Skip to main content

  THE GROUND OF TRUTH

The Enlightenment was a period in history, occurring, roughly, between the late16th and 18th century. It was a force that seemed to completely change western culture. That is essentially the world view of those who turned their minds from and their trajectory away from desiring to know God and be known by Him. They embraced an intellectual and philosophical frame of reference for life that centered on the idea that reason is the primary source of authority and legitimacy.
On the surface that sounds like a sophisticated way of looking at things but is fatally flawed. Human reason is not reliable. When one separates themselves from the biblical text as having anything to say to humanity, they miss the fact the that the acquisition of the knowledge of good and evil in the Garden of Eden (I know I’ve already lost some of you) did not open any vast warehouse of universal wisdom. It irreversibly damaged and short-circuited the potential of the human brain as what is broken cannot fix itself.
History is a very illuminating teacher. It shows that, as C. S. Lewis noted, humanity’s moral compass is broken. And, IF all we can know about humanity is a matter of chance with no room for Intelligent design by a Divine Designer, then human reason itself is suspect as a reliable source of understanding anything with exactitude. What has seemed reasonable to one era after the Enlightenment began, is often decried now as abhorrent.
It is, at best, colossal hubris to even get close to the belief that human reason could ever be the primary source of authority and legitimacy. Humanity is finite, limited in every way by that finitude. Interestingly, there are those who consider themselves “elite” in the world, capable to leading the less intelligent masses into a brave new world, as it were. Delusion, once embraced as the ground of “truth” becomes a tyrant demanding that everyone else begin to walk in lock-step with what the “elite” have deemed to be “correct.” Totalitarianism is the fruit of bowing, as to an idol, to the idea that reason is the primary source of authority and legitimacy. Proclaiming that they can see the future clearly, they fail to understand that the “light” they declare they walk in is actually spiritual darkness.
Matthew 6:22-23
“Your eye is a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is good, your whole body is filled with light. But when your eye is bad, your whole body is filled with darkness. And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is!”
Jesus makes it clear that true wisdom and life come from Him and from Him alone. God did not leave us in despair to look for the proverbial “needle in a haystack.” Jesus Christ came to reveal the heart and mind of God to humanity. The call to humility is utterly essential. We must step off the throne of our own flawed intellect and surrender to the Wisdom of the One Who created us and knows what will make for authentic human flourishing. No one can come into that fullness of life except through believing what God has already done in and through Jesus Christ to reclaim us, rescue us from endless folly, and restore meaning, purpose, and true wisdom to mankind.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

  PRAYER Jesus Christ NEVER taught on what we call "unanswered prayer." James wrote that a divided loyalty between trusting the Lord God for life and at the same time relying on the world's systems to get what you want will result in you not getting anything from God you may have prayed about. God will never reinforce the unbelief that flows from divided loyalty. THAT is not unanswered prayer. That is God saying, "No." to your request. God saying, "No." to your requests is not unanswered prayer. It is His grace. His "No" is just what I would want if I knew what He knows. The Lord also answers with, "Not now; not yet." because we are not yet prepared to receive what we think we need. God works in us both to will and to do His good pleasure. If I am praying for something God wants to do in me and the Holy Spirit is working in me preparing me to receive what God has in store, His "Not yet." is NOT unanswered prayer. As we see...
Post a Comment
Read more
 HEBREWS 10:1-2, 10-18 "The sacrifices under that system ( the Old Covenant) were repeated again and again, year after year, but they were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship.   If they could have provided perfect cleansing, the sacrifices would have stopped, for the worshipers would have been purified once for all time, and their feelings of guilt would have disappeared.   For God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time.  Under the Old Covenant, the priest stands and ministers before the altar day after day, offering the same sacrifices again and again, which can never take away sins.   But our High Priest offered Himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time. Then He sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand.   There He waits until His enemies are humbled and made a footstool under His feet.   For by that one offering He forever m...
Post a Comment
Read more
  From Oswald Chambers today: "If the Spirit of God detects anything in you that is wrong, He doesn’t ask you to make it right; He only asks you to accept the light of truth, and then He will make it right. A child of the light will confess sin instantly and stand completely open before God. But a child of the darkness will say, “Oh, I can explain that.” When the light shines and the Spirit brings conviction of sin, be a child of the light. Confess your wrongdoing, and God will deal with it. If, however, you try to vindicate yourself, you prove yourself to be a child of the darkness. What is the proof that carnality has gone? Never deceive yourself; when carnality is gone you will know it— it is the most real thing you can imagine. And God will see to it that you have a number of opportunities to prove to yourself the miracle of His grace. The proof is in a very practical test. You will find yourself saying, “If this had happened before, I would have had the spirit of resentment!”...
Post a Comment
Read more