospel. The "setup" refers to prevailing conditions that make the advent of the message of salvation necessary and good. If a grubby fireman manhandled you while you were walking down main street, you would be upset and demand an explanation. If the same fireman manhandled you as he rescued you from a burning building, you would receive the gesture in an entirely different way. What we believe to be the prevailing conditions of our times has a huge effect on how we receive the gospel. People are prepared to acknowledge the possibility that all of mankind is in extreme peril. However they are not prepared to entertain the idea that the holiness of an unseen God should be their greatest concern.
As crazy as this sounds, with all the threats of disease, war, poverty and other social ills, the greatest threat to mankind's enduring prosperity and blessing is the Creator Himself.
People would say "Surely, if a such God exists, then a biblical version of Him would be loving and forgiving?" Why should he be regarded as our primary concern in a world of earthquakes, floods, crime and the like? The answer to that question lies not in the portals of heaven, but inside ourselves.
The problem exists in the tendency of every person to believe in his or her own tailor-made brand of virtue. I'm referring to the inner accountant in all of us that will not rest until we justify our iniquities to somehow "balance the books" and remove any moral debt we may owe. We have re-educated our consciences and validated every instinct, desire and drive that emerges from the human heart, calling it "expression" and an aspect of individuality.
Our refusal to accept and submit to a divine moral code has ruined or removed our "compass" and without knowing it we have steered our "vessels" onto a warpath against God. He has remained unchanged and He signals us with the terms of peace, otherwise known as the gospel. Unless we accept his terms, this war will be our Waterloo.
A core aspect of resistance to the gospel message is the denial of the "setup" to the gospel. The "setup" refers to prevailing conditions that make the advent of the message of salvation necessary and good. If a grubby fireman manhandled you while you were walking down main street, you would be upset and demand an explanation. If the same fireman manhandled you as he rescued you from a burning building, you would receive the gesture in an entirely different way. What we believe to be the prevailing conditions of our times has a huge effect on how we receive the gospel. People are prepared to acknowledge the possibility that all of mankind is in extreme peril. However they are not prepared to entertain the idea that the holiness of an unseen God should be their greatest concern.
As crazy as this sounds, with all the threats of disease, war, poverty and other social ills, the greatest threat to mankind's enduring prosperity and blessing is the Creator Himself.
People would say "Surely, if a such God exists, then a biblical version of Him would be loving and forgiving?" Why should he be regarded as our primary concern in a world of earthquakes, floods, crime and the like? The answer to that question lies not in the portals of heaven, but inside ourselves.
The problem exists in the tendency of every person to believe in his or her own tailor-made brand of virtue. I'm referring to the inner accountant in all of us that will not rest until we justify our iniquities to somehow "balance the books" and remove any moral debt we may owe. We have re-educated our consciences and validated every instinct, desire and drive that emerges from the human heart, calling it "expression" and an aspect of individuality.
Our refusal to accept and submit to a divine moral code has ruined or removed our "compass" and without knowing it we have steered our "vessels" onto a warpath against God. He has remained unchanged and He signals us with the terms of peace, otherwise known as the gospel. Unless we accept his terms, this war will be our Waterloo.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
In the mood
As a member of an immigrant family growing up in South Africa, I can look back on certain levels of disconnection that occurred over three decades of separation from my birth country.
One of the most curious symptoms of our self imposed exile was loss of extended family perception. My father was an only child who lost his parents before my "conscious" years. Yes, as a contented child with an active private imagination, I was socially comatose till I was about 11 years old. The awkwardness of puberty finally provided the smelling salts to jolt my awareness of others to an acceptable level.
A few of dad's aunts paid us visits in the African sunshine. One such aunt survives to today, and provided a wealth of genealogical information on a recent visit my Dad and I paid her in England. Another aunt, Annie (as in get your gun!) now deceased, was a gregarious, chain-smoking, irresistible character. She was a real toughie, hardened by life in the industrial north of England. Her gritty, straight-talking humour made her all the more endearing. No amount of self indulgence or tactless commentary could tarnish her charm.
My mother came from a large family that had been emotionally removed from our world through a series of alienations involving death, step-parents, and probably the divide between Catholic and Protestant. In the end we were truly a nuclear family in a new land. In many ways, moving my wife and children to the USA is a deja vu experience. Hopefully the first experience will enlighten the second.
On occasion during my childhood, I remember my mother talking about trying to pull back the curtain of isolation that she found herself behind. Her intention was to write letters to family and, more specifically, friends. Back then, snail mail was the only mail. Letter writing was by hand as the word processor was not a domestic accessory. Typewriters were for professional typists or writers. As a result, letter writing was time consuming and almost ritualistic in nature. The expense of time continued long after the posting of the filled envelope, as weeks would pass before a letter reached it's overseas destination.
The rigour of communication through letter-writing prompted my mother to speak of the need to be in a "letter-writing mood". As a matter of fact, the absence of this "mood" provoked years, yes, years of procrastination. The procrastination would finally be interrupted by an avalanche of guilt when an intended recipient beat her "to the draw" and send her a letter first.
The absence of the "letter writing mood" is the only way I can account for the silence on this page. The fact that my life seemed trapped in an impenetrable moratorium for months is a factor. But it would be poor to use as an excuse. I should write more in times of less business.
One of the most curious symptoms of our self imposed exile was loss of extended family perception. My father was an only child who lost his parents before my "conscious" years. Yes, as a contented child with an active private imagination, I was socially comatose till I was about 11 years old. The awkwardness of puberty finally provided the smelling salts to jolt my awareness of others to an acceptable level.
A few of dad's aunts paid us visits in the African sunshine. One such aunt survives to today, and provided a wealth of genealogical information on a recent visit my Dad and I paid her in England. Another aunt, Annie (as in get your gun!) now deceased, was a gregarious, chain-smoking, irresistible character. She was a real toughie, hardened by life in the industrial north of England. Her gritty, straight-talking humour made her all the more endearing. No amount of self indulgence or tactless commentary could tarnish her charm.
My mother came from a large family that had been emotionally removed from our world through a series of alienations involving death, step-parents, and probably the divide between Catholic and Protestant. In the end we were truly a nuclear family in a new land. In many ways, moving my wife and children to the USA is a deja vu experience. Hopefully the first experience will enlighten the second.
On occasion during my childhood, I remember my mother talking about trying to pull back the curtain of isolation that she found herself behind. Her intention was to write letters to family and, more specifically, friends. Back then, snail mail was the only mail. Letter writing was by hand as the word processor was not a domestic accessory. Typewriters were for professional typists or writers. As a result, letter writing was time consuming and almost ritualistic in nature. The expense of time continued long after the posting of the filled envelope, as weeks would pass before a letter reached it's overseas destination.
The rigour of communication through letter-writing prompted my mother to speak of the need to be in a "letter-writing mood". As a matter of fact, the absence of this "mood" provoked years, yes, years of procrastination. The procrastination would finally be interrupted by an avalanche of guilt when an intended recipient beat her "to the draw" and send her a letter first.
The absence of the "letter writing mood" is the only way I can account for the silence on this page. The fact that my life seemed trapped in an impenetrable moratorium for months is a factor. But it would be poor to use as an excuse. I should write more in times of less business.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
