The New Atheism

Within the last five years there has been a major resurgence of atheism. A number of leading atheist's works have remained on the New York best sellers list for months. What is the cause of this new philosophical phenomenon? The answer is three-fold; historically, theologically, and practically.

Historically, over the last 50-60 years there has been a subtle but powerful shift in how the cultural elites think. The absolutism of modernity has given way to the relativity of post-modernism. Though it has taken a while, this philosophy has finally made its way down to 'lay level' - to the every day Joe. How often do you hear the comment, 'well, that is your opinion'. In other words, no one is longer right and no one is wrong, it is what I believe that ultimately matters. Everyone believes he is his own final authority, not some divine person or ecclesiastical institution. 

Theologically, this thinking shouldn't surprise us. It has a long and prestigious history. It has been around since Genesis 3! The Fall of man into sin was a result of him usurping God's authority by claiming his was better; he knew better than God!

Paul in Romans 1 says the knowledge of God is inbred within the makeup of man. The problem is he has suppressed that knowledge and turned to worship the creation rather than the Creator.  As the truth of God is quieted in his soul man's sinful desires and nature is allowed full expression.

What has allowed this 'full expression' of man's lesser nature (stemming from his belief in relativism) is the deteriorating influence of the morality as taught by the Church (rather of the Catholic or Protestant version). As the pluralistic belief system of the modern culture continues to spread, the absolutism of Christianity continues to dwindle. Our culture has bought into relativism, consequently any absolutism sounds dangerous, egotistical, even 'Hitlerish'.

As the baser nature of man is allowed free reign and exercise, it will become increasingly harder - if not impossible - for the church to be heard. If man can express his sin without consequence or guilt (as the church would teach it would bring) then the voice of righteousness and morality will sound as a hallow ring in his ear. It is nothing more than a prudish attempt to curb what these absolutists believe is dangerous or what they believe 'leads one to hell'. Since all of this (sin, hell, moral standards) is 'your opinion' he can easily throw it aside and pursue those things that bring him joy and pleasure.

Practically, while the church is poised to give meaning to the emptiness that relativism brings, is also poised itself on the edge of a precipice of obscurity and relativism because of our hypocritical actions. If we are unable to live the moral standard we proclaim and do it in love then we shouldn't complain when the world rejects our beliefs!

In this age of growing atheism, may we live with absolute theism giving the world a reason to find sure footing in the eternal and absolute truth of God's Word.

Here are some interesting Epitaphs:

This epitaph adorns the grave of Ellen Shannon, twenty-six, of Girard, Pennsylvania:

Who was fatally burned

March 21, 1870

by the explosion of a lamp

filled with “R. E. Danforth’s

Non-Explosive

Burning Fluid”

Epitaph of a dentist named John Brown:

Stranger! Approach this spot with gravity!

John Brown is filling his last cavity.

Inscribed on the tomb of Mel Blanc, creator of the cartoon characters Bugs Bunny and Porky Pig: That’s All, Folks!

On Benjamin Franklin's tomb:

The Body of B. Franklin, Printer

Like the Cover of an old Book

Its Contents torn out

And Stripped of its Lettering & Gilding

Lies here.

Food for Worms

For, it will as he believed appear once more

In a new and more elegant Edition corrected and improved

As believers in Jesus Christ our hope is not ‘That’s all Folks’ but the amazing truth that some day we will appear again in a more "elegant edition, corrected and improved"!

Paradise Lost...Paradise Regained

Where is history going? What will humanity be like in a hundred or thousand years? Were the Greeks right, are we stuck in a cycle of history repeating itself generation after generation? In so, when will the next Hitler arise? The next world war? The next holocaust?

As humanity are we bound to grasp for that utopian hope only to have it escape us again and again? Are we bound to eternally grasp at the air of unattainable hopes?

On the surface it may seem that way. None of the world’s philosophers have provided a viable or permanent answer. All of their ideologies, while on the surface promising, have all failed in the end. They have proven themselves empty and hopeless.

Why? Because they have not taken one vital aspect of human nature into account; sin.

As good intentioned as man may be in his desire for societal development – even perfection – it never pans out because the dark side of man ruins it. Greed, hate, lust, and pride, all factor in.

Left to himself, man will never create the utopia he so desires. It is not because he isn’t smart enough, he isn’t righteous enough.

Only God can create perfection and maintain it. Only God can lay out rules and enforce them in such a way so as to produce the best results in both man and creation. And only God is powerful enough to bring to fruition His will and plans.

Man’s inability to create a perfect environment and God’s ability to do it is seen in Genesis 1 & 2 where God created perfection in the Garden.

Sadly, man chose a different path in chapter 3, falling into sin.  

Left in Genesis 3, the Greeks were right, we are bound to an endless cycle of historical repetition. But God in His grace formulated a plan to bring creation back to its perfection.

The story line of the Bible is God’s blueprint to return creation and mankind back to Edenic conditions. You open the Bible in Paradise and you close it back in Paradise. In between is God’s gracious plan of how He is going to bring this about.

God’s means of doing this is found in His Son. He is the catalyst. He is the bridge that connects God and man again – He takes care of what separates us from God. And once that separation is taken care of, God and man can once again dwell together in perfection fellowship and Edenic conditions can once again prevail.

How the return to paradise occurs is through two strategic historical events; the death of Christ and the resurrection of Christ.

The work of Christ on the Cross began the implementation of God’s amazing plan. He paid the wages due our sin and brought us back into a relationship with God. Christ’s resurrection is the guarantee of the perfection of that relationship. Some day we walk with God in the cool of the day; there will be no sin or death. Instead there will be a new heaven and earth where the redeemed will spend eternity with Him.

Paradise lost, will be paradise regained; all because of God's amazing love and grace in our lives.

Speaking of Grace

I had the privilege this morning of preaching on the very topic of what this blog site is all about; God's grace. My text was 1 Corinthians 15:1-11. Though the word is only found in v 10, the idea undergirds Paul's understanding of his call as an apostle and of salvation itself. God's grace is what reached down and saved the man who persecuted the church and its Savior and it was that same grace that sustained and empowered him in his work for the church he once aggressively persecuted and the Savior he hated.

Paul lived and moved in the atmosphere of grace. He realized that God had given him what he didn't deserve and as a response Paul gave every ounce of his energy and every moment of his life to the Lord who had taken him out of his life of self-righteousness into a life of imputed righteousness. 

May we see our salvation and our lives through the same grid Paul did; grace. May we realize that every breath we take, every move we make, and even the faith by which we embrace Christ, is all of grace. As Paul says so eloquently, 'by the grace of God, I am what I am. 

Study on the Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements

During the Sunday School hour at my church I'm teaching through a series entitled "Thirsty for the Spirit". It is a study on the history and theology of the Pentecostal and Charismatic movements. When I am done, I hope to provide my notes and powerpoint to all who may find the study helpful.