“For this reason God will send upon them a deluding
influence so that they will believe what is false.” (II Thess. 2:11)
Not so long ago, Richard Dawkins wrote a book entitle, “The
God Delusion.” In that book, Richard Dawkins argues that the basis of belief in
God is not grounded in science, and that there is no rationally compelling
scientific evidence to support the delusion that God exists. Dawkins arrogantly
details the goal of his project, “If this book works as I intend, religious
readers who open it will be atheists when they put it down.”
The purpose of this blog is not to respond to Richard
Dawkins. Many good theologians have already provided Christians with a response
to the irrationalism posited by Dawkins and the New Atheism. The purpose of this
blog is to entertain the question of divine epistemological judgment. The word
epistemology has to do with the theory of knowledge. It treats the question of
how human beings know things. How do we attain accurate, truthful knowledge of
the world around us, both physically and spiritually?
Imagine not existing. I know, impossible, right? Work with
me. Pretend you simply, all of the sudden began to exist. One minute, you were
not, and the next minute you are. You begin to look around at things, trees,
grass, plants, the sky, water, insects, and animals. If you were created a tabula
rasa, how would you even begin to assess the things you see in front of
you? By what means would you derive your own self-awareness? How could you even
know who or what you are? The Christian worldview asserts that man is a wholly,
knowledge-dependent being. Human beings do not know things of their own accord.
One might answer that the first man studied his observations and gained
knowledge that way. However, one must know how to study and that they should
study in order to study. By what means would the first person attain this knowledge
of study? It is an unavoidable enigma in terms of epistemology. We assert then,
that man, in order to know anything must know God. All man’s knowledge is
derived from God either immediately or indirectly through divinely created and
granted faculties. Since man’s knowledge is dependent wholly upon the grace and
mercy of God, God is in sovereign control of that knowledge. Hence, it follows
that God may choose to withhold knowledge from man or by means of His own
choosing sentence man to ignorance for reasons known only to Himself. Such
reasons would certainly be in accord with His righteous and loving nature. It
is this truth about God that our text reveals through Paul as he addresses the
Thessalonian Christians.
Paul foresees a time in the future when God will actually
send a deluding influence upon men who willingly reject divine revelation in
preference for wicked pleasure. The Greek construction dia touto
expresses purpose and is translated “For this reason.” For what reason? We look
in v. 10 and the reason is because men did not receive the love of the truth!
Rather, in v. 12, they took pleasure in wickedness. We live in a culture that
despises the idea of objective truth. American society wants to determine truth
for itself apart from God. The whole point for this modern project, which is
not modern at all, is so that men can take pleasure in wickedness. Let’s take
the upcoming Super Bowl as an example. “Is there anything I can do for marriage equality or anti-bullying over the
next couple of weeks to harness this Super Bowl media?” Ayanbadejo, 36, wrote
to Brian Ellner and Michael Skolnik. Apparently, linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo
considers the idea of gay sex, along with gay marriage virtuous enough to use
the largest sports platform in the world to push for acceptance of this wicked
behavior.
Americans are
coming to the belief that gay sex is not only acceptable, it is actually
normal. The progression has been quite rapid. Initially, gay sex was ostracized
as unnatural and abnormal. Then we began to say they were born this way and
cannot help themselves. Then we began to say, do what you want, but keep it
between yourselves. Then we begin to think that it was the only love these
people could experience. Then we began to think that it may even be natural.
Now we are quickly moving to a place where we are equating gay sex with sex
between a man and a woman. It is unrestrained sexual perversion of the worse
sort and educated Americans are calling it normal. Can we agree, as Christians,
that such thinking is clearly, delusional.
I heard a news
story this weekend that reported that young women can obtain the “morning-after”
pill in vending machines on a particular college campus. These young women are
free to engage in wanton sexual pleasure, live a life that used to get them
labeled as “whores” not so long ago, and run down to the vending machine and
murder the consequences of their lewd behavior. The murder of helpless children
in American culture is, in my opinion, a sign of the judgment of God on a
nation that has a duty to acknowledge God in all His ways and be thankful for
His many blessings. To argue that the murder of babies is a woman’s rights or
health issue, is absurd. Again, for Christians it is easy to consider such
thinking, delusional.
Many modern
American Christians think they have embraced the God who is when indeed what
they have embraced is an idolatrous idea of a god of their own making. Rather
than accepting God’s right to send a deluding influence on wicked sinners, they
claim that God is such an all loving God that He desperately wants to do
whatever He can to get people to believe in Him. Their god tries so hard
through acts of kindness, rational arguments, scientific proofs, to get people
to just trust in Him. Their god’s heart is breaking at the condition of
humankind. He wants only the best for his creation, for you, and for me. Their
god understands that we are all imperfect sinners. He loves us all and accepts
us all just the way we are. He does not care if men are having sex with men or
if women want to murder their children so that they may continue in the
pleasures of prohibited lewd and promiscuous sex.
The apostle Paul,
writing for God, in God’s stead, says that because men do not love the
knowledge of the truth and because they do love the pleasures of wickedness,
this God will send a deluding influence so that certain wrath and divine
justice will be directed to those who ignore God’s sovereign right to be
acknowledged, obeyed, and thanked for His grace and for Who He is as our
sovereign Creator.
The Christian
Church has to call gay sex the perversion that it is. We have to stop calling
abortion, abortion, and stop debating it as if it were a woman’s health or
rights issue. We must preach and teach and proclaim that gay sex is a sin
against God and a perversion of natural sex. We must declare that abortion is
murder. We must, as Jesus, John the Baptist, Peter, and Paul did before us,
demand repentance from wickedness and full acceptance, trust, and embracing of
Christ and all that He is. Am I advocating a radical activism? I am not. I am
advocating that we proclaim and preach the gospel and when these subjects
arise, we call them what they are. The only campaign I am interested in is the
one that proclaims the gospel and saves lost sinners from the flames of an
eternal hell. I am not interested in an “anti-anything” campaign. I am
interested in a pro-truth, pro-gospel campaign. I am interested in the truth,
not the comfort of modern men who are so easily offended by the slightest
suggestion they may be wrong or misbehaving in some way. It is not arrogance to
point out wrong thinking or wrong behavior. Rather, arrogance is located in the
thinking that would find fault with a man for doing so.
This was excellent, brother. I have a bit of a side comment/question. I've always understood 2 Thess 2:10-12 to be referring to the truth of the Gospel that men did not love and believe (and so be saved), but considering your article, do you believe this is referring to a suppression of the truth per Romans 1:18? I am sharing this article on multiple platforms as it needs to get around. Thanks!
ReplyDelete"The Christian Church has to call gay sex the perversion that it is. We have to stop calling abortion, abortion, and stop debating it as if it were a woman’s health or rights issue. "
ReplyDeleteAgreed. But we won't do that - not just because we are "sympathetic" to the "plight" of homosexual men and women...and those who would seek abortion (though I believe that who who are would frame it that way). I believe that our reasons are far more insidious - that part of what motivates them (selfishness and a lack of respect for God) motivates us in the same manner. I blogged about it last week: http://thefarmschool.blogspot.com/2013/01/how-american-church-helped-to-usher-in.html
By the way, I also loved this: "The only campaign I am interested in is the one that proclaims the gospel and saves lost sinners from the flames of an eternal hell. I am not interested in an “anti-anything” campaign. I am interested in a pro-truth, pro-gospel campaign. I am interested in the truth, not the comfort of modern men who are so easily offended by the slightest suggestion they may be wrong or misbehaving in some way"
Please do your research, you say you are "interested in the truth," and yet do not know how the morning after pill works. The morning after pill does not "murder the consequences of their lewd behavior" as it does not interrupt an established pregnancy and works by "stopping a pregnancy before it starts by preventing or delaying the release of an egg from the ovaries.The ECP does not prevent fertilisation, inhibit implantation or end an established pregnancy. It is not an abortion pill." (DR Marie website)
ReplyDeleteBoth women and men have the choice and freedom to have consensual sex with whoever they want and as much consensual sex as they want. So why call women's behaviour "wanton" and "lewd" for simply having sex?
Abortion is a women's* right issue as it involves THEIR body, and no one elses. Don't even get me started on your stance on homosexuality. But PLEASE do research before you rant on about "murder" when it clearly isn't.
To the Sales Rep for the "Plan-B" pill, you are very wrong. This pill can and does cause abortion by preventing implantation. It may not happen all the time, or even most of the time, but the fact that the warning is there is enough.
ReplyDeleteAbortion is NOT a woman's rights issue. It is a child's rights issue. More than anything, it is about the Lordship of our Creator. He has the right to make demands of us. And we are obligated to submit.
Abortion is not only murder, it is the worse class of murder possible: a mother killing her baby. The mother is the one person the child should be able to trust with his or her life.
As an fyi, I do hope you realize this is a Christian blog espouses distinctly Christian ethics.