How Important Is Your Worldview To Solve Everyday Problems?

"The only worldview that Christ will fit into is the one where He is the starting point."--Athanasius
"Christ is the centre of Christianity; all else is circumference."--John Stott
"If I want to know how to live in reality, I must know what God is really like."--Plato

Theology has been called the Queen of sciences, and Christianity is the Mother of modern science because its worldview has shaped Western Civilization; the point is that if there is a God who judges, creates, rules, legislates, and loves, then this is the most important study, but if there is no God, all religion and theology is a waste of time and irrelevant. Thus, the first major question of whether there is a God is posed by A. W. Tozer, who says, "What we think about God is the most important thing about us."

We are all on a great quest for certainty, dignity, purpose, fulfillment, and meaning in life, and this is where our worldview comes into play. But note: Only in Christianity is man's diagnosis sin, and solved (salvation) via God's grace through an act of faith in Christ--Christianity is unique in contrast to all religions in this perspective of man. We must be forewarned that today's society has become highly pluralistic and isn't a melting pot anymore, but multicultural, many believe no religion can be true, but all are equally valid, contradictions are fully acceptable, and therefore we must tolerate every faith, and live and let live.

There are a plethora of worldviews or "isms" out there in academia and religious establishments, and one eventually must fly the colors of one or the other, choosing one that suits his fancy, as it were--they cannot be avoided! But one should never choose a worldview that just makes him feel at ease and comfortable, that he has no objections to or cannot be controversial--the truth can be stranger than fiction and our imagination. Sometimes the truth hurts and causes a sword to be drawn, even dividing families because of their convictions.

Our ethics and morals are determined by our worldview too, and what we think we can get away with. If you don't believe in ultimate justice, you might tend to desire to take the law into your own hands, and won't limit your revenge to the eye-for-an-eye principle. To get more concrete, believing in hell is an uncomfortable proposition, but Christians affirm this, despite the rejection by other worldviews. We don't just believe to be safe and not to offend people, sometimes we must be willing to pay the price for what we believe, even willing to die for our convictions (not opinions, though). If you aren't willing to die for your faith, you probably don't have one worth believing or living.

The chief reason academics affirm the theory of evolution is fear of rejection by their peers and possibly losing the tenure of their professorship. Evolution offers answers without God in the metric!  They say evolution is a "time-honored, scientific tenet of faith," yes faith! Peer pressure is a prime motivator for some people. We all, including scientists, make decisions based on reason (it seems rational); emotions (it feels right); culture (everyone is doing it); and even tradition (we've always done it).

We don't necessarily discount these factors, but must put them in their place and perspective: Tradition must bow to conviction and be concordant with Scripture; culture must be Christ-centered and have values consistent with it; our reason must be valid and defensible in the public marketplace of ideas, and our emotions must not rule our thinking, but the result of our faith and will, not its slave. We must stand up for the truth and fly our Christian colors!

The major worldviews, mostly Secularism, Islam, Marxism, Postmodernism, New Age, and, of course, Christianity are all in contradistinction, except that they all (except Christianity) agree that Christianity is dangerous and evil and must be debunked and not even tolerated. Marxists say, "God does not, cannot, and must not exist"--Secularists will not let a Divine Foot in the door! Their goal is to kick Christ out of the open square, the classroom, and all of academia! The reason for all this is that Satan is the author of them all except the true one of Christianity, for he is the author of confusion and no truth is in him.

The most dangerous factor is that there is just enough truth to deceive and allure the weak and naive and to inoculate them from the real thing (knowing Jesus). The prevalent idea of truth is that it's only relative and there is no absolute and universal truth to aspire to.

Most secular worldviews dodge the no-truth bullet and take values, morals, ethics, creation, and all this entails as a given, without any plausible explanation! Only those of the truth hear the truth and Christ's voice of reason (cf. John 18:37) and those who "reject the truth" are the unredeemed (cf. Rom. 2:8). They tell you in school that you can know nothing for certain, and they are certain of that--this has no truth value!

We must experience Jesus personally to know He is good and will guide us into all truth through the Holy Spirit's ministry (cf. John 16:13; 1 Pet. 1:2). Many people rule out the Christian worldview without a fair appraisal and have presumed there is no God from the get-go, and have therefore concluded that evolution (the building-block of Secularism) is a valid theory, despite that fact that evidence is hard to come by and there is no fossil evidence of missing and transitional links to prove it. It is unproven and cannot be proved, since one-time historical events, such as creation, are outside the province of scientific empiricism. History and therefore creation are unrepeatable events.

We can thank the Founding Fathers for having a Christian worldview, even though most weren't professing believers, and we should be concerned that other worldviews are ascending the stage in our nation, even forcing out the God-oriented-and-focused one. For instance, be glad, that we have rights because we are in the image of God, as foreseen by our Forefathers, and human life has dignity. We have inherited these views, but they are under assault and must be defended.

The Christian worldview outshines all others and provides answers that others are at a loss to solve. But secularists are prejudiced and will believe anything as long as God is not in the picture and they can make up their moral code and compass and live by their own rule of faith, being free from the constraints and limits of the Christian faith, which might be too high a price to pay.

Christ promised that the truth will set us free (cf. John 8:32) and it turns out that He is the Answerer and we are illuminated by the Holy Spirit as we accept Christ by faith and God shows us the way to live (hence the faith was referred to originally as The Way). If someone doesn't know Christ or is naive, he is susceptible to erroneous worldviews and becomes drawn into their net, because he doesn't have the answers, is ill-prepared to defend his faith, and may not even know what he believes!

It is not necessary to examine every worldview, or find a guru, to choose the correct one! Christ can open a person's eyes and show the way, the truth, and the life to set him free. All religions are basically the same and man essentially believes he is good and can work his way to heaven or God, and can please or ingratiate God on his own; if one assesses the depravity of man in the Bible, it teaches contrariwise and shows us depraved, inherently and evil--only able to sin, or unable not to sin, needing redemption and salvation (for sin is the problem, not being unenlightened).

Only Christianity speaks of a Savior and a God who rescues us from ourselves, sin, Satan, death, and hell. In contradistinction to all religions, Christianity says, "Tetelestai," "Done," or fait accompli ("it is finished," or "Paid in Full" or it's a Done Deal); religion all says, "Do." The whole point of religion is lifting ourselves by our bootstraps and it's all a "do-it-yourself" proposition, while Christianity is what God does for us.

Thus there is a common thread throughout all "isms" except Christianity, and for this reason, we can eliminate all the competition as being fallacious and a lie from Satan. There's a caveat: There's a war of "isms" out in the real world or the secular world that doesn't know Christ, and ideas have consequences--it does matter what we believe!

Each worldview tends to answer the ultimate questions and dilemmas of mankind: Why are we here? Where did we come from? Where are we going? Is there such a thing as right and wrong and are we responsible and culpable? Is there a God? Each worldview attempts to "save" mankind in some manner of religious activity, (you don't have to be a member of a religion to be religious or exhibit religiosity). The most perplexing problems are whether life is worth living and whether there is meaning to life, besides basic hormones and instincts.

Religions are wholly inadequate in their solutions and come up short in explaining reality--they escape from it and avoid it. People want to believe they can be good without God, thus justifying themselves (the basis of Secular-Humanism) and that God is irrelevant, if He does exist, and cannot help us--we must save ourselves!

However, man will not admit he needs God and is a sinner by nature, by choice, and by birth without intervening wooing and conviction of the Holy Spirit--this is what's wrong with man! The all-encompassing question that must be answered is this: How then shall we live? Man is a religious being and "will worship something" (Dostoevsky), if not God, for man is hard-wired for worship, thus denying God is the epitome of wrong living and all of society suffers the result.

We don't have to be able to prove everything we believe to believe in Christ or accept Him by faith, and being a believer doesn't mean one has all the answers, because faith is a continuum of doubt from skepticism to certitude, but experience in Christ is designed to satisfy the soul's hunger for the truth and gives true peace with God, others, and ourselves. We just go ahead and believe and become Christians despite our doubts and questions can believe anyway, and are rewarded by the experience of Christ in our hearts, which cannot be denied, but can only be known first-hand, not second-hand (but we must take the leap of faith).

The error we must avoid is to cast only Christians as people of faith because Secular-Humanism is a faith and a declared religion too--they place their faith, even betting the farm on it, that science has the answer and will solve our problems eventually. Faith in science is still faith! It's not a matter of faith versus reason, but which set of presuppositions you accept as your starting point, i.e., is there a God? There are consequences of living in the here and now and not in light of eternity, to live for pleasure and self--and only Christianity rescues man from this plight.

We must realize our Christian faith is relevant to all of life, and every major academic discipline is rooted in the Bible there is no such thing as a secular versus a sacred area of academics, but Christ is the basis for all truth, for all truth is God's truth (Augustine) and meets at the top (Aquinas). God wants us to get our thinking in line with Scripture and to cast down every imagination of man that opposes the truth (cf. 2 Cor. 10:4-5). Romans 12:2 exhorts us to "renew our minds" in the image of Christ (think clearly with a divine viewpoint); get your thinking straightened out!

The building block of Secularism is evolution, and we deny that it changes the narrative. The Bible sheds light on the truth that we are created in God's image by a loving Creator who has provided redemption through Christ. In the final analysis, we must wonder whether our faith is not only valid, and supplies the appropriate answers, but whether it's worthy of our faith, not just that it works, for even yoga works--just being rational is no reason per se either--Christianity has a rationale, is defensible, a rational, but it's not rationalism. Soli Deo Gloria!

Removing God From Your Metric...

 Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn said, "Man has forgotten God." What is meant is that the biggest issue today is whether man can live without God because He doesn't think He is necessary to answer the ultimate and big questions of life any longer, as Nietzsche said, "God is dead," or irrelevant and no longer needed!  Evolution seems to make atheists feel intellectually fulfilled and to be able to challenge the religious establishment and elites.  That's quite a commentary even on today's society and that was many years ago.  

Our technical expertise has surpassed our wisdom on how to best use it. We discover that inventions can be used for evil as well as good; the same thing Alfred Nobel wondered about dynamite. He felt so guilty that he founded the Nobel Peace Prize to compensate all the evil that could be done in his name.   We are rapidly seeing and overseeing our own destruction without any outside help and we can blame no one but ourselves. Will Durant said that "no society has been able to maintain morality without the aid of its religion!"  and George Bernard Shaw is said to have quipped, "No nation has survived the loss of its gods."  You must realize that it was the church that kept the Roman Empire becoming utter chaos and lawlessness. 

What can be done? Man needs to realize his identity in God which he has forgotten: he is in the image of God and hot-wired for dignity, purpose, meaning, fulfillment, self-worth, and self-esteem.  Without God, life makes no sense and if you do not reckon God in the dynamic, man becomes a useless enigma and purposeless lifeform, no better than the beast.  Have you ever observed an ape building a chapel? Of course not! They are oblivious to God because they are not in His image and not meant to worship Him. We have a heart to love God, a mind to know Him, and the will to obey Him; animals do not. 

How can we find our purpose or calling? William James said "the best use of a life is to spend it on something that will outlast it.". We must live for something bigger than ourselves!"  We must not then just live for the here and now and eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die!  We are meant to live in light of eternity!  We have our identity in God! 

This image we have enables us to have the madness of laughter, the tears of joy and sorrow, the communicative ability to talk to God, the rational mind to reason, the morals to be responsible for our actions, the emotions and love to have a relationship with God on a personal level and find joy in God, the free will to decide if we want to serve God, and the intellect to know God. We have many things in common with God too besides that: we have a sense of humor, we are artistic and have an aesthetic sense, and we are musical and especially that we ae imaginative and creative and can think on an abstract level! This is why we are not stupid like the animals who cannot know God.

Bertrand Russell, atheist philosopher, said that "unless you assume a God, the question of life's purpose is meaningless."  We simply come from nothing but blue-green algae scum, we have no divine or ultimate purpose in living, we are headed nowhere after death and this means there is no justice because it is necessary according to philosopher Immanuel Kant that God be the Judge that He can make all things right that were wronged in this life.  Too many people get away with crime and evil and never see justice or their comeuppance and God is necessary to even the score and settle matters on Judgment Day.   In sum, consider the wise  words of Dostoevsky: "If there is no God, all things are permissible."   Soli Deo Gloria! 

Answering Life's Toughest Questions

All worldviews attempt to answer the ultimate questions of life: where did we come from? how did we get here? why are we here? where will we end up? what makes life worth living? Mankind has always asked these challenging questions. This is where religion came on the scene, for God has put eternity in our hearts from the beginning and man has always wondered about life after death, as the ultimate issue and the big question. All religions and worldviews attempt to give satisfying answers to these questions and to "save" mankind. Some people think religion is just escapism or a crutch, but secular people have crutches too and just put their faith in science that it has the answer or can find them.

Everyone is a person of faith! It just depends on what your presupposition is, i.e., it's not a matter of faith versus reason, but what you are willing to accept as truth, to begin with. We must begin with God and explain our worldview, not start with some interpretative framework and explain away God--for where you begin usually determines where you will end up; even Darwin pondered, "Would you trust the convictions of a monkey's mind?" It has been said that if you teach a man he's an animal that he'll act like one; some men want to believe they are animals so they can have the morals of one.

Man is not an animal in the sense that he seeks the reason for being, meaning, purpose, and understanding in life--we wonder "why" and contemplate ourselves. We not only know things but know that we know and ponder why we know it and what we can know even how we know things. In other words, man is a natural philosopher, while animals don't wonder or think about the bigger issues in life besides their basic needs. 

 Even having an education, a higher standard of living, and freedom, man can be empty inside. Man needs fulfillment and relationships, for we are a social, spiritual, moral, rational creature and have personalities that relate to others on a personal level, giving man the unique ability to know and relate to one another--even laugh together with a sense of humor!

Science can indeed give us the "know-how," but it cannot help us with the "know-why" of life, it cannot give us purpose in life and hope for the future, nor satisfy our longings for truth, identity, impact, importance, guidance, and meaning in life--animals have no such need. Do animals wonder who they are and try to find themselves or get in touch with themselves? Only man wastes time by worrying about the future and regretting the past. Man is by nature a religious being too, and if he doesn't worship God he'll worship something or someone else; on the other hand, no one has ever observed a monkey building a chapel outside of The Planet of the Apes!

It is my premise that Christianity answers these questions better and fuller than any religion or secular worldview. There is a harmony, coherence, and unity in the Christian worldview that lines up with the Bible as the authority. Christianity outshines all other worldviews in reasonableness, personal experience, and foundation in fact and history. The Bible is the foundation upon which the faith stands. Every worldview must have some authority or "scripture," and the Bible is the highest standard attained by man and it's self-attesting.

It appeals to no authority higher than itself for proof and proves itself. This is not circular reasoning to say we believe the Bible is the highest authority because it claims to be, because God has the authority to speak through His Word and if He appealed to anything else or we did, like science or history, God would be taking a backseat to them and not be the ultimate authority figure.

Secularism believes that everything has a natural cause and can be explained naturally--there's no place nor need for miracles! The supernatural is ruled out from the get-go and doesn't enter the equation. Only the strong survive in this dog-eat-dog world of survival of the fittest and the law of the jungle--the real rat race. We are just all lucky to be here due to some great cosmic accident eons ago. They offer no explanation for life and their origin-of-life experiments fail to come off, and they must see the cosmos and life as mere givens, and unexplainable phenomena.

In their view, everything is an infinite series of finite, efficient causes and there was no First Cause, which they refuse to accept as possible and necessary because it sounds too much like God. But students of logic, science, philosophy, and mathematics know that an infinite series of causes is impossible--there must be a first cause! This is called the impossibility of crossing infinity. But they have no room for God in their equation and will not let a Divine Foot in the door, thinking that religion is a neurosis or delusion, a crutch for the weak. Much more they refuse to accept the spiritual dimension of life--everything is material and made up of matter and energy, without any spirit or Ultimate Mind behind it. For instance, the brain is just a cog of machines, made up of electronic circuits, and the mind doesn't exist independently of it, just another name for the brain. We have, therefore, no soul and no spirit worth saving.

The meaning of the cosmos hangs on which came first and which has precedence: mind or matter. Either one or the other preceded: In the beginning ultimate mind; in the beginning ultimate matter. The Bible starts out: "In the beginning God..." John elaborates as "In the beginning was the Word..." The Logos here referred to is the "expressed thought of God." Either mind created matter or mind evolved from matter--there's no other option. It's impossible for there to be nothing in the beginning, for "out of nothing, nothing comes." goes the axiom: ex nihilo, nihil fit.

Cosmologists now reckon a beginning to time, as the Bible has always predicated (cf. 2 Tim. 1:9; Tit. 1:2). Time, being the corollary of space and matter, didn't always exist, and God must be outside of the time/space continuum to be the First Cause and get the ball rolling (something timeless created time!). What or who fired the shot of the Big Bang, who banged the Bang? We conclude that there must be someone behind the cosmos who is responsible and intelligent and programmed the universal constants, called the Anthropic Principle or the fine-tuning of the universe.

All worldviews aim to save the world too and to make a brighter future for posterity. Christians don't believe we can save society and do not attempt to save man through politics. Most secularists are highly utopian and believe man is capable of perfection and therefore so is society. But this kind of dreaming is pie in the sky and gives false hopes, like believing someday man will know how to become immortal. There are those who freeze their bodies in hope of man someday figuring out how to thaw it out and revive it. In the meantime, all members of the worldviews attempt to better themselves and their world and make it better for succeeding generations. Doing good works is a part of every worldview, it's the motivation that differs: Christians do it out of gratitude and love for God and others, while other worldviews want to earn their way to salvation or just make themselves feel good, because of their unresolved guilt. Soli Deo Gloria!

The Old Humanism...

"God is not dead, nor doth he sleep." --Henry Wadsworth Longfellow


Humanism isn't a newfangled idea or concept but was an idea concocted or developed by the Greeks in antiquity. They sought to make man the measure of all things or that everything is related to man and interpreted with him in mind (known as Homo mensura in Greek). This was promulgated chiefly by Protagoras. The actual roots stem from ancient times (postdiluvian or after the Noachian flood, aka the Deluge) when the people sought to make a name for themselves (cf. Gen. 11:4). Man has always had trouble with the truth because his pride gets in the way; he tends not to accept the authority of God and seeks to be his own man. Sin is basically that: the declaration of independence from God. As it is written (Rom. 1:28, HCSB): "And because they did not think it worthwhile to acknowledge God...." In fact, Voltaire went so far as to define God thus: "Man has created God in his image." And Sigmund Freud went on to insult God as being a "projection."


By definition, humanism is the deifying of man and the dethroning of God! Men have tried to make a name for themselves since the tower of Babel (cf. Gen. 11:4). Friedrich Nietzsche proclaimed unashamedly that "God is dead," which meant that He either doesn't exist or is totally irrelevant. They exalt man and ignore God or make Him irrelevant, even declaring Him dead. What kind of God dies? But our God refuses to and will not die! What they are doing is worshiping man, because man is by nature a religious creature that is hard-wired to worship someone or something and never can claim to worship nothing even if he's a self-proclaimed nihilist or atheist. They are parading themselves and are braggadocious of their own achievements, not God's accomplishment, and in this way are very religious. John Dewey, who co-wrote Humanist Manifesto [I], in his book Common Faith, posited that we can be "religious" without "religion" or claiming no official or affiliated religion.


It sounds offensive to say, "Glory to man in the highest!" This is counter-intuitive but is what they are maintaining unawares. Man is not worthy of worship but man cannot but worship someone or something. Humanists tend to live in the here and now and refuse to let God into the reckoning. Without God in the equation, man is without purpose and hope and is empty. This void or God-shaped vacuum can only be filled by God according to Blaise Pascal! Sartre said that unless one considers God in the picture, man is a "useless passion." Christians, on the other hand, live their lives in light of eternity, not just for the mundane and the present circumstances--they can live above them and have hope for the future that lifts the spirit. Augustine of Hippo is known for maintaining that man is restless until he finds his rest in God.


Humanists live for themselves like animals in heat avoiding pain and seeking pleasure. But Christians live for God and have a higher purpose in living that brings meaning and definition. They have a destiny to live out and a reason for being. I want to point out that even Christians can become humanists by letting their pride get in the way and becoming self-centered and selfish and losing track of the will of God, seeking short-term pleasure in life instead of a life defeating evil and the power of sin. And when Solomon says that there's nothing new under the sun, he's right in that even Adam and Eve were humanists when they ate of the proverbial apple and sought their own wisdom, pleasure, and meaning in life independent of God's will and love.


We must realize that God has a purpose for everyone and Christians realize fulfillment in God only. God even made the wicked for the day of evil. When we have served our purpose God may call us home to glory, but we're all here for a purpose that we may not be aware of. Paul said in Col. 1:16 (MSG): "...[E]verthing got started in him and finds its purpose in him." We are all here for a reason and must never say as the old proverb goes: "Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die!" Those famous words are in Scripture and man has always been guilty of this kind of thinking.


Julian Huxley wrote Religion without Revelation to point out that we can be good without God and don't need God or believe in absolutes to have ethics or morals. That's basically what Satan has always tried to convince man since the Garden of Eden: We can be good without God, or we can be as gods! This is what's so deceiving of false religions because they may seem good on the outside and people are tricked into thinking that they mean well, but Satan knows how to insert just enough error to be dangerous and inoculate one from the truth and deceive with an element of truth.


In conclusion, we'll never arrive at objective truth (true regardless of whether it's believed and apart from personal input or perspective) unless we start with God in the picture, as Athanasius said, "The only system of thought into which Jesus Christ will fit is the one in which He is the starting point." We must not begin with man and explain the universe or explain away God, but must begin with God and explain everything else: reality, man, the world with all the academic disciplines, current events, and history. The Bible starts out as rational,, "In the Beginning," and it's theological as well as rational, even without realizing it or becoming atheists, they are practical atheists maintaining: "Down with God; up with man!" Au contraire! The divine viewpoint should be: "All the world is relative to Christ," according to Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and Carl Henry said, "The Christian belief system is relevant to all of life." Soli Deo Gloria  

Why People Reject The Bible

"I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you..." (Eph. 1:18, NIV). 
"Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law" (Psalm 119:18, NIV).

People who reject the Bible have motives that aren't readily apparent but should be obvious.  If the heart is in the right place one would see for oneself that it appeals to the very heart of man.  The Bible is able to discern the thoughts and intents of the heart and it reads us as we read it.  Many have read through the Bible thinking they apprehend its message of salvation, but have never let the Bible read through them!  When we ignore what we do see, God blinds us and refuses more light.   Mark Twain illustrated this by quipping:  "It's not the parts of the Bible that I don't understand that bother me; it's the parts I do!" Likewise, we must heed what the Lord is trying to say or we will not get further light.

Israel witnessed many signs and wonders and still wouldn't believe (cf. Psalm 78:32, NIV) and the Pharisees in Jesus' time would not, not could not, believe despite His signs and miracles (cf. John 12:37, NIV).  The point is that miracles don't elicit faith, but faith evokes miracles. Miracles can bring about skepticism as well as increase faith.   Miracles only increase faith but don't make it.  If you remove the miraculous from Scripture, you have just idle tales, a catalog of religious idealism, meditations, or even list of dos and don'ts.  This is not the case of so-called miracles of other religions--they are believed because the religion is already affirmed to them, not to make them believe--they are not necessary for their religion.

If Jesus had performed no miracles, He'd be a mere footnote in history.  Jesus' miracles were not haphazard or helter-skelter, nor for personal gain, but to illustrate His Deity or to show compassion and make a point in His teaching--they were not fantastic, nor showy and He never did a miracle on-demand or any biggie miracle to force faith on the hardened and unwilling.  He said in His teachings that if anyone is willing to do His will (cf. John 7:17), he shall know whether His works were of God or not and His teaching was from God.

Now, you don't have to believe the Bible per se to become a Christian, but it will make a believer out of you upon reading it.  Note that the Pharisees believed the Scriptures, but were blind to the truth due to the hardness of their hearts.  And Paul preached to the Greeks who didn't necessarily already believe in the Scriptures. But most people that reject the Bible or say it's obsolete or even legend or tall tale,  have never read it!  If they say they have, ask them what its main message is!   The Bible is known to feed you, then make you hungry--one can never get too much of the Word and newborn believers seem to have an insatiable appetite for its contents--a true thirst and love for the Word.

The person who has never read the Bible is on the verge of being barbarian or illiterate and doesn't realize the Western Civilization was founded upon its principles.  The Bible has always been considered part of the Common Law of England according to Jurist William Blackstone.  It's easily the most influential book in history, even most popular!  People who reject it have a problem in their heart because the heart of the matter is that it's a matter of the heart--one's heart needs to be in the right place to appreciate it.  Bitterness can blind a person to the truth!  The Bible is so foundational to wisdom that a knowledge of the Bible without a college education is worth more in life than a college education without knowledge of the Bible.  

Now, why do the vast majority of skeptics deny the Bible's authenticity as true, even historically?  If a secular scholar or historian disagrees, it's assumed they are the ones without bias.  They believe and accept usually by faith since they may have only heard this, that it contains contradictions.  Several scholarly books have been written to dispel this notion; namely, The Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties and Alleged Discrepancies of the Bible.  But I contend that there are no contradictions because I have seen many resolved and see that most are merely the result of not knowing basic Bible doctrine, semantics, or of sound reading, of seeing the big picture, or even that they don't know basic rules of interpretation like interpreting the obscure in light of the clear, and seeing that the Scripture interprets itself.  When they say that the Bible contradicts itself; it really contradicts them!  Some famous men have done Bible revisions or tried to rewrite it the way they see it, even taking out the miracles which they find offensive or unbelievable.  But they are not believing the Bible, but are believing themselves! 

The Bible is its own Supreme Court that appeals to no higher authority for attestation.  the proof of the pudding is in the eating!  If it appealed to science, then science would be the ultimate arbiter of truth!  The proof of the Bible is in itself:  "Taste and see that the LORD is good!" The Bible appeals to the heart and soul of man and if it's not good soil, it will not be able to grow into fruition and mature.  We often are asked to prove the Bible is the Word of God by those who cannot prove it isn't!  But the Bible can prove itself if given the opportunity.  If they say prove it to me!  You ought to say, "No, you prove it yourself--read it!"  All one needs is an open mind, willing spirit, and needy heart and God will authenticate Himself through His chosen vehicle or method of communication--the Bible. 

In sum, people who think they are rejecting the Bible are really rejecting themselves and/or their perception or understanding of it, not necessarily what it says in reality; the Bible tells it like it is and shows people who and what they are in God's estimation (it isn't pretty!), but some people don't want to live up to its reality but choose to delude themselves and reject the truth.   Soli Deo Gloria!

For The Love Of Truth

"Truth forever on the scaffold, wrong forever on the throne."  (James Russell Lowell, 1844, The Present Crisis).  
"Into Your hand I entrust my spirit; You redeem me, LORD, God of truth" (Psalm 31:5, HCSB).

NB:  TRUTH IS WHAT GOD DECREES OR WHAT HE SAYS TO BE TRUTH AS THE FINAL ARBITER AND DELIMTER OF ITS DEFINITION.   

We all know that philosophy is the love of wisdom or knowledge and in antiquity, there was no distinction between science and philosophy, but someone must love the truth to be saved (cf. 2 Thess. 2:10).  But today people twist the truth to fit their narrative theories!  The problem with the infidel is that he won't accept the truth and refuses to submit to it; it's offensive to his lifestyle.  The divine order:  understand it, accept it, put faith in it, obey and submit to it, and then love it!  Paul warns against those who refuse to love the truth and so be saved!  Loving the truth is indeed a sign of salvation or a byproduct of it.  The fact is that God must open our eyes to the truth and the truth will set us free, for all truth meets at the top and is God's truth! God makes sense of everything as our eyes are opened and we see the light!

People avoid the truth with their own relativism; this is indicative of the so-called Truth War or battle of the isms and worldviews.  They deny absolute truth as a consequence, and, therefore, God as the logical outcome.  Unless you assume God in the metric, you have no foundation for truth.   If there is no God, there simply is no truth and vice versa (cf. Prov. 1:7)--this is logical.  No truth implies no ethics either, and no ethics implies no good life to strive for nor ideals to live by (virtues).  We don't say that your truth has no effect on us or that it's of no consequence!  One must own up to the truth revealed, for we are held accountable to what God has given and the amount of light shed.  Willful ignorance is no excuse with God; therefore, ignorance is not bliss!  Modern academics are quick to point out that all truth is relative, which is nonsensical and of no truth value (is that statement also relative?). Because if truth exists, then its corollary, absolute, universal truth must also exist and they refuse to even go there.

The trouble with the infidel is that he has hardened his heart against truth and sets himself up as the arbiter of truth and authority of right and wrong.  But God is the only arbiter of truth and delimits or defines it, not man.  God decrees the truth and no lie is of the truth.  Truth has to do with reality according to the Correspondence Theory of Truth, and not admitting it is a form of escape from reality.  Truth corresponds with reality as portrayed and agrees with God who determines it. In sum, only Christians are properly oriented to reality and know the truth as personified in the person of  Christ personally.

We see the big picture and don't take God out of the equation which can lead to blindness and ignorance.  Where we start determines where we end up and that's why the Bible doesn't start out like a fairy tale, "Once upon a time," but says "In the beginning God."  This is the only logical way to begin reality.  There are only two alternatives:  "In the beginning nothing" (an absurdity since "out of nothing, nothing comes!"; and "In the beginning matter/energy." We know that matter isn't eternal and energy isn't useful in its natural state--the factor of intelligence or organization must be added!  (The theory of an eternal universe has been totally discredited.)  Either matter or God is eternal!  One must have preceded the other. Are you willing to believe that matter arose to contemplate itself and create intelligent life?

The Bible is clear to state propositionally that the Logos was in the beginning, the self-expression of God, or the Word of God.  Logic is necessary to begin any knowledge!  No Logos means no cosmos and only chaos, which would make learning and science impossible!  This is all-important because the very foundation of all truth and knowledge begins with God in the calculus and without Him, all we have is nonsense and confusion. If you don't begin with God in the picture you have no basis of knowing anything!  You must always begin somewhere to learn anything and everyone begins with something they cannot prove, an assumption.  "In the beginning God" is necessary for all learning, logic, knowledge, and values, it's not just the way the Bible begins.      Soli Deo Gloria! 

Can Man Live Without God?

"Men have forgotten God." (Alexander Solzhenitsyn)
"A person cannot live without worshiping something." (Fyodor Dostoevsky)

The whole concept of modern Secular Humanism is to exalt man (glory to man in the highest!) and to dethrone God and put Him in His place, as they see it. In other words, they proclaim: Up with man, down with God! Man has attempted to make a name for himself ever since the tower of Babel (cf. Gen. 11:4) and believes he can get along without God's intervention, grace, or providence. Man is deluded into thinking he can rule God out of the universe and doesn't need Him or He is irrelevant or unnecessary to explain reality.

Pertinent remarks by great thinkers: "Religion is indispensable to private morals and public order" (Cicero); "No society has ever been able to maintain a moral life without the aid of its religion" (William Durant). Humanism has been defined as "religion without God." And you don't have to be an atheist to have no place for God in your life, practical atheists believe in God, but live as though there is no God. Psalm 10:4 (HCSB) sums it up: "There is no accountability since God does not exist."

Humanist historian/philosopher (and author of The Story of Civilization) Will Durant posed the dilemma we face today as the postmodern philosophy (that "God is dead") that permeates society, and humanists try to be good without God in the equation: "The greatest question of our time is not communism vs. individualism, not Europe vs. America, nor even the East vs. the West; it is whether men can bear to live without God." People have no excuse not to believe in God (cf. Rom. 1:20), but they foolishly suppress the fact and are in a state of denial. They seem to think that God is no longer relevant, that we can solve our issues and problems without His input or intervention, and that we are basically good, not evil, or are perfectible. 

We live in an age when sinners decide that they are their own judges of morality and can make their own value judgments: "Everyone did what was right in their own eyes," much like Israel did, as recorded in Judges 21:25. Men find themselves judging God, rather than realizing He's their judge. Now the biggest problem nations face is that of keeping the peace, and there shall be wars and rumors of wars till the end, and when we reach peace we will no longer feel we need God. America is a so-called good nation by human standards as recorded by secular Alexis de Tocqueville, in his work Democracy in America, which he wrote after visiting the U.S, posited that our strength lies in our "goodness," and when we "ceased to be good we will cease to be great." This is not based on biblical nor historical precedent, but only personal deduction and observation.

Yes, America is different (we are probably the most religious nation on earth), yet we are failing on the world stage due to poor leadership and the good citizens (believers) cease to be salt and light and evil is winning by default, not because Christianity has failed, nor because its worldview is faulty, but because Christians fail to stand up and be counted, to take their stand for the right and to fly their Christian colors. It has been said by philosophers and historians that morality in a nation cannot be upheld without the aid of religion: George Bernard Shaw said that "no nation can survive the loss of its gods." George Washington said, "It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible." Christians ought to protest the secularization of a society that seeks to eradicate God from the public square and discourse. 

But we cannot silence God, though! If we try to go to war with Him we will lose and our nation will lose its blessing and providential hand. We fight this by speaking up against the evils of society, even if it entails becoming activists and doing whatever you can to mobilize the church and equip them for the battle. We are not to passively allow Satan to seize control!

When you take God out of the picture, there remains a vacuum that is filled with satanic activity. When we cease to worship God, we will ultimately find something else to worship, because man is meant and designed for worship!  No one actually worships, reveres, adores, or esteems nothing. God is the motive people have for good behavior because you see very few hospitals, orphanages, relief organizations, leprosariums founded by infidels. In India, they think that the suffering of man is caused by bad karma and you shouldn't interfere with another's karma!

We are at the point in our society where we don't know right from wrong and have lost our moral fiber because there's no moral compass and God condemns those who call good evil and evil good (cf. Isa. 5:20). There is an absolute standard to judge by and people do instinctively know right from wrong due to having a conscience and everyone is culpable to be blamed because of transcendent or natural law, which is above national law and even nations are subject to. You could say that the new battle is against God and the new war of independence is from God! People, in general, think that the Ten Commandments are obsolete or are the Ten Suggestions, and don't apply to a modern society and don't feel bound by them,  and they are free to make up their own rules as they go along to suit themselves. As long as they can think of some reason to justify themselves and have good motives, the reason that they are doing the right thing.

But goodness isn't defined by man, but by God and is in conformity with His nature. The basic diagnosis of man is that he does things his way and not God's way (as Isa. 53:6 says, "... we have turned everyone to his own way..."). We cannot know good without knowing God, for He is the final arbiter of it and will judge us and our standards of good versus His. Without God, Shakespeare summed up the essence of life as Macbeth mused in Hamlet: "... 'tis a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury signifying nothing." If we are not in God's image, we are mere animals and glorified apes: "Do you think we are mere animals? Do you think we are stupid?" (Job 18:3, NLT)--teach man he is an animal and he will act like one.

"Without God, life makes no sense," according to Rick Warren!"  If there is no God all things are permissible," according to Fyodor Dostoevsky, and there can be no absolutes or standards to measure perfection by. The world has nothing against religion as long as it remains privatized, but we are to spread the word and be obedient to the gospel without suppressing it--it's a command to obey not an option to consider. The implications of atheism are profound: No judge to make us feel guilty; no Lord ot guide us, no lawgiver to obey; no ruler or sovereign to submit to, no creator to emulate, know, and love; no hell to shun; and no heaven to look forward to--how dismal and bleak an outlook!

Romans 1:18ff shows what transpires once a man leaves God out of the reckoning. In the final analysis, God will bless America by association again when the church repents and gets back on track fulfilling the Great Commission (not the Great Suggestion), and not when it tries to implement sharia law or usher in the Millennial Kingdom, in order to "advance the cause of Christ" through legislation or government, though this may be the trend towards righteousness and a worthy cause. Soli Deo Gloria!

Learning A Christian Worldview

"No nation has survived the loss of its gods" (George Bernard Shaw).

A worldview is a way of interpreting your world, such as purpose in living, where you came from, and where you are going--our role in the world-system--questions such as: Is there right and wrong? Is there a God? What is the meaning of life? How do you interpret reality? There is a current war of ideas in the world: Marxism (basically an economic understanding, but also totalitarian, aiming to establish a domination of the proletariat or working class and abolishing the bourgeoisie in class warfare), Secular Humanism (basically that man is the measure of all things, up with man, down with God, or deifying man and dethroning God, and reality starts from man), New Age (the idea of cosmic consciousness or supra-consciousness, being in touch with the inner god), Postmodernism (founded by Nietzsche as the patron saint, saying that "God is dead" or irrelevant and we can live without Him), Islam (believing the future belongs to Islam and being bent on world hegemony), and Christianity (Christ's kingdom is in the hearts of man and not of this world and the church is a power to transform and preserve society) itself--the first five have one thing is common in that they oppose Christianity. Any viewpoint that doesn't start with God is evil!

We are to discern good and evil to be able to handle the meat of the Word (Heb. 5:14). Once we get saved, the battle has just begun and we enter Satan's turf as the god of this age. But the battle is the Lord's and as John said in 1 John 4:4, "Greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world." Paul says in Rom. 8:31, "If God be for us, who can be against us?" We have to know our enemy according to Sun Tzu in The Art of War because he believes in dividing and conquering, and playing mind games, and waging psychological warfare. "For we are not ignorant of his schemes" (cf. 2 Cor. 2:11). Don't give him a beachhead, but arm yourself with a divine viewpoint to understand what he is doing. Do not fight among yourselves as Lord Nelson noticed his troops doing when he said, "Gentlemen, remember, the enemy is over there!" In Walt Kelly's cartoon Pogo, he says, "We have met the enemy, and he is us." We can be our own worst enemy because the three enemies are the world-system itself, the devil and his minions, and our own flesh or sin nature (cf. 1 John 2:15 -16). The government is not the enemy, for all the powers that be are established of God (Rom. 13:1).

We are exhorted to "hate that which is evil and cling to that which is good" in Rom. 12:9 and in 1 Thess. 5:21-22 it says, "...hold fast that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil." [which means that when evil appears, resist it.] Only those who have their senses trained to "discern good and evil" can digest the meat of the word and the infants in Christ can only live on the milk of the Word according to Hebrews 5:14. We need to love God with our whole minds and not be indolent or anti-intellectual--we are to use the minds God has given us (Mark 12:30).

We are in the world, but not of it according to Scripture (John 15:19 says, "You are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world"). If we love the world-system or cosmos of Satan, the love of the Father is not in us--indeed he entices us with many delicacies of the world to compete with our spiritual appetites. Beware of the pseudo-philosophies of this age as the admonishment in Col. 2:8 says, "Let no man spoil you through philosophy or vain deceit..." We need to "contend for the faith" like Jude said in Jude 3 and that means taking stands for Jesus and sticking up for what is right in an evil world. We are the salt and light as the children of God.

Paul's swan song was: "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith" (2 Tim. 4:7). We all have a conscience and can tell right from wrong (Rom. 2:15), and we are all responsible and don't have any excuses for knowing God (Rom. 1:18-20). In 1 Chron. 12:32 it says that only a few people were able to interpret the times and knew what to do. Daniel 11:32 says that the "people who knew their God "shall be strong and do exploits." At the time of the end, the wise will understand and the wicked will not (Dan. 12:10). When Nebuchadnezzar realized that God was sovereign he came to his senses (Dan. 4:35).

Today we seem to be doing what's right in our own eyes (similar to the Israelites in Judges 21:25--"They did what was right in their own eyes"). The culture says that there is no standard of right and wrong--it is all relative and you can't force your morality on another person. It isn't that we can't legislate morality, it's whose morality we legislate.

In Allan Bloom's book, The Closing of the American Mind, he says that people now believe "all truth is relative"--if that is true then that statement has no value because it is also relative. They say nothing is always wrong and nothing is always right; what matters is sincerity. This goes back to Satan's lie: "Hath God said?" Gen. 3:1). They seem to believe that the only truths that are relative are those that defend the Christian worldview! One prof was reported as saying, "You can know nothing for certain." One astute student asked, "Are you sure?" "Yes, I am!" Jesus was the Truth itself, the incarnation of Truth with a capital T and came to bear witness of the truth--the Romans, including Pilate, doubted the existence of absolute truth (true no matter who believes it and whether anyone believes it). They thought that "might made right." This was the epitome of cynicism and an insult to Christ's veracity--he didn't even wait for an answer! The secret is to stay away from extremes: "Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil" (cf. Prov. 4:27; Isa. 30:21; Josh. 23:6; 1 Kgs. 21:2)).

As Christians we are to "submit [ourselves] to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; or unto governors..." (1 Pet. 2:12-13) Paul says something similar: "Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God" (Rom. 13:1). We are to "render unto Caesar" according to Matthew 22:21 and even be light and salt in the world, trying to make people see the light to get saved according to our gift. With privilege there is the flip side of responsibility; they go hand in hand. There is such a thing as "social justice" not a social gospel, though. Our social commission has not been rescinded. One only need refer to the prophets, Amos and Micah. We assert that God is the only legitimate legislator (legal positivism says that man can make any law he desires) and His character is the law of the universe. Isaiah said, "Woe unto them who decree unjust laws..." (Isa. 10:1-2). It has been said, "If we have contempt for government, we get contemptible government."

God's providence works all things according to His divine decrees and He has no Plan B; He has no other plan, but to use us as His vessels of honor and to bring glory to him (cf. Isa. 43:7). Everything is going according to plan as Isaiah says in Isa 37:26 and He is in control according to Isa. 14:24, 27 and 46:8-11. "Behold, the nations are as a drop of the bucket..." (Isa. 40:15). "He's got the whole world in His hands." Psalm 22:28 says that God is sovereign over the nations and we can be sure even over every molecule in the universe. Eph. 1:11 says that God works out everything according to His will. John Wesley used to read the paper to "see what God is doing in His world." God is even in control of the toss of the die (Prov. 16:33) and in control of the whims of the king (Prov. 21:1). He leaves nothing to chance: Einstein said, "God doesn't play dice with the universe."

Christian worldview sees social injustice: "What do you mean by crushing My people and grinding the face of the poor...?" (Is. 3:15). "Rescue the weak and the needy..." (Ps. 82:4). The believer who knows the Lord is concerned about the plight of the poor (Ps. 41:1) and the evil in the world: he doesn't just see evil and say, "Why?" He also sees good and says, "Why not?" This is what it means to know the Lord according to Jeremiah 22:16--to be concerned about those less fortunate and defending those who can't defend themselves, the weak ("He pled the cause of the afflicted and needy; Then it was well. Is not that what it means to know Me?" declares the LORD [in Jer. 22:16]). Amos and Micah are champions of the underdog and the underprivileged and deplore how "they sell the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals--those who trample the head of the poor into the dust of the earth and turn aside the way of the afflicted (cf. Amos 2:6-7). "...Who oppress the poor, who crush the needy..." (Amos 4:1). Malachi is appalled at those "who oppress the hired worker in his wages..." (Mal. 3:5). We are not to be partial to the poor nor to the rich but show justice to all (Deut. 19:15). Charity and welfare were mandated in Israel according to Lev. 19:4, Deut. 15:4, and other passages--they were allowed to "glean the fields" of the landowners. There was to be "no poor in Israel."

Now, what kind of values are Christians supposed to espouse? They should subscribe to the sanctity of the family unit as having preference over the government's authority, because it was established before it; it should believe in the inherent worth of the individual (you have rights, but they end where mine begin--you can swing your fist but not hit my nose!) as being in the image and likeness of God (the imago Dei), and that means having a mind to know and communicate with God, a heart to love Him, and a will to obey Him. These are called unalienable rights and our culture is based on it in the constitutional Bill of Rights. We are merely stewards of God's riches ("The earth is the LORD's and the fullness thereof" says Ps. 24:10) and are responsible to Him to give an account at the judgment. (There is a Protestant work ethic mentioned in 2 Thess. 3:10 that declares that those who are not willing to work shall not eat.


All authority ultimately comes from God and we get our rights and dignity form Him; "unless you assume a God, the question of man's purpose is meaningless," and without God man is a "useless passion." (Bertrand Russell and Jean-Paul Sartre). We believe the government has limited power derived from God--it is not a necessary evil, as Augustine said, but necessary because of evil. We have a duty to this government since we owe them our security and protection of our property and our person from crime--justice and law and order are the primary functions. Marriage is to be held in honor and a "man shall leave his mother and be joined to his wife and the two shall become one flesh" and "God made them male and female and said that it was good." No rights are absolute, such as you say it's your religion to be a cannibal or that you can yell fire in an auditorium! Sometimes it may be our duty to disobey, which is termed civil disobedience--God's laws trump the government; shall we obey God or man? ("We must obey God rather than man," according to Acts 5:29).

I believe firmly that the Bible sanctions no certain type of government, as long as human rights are respected. Government was first documented to be divided into three parts in Isa. 33:22 into the legislative, judicial, and executive branches (king, judge, lawgiver). I refer to Lord Acton's adage that is a cliche now: "Power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely." We do not believe that our rights (note that the obverse of rights is responsibilities necessitated) are derived from the government, but directly from God, who gives us dignity and worth as man in His image or the ikons of God, as it were.

In the final analysis, it is vital to know Scripture to combat the prevalent secular humanistic viewpoint (deifying man and denying or dethroning God) in the world and not to fall into the devil's trap. Sir Francis Bacon said, "Knowledge is power." And the Bible backs this up in Proverbs 10:14 saying, "The wise lay up knowledge..." And Proverbs 24:5 says, "And a man of knowledge enhances his might." We must not remain silent and concede everything away. C. S. Lewis says, "They are trying to eradicate Christianity from the marketplace of ideas and the public square."

If God doesn't exist, everything is permissible (Dostoevsky). But we believe in transcendent or natural law that everyone is able to know by nature apart from the government. Law is designed for wrongdoers but God confers rights on us. People are in a state of rebellion against our so-called bourgeois values (which really is the Judeo-Christian heritage of Western civilization). As the psalmist says, "What can the righteous do when the foundations are destroyed?" (Ps. 11:3). For one thing, we should pray for our leaders, not condemn them [It is our God who put them there, as Paul said (cf. Acts 23:5), "It is unlawful to speak evil of a ruler of your people"]

Christians are not "utopians" but are waiting for Christ to usher in His Millennial Kingdom at His second coming. A word to the wise is sufficient: Christians have no geopolitical aspirations like the Muslim world bent on dominating the world with their hegemony, and they should not sound the alarm, but "occupy till He comes" (business as usual). As Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world." In conclusion, we have read the last page of the Bible and know how it all will turn out and are assured that we are on the winning side and victory is inevitable in the end. NB: Keep the faith! "The LORD frustrates the counsel of the nations; He thwarts the plans of the peoples...Happy is the nation whose God is Yahweh!" (Ps. 33:10-12). A word of encouragement--all is not lost: God is able to heal our land if we confess our corporate sins and humble ourselves in repentance as His people (2 Chron. 7:14). Soli Deo Gloria!

The Christian And Governmental Law...

"Proclaim liberty throughout all the land, unto all the inhabitants thereof" (cf. Lev. 25:10, KJV).
"When Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law" (Rom 2:14, ESV). 
"As surely as God lives, who has denied me justice ["taken away my right" per ESV]..." (Job 27:2, NIV).    "[T]o deny people their rights..." (Lam. 3:35, NIV).   ALL ITALICS MINE.   Pertaining to governance issues.  

Nowhere in the New Testament is the Christian told to obey the Law of Moses directly! We do not become somewhat Jewish to be good Christians!  The law is for the lawbreaker!  The Law was meant to show that we cannot keep it, not as a way of salvation ("For by the law is the knowledge of sin").  This doesn't mean that we are lawless or that the Law doesn't apply at all, though.  There is the timeless moral law of Moses or the permanent code of conduct, which is, not the ceremonial nor the governmental, judicial code or law.  What was moral then is still valid today and this is universal, absolute truth that doesn't ever change!  We all know "natural law" (cf. Rom. 2:15).

We can be assured that the Bible does stand for law and order and the rule of law (cf. Habs. 1:4).  Only God is a law unto Himself and can take the law into His own hands!   God condemns the perversion and mockery of justice and especially when the poor aren't given their rights in court.  In fact, the very concept of human rights is God-given and are conferred from God, not the government, which only secures them.  The only reason we have rights and animals don't is that we are in the image of God and have dignity!  We are no "animals in heat, seeking pleasure and avoiding pain"; God has a higher purpose for us!  Animals should be treated humanely and are stewardship, but have no, zilch legal status, standing, or rights in court.   Facetiously, we might say, "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others" (from Animal Farm by George Orwell).

Jesus can relate to us when our rights are denied because He was given a pathetic mockery of Hebrew justice by the Sanhedrin and of Roman justice under Pilate and tried under kangaroo courts.  But Jesus didn't insist on His rights nor even defend Himself, but left His destiny to the Father's will, purpose, and design.  We must recognize that only God is truly a law unto Himself and is autonomous!

We are all subject to a Higher Power and the powers that be, ordained of God.  But that doesn't mean the law is always fair or right, in fact, sometimes it's civil disobedience is the duty because we must obey God rather than man!  The apostles rejoiced that they were considered worthy to suffer for the sake of the Name.  NB:  Augustine who said that an unjust law is no law at all and Isaiah pronounced woes on those who decree unjust laws.

The Bible is our standard, not our traditions or customs.  The Constitution can be wrong, though it's the highest law in the land, God's laws supersede it.  That's why the Bible is considered part of Common Law in England according to the jurist, judge, and member of Parliament Sir William Blackstone.  The Bible doesn't endorse any system of government (i.e., monarchy, democracy, republic, etc.), but it does insist on the rule of law--no one is above or exempt from the law!  There have been tyrants in history who had delusions that they could lead in their own right and not "under God."  Even King John was forced to sign the Magna Charta in 1215 at Runnymede.  Pastor Samuel Rutherford wrote Lex Rex in 1644 to make them realize that even the king had to obey the law! NB:  The chief purposes of government are to keep evil at bay, maintain law and order, and rendering justice.

This is an important concept because Lord Acton's adage that "power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely" is always a temptation.  The danger in freedom has always been authoritarianism and William Penn foresaw this as he said that "if we are not governed by God we will be ruled by tyrants."  Two specific examples are obvious:  King Louis XIV of France, the Sun King, who said "I am the state," and Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany, who said, "Me and God." What they were implying was that what was good for them was good for the state!  Plutarch mused "Who shall govern the governor?"  We must always have a check and balance system to keep authoritarianism, despotism, and a subsequent loss of our civil rights from taking place.  Totalitarian regimes have no such system.

We break God's laws and the Bible commands us to obey the government (cf. Matt. 22:21; Rom. 13:1) or we live at our peril: but they actually break us; we are really breaking God's heart, not His laws!   A good Christian obeys the law of the land, even when in authority, but if the Bible is in conflict, he must resist.  We are not here to sanitize the society but to preserve and add flavor to it!

That means we cannot outlaw every sin and must realize that something can be legal and sin or the other way around, it can be illegal and not a sin.  We must get over the notion that when the government legalizes something that we shall suffer for their sin, for the Bible makes it clear that the soul that sins is the soul that shall die--even the children do not suffer for the sins of their parents.     Soli Deo Gloria! 

Presuppositions Of A Christian Worldview

God is the moral center of the universe. Consequently, there is absolute truth and right and wrong. Adam was created a living being, with a soul and spirit (known as dualism); naturalistic or materialistic views of man, as not having the immaterial is wrong (a heart to love God, a mind to know Him--we have a mind as well as a brain, and a will to obey Him). Man has inherent dignity in God's image only in the Judaeo-Christian worldview. God created man male and female and said it was good. Any other combo is not of God and just because something is legal doesn't mean it is moral. We affirm the inherent worth of the individual and life as inviolate. Man, however, is not basically good nor inherently good, but totally depraved and inherently evil, but having a conscience, and needs the institutions of family, church, and state to curb his evil bent. The Bible is God's gift to man to give him a sense of "ought." We believe in individual responsibility and that everyone is ultimately accountable to God. Christians cite the church father Athanasius, who said that Christ will only fit into a system of thought where He is the starting point. There is an absolute standard of right and wrong that we all know called natural or transcendent law--morality is not relative. Something other than matter and energy exists in the cosmos--mind! God is the Higher Mind, and this mind precedes, creates, and is over matter.

There are several institutions God has ordained: The model for government is given in Isaiah 33:22 as having three branches: Executive, legislative, and judicial. All authority is from God and we are to submit to it for the Lord's sake! A government, has limited powers, rights, and responsibilities, and might attempt to redefine marriage, but God never does. Marriage is honorable as a divine institution predating government and comes from God himself. The Bible sanctions no specific form of government; however, the government is meant to keep evil at bay and protect one's person and property (cf. Matt. 22:21). There is no certain mandated type of government but God ordains it to curtail evil (It is not a necessary evil, but necessary because of evil, according to Augustine). We "render to Caesar that which is Caesar's," (cf. Matt. 22:21) unless the law contravenes Scripture mandate. Then there does come a time for civil disobedience though when Christians must obey God and not man because of conflict. We believe in the rule of law (no arbitrary rule of men) and that the basis of all Common Law is Scripture. God's law trumps man's law and there is such a thing as obligatory civil disobedience. The Sabbath or blue laws are moral and date from creation itself. God gave man a conscience to know transcendent or natural law and is responsible to God. A clear conscience doesn't mean he is without fault; it must be captive to the Word of God. The sanctity of the family institution predates government. Unalienable rights are conferred from God and not the government, which only recognizes them. Governments have no right to tyrannize. There is no so-called social gospel, a misnomer (turning stones into bread). God demands "social justice" (cf. Isaiah 3:15; Jeremiah 22:26 and Psa. 82:4; Amos 2:6-7; 4:1; Mal. 3:5, et al).


Work ethic comes from God and all work has dignity and can be done to the glory of God--work shows the image of God in us. There is no class system or caste system (property rights are protected though) in the eyes of the law--but all are equal under the law--with respect to liberty and justice. The Bible is reliable historically, prophetically, and in doctrine and the Christian worldview depends upon the veracity of Scripture. We presuppose the existence of absolute truth incarnate in Jesus Christ.


Spiritually speaking: The Church will not usher in the kingdom of God but wait for Christ to come to do it himself according to the Father's timetable--in the meantime we occupy till He comes as our marching orders while we fulfill the task of the Great Commission, and become ready for it to happen at any time. G. K. Chesterton observed: "America is a nation with the soul of a church." Christians have no geopolitical concerns, but await Christ to usher in His Millennial Kingdom--we are not Utopians. Christian theology is Christ-centered! The Bible is the basis of most precedent and principle and is authoritative on moral issues. Christians are to set the example of pure living and be light and salt in a wicked world, where they are in the world, but not of it. Our rights, conferred from God, recognized by the state, are not absolute and end where other's rights begin.




Soli Deo Gloria!