There is a movement underfoot in American which exalts human reason, empiricism over spiritual truth and rationalism as an end to itself. This type of thinking has seen its nadir in historical movements and has been brought to its dead conclusion in the past. Unfortunately, we as people do not learn from our mistake. As a result, this month's blog addresses the truth behind this yet another wasteful human construct. We hope you enjoy this month's article based on the real truth behind the movement known as "Those who Know..."
The
Adversarial Atheist
By
George
J Jefferson
As I sit in
the quiet of my office writing this, it is Christmas. Christmas with all of its hype is still the
best time of the year. While some focus
and obsess on the hypocrisy of this special time, one can quickly become a
naysayer. As I ponder the human condition in my forced solitude, I’m forced to
recall those who don’t like this holiday are usually the ones who are the first
to complain about it. Yet, somehow these same individuals who are great at
articulating their distaste are the same ones who enjoy the benefit from this
day. They get a day off, they get to
spend time with their loved ones and heaven forbid, they are forced to be
reminded this holiday seeks joy and peace by positing a God who actually loves
us.
What class
of people am I talking about? I’m
talking about those who call themselves atheists. Of course this is a personal choice, but unfortunately
there is a small, but very vocal minority who are trying to destroy the very
fabric of who we are as a collective nation.
These are people who think that those who believe in a personal God and
even Christians at large are idiots and dangerous. Worse yet, they would destroy all that is
good for the sake of their own ideology. They are the purveyors of what is good and bad
and they would establish their own morality based on what they perceive as
right and wrong.
Without name
calling, let’s take a look at their world view and for the sake of logic, let’s
follow this tragic line of reasoning.
After all, this is their unending mantra: Human reason.
What does a
world with faith in Jesus Christ offer for us today? Christmas celebrates a holiday based on hope,
love and joy. In a Christian world view,
that is an easy one. Now let’s contrast this with a humanistic viewpoint. What big day is there for us humans? “Earth Day?”
Wow, that’s inspiring! Makes one want to make up songs, Hold a holy
vigil, do a jig and celebrate with one’s family. Not much of an inspiration unless one
worships mother earth. However, that
goes against all logic. Nope. No candidates for holidays.
How about
human logic and faith as found in the arts? Let’s take music for instance. Can we compare faith-based music with that of
human reason. Which type moves and
captivates our hearts and minds? Is it
fair to compare fickle pop trends which only appeal to our basic instincts with
music that inspires not only generations, but decades and even centuries of
people? The best music the world has ever seen is faith based. As Steve Martin once said in one of his songs
“Atheists ain’t got no music!”
Another
aspect of human reason versus faith is the world of literature. Literature exists to explain the human
condition. While there are many stories
written to explain this topic, the atheistic viewpoint is pretty mum on this
front. Not many truly classical stories
without some sort of faith in a deity is presented from all of antiquity to the
present. Unfortunately for the atheist
the Bible has been the number one best bookseller in the world for the past two
hundred years. It is a good source for literature and explains many of the
sources of the Human condition. Maybe
that is a good reason that the first book ever printed was the Scriptures.
Its’ obvious
Human reason cannot trump Christianity’s contribution to the arts and
holidays. Perhaps atheists view their
pessimistic outlook on life based on their superior knowledge as found in their
rational approach towards the human existence as found in Government. In a Christian worldview and in the mind of
our nations’ Founding Father’s, there is an a priori assumption of the doctrine
of sin and of human nature. They knew the importance of freedom of conscience,
so they implanted a failsafe system of checks and balances into how people
would be governed. This same system was
based on religious principles which presupposed God who ruled in the affairs of
man (quoted by Ben Franklin at the Constitutional convention).
However
atheists and many modern lawyers would have us believe that wasn’t the case
because the Constitution never mentions God (Never mind that a Deity is
mentioned in all of the States Constitutions).
Of course they have only a superficial understanding of American history
and never mention that Congress actually paid to have Bibles published with
government money for the evangelism of Native Americans, the building of
Christian Chapels, paid clergy for public prayers and many other state
sponsored Christian endeavors. There are many other examples, but the point
here is to say with 100% certainty we are what we are today based on our faith
in God and His grace in our country’s welfare.
Compare our
country’s historical origins with those countries who have embraced the belief
of atheistic “human reason” and we end up with examples of dictators and despotism
found in Cuba, North Korea and the former Soviet Union. Need I say more about all of these
receptacles of human misery because these countries embraced a believe system
based on their love of “human reason” devoid of a God based worldview.
The American
Revolution and the French Revolution are illustrative and occurred at roughly
the same time. The former recognized
ultimate accountability to God and birthed a nation of Liberty, the latter
exalted human reason. The French
Revolution’s highpoint was the storming of the Bastille on July 14, 1789. What followed was not a new birth of freedom but
a chilling mutation of the revolution. Moderate
French orator, Pierre Vergniaud summed it, "The Revolution, like Saturn,
is devouring its own children." Over
35,000 lives were brutally extinguished in the ten-month Reign of Terror. This “Enlightenment” demonstrated quite
clearly what a revolution without God
could achieve. The French people, exhausted
of the senseless slaughter, eventually embraced the opposite extreme (of
freedom), Napoleon's absolute despotism.
However, to
me, the worse aspect of this type of human outlook is devastating to who we are
as human beings. In a Christian world
view, we are in a state of rebellion against a God who desires a covenant with
us through His Son Jesus Christ. This
covenant is a loving relationship and is not based on consumerism. A covenant is an agreement between two
individuals who make a decision to work through problems and have faith in each
other whether easy or hard. A covenant takes work because it is binding and
agreements hold each of us accountable for our actions. Consumerism on the
other hand looks to work only if there is a benefit to an individual. If an individual no longer gets what they want
from others, they break the agreement.
No personal benefit, no relationship.
We are in a
society where people are selling human reason over a relationship with God. With this atheistic consumerism, one can do
whatever they want, whenever they want without any consequences. It sounds great and like a sugar cookie,
tastes great. However, this sugar cookie has no substance and cannot sustain
life. Atheism promises, but cannot
deliver. It has no solutions or answers.
It cannot promise anything or create something good. That is because its main premise is terribly
flawed. This was demonstrated over 150
years ago by a man named Arthur Schopenhauer when he proved logically that
atheism’s goal is pure selfishness of the individual over the greater
good. The exaltation of Human reason by
itself has nothing to offer. The only
good it can bring is when it is used in the context of praising God. Duh!
