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January 18 - January 21, 2019
What is being communicated is an accurate description of reality, not a belief system about it.
“The whole creation of God preaches,” as Jonathan Edwards put it.
The existence of personal beings constitutes evidence that they were created by a personal God, not by any non-personal cause.
It is the height of illogic to think that humans originated from anything with lower functionality than themselves—from a something instead of a Someone.
It appears that we have to be educated out of the knowledge of God by secular schools and media.
The most fundamental decision we all face over the course of our lives is what we will recognize as the ultimate reality, the uncaused source and cause of our existence.
They will absolutize some power or element immanent within the cosmos, elevating it into an all-defining principle—a false absolute.
The advantage of using the biblical term idol is that it levels the playing field.
When people commit themselves to a certain vision of reality, it becomes their ultimate explainer. It serves to interpret the universe for them, to guide their moral decisions, to give meaning and purpose to life, and all the other functions normally associated with a religion.
We can enjoy the best works of any culture.
Every ism isolates one strand from the rich fabric of truth.
“But we rarely asked, ‘Compared to what?’
He beat you up because you’re weak, rebellious, and ignorant. Worse, you’re proud of it.
Why do idols invariably lead to destructive behavior? What is the connection? The link is that idols always lead to a lower view of human life.
We could say that every concept of humanity is created in the image of some god.
An idol always leads to a reductionistic attitude that dehumanizes others and justifies using them for your own agenda.
“And instead of saying ‘I love you,’ the knowledgeable lover would say, ‘Darling, dopamine floods my caudate nucleus’ every time I look at you.” 2
Evolutionary psychology reduces all human behavior to masked self-interest.
Because humans are made in God’s image, they often do treat others with dignity and respect; they engage in humanitarian projects and advocate for human rights.
can we be good without God. No.
In evangelism, it can often be effective to walk people through the implications of their worldview to show that it provides no basis for their own highest moral and humanitarian ideals.
Idols are popular precisely because they cut reality down to a size that can be stuffed into a box and controlled.
Resorting to a biblical analogy, McGinn asks, “How did evolution convert the water of biological tissue into the wine of consciousness?” 15
The problem with reductionism is that instead of explaining things, it tries to explain them away.
“When science seemed to take God out of the universe, men had to deify some natural force, like ‘evolution,’” explains Randall. 30
Materialism reduces humans to products of physical forces. Postmodernism reduces them to products of social forces.
As Udo Middelmann explains, “Islam is a religion of resignation.… Allah made the world, and you must accept the way it interacts with you, even should it kill you. You are allowed no questions, no doubt, no individual responsibility. Negation of self is your salvation.”
when gods fight among themselves, men have to die.” 62
We have the capacity to be first causes, starting a new chain of cause and effect.
“Unless human beings are morally responsible,” says law professor Jerome Hall, “justice is only a mirage.”
Otherwise they could excuse hostile behavior by saying they had no choice in the matter.
the Twinkie defense
Dallas Willard comments, “I have noticed that the most emphatic of Postmodernists turn coldly modern when discussing their fringe benefits or other matters that make a great difference to their practical life.” 35
Another way is to ask what you lose when you give it up.
