Professing
to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the
incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man--and birds
and four-footed animals and creeping things. (Romans 01:22-23, NKJV).
There
was a time in Western history when Biblical truth and principles
served as the foundation of civilized society. In fact, Christianity
was the driving force behind the societal, philosophical,
humanitarian, and scientific advances of Western civilization for the
past 19 centuries.
This
is incontrovertible reality, despite screeching cries of protest from
modern academia. And the current climate of rebellion against such
statements is of no importance, aside from it being a showcase for
the tortured reasoning put forth to support such anti-Christian
foolishness.
Multi-degreed
scholars from once-Christian institutions of higher learning, like
Harvard, Yale and Oxford, are often the poster-boys (and girls) of
this revisionist movement, standing at the forefront of what the
Bible describes here as those who professing to be wise...became
fools.
This
is not to say at all that formal education is, in and of itself, the
cause of intellectual devolution. Rather, it is the corrupted heart
behind those in academic power who decide what is, and is not,
“accredited” and legitimate focus of study.
None
of this is new, of course. There has always been a long human war
against God, from Eden onward, but what is new is the pervasiveness
of the anti-God propaganda put forth as scholastic wisdom – and the
means to propagate that message through media, cyberspace, and
popular culture.
It
is virtually impossible to avoid being inundated by it, and the only
effective remedy to all the vaunted deceit is to be inoculated with
the truth. This means being so well-versed in Scripture that even
diabolically subtle attacks on Biblical wisdom can be detected from a
long ways off.
We
are to be prepared to rationally, reasonably and comprehensively give
an answer for the reason for the hope that is within us, and be able
to do so with respect and consideration.
And
all this intellectual opposition does not mean that we are to
squirrel ourselves away in monastic cloisters, shunning confrontation
or argument, and figuratively holding up the Bible in front of us as
some talisman against evil thinking.
It
means simply that we are to prepare our own hearts and minds daily in
order to be equipped for the fight.
Later
in Romans, Paul well tell us...
And
do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing
of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and
perfect will of God. (Romans 12:2, NKJV).
That
intellectual renewal is an inherent part of Biblical Christianity.
Mindlessness has no place in a follower of Jesus. Neither does
lock-step conformity to some outward appearance of righteousness.
Unity
can only come from truth, properly understood and lived out. That is
why the foolishness of the world is in such fragmented disarray, and
cannot withstand the scrutiny of critical thinking.
Here
are some examples of foolish wisdom:
The
earth is billions of years old despite perfectly reasonable evidence
to the contrary.
There
was no global flood. (Ignore those marine fossils on the mountaintops
of the Himalayans.)
God
did not create the Universe with Intelligence and Design, it all just
“happened” via a quantum singularity that simply exploded out of
nothingness, and, well, here we all are. And while it is inarguably
true that Causality seems to be organized around very granular
principles of physics that are remarkably friendly to sustaining
human life, that is all just a coincidence.
There
is no absolute morality or truth, except for this one statement about
there absolutely being no absolute morality or truth.
Human
life does not begin at conception, meaning, I suppose, that until the
moment of delivery we can never be sure just what species will
emerge. Consequently, “products of conception” are disposable at
anytime prior to birth for any reason as a human right. (That this
makes abortion legal and acceptable is an abomination far surpassing
the Nazi Death Camps of World War II.)
Tolerance
of contradictory religions and philosophies is a sign of a mature
society, except we cannot tolerate any religions or philosophies that
claim to be sole proprietors of the truth; especially Biblical
Christianity.
Heterosexual
marriage is fundamentally a “cultural phenomena”, despite the
obvious biophysical compatibility of the male and female of the
species apparently perfect for just such a monogamous union.
All
of this wisdom is currently popular and preached from the ivory
towers of higher learning.
It
is all equally foolish, and counter to common sense and observable
evidence.
It
is also diametrically opposed to the truth revealed in God's Word.
You
will undoubtedly be bombarded with it (and worse) throughout your
precious life, so be prepared.
But
the outcome of this battle is not up to us. It is up to God.
And
He has already won.
Love,
Dad.
