One of only two explanations is possible for our universe: it happened by accident or it happened on purpose. Either way, the implications are massive.
If it’s all accidental, then you’re just a random collection of atoms held together for a cosmic moment and then scattered into the Great Nothingness. S-s-s-pfft!
It’s true, says the erudite atheist professor, and you’ll just have to get on with it. Forget those fairy tales about God and pie-in-the-sky.
What do you mean by “true,” professor? If everything’s accidental, what about your brainwaves? Remind me why I should listen to senseless drivel coming from synapses misfiring in your cranium. If you’re “right,” then “Nothing makes sense, including this.”
If a transcendent Maker and Lawgiver doesn’t exist, then truth, beauty, love, hope, meaning, and right are all illusions, nothing but momentary preferences. There’s no moral difference between thanking the chef for a good meal and eating the chef.
George Orwell said, “There are some ideas so absurd that only an intellectual could believe them.” Throughout history, the majority have seen through the mumbo-jumbo.
But things have changed. What used to be an infection in the extremities of academia has entered the bloodstream of the West. Movies, books, music, comedians, politicians, academics, even preachers have been contaminated. And people who disagree get the message: “Keep your mouth shut or we’ll obliterate you.”
This generation turned its back on those who toiled with their hands, and instead deified their brains. To use Anselm’s definition of God, they considered their own thoughts as “that than which nothing greater can be conceived.”
College students today, though YouTube videos indicate otherwise, think they’re the smartest people in history. Science is worshipped, at least when it reinforces their view.
At one end of the school they teach the kids the “goo to you” hypothesis. They’re mere animals. Evolutionary latecomers. Polluters, consuming more than their fair share.
At the other end of the same school, they’re told: “You’re amazing! You’re wonderful! And please don’t kill yourself.” But from the stats, it’s the first message that’s taken hold.
Now in public discourse, truth means whoever shouts the loudest. Humor is described by Scripture: “Fools mock at sin.” (Prov 14:9) Much of the music aimed at our youth is like feeding on razor blades. Movies have gone from silent to unspeakable in one generation.
It’s true some brave souls are fighting back. Moms objecting to “family-friendly” drag shows at school. A few politicians crying into the wind. But the only real hope must come from seeking after God.
It’s doubtful He’ll use many clever types if He comes to our rescue. (See 1 Cor 1:26-31.) After all, “since…the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.” (v 21)
What was the message preached? “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom 6:23) Clear and simple.
As in the 1st century, so in the 21st, God has to humble uppity folk so they’re ready to listen. I expect, like the first time, He might use some fishermen and farmers, a town doctor, a converted rabbi, and a few ex-cons to show our nation the way back to the Father’s House.
Article by Jabe Nicholson first published in the Commercial Dispatch, Sunday, October 23, 2022