The Fruit of Post Modern Thinking - Whatever

Our first Post Modern President selects the first Post Modern Supreme Court Justice with the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor. What does it all mean? Well what ever you want it to mean if you are a Post Modernist, because truth, after all, is relative. If you are a Post Modern thinker you manufacture your own reality based on what works for you. You determine from the richness of your extensive experience - what is true, what is just, what is morally good, what is right, what is acceptable – today… There is no bigger picture, no lasting truth, so you are left with only preferences. Hard to build a nation (or a life) on a foundation foolishly laid on the shifting sands of human preference, (which is always self serving). It will crumble, crash, burn. No basic truth system exists for the Post Modernist so reason is conveniently tossed out the window, because, well, they just don’t like it if it doesn’t serve their desires.

In selecting Sotomayor, Obama said he chose her not only because of her "brilliant" legal career, but her "wisdom accumulated from an inspiring life's journey." She has been brilliantly overturned five of the six times her decisions were brought before the Supreme Court. Oops. But don’t forget, post modern thought allows you to create your own reality, never mind those pesky facts. An inspiring life journey, while nice, does not qualify you to be on the Supreme Court. Obama also selected Sonia for her “empathy” and “common touch”. Since when does empathy trump justice? It did for a group of firefighters who sued New Haven Connecticut for tossing out the results of a promotion test they passed that happened to qualify too many whites and Hispanics for promotion but no African Americans. NOT FAIR and after they paid to have a test made that would not discriminate based on race. After all, we need a firefighting team that looks like America not those most qualified. Duh. Sotomayor empathetically sided with New Haven and against the fire fighters that deserved promotions based on their test scores but were denied them so those who flunked the promotion test (people of color) would not be discriminated against or feel bad or what??? She ruled there was no injustice on the part of New Haven as no promotions were handed out so all were treated the same… I don’t think so! Justice is no longer about the law or right and wrong, in a post modern world it is merely the empathetic preference of a “judge” using her power to redistribute justice based on her personal bias for or against a certain ethnicity or gender or… whatever. Our post modern president has already begun implementing his preference to redistribute the wealth from those who earned it by working hard to those who didn’t. Wow, what empathy. I’m going to work really hard and earn lots of money so my president can take it from me and give it someone else who doesn’t feel like working as hard as me. Remember the story the Emperor Has No Cloths? We’re living it.

Nothing, Nothing, Nothing --- EVERYTHING!!!

Where did the cosmos (all there is) come from?
There are only two possibilities.

1. The cosmos at one time came into being

2. The cosmos has always existed

Carl Sagan would opt for #2.

“The cosmos is all there is, or ever was, or ever will be”

But Carl had not considered the second law of thermodynamics when he made his faith claim. Simply stated, the second law demonstrates that all energy is becoming less efficient. The cosmos is winding down. If it has been around for not only billions and billions of years, but forever and always, logic insists that it would necessarily had to have wound down completely.

Both Macro-Evolution and Creation believe in #1, though they have very different views on how the universe and life began. Evolution affirms the ‘Big Bang Theory’ where the universe burst into existence about 13.7 billion years ago and time began. The bang wasn’t an explosion but actually happened when a very small point of singularity like those thought to exist in the middle of black holes, for no known reason, started to expand and the universe came into existence. So all the matter in the entire universe was compressed by a huge gravitational force into this infinitely small point and then expanded to become known as the universe, which science has observed is still expanding today. The singularity didn't appear in space; rather, space began inside of the singularity. Prior to the singularity, nothing existed, not space, time, matter, or energy - nothing.

Close your eyes and think of nothing….. you can’t do it. Once you think of anything, it is no longer ‘nothing’. But I digress.

In other words,

nothing, nothing, nothing --then-- EVERYTHING!!!

Creation also believes the universe burst into existence but not by chance but on purpose at the command of the Creator. Genesis 1:1 says, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” Isaiah 40:22 and Psalm 104:2 talk about God stretching out the heavens like a canopy, spreading them out like a tent to live in. So while Creationists share the belief that the universe and time had a beginning, they believe the cause of creation was the self-existent, eternal God of the Bible who created the universe to glorify Himself.

In other words,

Self-existent, eternal God –created-- EVERYTHING!!!

Even if you don’t believe in God, you have to admit, a self-existent, eternal God creating everything at least has logic on its side. Cause and effect. Everything coming from nothing or being coming from non-being, takes way more faith then belief in an eternal God. Ya kind of have to suspend some laws of physics as well.

Timeless Truths

Excerpt from a Michael Steele speech where he commented on policies pushed forth by our current president and democratic congress that will bring about an America that is more dependent on government, less industrious and less ambitious than our nation's ideals. I couldn’t agree more. I really want America to remain a free democratic republic and not get led by a Pied Piper into failed socialist ideologies that will bring us trickle up poverty and misery like they have everywhere they have ever been tried throughout history. Stop drinking the kool-aid people. Wake up.

"You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift."

"You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong."

"You cannot help the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer."

"You cannot further the brotherhood of man by encouraging class hatred."

"You cannot establish security by borrowing money."

"You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich."

"You cannot build character and courage by taking away one's initiative and incentive."

"You cannot help individuals permanently by doing for them what they should do for themselves."

Imagio Dei or Imagio Goo?

Are we - Imagio Dei, created by God, made in His image as stated in Genesis or are we imagio goo with no more significance than a grown up germ; a meaningless accident of time and chance and goo? Here are three quotes from people who ardently reject the idea of God being our Creator who designed our amazing world and filled it with abundantly diverse life.

"Biology is the study of complicated things that give the appearance of having been designed for a purpose" - Richard Dawkins in his book "The Blind Watchmaker"

"Biologists must constantly keep in mind that what they see was not designed but rather evolved" - Francis Crick, the discoverer of DNA double helix

"I remember well the time when the thought of the eye made me cold all over, but I have got over this stage of the complaint, and now small trifling particulars of structure often make me very uncomfortable. The sight of a feather in a peacock's tail, whenever I gaze at it, makes me sick." - Charles Darwin from "The Life Letters of Charles Darwin" - letter written to Asa Gray dated 3 April, 1860

Imagio Dei or imagio goo. It changes everything.

Universal Truths for Universal Questions

It seems to me God has set some questions in the heart of every human that they eventually ask:

Who am I?
Where did I come from?
Why am I here?
Where am I going?
How do I get there?

Answering these questions is at the core business of living life. These questions cannot be answered simply by observing the marvels of nature and the material world. You could deduce from creation that we are here by design, but why? What is our purpose? Does our life have meaning beyond the moment or is it ultimately meaningless because it has no purpose beyond being a biological machine that exists and responds to stimuli? Does it matter how I live my life because I will some day give an account? If there is no final justice, what does it matter how life is lived? God set these questions in our hearts and blessedly, He does not leave us hanging as to how to the answer them. God gives us the answers to these questions in His written communications to us (the Bible). God lovingly provides us with the universal truths that answer these universal questions as a starting point so we can then intelligently and accurately interpret the particulars of the world.

Metamorphed

What does it means to have a Christian Worldview? Ponder this – Do I, do you, really believe, that what you believe, is really real? In other words, how does your life choices, how you live, how you spend your time, how you spend your money, etc. - line up with what you say you really believe to be true of who God is and who you are in relationship to Him? For instance, if we truly believe God is omnipresent, would we go, say and do all we are currently going, saying and doing? Realistically, every time we sin, we are answering no to that question. There is only one way to live an authentic Personal Biblical Worldview and that is to take Romans 12:2 seriously. We will be transformed by the renewing of our minds. As we study and apply God's word to our lives, God promises His Holy Spirit will transform us so that we look more and more like Jesus. So the things that make Jesus weep, will make us weep. The things that make Jesus joyful, will make us joyful. We will be metamorphed (like the caterpillar is forever changed into the butterfly). We will naturally, more and more, reflect the glory of God in our lives. There could be no better gift to our children, to our families to our community, our country and church than for us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. Can you imagine what would happen if all of us lived like we really believed what we say we believe is really real? Last time 12 guys did that, it transformed the world.

How we think matters

My small group Bible study has been going through The Truth Project. It explores Identifying, developing and living a Biblical Worldview. It has been a fabulous and challenging study. I've been thinking about the bigger picture. In order for the church to be the true countercultural change agent that it is called to be (salt and light), we need to learn how to think from Scripture [not media sound bites, or celebrities like Oprah, or other supposed experts including academia...] We need the mind of Christ.

The Bible begins with the assumption of God's existence:

"In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth" (Gen. 1:1).

The Bible tells us "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge" (Prov. 1:7).

Our thinking will always flow out of our core assumptions—our presuppositions about how the world works. As long as this core principle is drilled into and tattooed on our brains, the particulars will always reflect this – for good or bad. We need to continually examine our thinking and see if our particulars are flowing from a sound Biblical worldview based on the solid rock of Scripture, God’s unchanging Truth or if we are allowing the ever changing ‘wisdom’ of the world to influence these core assumptions. How we think matters.

Romans 12:1-2 With eyes wide open to the mercies of God, I beg you, my brothers, as an act of intelligent worship, to give Him your bodies, as a living sacrifice, consecrated to Him and acceptable by Him. Don't let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould, but let God re-mould your minds from within, so that you may prove in practice that the plan of God for you is good, meets all His demands and moves towards the goal of true maturity.

Deut. 6:4-9 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.