Have you ever asked yourself, “What is happening in the world? How could leading authorities make such outrageous claims? How could governmental policies be so far off the mark? Is there something in the water we drink? Am I now living in an alternate universe (a Bizarro world)? Has common sense been replaced with no sense or non-sense?”
I believe we can trace the derailing of our society and culture to three prevailing anti-biblical influences whose inspiration comes from the Enemy himself.
Perspectivism
Friedrich Nietzsche (nee-chuh), a German philosopher and cultural critic (1844-1900), building on the work of another philosopher Gottfried Leibniz (libe-nuhts)), fully developed the concept of perspectivism, that is, all truth is based on a person’s perspective. Nietzsche challenged traditional notions of truth, morality, and values. Perspectivism argues that all truth claims are contingent on, and the product of, a person's perspective. Nietzsche's philosophy attacks the concept of essential truth and seeks to destabilize the concept of universal morality. In essence, he forcefully stated that a perspective-free or an interpretation-free objective reality is impossible. In other words, all truth claims are contingent on, and the product of, a person’s perspective. He attacks the ‘notion’ of essential or absolute truth and sought to destabilize the concept of universal morality. He would say that conscience is a social construct, the byproduct of prevailing social dynamics. Since there is no real truth, reality is relative to each person’s own interpretation and perspective. He is the originator of the statement, “God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him.”
In the world, your truth ends where their nose begins.
EXAMPLE: An article posted in the Star Tribune Monday, May 8, 2023 comments on a recent paper written by 29 authors entitled “In Defense of Merit in Science,’ primarily scientists, including two Nobel laureates, in fields as varied as physics, psychology and pharmacokinetics, raises the alarm that research is increasingly informed by a politicized agenda, “one that often characterizes science as fundamentally racist and in need of ‘decolonizing.’”
Positionality Statements (declarations a rea and perceived biases and explicit acknowledgement by an author of his or her identity, relative privilege, experiences of oppression, etc.)
Citation Justice (the attempt to achieve racial or gender balance in scholarly references)
Gate-keeper Political Litmus Tests (faculty employment, grant program proposal, required DEI goals)
BOTTOM LINE: no absolute or objective truth; perspectives are the only reality; relativism and subjectivism prevail; the ‘loudest voices’ win the day; while proponents of truth are criticized, denigrated, vilified, marginalized, and ostracized).
We read in Judges 21:25 (ESV) In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
For the believer, God is Truth—Jesus said He was the way, the TRUTH, and the life (John 14:6).
In John 8:31-32 “if we are His disciples, we will know the truth and the truth will set us free.”
In Romans 1:18 we read, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who SUPPRESS THE TRUTH in unrighteousness.
We are also warned in Scripture to watch our doctrines closely (1 Timothy 4:16).
Also, the time is coming (and I believe is upon us now) “when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander into myths (2 Timothy 4:3-4).”
Negation of Reality
Under the tutelage of Friedrich Engels, Karl Marx inspired the Russian Revolution of 1917 that overthrew the imperial government and placed the Bolsheviks in power. How was this possible? The philosophy that brought about that huge change is prevalent today. The philosophy can be stated this way. You have to destroy the real if you want to replace it with something else. It manifests itself in what has become known as woke-ism—the denouncing of what is understood as our current reality (and what currently we hold dear) through denigration, biased criticism, vilification, and rejection of traditions, our heritage, our religious beliefs, our existing governmental structures, etc. which implicitly announces a better alternative, a new world of hope. Such a view rarely defines what that new world will actually deliver, only that this world is corrupt and must be replaced with a new hyper-reality.
EXAMPLES: What needs replacement according to this perspective? Everything!
Christianity must be mollified, marginalized, and ostracized.
The current republic (democracy) and capitalism must be destroyed.
Real science is not ‘real’ science and must be redefined.
The Constitution is outdated and needs to be replaced.
Police must be abolished, and the prisons closed.
Etc., etc., etc.
How, you might ask, could Western culture support the whole notion of gender fluidity that now seems the ‘norm’ rather than the ‘exception?’ First, you have to denigrate the real thing of sex determined by biology. And secondly, you have to denigrate anyone who believes otherwise.
It is one thing to be ignorant unintentionally, it is quite another thing to be ignorant on purpose. To compound the problem is to be arrogant about our ignorance, unwilling to be informed by history, reality, facts, and absolute truth.
BOTTOM LINE: Dialogue has been replaced by monologue. Monologues have been replaced by screaming monologues. And screaming monologues are being replaced by outrageous demands.
But Paul’s exhortation to Timothy is true for us today. “I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching (2 Timothy 4:1-2).”
In 1 Peter 3:13-17 we are encouraged and exhorted, “Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.”
The Sacred/Secular Divide
Francis Schaeffer, widely recognized as one of the most influential Christian thinkers of our day, suggested that we live our lives in two stories: an upper ‘Sacred’ story and a lower “Secular’ story. The ‘sacred’ refers to things pertaining to the spiritual and eternal realm of “God’s affairs,” or “related to religion.” In this ‘upper story’ are the activities of prayer, bible study, worship, theology, evangelism, discipleship, spiritual disciplines, devotions, and the things we normally embrace on Sundays. The ‘secular’ refers to things pertaining to the physical and temporal realm of human affairs, or anything not related to religion. In this ‘lower story’ are the activities work, reason, business, politics, science, economics, mass media, the arts, and social justice initiatives we engage in on the weekdays of our existence.
Many followers of Christ have bought into the cult of the sacred/secular divide that compartmentalizes one’s faith into two separate worlds. Nancy Pearcey (2008), in her book Total Truth, makes the following observation.
“Christians often live in two separate worlds, commuting between the private world of family and church (where we can express our faith freely) and the public world (where religious expression is firmly suppressed). But no Christian, in any profession, can be happy when torn in two contrary directions (p.65).”
Our faith, she says, is relegated to the private sphere of our life, rarely venturing beyond the boundary between the sacred and the secular into the public domain of our lives. Her concern, and mine as well, is the growing impotency of Christianity as a viable counter to secularism in our society. Pearcy quotes theologian Walter Kasper,
“Secularization did not cause the death of religion, but it did cause it to become but one sector of modern life along with many others. Religion lost its claim to universality and its power of interpretation. That is, Christianity no longer functions as a lens to interpret the whole of reality; it is no longer held as total truth (p.68).”
BOTTOM LINE: All creation (both the sacred and the secular) are God’s, and one day all creation will be restored (Romans 8:22). In Ephesians 1:22 we are reminded that, “God placed ALL things under Christ’s authority and appointed Him to be head over EVERYTHING. He did this “so that God may be all in all (1 Corinthians 15:28).”
We must also remember that “God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:9-11).” These verses suggest that as we engage the culture, we should do so with that in mind. “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ (Colossians 3:23-24).” “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31).”
The ‘New’ Dark Age
The old dark ages were marked by fear of the unknown and reliance upon the learned for interpreting the world around them. Knowledge and wisdom resided with the aristocracy and the church. Individual study of God’s word was left to the so-called scholars with agendas. Interpretation was under the sole purview of these authorities. The common man and woman relied upon others for truth. The reformation broke that bondage. Luther’s rebellion essentially gave the Scriptures back to the people.
Allaster MacIntryre, in his book After Virtue, suggests we are in a new dark age. Living in the fast lane and susceptible to the tyranny of the urgent has compelled many of us to rely on new authorities for knowledge and wisdom. These subject matter experts can be found on newscasts, talk shows, podcasts, social media, and some pulpits. Because of our hectic lifestyles we turn to ‘sound bites’ from popular celebrities inside and outside the church for “truth.”
I agree with MacIntryre—we are living in the new dark ages. When the organizing center of our beliefs, values, worldview and motives shifts from the Bible to a pluralistic syncretism and amalgamation of philosophies and ideologies it isn’t long before we lose our way and fall into factions and special interest groups fitting our preconceived notions and whims.
The Bible tells us that we are to “watch our lives and doctrine closely (1 Timothy 4:16).” “Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage-with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come (and I believe is upon us now) when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry (2 Timothy 4:2-5).”
CONCLUSION
We have been given a mandate—to facilitate His redemptive purposes in a fallen world. How are we going to do that without sound biblical beliefs, biblically informed values, a Biblical worldview, and godly motives that will determine the quality of behavior presented to a broken world that surrounds us?