June 11, 2013
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Human Reason: What God has to say to the Modern Atheist
We live in an age where reason is the standard that all things are driven by. If one thing be universally true of Atheism, it would be that Human reason is recognized as the highest plateau in all creation. Rationality runs the show. If it doesn’t follow a logical sense, it’s considered flawed and thus worthless to the Human drama.
While some of that is true — we’d rather not have someone in the Presidential office who doesn’t follow some form of logic, trust me… bad deal — the fundamental principle of Human reason being the loftiest height in our landscape is, in itself, flawed. It assumes that Human beings are the standard and faultless. It assumes our mind supreme. It also assumes that our Logic is without flaw…. and it isn’t.
Look at the world around you. Look that the buildings, the roads, the businesses, the houses, the streets, the gas stations, the movie theaters, ….. in short, look at all that mankind has made over the last few centuries. Have you ever once thought that what’s been made needed a creator to make it? A building doesn’t “evolve”. A road doesn’t magically appear after billions of years. Your house didn’t spontaneously come into being one day. That’s because of a simple rule:
What’s created came from a creator. Everything we know, from our Ipods to our pianos, from our computers to our cars — everything — was created by someone.
It was first the product of someone’s vision, then effort gave form to the vision and in the end raw materials were used and someone was paid to give the labor to bring it into being. This is basic logic.
And yet the Atheist would look at creation and not apply that same rule. They would look at the complexity of design for a human cell and deny that what’s come into being was, by logical conclusion, the product of some visionary with purpose. An Atheist would scoff at the very concept — because an Atheist doesn’t apply his own logic to the puzzle. This is because an Atheist cannot afford to. Once “God” has entered the picture, then Human reason is no longer the hottest cookie in the jar. No longer is Human reason supreme — because Mankind has to answer to something higher than himself, which designed him. Thus an Atheist shows by his own refusal to acknowledge basic facts that his own “human reason” is clouded, pridefully obstinate — in short, his “human reason” is flawed.
Charles Darwin, when writing “On the Origin of the Species” actually realized that there were serious flaws in his theory —- this is an excerpt from a John MacArthur sermon detailing this ..
It was a hard sell. Even Darwin had a hard time with it. If you read anything of Darwin’s you find he’s continually filling all his writings with tremendous doubts. For example, he says in the sixth chapter of his Origin of the Species, “Long before having arrived at this part of my work, a crowd of difficulties will have occurred to the reader. Some of them are so grave that to this day I can never reflect on them without being staggered.” In his chapter on instinct he conceded such simple instincts as bees making a beehive “could be sufficient to overthrow my whole theory”. And to think he said that “The eye could evolve by natural selection seems, I freely confess, absurd in the highest possible degree.” In his chapter on imperfections in the geological record he complained that the complete lack of fossil intermediates in all geological records was perhaps, quote, “the most obvious and gravest objection which can be urged against my theory.” In other words, he was at least honest enough to admit that the thing didn’t make any sense.
So here’s my point. Atheism worships at the altar of Human logic. In effect, Atheism has made mankind’s reason “god”, and is, thus, the highest form of modern idolatry. Atheism self-worships humanity as it’s “god” and it’s refusal to acknowledge the one true Creator. But God sort of expected this when He moved Paul to write:
As the Scriptures say,
“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise
and discard the intelligence of the intelligent.”So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world’s brilliant debaters? God has made the wisdom of this world look foolish. Since God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never know him through human wisdom, he has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe. It is foolish to the Jews, who ask for signs from heaven. And it is foolish to the Greeks, who seek human wisdom. So when we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended and the Gentiles say it’s all nonsense. (1st Corinthians 1:19-23 New Living Translation)
God’s wisdom is foolishness to men, to the Greek debater, to the philosopher, to the scholar, to the world’s best and brightest — in short, to one and all of mankind — God places true wisdom out of their reach and leaves them to their foolish idolatry which would seek any manner of erasing him from the equation.
With the Lord’s authority I say this: Live no longer as the Gentiles do, for they are hopelessly confused. Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him. They have no sense of shame. They live for lustful pleasure and eagerly practice every kind of impurity. (Ephesians 4:17-19 New Living Translation)
Mankind would look at the world, rife with cohesion, order, and flawless harmony down to the minutest cell component… would view all this unimaginable attention to detail… and deny the basic logic that what’s been made necessitates a creator. That is in truest essence: Pride.
And what would God say to this? The same thing He’s been saying all along: Drop the pride, repent, and come to me. The message is the same, whether it’s to a Mormon, a Buddhist, an Atheist or any other sinner. Your pride is what keeps you from knowing the most wonderful grace and mercy that has ever been offered to man. Your faith in human reason is misplaced — you show it yourself by your obstinate refusal to see the hand of the creator behind all of creation.
Human reason only functions properly when it has been renewed through the Spirit of God. It’s only then that we understand fully and know the world around us in it’s beauty. God doesn’t call us to shun human reason, in fact, he calls us to use it.
Come now, and let us reason together,”
Says the Lord,
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
They shall be as white as snow;
Though they are red like crimson,
They shall be as wool. (Isaiah 1:18 NKJV)Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. (Romans 12:2 New Living Translation)
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. (2 Corinthains 5:17-19 NIV)