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The new Postmodernist
philosophy denies the existence of God. It affirms that there was a use of
what it calls “superstition” in the past, but in these more informed
times, we have no need for such crutches.
There has been a universal belief in a supreme being in all generations. That fact would seem to argue His existence at the outset. All men everywhere have a seeming need to worship what they intuitively understand to be a greater power than themselves. Civilized or not, they furthermore have a sense of eternity and impending judgment, based on a proclivity for seeing a difference between what is right and what is wrong. All men recognize weakness in themselves and strength somewhere outside themselves. “The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God” (Psalm 14:1). Several reasons argue the existence of God. For instance: The relation of cause to effect argues the existence of some greater power, some entity that has made both. Nature, everything in it, argues cause and effect. Violate the law of gravity and you will pay. Mix the wrong additives and it will blow up in your face. Even intellectual things, things like marketing principles and mathematical equations of all kind argue for some higher being. Explain, if you will, how order comes out of confusion. Design argues for the existence of God. There is obvious harmony in the universe which must be explained. And to assume it “just happened” is foolish at the outset. How could so many laws “just happen.” How could things develop in such a way as to contribute to the whole of the existence of nature, not to mention the existence of man? Design requires, of necessity, a designer. Law requires, of necessity, a law-giver. Even the “Big Bang” requires someone to pull the trigger. And how does one explain man’s intellectual ability? Intelligence cannot come form non-intelligence. There had to be some causal power for man to have a sense of consciousness—an awareness of his own being, a sense of his surroundings, and how he relates to both. Even our own experiences—the worth of individuals, the sacredness of human life, the fact of love and its effect on us—argue for a higher being. If it is as the Postmodernist says, foolish to believe in God, then put me down as a fool. There is a revelation of God in nature, a statement that is so overwhelming that it cannot be successfully denied. How did all the plants become what they are, how the animals, how the laws and natural instincts that regulate both the plant and animal kingdoms? Truly “the heavens declare the glory of God and the earth showeth His handiwork” (Psalm 19:1). Another thing. How do you explain man’s aesthetic nature? Why does he have a love for the beautiful? Why does he have a feeling for music and art,? Even a child has such. How did such a nature develop? Explain that to me. How does he have an affinity for language and art, for palatable sounds and harmonious colors? Why does he relish in a pretty sunset and savor a well delivered speech? Explain that, if you will. But the Bible may well be the best evidence for God. It is His revelation of Himself. It could not have been without His Son, Jesus Christ, who was the only begotten God. Nor could it have been without the Spirit who both inspired and has preserved it (John 14:26; John 15:26; John 16:13). Jesus came to reveal his Father, to make possible a communication of Him that was both personified and stipulated. He revealed the nature of God—His love, grace, and mercy. He came with a plan for man, one that revealed the damning nature of sin and the process of reconciliation (John 1:14, John 1:18). He inspired men to write a history of His being, an exhortation to follow His lead, and in doing so, gave man a hope of being fit for an eternal existence with Him (Hebrews 4:12). This word is a lamp (2 Peter 1:19), food (2 Peter 2:2), a mirror for the soul (James 1:23-25), and contains everything needed for man to be right with his Maker. The preservation of His word is, by itself, testimony to its authenticity. Written by some forty men, many of whom were not acquainted, it has been preserved over the centuries. The men who wrote it were disconnected, except by their common mission. Some were educated, some were not, most never knew about the writing of others, and yet these men—kings, priests, shepherds, tree-trimmers—wrote 60 books that, when combined, make a perfect revelation of the mind of our Creator. Explain how that could happen, if you will. This word furnishes the highest standard for living here, but the result of adopting and living its precepts is far more valuable, resulting in one being equipped for eternal life, by the grace of a loving, self-existent, undeniable God. Copyright (C) 2002-2005 Southside Church of Christ | |||
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Comments or Questions to: Dee Bowman 2229 W. Clare Deer Park, TX 77536 | |||
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