March 15, 2024
There Are None So…
Pt. 3, Confused
Continuing in the theme of, “There are none so blind as those who will not see”, and “There are none so deaf as those who will not hear”, let’s move on to our third thought for this month: “There are none so confused, as those who will not think, or, a better word would be, REASON.”
There is a subset of citizens on our planet who pride themselves on their supposed objectivity[1]; they call themselves “Free Thinkers”. These “free thinkers” would also probably ally themselves with philosophical titles such as Atheist, Agnostic, Humanist, or Intellectual. Whatever else these folks infer from the title “Free Thinker”, this one tenant would probably be first and foremost: they believe that THEY are objective, or at least attempting objectivity… and that the thinking and reasoning of a vast majority of the remainder of this planet’s citizenry, is, to some degree, perverted, clouded, or biased by subjectivity[2]. And they would most likely contend that the citizenry’s subjectivity (to whatever degree) is a function of cultural and/or religious “bias”.
But the problem with this argument is that everyone—even the so-called “Free Thinker”—is biased! No human being can be 100% objective. Everyone looks at the world, at life, at ethics, and at morality, and they form ideas, opinions, and conclusions based upon a baseline set of preconceived ideas and/or human reasoning. We call this a filter, a worldview, or a paradigm. Cartoonist Dan Leitha[3] pictured this “bias” as Worldview Goggles (see the cartoon on page 2). As we mature intellectually, we build this set of “Worldview Goggles”, and we wear them freely, using them as an interpretive filter to make sense of our world.
The “Free Thinking” atheist, agnostic, or Humanist starts every quest, whether it be scientific or ideologic, with a baseline set of conditions: 1) there is no Creator; 2) everything came from nothing, and 3) life started by accident and Darwinian evolution can be the only allowable answer for the myriad of lifeforms on our planet. We will call this the “No God” or “Natural” set of “goggles” (a Natural worldview).
The born-again Christian looks at the same set of data (cosmology, geology, biology, ethics, and morality), but through a set of “goggles” that we will label “God’s Word”, i.e., a Biblical worldview.
Yes, every human being forms his/her own set of worldview goggles; pure objectivity is an impossibility. There is no such thing as the “blank slate” concept. A child growing up in a home and culture shaped by a Deistic faith-set will usually be influenced by that Deistic faith-set. A child growing up in an atheistic faith-set will usually be influenced by that atheistic faith-set. No human can grow up totally isolated from an ideology.
If we truly are driven by a goal of objectivity, then we will be honest and admit that Atheism, Agnosticism, and Humanism are just other forms of religion, when “religion” is defined as a faith-set or dogma. Yes, atheists operate by faith! None of their baseline assumptions can be proven scientifically or even logically supported! Consider these premises,
1. “No God?”. How can you prove or disprove that?
2. “Everything came from nothing?” This is a logical impossibility unless you invoke a Supreme Being that SPOKE the Universe into existence.
3. “Darwinian evolution?” This hypothesis has never been scientifically demonstrated, the fossil stratas do not support it, and even our coarse understanding of biology and life itself precludes “evolution” as a ludicrous joke!
All of the Naturalist’s baseline tenants must be accepted by faith and in this instance, blind faith, i.e., faith with no foundation, and sadly, hopeless faith.
If human beings want to find and know The Truth, it is available and obvious to all. It is available to all who would stop and consider, think, and REASON! Our Creator isn’t afraid of our questions, in fact, He begs us to ask, to seek, to search, and then to find! God, through the prophet Isaiah, cried out to his people, Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD… (Isaiah 1:18). And through the prophet Moses our Creator invited his people to consider! Know therefore this day, and consider it in thine heart, that the LORD he is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath: there is none else (Deuteronomy 4:39). God built his Human creation with not only an innate knowledge of ethics and morality but with an innate knowledge of God’s very Triune existence! The Apostle Paul wrote in Romans… Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. 20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse… (Romans 1:19, 20).
God says that with a mind that is open to The Truth and is honest in its reasoning, we can look at the Triune Universe—we can look at the trinity of space, time, and matter—and understand the Trinity of the Godhead![4] This is amazing!
Those who are truly wise will look, consider, think, and reason. And when they consider God’s proclamation in Isaiah 45:22—Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else—they will bow the knee! They will admit that the “rational man”, the “thinking man”, the “reasoning man” is a man of Biblical faith and that he is the climax creation of a loving God Who came as a man so that He might redeem us from the curse of our rebellion.
God bless and consider!
[1] In regard to a person’s judgment — not influenced by personal feelings or opinions in considering and representing facts. Synonyms include impartial, unbiased, unprejudiced, nonpartisan, disinterested, neutral, even-handed, equitable, fair-minded, open-minded, and etc.
[2] In regard to a person’s judgment — influenced by personal feelings, tastes, and opinions, which in turn come from one’s social environment, i.e., culture, religion, and etc.
[3] Leitha, Dan. Worldview Goggles. October 1, 2008. Published in Answers Magazine, Answers in Genesis. https://answersingenesis.org/media/cartoons/let-there-be-truth/worldview-goggles/
[4] Morris, Henry M. III. The Triune Universe. Institute for Creation Research. http://www.icr.org/article/triune-universe/