Secularism's Borrowed Capital

Whether the issue is violence against women, genocide, reproductive rights or imminent domain, internationally, we adhere to moral standards of some kind. And we assume when we do that they are applicable to more than just us. If you visit the United Nations web site, you will find this more than any other place. However, such moral values that underscore the rules or rights pronounced are not derived from any religious tradition or worldview. They're secular. The U.N. has a Universal Declaration of Human Rights page where you can check out the details of these moral claims. Secularism has become the monolithic authority, both nationally and internationally, in terms of defining ethically desireable objectives, as well as undesireable ones. Being devoid of ties to any one religion or philosophical discipline, secularism makes the curious claim of objective and sufficient authority.

My main contention is that non-theists who actually believe in something pertinent to more than just themselves, MUST borrow from Biblical Christianity, in order to hold that view. In fact, if they were to abandon this habit of borrowing this or that Biblical concept, sticking consistently with their own view of reality, not a single opinion, regardless of importance, has any value. There's actually many examples, but let's see where this leads, if we accept the naturalistic, materialistic, atheistic view of reality, regardless of the ethic embraced.

There are two major points that secularism borrows from a Biblical worldview in order for it to hold to any of its ethical tenants; objective morality and free will. Despite the secular and naturalist unavoidable conclusion that neither of these things can exist, they are constantly borrowed, assumed and relied upon in order to make any ethical judgment or underly any worthy cause, whether the ethical judgment or cause is sound or not. What I want to do first is to show you, in detail, just where secularists and naturalists borrow from a biblical worldview of objective moral values and freedom. Next, I want to summarize how the conclusions of secularism and naturalism, if followed consistently, must lead to despair and chaos, then provide the source of their ethical borrowed capital, mainly biblical concepts about humanity, freedom and morality. Lastly, I wish to state how only Biblical Christianity has the answers required for a good life and ethical considerations.

Objectivity Is Required For Real Obligation

In order for human rights to be important values, their must exist objective moral values. To say something is objective is to say that it true is or isn't true, regardless of what we think or how we feel about it. Think about an objective opinion about something. You want someone who has no bias to provide an opinion, in order to obtain a better conclusion about something, like an essay or a business plan. The point behind objectivity is to get to the real state of affairs, unabstructed by things that would cloud our view of them. In terms of morals, and particularly a sense of duty towards any moral code, whether it is liberal or conservative, atheist or evangelical, for those moral values to reflect a real state of affairs, rather than it being reduced to our feelings or opinions or vested self-interest, they must be objective. Some moral claims have universal applicability, like 'you shouldn't torture infants'. They apply to everyone, at all times. They are objective, which means they refer to a real state of affairs, constitute real knowledge claims and all human beings have an obligation or duty to adhere to them.

But in order for them to be objective, they can't be grounded in our feelings or bias about them, although we would be biased and have feelings, some stronger than others. For a statement like 'you shouldn't torture children' to be objectively true, we can't rest this claim on just our feelings, our psychological bias, traditions or our vested interests as grounds for such claims. Otherwise, how could we really know for sure that such statements are true, regardless of our feelings, bias or self-interest? It could be that this is a meaningless statement, despite our feelings, bias or traditions. We may feel that torturing infants is horrible, but on what basis can we know that our feelings against such an act are justified? Without something more to ground these moral claims, we would have to admit we don't know. All we are left with is something like "It's wrong, just because." Although that comes with an intentional desire for obligation, it has no reasons and no justification for it.

What would be required for any moral claim to be objective, in order to be justified? For morality to be applicable to all people in all times, the only way for any moral code to be objective would be for it to come from outside of humanity. It would also have to be grounded in something transcendent from humanity in order for the obligation or sense of duty to be applicable to all people, regardless of feelings, politics, bias or self-interest. Otherwise, all morality is reduced non-justifiable subjectivity. It seems like the only choices we have as an adequate anchor for objective morality for things like a Universal Declaration of Human Rights would be to anchor their justification (and duty) in extra-terrestrials or God, since both would transcend individual or societal vested interest. But let's say our moral code comes to us from aliens from another galaxy. Would that make our moral code objective, when determining them between all conflicting moral notions we have? Well, it would satisfy the requirement for it to apply to all humans, but it would still not be objective. All we have done is zoomed the possible grounds (and real obligations) of subjective and relative morality outward towards interstellar life, if it exists. There could be another alien moral code that conflicts, and no way to adjudicate between them without something that would be able to transcend both them and us.

So, God is our only other option as a grounds for objective morality, but even with the concept of God as the grounds, there are still some problems. If the divine moral code is created arbitrarily by this God (Divine Command), then the morality can't be objectively true or real, since it is arbitrary. Take the statement, 'torturing infants is wrong.' On the Divine Command theory, that's only true because it was decreed by Deity, and could have been decreed otherwise, making it arbitrary. We end up with a '...just because I said so.' type of justification, but with a Deity, rather than a school teacher or autocrat. What if the divine moral code comes to us from God, because its what God Himself has to abide by? Then you end up with something beyond God, which means we are no longer talking about a Deity but just an amplified contingent being....a bigger you or me, which concludes with both an insufficient grounding in morality plus a continued mystery as to whether or not this morality is ultimately justifiable, if it truly exists at all. The only way for objective moral values to exist are for them to be grounded in the eternal character of God....reflect what He's like, rather than being arbitrarily created by Him or some higher code that He abides by.

Without that exclusive grounding in morality, all morality is really reduceable to mere convention and the only objectivity one could drum up would be for morality to be a peculiar way in which natural selection has worked within human animals. But such an explanation, although an objective description, would eliminate morality as being normative and obligatory. It would be reduced to an explanation about animal behavior, sort of like describing how cats lick their paws when they bathe themselves. Cats don't do that because they should. They just do it. It devolves from an 'ought' to an 'is'. Nothing more could be added and no sense of moral duty comes with it.

Without this objective morality, no moral code, whether it is an individual constitution or an international bill of universal rights, means anything. It carries with it no sense of duty or obligation, outside of force and without this objectivity, there is no way to adjudicate between conflicting morals, whether they are to protect women from violence or to support age-old traditions of mercy killings. The difference between them would be the same as the difference between a square and a circle, Pepsi verses Coke or a french horn verses a coranet.

Morality REQUIRES Genuine Libertarian Freedom

Are we determined or free? The best way to define genuine freedom is the ability to choose otherwise. In other words, if I decide to work out in the morning, I could not have done otherwise unless I had the ability to choose not to work out. This is one of those issues (out of many) where we find it laughable to deny our freedom, and yet, under naturalism, we MUST deny this freedom. Why? Because whether we are talking about behaviorism or DNA, the answers always come up the same: we are determined animals. This is arrived because 1) naturalism can only explain things with naturalistic respones and 2) libertarian free agency has no room in a naturalistic worldview, anymore than does a mind, soul, the color red or warmth. Basically, anything that can't get reduced down to physics and chemistry MUST be denied and since the mind, in general, and free agency, in particular, seem to be hopelessly irreducable, they must go.

Why is freedom indispensible in terms of morality? Any ethical statement is ethical only under the presumption that people can choose to either follow the statement or choose not to follow it. It requires free choice. An ethical statement is different from others in that it carries with it a sense of duty ("Wash hands before working the kitchen") and a sense of duty requires the ability to choose otherwise, or else any such statement is meaningless. And ethical statements are exclusively for moral agents....you and me...yet if we have no choice in the matter, then not only are we no longer agents of anything but what we're deterimined to be (whatever that is) is already set and unchangeable. All ethical statements would be irrelevent, since we don't have the ability to choose otherwise. You can't have moral responsibility without genuine freedom to choose. That means when a society stones their women if they hold hands with another man, they do so because of prior causes, whether these causes are language, cultural, educational, genetic or a combination of all. They are not morally responsible. They are determined for all those reasons. That's why you see in some news headlines the defense of a thief where such defense appeals to the thief's inability to avoid stealing the shoes because of oppression and economic injustice, or whatever the prior causes are.

There is a strain that tries to reconcile determinism and freedom together, in harmony. It's called compatibilism. There are compatibilists in both non-theist and theist camps. Classic compatibiblism says that although we are determined creatures, real freedom is simply the ability to act without being encumbered from doing it or the ability to restrain without being encumbered from restraint. It isn't that we are determined not to choose. We can choose, but that we are determined to choose only in line with the desires we already have. The secular compatibilist will say that either our cultural baggage or DNA saddles us with a set of desires in which our decisions are locked or determined. The religious compatibilist will say that we are saddled with a sin nature such that we can only choose the strongest inclinination of the will, without exception.

The problem with compatibilism can't be clearly drawn out unless we can summarize the main difference between it and libertarian free agency. The main difference is causation. The compatibilist believes that although decisions can be made, they are made within the confines of given desires and we don't choose our desires. The desires cause the decisions. The desires are either caused by natural forces ("My DNA made me do it.") or from sin nature ("The Devil, and my sin nature made me do it."). Libertarian freedom looks at the free choice as the first cause, rather than the result of a chain of prior causes. Although those who hold to such freedom don't deny causal chains, even in decisions, they do deny that all choice is necessarily the result of a causal chain, and hold to free choice as a sufficient first cause.

Compatibilism isn't a successful position for two big reasons. First, although a small circle of 'freedom' has been drawn in choosing between present desires, that 'freedom' is illusory. There is no real freedom because all choice is determined based on the strongest inclination at the moment. Second, although the compatibilist is correct in that our desires drive our character, what they fail to explain or even acknowledge is that desires can be changed by intentionality of the will. We can change our desires and our character through free choices that will re-work our desires and character. For example, no one is born a professional tennis player. Our natural inclination is to stink at tennis. Once we set our mind to learn it and master it, our ability changes and our attending thoughts and desires will change as well. The entire concept of character formation hinges on the assumed belief that the first cause of character is free agency, not determinism.

So, how does this all bear out in terms of our Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as well as all other ethical values? Well, it doesn't move the conversation very far. I will not deal with theological compatibilism as much as secular compatibilism, although some of the same arguments can be made. For a compatibilist, all decisions are caused by prior conditions, particularly desires and those desires caused by other natural things. There is no real freedom with compatibilism. There is only pre-caused behavior. So, Gaddafi torches rebels because they are a threat to national security, while the international community sees Gaddafi as a tyrant, the compatibilist will run into some problems. Since both Gaddafi and the rebels make decisions based on desires which are based on prior natural causes, there is no justification for either side and no moral responsibility. In the end, there are two groups, the Libyan government and the rebels that are caused to move into two opposing camps and really nothing more can be said, without accidentally bringing in either objective morality or free will into the argument. In the end, there can be no morality with determinism, without abandoning determinism at just the point of tension where freedom becomes necessary for that morality to exist.

Secularism & Naturalism, If Consistently Followed, Lead to Despair and Chaos

Secularism is a worldview that is based on a complete divorce from religious beliefs, systems or traditions. It comes from the Latin word saeculum which brings with it the idea of 'here and now' without any need of referring to deity, spirituality or any other concept that cannot be tested with the five senses, presently. It's mainly concerned with civil government, but has also bled over into media and culture in general. Secularism is based on the philosophy of naturalism. Naturalism is a view that believes only the natural exists. All reality is explanable and reduceable to physics and chemistry. Scientism, contrasted to science, is the belief that emperical, observational methods of testing hypotheses is the exclusive way to gain knowledge about reality. If there are some aspects of reality, like consciousness, that cannot be explained scientifically (reduced to an explanation of physics and chemistry), then it is only a matter of time for science to catch up with an explanation through research and study.

Naturalism has used scientism and a bastardized form of logical positivism (the original concept, culminating out of the analytical schools at the turn of the century, was found untenable and self refuting, with a rescue attempt made by the late A.J. Ayer, managed to avoid immediate self-refutation, even though it was still a logically untenable epistemic methodology), has made its mission the reduction of anything in reality that has not been explained in terms of science, into a scientific explanation. For example, in many circles, the spirit or soul was reduced to the mind and the mind reduced to the brain and nervous system, obeying all physical laws. The concept of God is either a curious development in the evolution of human species, psychologically a response to fear of death or just a carry-over of childhood make believe. In essence, the naturalist believes there is only the physical plus nothing. She also believes, as a result, that the only knowledge that exists is scientific knowledge. If it cannot be tested and observed in a scientific way, then it doesn't count as knowledge or a description of what's real.

But, if you think about it, there are scads of topics that are outside science. What about the arts, politics, religion? The postmodern movement was a response to fill in the vaccuum left by naturalism. The liberal arts at the university level, has provided a way for study to continue in these fields, while acknowledging that naturalism is true. What you end up with is no experts in these fields, which then leads to everyone, with an opinion to express, becoming an expert in these fields. There are experts on disease and astronomy, but no such experts on God or politics. As a result, with the help of the media, naturalism hasn't quelled discussion in these areas, but created billions of voices, all saying contradicting and contrasting things, all vying for their day in the sun, none having any more truth than the other. But since conviction, preference, truth and justice are concepts that even postmoderns can't avoid or reduce, the only way to adjudicate between all these voices is political power. So, politics has moved in as the new God or Arbiter of right, wrong, justice, etc. The State is the final say and since leadership in States change, power is the only important aspect and the final goal to a meaningful life.

Power has no ethical clout, in and of itself. If power is the end, then all the means to achieve the end of attaining power can be considered and then all ethical clout is determined in terms of its ability to gain or lose power. This is the same as saying Obama was right because he won in 2008, but wrong because he lost all his congressional support in 2010. It doesn't matter how truthful or ethical the specific topic or issue may be. In the postmodern ethic, all that matters is whether or not we win or lose, with all our attending views and positions becoming truth, depending on our winning or losing. And with a diverse democratic society, power (and truth) changes hands every other year. In tyrannical governments, truth changes after each revolution. There can be no preferred state of affairs, outside of control, with the ultimate conclusion to postmodern thought. It concludes with managed chaos, which has no way to really quell non-managed chaos (using a play on words).

But for those that are thinkers/searchers, there is a far more at stake. With enough insight, one can determine that life, assuming a naturalistic worldview, leads to meaninglessness and absurdity, with any meaning we give as reduceable to nothing more than a way to while away the hours. In 1942, Albert Camus published The Myth of Sisyphus, which provides insight into the ultimate conclusions of a world and life devoid of meaning and purpose. Camus concluded that life is absurd and we can either pretend it isn't by finding ways to occupy our time and minds, so we don't think about it, through work, following lives of public figures, hobbies, sex, drugs, politics, religion (necessity of the sleep of life). Alternatively, we could attempt an inauthentic way to get out of the absurdity of life through invented pipe dreams or Pollyanish answers that aren't necessarily true but held only in virtue of their attempt to find a happy answer, or accept the absurdity of life. Lastly, we could realize the absurdity and fight against it with the intent of finding some happiness in doing so. He used as an illustration the old myth of Sisyphus who was condemned by the gods to carry a rock up a mountain, throw it down, and carry it back up again, forever. He likened that condemnation with an office job or politics in contemporary settings. But by accepting the absurdity of his predicament, Camus concluded that we must imagine Sisyphus as happy. Was he? Are we?

There is no meaning to life found in DNA. There is no moral law contained within quanta. In rare moments in secular writings, this unavoidable conclusion rises to the surface.

The universe we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is, at the bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil and no other good. Nothing but blind, pitiless indifference. DNA neither knows nor cares. DNA just is. And we dance to its music. - Richard Dawkins, Out of Eden, p. 133

Michael Ruse, evolutionary biologist, comes to a similar conclusion...

The position of the modern evolutionist…is that humans have an awareness of morality…because such an awareness is of biological worth. Morality is a biological adaptation, no less than are hands and feet and teeth…. Considered as a rationally justifiable set of claims about an objective something, [ethics] is illusory. I appreciate that when somebody says, ‘Love thy neighbor as thyself,’ they think they are referring above and beyond themselves…. Nevertheless…such reference is truly without foundation. Morality is just an aid to survival and reproduction and…any deeper meaning is illusory…. - Michael Ruse, Evolutionary Theory And Christian Ethics, pages 262, 268-269

Does that mean that the secularist/naturalist can have no happiness, good life or meaningful existence? The only happiness, goodness or meaning that can be given in a naturalistic frame of reference, to the postmodern, is whatever you create for yourself. In fact, this has become a new virtue in entertainment, whether it is in music or movies or literature. It assumes we have no real nature, either good or bad, yet assumes we will always desire what's good, and use that as the jumping board for creating our own happiness, goodness or meaning, regardless of what we come up with. How do you maintain a civilization if one person defines happiness as sexual assault and another as religion and yet another as violence? There's law, but since we've already concluded that law changes as the power changes within the State, you can't conclude any of these are any better or worse creations of happiness. They're just different. And under this strange system, it may be considered virtuous exclusively because it's original.

You can conclude that whoever is in control makes the rules to be followed, encouraging some definition of the good life, or not. You could say that the individual is naturally geared with a decency and moral barometer to keep society humming. But where is this moral barometer located in the body or brain? What is the naturalistic explanation for a moral nature? Is it simply deciding morality based on what works and what doesn't? If so, we're back in the same delimna since determining what works implies an end and if there are conflicting ends, then there is no real answer in this sort of utilitarianism. In fact, most utilitarians I know are very morally motivated politically. Unless the justification for their political beliefs is grounded only in power, they are betraying their own first principles. But then, the naturalist MUST betray their first principles precisely because their first principles leads to death, not life. That's not a reference to religious terminology either. It's a logical conclusion. The law of the jungle is all that remains, when the dust settles, and the rules can be over turned through raw power, at any time. As Steve Turner once penned,

If chance be

the Father of all flesh,

disaster is his rainbow in the sky

and when you hear

State of Emergency!

Sniper Kills Ten!

Troops on Rampage!

Whites go Looting!

Bomb Blasts School!

It is but the sound of man

worshipping his maker.

In order for secularism and naturalism to flourish, it requires a stable soceity and a stable society requires an ethical and moral society. But we have already concluded that in order to have a moral society, morals must be real, apply to all and be objectively grounded in something transcendent, which is absent in naturalism. They must also be applicable to real moral agents and libertarian freedom is required for moral agency, which is denied with naturalism. So, in order for naturalism to flourish, it must borrow these concepts, without any rational explanation for them. The only place these concepts are grounded in sufficient answers is in the biblical worldview.

Only A Biblical Worldview Gives A Foundation For Morality

There are unique concepts found only in the Bible that provide titanic answers in terms to the issues dealt with in this article. First, is the nature of human kind being in the likeness of his and her Creator. What does that mean? In Genesis, we find out that humanity was created to be verbal and communicate with one another. We also discover that humanity had moral knowledge and rationality. The value of humankind is grounded in this image-bearing quality that distinguishes us from the rest of creation. We have aspirations, can think about our ability to think, have moral motions, verbally communicate as a primary means of relating with others in a way not found anywhere else in nature. Because of that value, we have a basis for the treatment of one another. Rather than the worth of others being related to how they can help us or hurt us, or what they can give or take from us. Outside of this answer, humanity has equal value with the rest of nature and either all of nature is held high at the same value or none of it, at least consistently. We can see that in the modern environmental movement. The Bible considers environmentalism a good ethic. However, since modern environmentalism has divorced itself from the biblical undertanding of the value of both humankind and nature, it is stuck between choosing to protect the lives of the Delta Smelt over the lives of people or destroying entire forests for people.

Without an adequate answer to value, which cannot come from naturalism, it is a constant imbalance and the imbalance noticed comes from the essential understanding within us. Although the bible reflects people as sinful by nature, even the most sinful recognize the moral law within, as detailed in Romans 2. Although the content of morality may be wacked, the fact there is morality used in terms of justifying ourselves or condemning others, shows we are fully aware of a transcendent moral law, whether we wish to admit it or not. The 'moral law within' as Kant worded it, reflects part of the reflection from the Law Giver, even if such moral intuition can't be fulfilled. The bible doesn't paint a picture of happy people who simply need to fly right to become happy. It's almost like Camus' Sisyphus, in that we recognize the moral law and yet cannot fulfill it, no matter how hard we try.

The tension felt is ignored with another Camuseque concept of sleep, in that as we tend to invoke the sleep of repetitive tasks and hobbies into our lives to take the tension off of the absurdity, we also invoke a moral sleep to handle the tension of recognizing the good without being able to grasp it. As Paul goes on in chapter 7 of the same letter, he neither justifies our sad condition nor demonizes the very moral law that condemns us. Rather, he concludes that we need redemption through grace dispensed from the same law giver. Jesus is represented as the exclusive inflection point between God and humankind, as well as the fulfillment of the moral law and becoming the punishment for those who wish to accept His substitionary atonement, in our place. Jesus provides the answer to this delimna. However, we are not left simply redeemed from our inability to fulfill the law in our condition. By chapter 11, Paul tells us that by devoting ourselves to God, our character can be tranformed from renewing our minds. This mental renewal is simply a willful and intentional act of replacing former beliefs about reality with those in accordance with God. With that process comes a power to assist us in the transformation of our lives into something it couldn't be without this power.

As this relates to morality, the incarnation of Christ introduces us to the concept of unmerited grace and the power this grace has in our own healing and personal development. This too has been borrowed by secularism. Of course the secularized form of grace is never consistently applied, defined or upheld. Again, devoid of a solid ethical foundation, even the concept of grace devolves into a useful tool for personal gain, at the expense of others, or an excuse to unravel before loved ones and attempt responsibility for our actions. But all of this implies a moral law that comes from without, even if it is recognized within, making this law objective and real. It also implies that people have free will and are the first cause in moral decisions, making them true moral agents. Lastly, the value of humankind being anchored in the likeness of the same Law Giver, coupled with a point to living (being satisfied in Him, above all things), is the meaning to life, aside passing desires, interests or concerns.

But what about God? How can you ground a morality and a free will in a Deity that exists before and without creation? And what does that say about His desire to create in the first place? Although the concept of one God revealed in three persons defies natural reason, it is the only answer that can provide a series of questions unanswered by all natural philosophy, religions and other worldviews. First, one God that existed as three persons, forever in the past and the future, provides a source for the old unity/diversity problem (how can we explain the unity of things without sacrificing the diversity we see...and how can we explain the diversity we see by sacrificing the unity to be able to explain it?). The Trinity also explains why we love, relate with one another and verbally communicate. Rather than these being evolutionary conventions for survival, which would conclude that even a happy marriage of 50 years is an ultimately unfulfillable idea, they were always grounded in the triune God of Father, Son, Spirit, co-existing, each subordinating themsleves willfully to the other and loving without any need or lack. Creation was a free act of this Triune God to share in what was already there, rather than to fill a void. Only Christianity has this answer. It isn't that the Bible is the best answer out of many. It's the only answer that exists. We have been locked up in a reality that outside of Scripture, has no answers.

But we still try. Instead of utilizing our likeness of imagination and creativity to glorify the God that created us and sustains us, even when we hate Him, we use that gift to find creative and imaginary ways to avoid Him at all costs. This is the motivation and the essence of naturalism and secularism, by promoting an appearance of certainty and objectivity, while cutting off its nose, despite its face. Of course, if what I am writing is true, what it means is that outside of a real world-wide Christian revival, there is no hope and no answers for humanity. I believe that is true. But, despite the lack of popular press, I truly believe that revival is world-wide, happening even in the most despotic places on earth (especially in those places), and that the message of the Kingdom has resulted in churches being started in old mosques, meetings happening in homes underground, where its illegal for such meetings. The cause of Christ strongly marches on, even if we in the west are too drunk on living vicariously through famous people, glued to our hand-held phones and gadgets or too absorbed with our own drama to notice. As that happens, we will see a corresponding unravelling of secular society. The pressure of reality will continue and as it does, anything borrowed, begged or stolen for that worldview's existence will erode, leaving it with its own first principles. And the result will be reflective of those first principles. As Steve Turner apply wrote, when we hear 'state of emergency!' or 'bomb blast kills twelve', its the sound of secular man worshipping his maker.

Doubt: Kissing the Demon On the Mouth

If any Christian tells you that they do not struggle with doubts, DO NOT BUY A CAR FROM THEM. If they lie about that, they'll lie about anything.

We all struggle with doubt. The worst way we handle it is to keep it a secret. We do that to protect ourselves from rejection and criticism of others who continue lying about their lack of any of what we so desperately struggle with.

I do not want you to think that, because you struggle with doubt, your entire belief in Jesus is a fairy tale. Let me tell you about skeptics. They struggle with it more. I used to be one. In fact, for a group whose name suggests the necessity of doubt, you'll never come across a more certain group of people with an almost supernatural knowledge base of everything from cosmology to political prophecy. That doesn't mean they have far more doubt to contend with than you do, although I think they do. But it does mean that they are even more into hiding it than you are. Don't believe me? When's the last time you ever had a conversation about something fantastic, like the beginning of the universe with a non-believer? My guess is that they sipped their coffee and casually talked about exactly what happened 15 billion years ago in a place far, far away. And the idea is to make you believe they are certain...more certain than you are about your views. The fact is they aren't certain at all. They're just more talented at hiding it.

Probably the biggest cause of doubt, within the Christian community, comes from the behavior of others, including us. We see churches torn apart over budget meetings, worship instruments and moving from Sunday School to Life Groups. In fact, the anger, vengeance and terror are so fierce that if it didn't cause you to doubt your own belief in Christianity as truth, you're probably involved in the anger, vengeance and terror. We just experienced a taste of that in our own church. To make a long story short, we implemented a two-service focus on children and youth, meaning we were eliminating bible study groups on campus, to make room for the kids and create a larger pool of volunteers to help with it. You have no idea how ticked some of these Christian people got over that. What amazed me is that through it all, the folks that were the most intent on causing the rift couldn't see anything except their own anger. There was so much being damaged. What I do know made my hair curl. But what I never witnessed would have probably made me come very close to 'losing my religion'. It was like they got confused, then upset, then totally carried away with the hostility, all the while, trying to maintain the Christian appearance.

It didn't work. It never does. And it caused me to doubt.

In other churches, you get a group that digs their heels in, bullies the pastor, the congregation and dominates every decision, casting out anyone who sees things differently. Of course, from their perspective, they're keeping the Body of Christ spotless from those that would defile it. Right. Usually those that concerned to the point of controlling things, end up being exactly what they are trying to hunt down and kill. This problem is so rampant in American churches, that a seminary has created a program dedicated to church health, which is a euphemism for church triage.

And it causes me to doubt.

But the doubts are only reinforced by my own failures. Just when I think I have conquered something I used to struggle with endlessly, I fall into the very same thing...again. What's with that? Let's just take anger as one of many of these struggles. Sometimes anger is proper, if it is aimed at an objective injustice. But, admittedly, 95% of my anger is never really all that justified. In fact, it probably stems from fear, desires to control situations or manage appearances and it isn't working. The fact is I am one of those that do the hurting too. There will be times that I think that my walk with Jesus has matured to a level where uncontrolled hostility is defeated, and then I fall into uncontrolled hostility. What's with that? I have no idea.

And this causes me to doubt.

I read in the Bible where we accept Jesus, decide to follow Him by transforming our mind and offering ourselves as a living sacrifice, and that His Spirit will change us and make us into new creatures, those that resemble Jesus. But when I look around at others and at myself, I wonder if that's true. Some of these people have been at the church thing far longer than me and if they are screaming in a pastor's face over having to drive to someone's home for bible study, what makes me think anyone can get better and more Christ like?

When I read Scripture, I do find that I am apparently not alone or the first to doubt because of these things. Moses, after the Israelites were freed from bondage, began to complain and wish they were back in Egypt. Moses was thinking this was all a huge mistake. Paul had wondered if the Corinthians were really believers, because of their behavior and...worse...their defiance when called out on it. In Acts, Paul had spent the longest time in Ephesus. His ministry was more successful there than Billy Graham could ever imagine. It only took an angry blacksmith's union delegate to turn a town in love with Paul into a town that wanted his head on a platter. I'm sure Paul had doubts. In fact, when you read 2 Corinthians, I think his depressing demeanor was probably the aftermath of that whole scene in Ephesus. I don't think Paul was suicidal, but he did want God to end him. I read the Psalms and many of them are not from confident people. In fact, you can almost see tears and blood stains all over those pages. Ultimately, I look at Jesus and see a man who asked His disciples to watch for just a short amount of time, and they fell asleep. I see a leader within His group betray Him three times. In Acts, after being taught, watching His healing ministry, His execution and subsequent resurrection, what was the pending question on the minds of His believers? "Hey, are you going to kick the Romans out now?"

Despite all the obstacles, including the crucifixion, I never saw Jesus doubt what His mission was or waiver from it. And He had all kinds of reasons to leave it and do something else. But He didn't. In Hebrews, the writer says that Jesus was tempted in all the ways we are all tempted, yet was without sin. That means He had the task of being allured by hostility, fear, jealousy, lust, and intentionally kept His eye on His Father's will for Him and for us instead. That made Him not only our leader, our redeemer and Master, but it also made Him the perfect bridge between a really messed up group of people and a holy and righteous God.

Maybe that's the key to understanding these doubts. Your belief in Christ is only as good as Christ, rather than the church, or the programs, or the committees or boards. It's either all about Jesus Christ and how He withstands the test of reality, or the entire thing is a waste of time. It seriously is. If it's not about Jesus than why bother getting up early on Sunday morning to go to a place and sing, listen to a speech, give money then leave? Why not sleep in and watch a movie? If it isn't about Jesus then it isn't about anything.

But I know how we Christians operate. We lip services that stuff all the time. "Oh, it's not about me. It's about Him." Right. In fact, most of the time, it is about you and me. If it weren't, then why all the desires to have our way? Why all the anger? Why all the vengeance? Do we really think we have a temple cleansing event happen that often and we're in a great position to cleanse it? Come on. Fact is, we know, cognitively, it’s not about us. But we really believe it’s all about us. And that's what the problem stems from. We lie to ourselves, then to others, then when the chicken skuballa hits the proverbial fan; our worlds are crushed in doubts.

You see, from the day you began to interact with other people (that's pretty young) you realized some things. You realized there were demands, there was a chance for failure and there was a chance you would get hurt. We are all are wired to handle this one way and one way only. We create a strategy on how to wade through life to avoid those things as much as we can. It involves creating a persona. When we are sexually or physically or mentally abused, maybe we go the extra mile and create a few personae. But it’s the same thing. We carefully work on our persona, tweaking it, making it our life's biggest project....the project of us. The crazy thing about our persona is that it’s a lie and we know it. That's the part of us that keeps us awake some nights. We're a lie. We have been since we entered kindergarten.

But the world is structured in such a way that it would be suicidal to abandon that carefully maintained persona. So, we figure that although our 'character' is a lie, its one we'll just have to live with and make it all work somehow. When we get hurt, our persona kicks in and we try to eliminate the pain by burying it somewhere. Of course, if the hurt were a serious cut, it would be like forgoing the bactine or stitches, sticking on a bandage and hoping for the best. When the infection starts oozing out the sides of the bandage, we find we're spending more time on taking care of the damage than we are the persona that tried to hide it in the first place.

The clashes in our lives are caused by competing personae, all vying for our places of security and significance. The rivers of blood we create are from scared kids that grow up into dysfunctional adults who have learned how to manage things as best they could, knowing it was all a big 3 act play to begin with. When the tragedies hit, our persona can't help us and we get a little crazy.

Despite what you see among the skeptics and even among those saints in church of whom are a lot of the subject of this note, repentance has more to it than simply saying you’re sorry. It means turning from fostering this stupid butt hole you try to make into a loveable person, lay it all down at the feet of Jesus and decide to let Him manage your safety and your significance, His way and on His terms. Some make salvation seem sort of shallow and maybe vapid. But when you think about it in terms of taking off your mask, standing there naked and placing your entire trust in Jesus, salvation is something that is entirely impossible for us, unless God intervenes. That's just too risky and crazy for any of us to even begin to consider, unless either God brings us to a precipice where we have to face this fact, or He simply invades our space and melts our hard hearts into something pliable. Salvation is more of a miracle than creating time and space out of nothing. It's more of a miracle than bringing someone back from death. It's amazingly incredible.

I think our doubts are founded in the things about us that are carried into our Christian life from before. Sometimes that involves a persona developed out of a significant amount of hurt, rejection, pain. Jesus stands ready to heal all of those things, if we simply let Him. It means casting away everything you placed your trust in...everything. More lip service from Christian talk, but when I mean everything, I mean that mask you are wearing right now. Consider what He promises in Matthew 11:28-32, rip the mask off, cry a good long while, and let Him pick you up and begin a new life...one that is actually His life for you, rather than the lie fostered since kindergarten.

I'm talking to you, fellow believers. I'm talking to me. And I am talking to any skeptic who is weird enough to read all the way through some crazy Christian's note. Goes for you too. The demon of doubt can be killed. But it has to be acknowledged. It has to be dealt with honestly. And it involves you more than it does some concept or set of doctrines. You may think it’s about those mean Christian people or your own slip ups. But what it involves is the deepest part of you, the part of you that you never show to anyone else. Jesus stands at the door and He is ready to take on all those burdens, hold you in His arms and get you prepared for an incredible life that never ends. Here's the kicker....certainty about all things is not the prerequisite. It never was. Who told you that? Give me his or her name and number so I can call them and let them know how dumb that was. Kiss the demon that has paralyzed you right on the mouth and tell them that you have a Friend that will never allow any of that harm to touch you again. He told me to tell you.

The Necessity of Faith & Strength from Doubt

I have to be very honest with you about some things and I believe this honesty may surprise some and possibly make other uncomfortable. I do not mean to intend the latter, but I can't see how this can be done without initially doing some boat rocking. Of course, I never intend to shake anyone without it first having shaken me, and only to the extent that it's worthwhile. Before that, I hope you can bear with me for the next few paragraphs so that I can at least set up some definitions that will help me in explaining the concepts of this note.

Faith is trust in someone or something. Belief is an assenting to a knowledge claim about reality. Reality is an actual state of affairs. A justified true belief is something that you not only believe about reality, but have good reasons for believing it to be true. This last definition is a bit tricky because you can accidentally be right about something, and although you would be right, your belief would not be justified. You accidentally got it right, despite your reasons. So, there have been theories proposed in terms of justified true beliefs that speak about things like defeaters, which are possible explanations to refute the belief held. There are even defeaters for defeaters, if that makes sense.

What justified a belief? Are beliefs and faith isolated to just religious life?

Before delving into these questions, let me set up the critical side of isle. Skepticism can mean two things. In the general sense, it can mean someone who critically examines things and arrives at doubt and inconclusiveness. A narrower meaning would represent a school of philosophy that rejects the ability to either know anything, know with certainty or to know anything outside of what you perceive with the senses. The latter form is more prevalent and is sometimes referred to as verificationalism...the idea that you can't know anything unless that knowledge was gained through your five senses. Of course, the skeptic will have no use for faith or beliefs. However, upon closer scrutiny, you find the skeptic's definition of faith and belief are mainly relegated to religious speculation. As such, they are considered unwarranted in terms of actual knowledge with their usefuleness being merely therapeutic or to produce a desired outcome. But the content of faith or beliefs would be non-cognitive, or in other words, not something knowable about reality.

When it comes to belief in God, there are three broad schools in Christian circles and one broad school in skepticism, with many different flavors. In Christian circles, some say belief in God is rational and based on evidentiary arguments. This school of thinking got its traction during the Enlightenment. In other Christian circles, some say belief in God is necessarily irrational and groundless, despite belief. This school, too, can trace its birth to the Enlightenment and shortly thereafter. You can have both non-Christians and Christians (used in a very broad sense) in this same category. Both would believe that assent to things like God, Jesus and the Bible are irrational to hold, and they would part ways as to whether or not it was ok to be irrational in believing those things. The Christian skeptic would believe you can and the non-Christian skeptic would think it assinine. I tend to side with the non-Christian skeptic, when comparing the two together.

The third school is called Reformed Epistemology and proposes that belief in God, as well as other certain things, is properly basic. That is, these beliefs are immediate and not grounded in any evidence or arguments and no arguments are required to hold it. These beliefs, held by properly functioning minds with the natural inclination towards the truth, are basically held and such beliefs are natural. Reformed Epistemology says that there are things you know that are basic and do not require argumentation or criteria in order to hold. One of them is a belief in God. They believe that although Christianity is rational and there are great arguments to support Christian beliefs, none of them are necessary.

Needless to say, although there are both Christian and non-Christian evidentialists, there are only Christian Reformed Epistemologists. That's because the idea of basically proper beliefs runs contrary to foundational evidential or skeptical beliefs (there's that word again). Since it would appear that Reformed Epistemology is sort of the step child in mainstream circles, does that mean it's the least plausible explanation for knowledge, particularly as it relates to faith and God? No. In fact, I think it is by far the most persuasive. If you were honest, regardless of which side of the fence you were on, you would admit to it as well. There is a avalanche of knowledge claims we simply accept and use to support other knowledge claims. For example, I am typing this sentence. I need no supporting arguments to know this. It's properly basic. Whether or not you believe belief in God is properly basic is another debate. The purpose of this note isn't to dwell into that debate as much as sort of clarify the use of faith and belief in every-day life. In this regard, Reformed Epistemology or Classical Common Sense is the best explanation for what we know.

As belief pertains to arguing the existence of God or the non-existence of God, I have read tons of Christian apologetics (defense of the faith). I have also read tons of atheistic works. There's good and bad among both. The negative tendency in Christian apologetics is to be pedantic and dogmatic, without getting into the actual muck of real life. The negative tendency in atheistic works is that a great majority of them are more passionately and pejoratively driven against theism and Christianity, rather than presenting valid reasons of their own. There are exceptions, such as the late J.L. Mackie's The Miracle of Theism. But for the most part, they are emotional and angry.

Here's the honesty. There are rational arguments for atheism. There are also irrational aspects of Christianity. I realize that's a hard pill to swallow, but its true. And there is no final arbiter found in argumentation, even though it can aid or support a belief one way or the other. In the end, everyone, Christian and atheist, requires faith and belief in order to continue living, all fueled by the will. And that very will or internal decider will color and skew all arguments, evidence and support to better fit what you have already committed to believe. It isn't fatalism. You can change your mind. I have. But normally it will not happen until something tragic happens to you. And that's because we build up scaffolding of diversions to keep us safe from delving too deeply into things we may have even contemplated as being inadequate in our minds, but would never voice to others. Reality is what it is, despite what we think about it. But because of our will's involvement in gaining and supporting knowledge, we all have the tendency to cheerlead our position and avoid dealing with its difficulties.

Regarding rational atheism, if you reject the supernatural and the existence of God, for example, the theories that are prevalent are somewhat reasonable, especially since matter, time, energy and space are all you begin with. The concept of evolution and abiogenesis has an internal consistency and rational explanation for all that we see. On the other hand, there is nothing obvious about understanding the Trinity of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, or the idea that Jesus was 100% God and 100% man. There simply are no arguments to either prove those things or make them seem obvious. They are difficult to explain. On the other hand, the concept of consciousness, morality and the design of nature make a mechanical and material explanation of reality seem very underwhelming, to say the least. If you are an atheist, belief in God is considered either cultural or psychological survivalist instincts, at best and folk mythology, at worst. If you are a Christian, atheism is considered rebellion against God despite evidence, an inability to recognize Him through the noetic impact of sin or a combination of both.



Despite the difficulties of certain theological doctrines, can I still say that belief in God is properly basic? Yes. Although those doctrines are considered essential, they are not essential in explaining belief in God. Because these doctrines are difficult, it doesn't make them false. Understanding the detailed creeds with about those doctrines aren't necessary to know before believing God. In fact, you believe in God and through that belief, you come to believe the other things that are not basic. In atheism, the refusal to believe in God doesn't require you to understand evolutionary biology before you hold to that belief. And being a Christian, I believe in God, believe it's rational and know Him to be real. Contrary to evidential arguments, I think the hardest stumbling block for many atheists aren't the arguments, but the lives they see. I realize that many of the more virulent atheists like to paint us as all horrible, backward and dangerous people, but the truth of the matter, in real life, is that those not in the lime light, who love the Lord, are themselves a very formidable argument that atheists have a hard time dealing with.

I bring all this up to show that regardless of where you come, there are some things we must come to grips. First, we do not have the option of certainty. Knowledge doesn't require it and since our reasoning abilities as well as our senses are limited, it's not available to us. Second, we all, whether religious or non-religious, operate daily through faith and belief. You use it every time you sit in a chair or turn on a light switch. In fact, because certainty is outside of our reach, faith and beliefs are requirements to keep on moving, anyway. The Christian is mistaken (sorely mistaken) if he or she believes God can be proven with certainty or that all the verities of the faith are obviously factual. The atheist is mistaken (sorely mistaken) for the same things, except in rejecting God or in defending alternative explanations through science, philosophy or just ranting. We are all shut up in a reality that we simply cannot know apart from faith. Faith is a prerequisite for knowledge.

But the skeptic (or perhaps even some Christians) may argue that things self-evident, incorrigible or sense perceived, require no faith whatsoever. It falls on the concept called the Verification Principle, which states that the only knowledge gained is that perceived with the senses. Anything that is claimed to be knowledge that cannot be perceived by the senses, doesn't count as real knowledge. But there are two really basic things wrong with this. The first one is a bit nerdy and the second one is undeniable. The nerdy objection is the obvious fact that the theory itself cannot be obtained through the senses. There’s no way we can empirically verify the verification principle. It's very difficult to seriously consider a theory that cannot stand under its own first principles. The undeniable objection is that there are, in fact, many things you know that could never be observed with the five senses. For example, when you are angry, you don't perceive this through your senses. Recognizing a moral value or an aesthetic value, although could be recognized through something seen or heard, are not known by the senses.

Another objection would be that faith is separate from knowledge because knowledge is based on criteria. In other words, if it fits a certain criteria, then it counts as knowledge, such as whether or not it is sense perceived, externally verifiable or internally consistent. Those things may be true with certain knowledge claims, but there is a problem with this theory. It's like a dog eating its tail. It ends up in a vicious regressive circle. Here's what I mean. If knowledge requires criteria before it can be known, then the criteria is itself a knowledge claim, which also requires criteria for it. And the criteria for those criteria of knowledge are knowledge that requires further criteria for its justification. This goes on ad infinitum. So, although this objection may initially make sense, once you push it to its logical conclusion, it is no explanation for knowledge.

In addition to the requirement of faith in terms of knowledge, we can also turn the skeptic's exacta knife inside out and look at this another way. Instead of having to prove you know what you know, the real question is are there any good or sufficient reasons to doubt what you believe? Absent these reasons, the skeptic is left with either iterative and repetitious questioning ("How do you know? Well, how do you know that? How do you know?", etc). or trying to convince you that so long as there is even the possibility you could be wrong, you should doubt your belief. Neither of those methods is very good nor can be taken seriously. Unless and until you are presented with reasons to doubt the belief you have, you are within your rights to continue holding to that belief.

Do I believe in Jesus Christ as the risen Lord and Savior? Yes. Is it possible that I could be mistaken? Yes, I could. But the possibility of being mistaken is different from reasons to doubt my being mistaken. Not only that, although I could possibly be mistaken, I do not believe that I am and I even know that I am not. Knowledge doesn't require 100% certainty nor does it require proof in order to hold it. Otherwise, not only is skepticism the only game in town, even skepticism itself falls by the same sword, which also leads you into a brain burner. Knowing that you know nothing is to know something.

There is great importance for a intellectual and spiritual honesty. Traditionally, we have buried doubt, made doubt a taboo subject and even scorned any believer of standing that would voice such doubts. What we have done is bought into the enlightenment bologna that certainty is required and evidence is our foundation for faith. Both are false. In fact, we have doubts. We all know it. It's the white elephant in the room. But we need not treat doubt as the boogie man. Our doubts can be the tools we use to strengthen our knowledge and faith. Instead of making sure no one ever questions the essentials of the faith, the hypostatic union of Jesus' incarnation, the problem of evil or any difficult topic, we need honesty. We need to bring our doubts out and place them on the table, before each other, in a non-condemning and non-judgmental way. By doing so, we accomplish two major things. First, we can now actually grow in our faith and knowledge of Christ, rather than pretend to and then manage that facade. Second, we can actually tap into the power of the Gospel in ways restoring the church to its original intent, rather than the stoic, boring, legalistic and hurtful thing it unfortunately has become in many cases.

From an evangelical standpoint, there's another set of questions. How can I present the Gospel to you or give you reasons for the hope I have, if you don't believe? Is it possible? If it weren't, then the New Testament is a false document and all personal testimony outside of it is false. But how many other things do you believe as an atheist or a skeptic that sets the bar that high in order for you to accept it? If it's because God isn't empirically visible to you, then why do you believe anything that is beyond empirical observation? If it's because you have never personally experienced anything of the supernatural, have you ever experienced abiogenesis or the morphing of one animal into another? I know you believe it, but have you seen it? No? Then what is it? Surely, if you were honest, Christianity isn't irrational. There are great arguments for the Gospel, in all kinds of forms. There are also some very intelligent Christians. In fact, many of them are far above par, intellectually, despite the bad press. If I can open up with you and admit that there are great atheistic arguments, that some of them are rational and persuasive, that many atheists are very intelligent and even far more so than myself, will you believe me?

And if you do, can we really talk? Not this rhetorical ping pong tournament we normally engage in, but real conversation...honest and open conversation. I hope so. It's my fervent prayer, even if that makes you uncomfortable for me to suggest. I can't change my beliefs to avoid discomfort for you. All I can do is be willing to be wrong, make a friend, and in the worst case, agree to disagree without being so damn disagreeable. On the other hand, my struggles with doubt, confusion, tragedy and searching have actually confirmed my beliefs and I really have no problem defending them, if need be. Could I be wrong? Yes. I don't believe I am. In fact, I know I'm not. Now, if you know otherwise, contrary to the spirit of the age, I'd actually to know what those reasons are...if you cared enough to let me know as I care enough to let you know, you would strive to persuade me as much as I do you. Otherwise, it's all an ego trip and we're both trying to impress others and manage our appearances. I have to tell you, I am not the least bit interested in that anymore. It's a waste of time.

Christianity With Hardly Signs of Life

It doesn't take long to read any of the four Gospels and notice something that sticks out. People were almost violent to get to Him. Huge crowds made their way wherever He went, especially when He intentionally strayed from well populated areas. Take the cripple who couldn't get into the home where Jesus was staying. His friends boosted him to the roof and clawed through to create a hole large enough to lower the man down on a mat. Even Jesus Himself stated that people were forcing their way into the Kingdom.

Now, if you live in America or the west in general, look around, particularly in the churches. Where are the throngs of people violently trying to make their way in? When's the last time you even heard of someone clawing through the roof of the First Baptist Church to get inside to hear the Good News and be restored?

What we normally see are churches that pop up, grow, stabilize and then decline, split like a zygote and turn into either a wedding chapel or a pizza joint. We get excited about numbers, baptisms, enrollment, new ministries, a stray Christian movie or two. Not that any of these things are necessarily bad or not to be celebrated, but when you compare that with throngs of people bursting through the door and clawing their way through the ceiling, these things seem mundane and devoid of any vibrancy. Do you really anticipate seeing vagrants and invalids busting down the door to get into the church that has begun to study John Piper's Desiring God series or has a seminary president come speak as the guest preacher? Again, don't misconstrue (as we Christians love to do with the uncomfortable or unfamiliar), I like Piper and if Danny Aken came to speak at our church, I would go, but not to the point to where I would claw through the walls to get in. Seriously, not even close.

So what happened to us? After all, Jesus left us with the promise that in His Name we would do far more and the Kingdom would manifest itself and grow like yeast working itself through a lump of dough. But instead, we re-invent ourselves, over and over again, with little difference. We run campaigns and do new ministries, which are ironically a lot like the prior ones, except with new hair or "dude" thrown in for good measure, to attract the younger demographic. Oh, of course we do have the snake oil salesmen and saleswomen that do talk about the Kingdom manifesting itself, but when you listen, it turns out to be about nothing more than money, a raise, a new car or super-human health, which triggers the gag reflexes. None of this is the Kingdom I read in the Gospels. It simple isn't even close. And that is what I long for. But I can't even begin to be anything but depressed unless I sort of try to figure out how our fire got put out. I do see us growing and rapidly, but it’s not here. It seems to be almost everywhere except here. I have been to Africa and got a taste of what I see in the Gospels. I have heard missionaries talk of outpourings, huge numbers of conversions, Mosques turned into churches in the most dangerous places a professing follower of Christ can live. But here, where Christianity is legal and a church on almost every street corner, the vibrancy isn't there, outside of it being contrived.

I have a few ideas why we are in this sad shape and I also have to admit that these ideas are far from original. In fact, much of it I originally heard from my own pastor and after reading Scripture in that light, I was 'ruined' so to speak. Once you see truth, you simply can't unsee it, no matter how hard you try. And I believe that if we could at least confess of our deadness and understand where it comes from; maybe we can see the same vibrancy of His Kingdom that is rampant all over other parts of the world.

First of all, I think we are far too Greek in our knowledge than Hebrew. When a Hebrew talks about knowledge, it is understood to be both cognitive AND something you actually live out. The Greeks loved the cognitive aspect of knowledge, but fell short of it having much to do with daily life. The Romans had little use for speculation and were all about the practical. But instead of having a bunch of cognitive knowledge that didn't touch life, they ended up retrofitting knowledge claims to fit the life they already considered desirable. In other words, the Greeks liked to understand concepts and didn't care if it was something to be lived out while the Romans started with a life they considered virtuous and retrofitted all knowledge to fit that lifestyle. Both end in sad results.

When Jesus talks about knowing, it is ALWAYS in the context of both understanding and living out. And once lived out, only then is it fully understood.

If there is anything in this note I wish you to walk away with and never forget it is the last two sentences above.

Propositional truth is something you initially comprehend, then you live out in the warp and woof of life, and only then you truly understand it, know it, own it. It involves all of you, mind, body, spirit and social context. So, being an intentional follower of Christ yet unintentionally Greek or Roman in our thinking, we as evangelical Bible-believing Christians either stay up in the lofty vestibule of doctrinal truths, out of touch with real life, or we cling to the familiar, the traditional, and retrofit doctrine to fit it. And both lead to deadness, even if the numbers increase. And that's because unless you handle the actual Gospel of Jesus Christ, it has a shelf life and by looking at a lot of churches these days, the expiration date is long past due. It's the reason why we are hypocrites to the watching world (of course, all are hypocrites, but that's another topic) and it’s the reason why all our Christian talk has long since lost its relevance with daily life. It's not that the things referenced in our language are irrelevant, but that in our shallow understanding of these things, we cling to language to get out our sentences and to stay on topic, even if it is powerless. And the reason our understanding of Scripture is shallow is because we focus on only cognitive understanding, at best, or retrofitting doctrine to fit our familiarity, at worst. And in either case, no one listens, cares or bothers.

That should convict us. I know it does me.

When you see people in the church try to split it up or run off a pastor or other members, in almost every case, these people could quote you Scripture frontwards and backwards, even though it would defy their behavior. And what I described above is the best thing I can come up with to explain their actions. They cognitively know Scripture, but they are ignorant of it, because they've never bothered actually living it out to do, as Jesus commanded, find out if His teachings are from God or only from human understanding. Some of the meanest people I have met know their Scripture and can quote it on demand. But listening to what they quote seems hopelessly disconnected from their actual lives. How about loving God with all you are and loving your neighbor? What we usually see are churches that focus on the other, treat other people like hell and call it love, or we see churches that ignore the first, contrive the second and make sure everyone sees it. And in spiritual realms, these actions are like hackings, impalings and buckshot wounds through the souls of lives, all over REAL important things, such as musical instruments, PowerPoint aids, popular controversies or devolving into nothing more than a glorified political movement.

So, what can we do? It seems the obvious thing is to do more than study Scripture. We should actually start trying out Scriptural truths in our lives, starting today. I think by doing so, two things will emerge. First, we will discover that Jesus' teachings are from God, rather than human ingenuity. Second, we will see just how enslaved we have been to our vested self and petty interests, as well as how we have trained our mind, body, soul and social context to serve those interests, rather than to serve others for the sake of the Kingdom. Since I began to try putting these teachings in place in my life, I have discovered both of those things. I have also discovered other things, like certain emotional triggers that used to control my words, actions and my general outlook. And although those triggers are still there, I can separate myself from them, captivate them and try to bring them under the dominion of Christ's truth. All of the sudden, Scripture is more than a suit, shiny shoes and a program. It is a living, vibrant and exciting life, far more exciting than I thought it could be.

For those of you, who, like me, could interpret a sort of legalistic bondage in anything I wrote, let me try to defuse that right now. My walk with Christ REQUIRES I deal with failure. Failure is a prerequisite for victory. Failure is necessary. Not only are we to not avoid it, we can't avoid it. We have fallen into a weird view where if it involves any participation on our part, we deny grace and consider it something akin to legalistic bondage. Legalism requires enslavement to outcomes. It works through human ingenuity to manage opinions and appearances to that end. Jesus commanded us to obey, but also understood our failures and weaknesses. His atonement on the cross and His resurrection from the dead means failure isn't fatal, even if it is required, if we are to be honest and serious about putting feet to Scripture.

I think if we start thinking differently, understanding the true Gospel of Christ and as a result, understand ourselves better, there is no telling where we go from there. If I can just take Africa and use that as my sole personal experience, I can at least tell you that you have never experienced true amazement, excitement and life drama. He cannot be contained or controlled. In that sense, He's wild and untamable. And when we earnestly become His apprentices in this manner, expect the unexpected....and expect it with the three aspects of His Spirit ...power, love and sanity.

The Demons Cleanthes & Epicurus

Notwithstanding my beliefs, consider these demons as pandemic neuroses, if it helps. But grant me the patience to indulge in a bit of this language to illustrate a point or two.

Through my own struggles as well as my observations, I see two demons rampant within human life: Cleanthes and Epicurus. Each one has its own methods, but both have the same result in destruction and decay of human life. Those possessed by Cleanthes, as well as Epicurus, willfully do so out of the need to manage all outcomes and appearances. But once one gives in to either, the incredible amount of energy and intellect expended on the methods they use can amaze, even if it carries destructiveness with it.

Cleanthes is a spirit that requires control. His words are stoic and proud. But those terms are window dressing for a deeper desire to control everyone and everything. A person possessed by Cleanthes has a tendency to be abusive, controlling and manipulative. Although Cleanthes can posses anyone, religion is a great avenue and wonderful fodder for his methods. But outside of religion, Cleanthes runs rampant. His name is spread, and disciples made, in areas of business, politics and social networking. Wherever you see the nervous and accelerated energy to control, roll over, destroy or manipulate, you are seeing his gospel at work. This disciple comes across as terrifyingly moral and ready to correct. Yet, I think it was Sigmund Freud or Carl Jung, or some other famous thinker who stated, of all the heads they unscrewed, not one time did they not find someone terribly afraid. Fear of the future, the unknown as well as our own security and significance can drive us into the arms of Cleanthes. And once there, his promises of rectitude are alluring and although they always end up very bitter-sweet for us, the bitter may sting us, but with just enough sweet to keep us going, planning, strategizing for the next step. And the sweetness of any success employed by being an apprentice of this demon leaves a bigger desire for more satisfaction. There is an unquenching thirst to drive longer, harder and speed it all up. Of course, there is no satiability, just more desire. The projects either fail, causing disappointment, or succeed, causing emptiness and disillusionment. But Cleanthes, upon the despair of his disciple's wake, whispers in his or her ear, "don't look back. it's all about you." Those words have a fatal draw for a will that tries to take care of itself. Once allegiance is made to Cleanthes, getting away is practically impossible. As a result, people are used up, resources are expended and a wake is left behind a trail of business plans, political platforms and new ministries.

Epicurus works through a different angle. If Cleanthes plays on our desire for significance, Epicurus plays on a fears for security. The world is a very harsh place. Having it full of people possessed by Cleanthes in powerful positions doesn't make it seem any less harsh. In any case, we tend to want to curl up and hide somewhere for a while....close the blinds and turn off the phone. But this sort of resignation isn't always anti-social. People can get energy from solitude or from social gatherings. And neither is a stumbling block for this demon. Epicurus has his ways of working the hopelessly social as well. His tools of the trade are the allure and subsequent hammer of our hurts, habits and hang ups. Sexual addictions, chemical dependencies and just self-possessed desires for an ambiguous satisfaction are tools the disciple of Epicurus illicits. His disciple also ends up with bitter-sweet results, with the same mixture. The fix is momentary and the desire that was their before the fix, shows back up, stronger and deeper than ever before. Rather than the Cleanthian disciples outward control of other people in order to move onward and upward, albeit things turned upside down, Epicurus destroys his disciples from the inside by alluring them into a false sense of security through sex, drugs, food, work, revenge, requiring more and more with diminishing returns. Whether the disciple is wealthy and famous or poor and invisible, he makes no distinguishment other than using those circumstances to his benefit in their personal destruction.

Both disciples are bent on destruction. Cleanthes' disciples destroy others before they turn on themselves. Epicurus' disciples avoid the middle step and begin destroying themselves right away. Both end up, outside of redemption, in the human garbage dump, along with all the contracts, buy offs, dirty needles and broken relationships. Both disciples are capable of choosing otherwise. Despite the draw within and the circumstances without, there are other ways. But because of a prevailing feeling of ultimately being completely alone, it seems impossible to ignore their whispers. Both types of disciples will cleverly hide the despair behind the facade of saccharin-like satisfaction, which is sometimes cleverly deceptive and at other times, hardly more than thinly transparant to even other disciples of that ilk. But the facade has to continue because admitting defeat, giving up and giving in seems almost suicidal to them. The grip tightens. It will be death rather than admitting a deep and profound misery and surrender. New distractions or another project or soap box may help in steering clear, but the distractions must continue to be better, projects more intense and political banners far more enveloping to keep out of those dangerous waters.

The Great Physician is the only antidote and the last place these disciples will turn, were it not for a divine nudge. Although His words, "Come to me all you who are weary and heavily burdened and I will give you rest for your souls..." makes cognitive sense to them, they have convinced themselves they are in no need of this cure. In fact, they have deluded themselves into actually believing the tricks they invented to avoid resignation. In fact, they have convinced themselves there isn't any such thing as a soul, as if somehow reducing themselves down to an organic structure will eliminate the despair or make it illusory. Of course, by doing that, then they can no longer distinguish between reality and imagination. Pain hurts, but contending it is all in the mind leaves them fragmented. This is probably why The Physician always stated that He came for the sick, rather than the well. Of course, in context of those sayings, you can tell that the 'well' were simply Cleanthian disciples disguised as pictures of health. The fact is, all are disciples are one or the other, and know, deep down, that if something doesn't happen soon, it will be a sad end. But aside those words The Physician calls out for those in need, His harsh words are recognized as well: "Be quiet! Come out of him!" Of course, that's hardball, and so long as these disciples can avoid hardball, as well as The Great Physician, all will remain as it does.

He calls out to them. He calls out to us. As one who has been a disciple of both demons, I am living testimony of all that I have written above and declare to all disciples of every dark force that The Great Physician, Jesus Christ, can and does heal. He has the power to eliminate the bondage described and, although circumstances may seem the same, inside of us, we are changed and calm, with a peace that passes understanding. This is salvation and it is available now. It doesn't matter if we are already serving these demons within a religious context. Come to Him. Leave all your burdens at His feet and become a new sort of disciple. One that restores and rebuilds, rather than destroys.