(A)
Previously, we have looked at worldviews and the need for Christians to think deeply regarding their faith (focusing not just on general revelation in creation, but also on special revelation from Scripture and the Holy Spirit, with Christ and His accomplished mission as the centre).
As we study the book of Ecclesiastes, we see the theme and conclusion repeated so many times: ‘All is meaningless and vanity, a chasing after the wind”. We noted that the preacher was a wise Jew, either King Solomon or someone taking on his ‘persona’, and although he drove home a pessimistic message in the book, there is indication that he had some knowledge of God and the sense that only the possibility and reality of the hope of eternity and God provide some ‘hope’ and consolation for life ‘under the sun’.
The following short summary of what secular humanism stands for may help us to realise the importance of understanding and applying the proper biblical theology and worldview in our lives as Christians and as a church:
“Without God, what is left? Man and the universe. That should be enough. That has to be enough because that is all there is.” Peter Angeles, a leading humanist
“No deity will save us, we must save ourselves.” Humanist Manifesto II
Notice some similarities with the views/conclusions expressed by the preacher in Ecclesiastes, although they are not exactly the same.
When we conclude that life ‘under the sun’ is all that is, then it is logical to conclude that ‘all is meaningless’. The humanist concludes that this should be enough but thankfully, the preacher in Ecclesiastes points us to something better and real, although it is not supported powerfully in the book itself but it is upheld by the teachings from other books in Scripture. The preacher did not indicate that this is all that is, like the humanist, but he did point out that if that is so, then truly all is vanity and meaningless.
Here is an illustration of how our biblical worldview can distinguish Christian beliefs and understanding from other beliefs.
(B)
C.S. Lewis, a well known Author and Apologist, the distinguished Oxford Don and literary critic, only became a Christian after many ‘struggles’ and ‘refusals’ to commit himself to believe.
For Lewis, God is made known through our deep and aesthetic intuitions. He wrote: “the foundation of all clear thinking about ourselves and the universe we live in” consists in our knowledge of a moral law, and an awareness of our failure to observe it. This awareness ought to “arouse our suspicions” that there “is a Something which is directing the universe, and which appears in me as a law urging me to do right and making me feel responsible and uncomfortable when I do wrong.” Lewis suggests that this points to an ordering mind governing the universe.
Lewis argues from ‘desire’, suggesting that every natural desire has a corresponding object, and is satisfied only when this is attained or experienced. This natural desire for transcendent fulfilment cannot be met through anything in the present world, leading to the suggestion that it could be satisfied beyond the present world, in a world through which the present order of things points.
Lewis argues that the Christian faith interprets this longing as a clue to the true goal of human nature. God is the ultimate end of the human soul, the only source of human happiness and joy. Just as physical hunger points to a real need which can be met through food, so this spiritual hunger corresponds to a real need which can be met through God.
He said, “If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.”
Notice that Lewis was using the mind God gives him and his reasoning to consider the probability of the reality of God to fulfil his desire and spiritual longing.
Another argument from Lewis: Suppose there were no intelligence behind the universe, says Lewis. In that case nobody designed my brain for the purpose of thinking. Thought is merely a by-product of some atoms within my skull. “But if so, how can I trust my own thinking to be true?”asks Lewis. “But if I cannot trust my own thinking, of course, I cannot trust the arguments leading to Atheism (a belief there is no God), and therefore have no reason to be an atheist, or anything else. Unless I believe in God, I cannot believe in thought; so I can never use thought to disbelieve God.” The evidence points to what Christians believe – that a personal Good has revealed Himself through a created world, and that He has a plan and ultimate destiny for that world.
In the life, thoughts, and experience of Lewis, we see a consciousness that this current world is not our final destination; there is a longing which suggests that we are destined for another world. The preacher in Ecclesiastes rightly wrote that God has put eternity in our hearts. Lewis also rightly thought through the meaning and reality of a moral law which invariably points to a Someone who has placed this consciousness of ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ in our mind and heart. Ecclesiastes does point to the reality of judgement by God and this can only make sense if there are moral ‘rights’ and ‘wrongs’ in the lives of humans.
Lewis also argues that those who argue that there is no God are actually contradicting themselves; they are using their mind and thoughts to argue that there is no intelligent being like God, but where does their mind come from and if is not made by God, how then can we trust the mind and our thoughts (if they come about by just intermingling of atoms).
As Christians, we need not be afraid to use our minds given by God; we must humbly ask God to renew our minds so that we can think good, logical and wholesome thoughts which would glorify God, and serve as a worldview that is pleasing to God.
(C)
We have shared previously that the biblical storyline is one of war between good and evil. This war is fought on all fronts: in our physical life on earth, in our minds, hearts, and in our battle to secure truth and to dispel untruth and lies.
Near the beginning of world war II, Lewis preached a sermon at the university church in Oxford entitled ‘Learning in War-Time’ to the Oxford students. One key question directed to the students by him was “Why should you study when the lives of our friends and the liberties of Europe are in the balance?”
Lewis answered the question by suggesting that his own age (time) was not necessarily unique – all of life is lived on “the edge of a precipice,” for indeed all of life is lived against the drama of good and evil, of persons becoming more heavenly or hellish creatures every day. In short, all of history occurs against the backdrop of heaven and hell.
What Lewis was in fact saying is that events in history (as well as events happening right now) occur against the backdrop of heaven and hell i.e. against the backdrop of the war between good and evil, between God and the devil. An event like world war II which resulted in many deaths and suffering revealed that life is lived against the drama of good and evil – what can be seen in the physical war does not mean that a spiritual war is not going on – a war between God and the evil one, the former seeking to recreate a new godly humanity while the latter seeks to destroy humanity and ensure that God’s purpose is thwarted.
Todayl, in the midst of the Ukraine war, in the midst of calamities, typhoons, earthquakes, famine, let us not forget this total reality that is going on, seen in what can be seen, and discerned by those who have spiritual eyes to see.
Even for believers, the battle for the mind, heart and truth is going on in this war between good and evil. The devil is constantly working also to destroy God’s people in a subtle and deceitful way by affecting the mind and heart of believers and distorting the truth.
Let us realise that the Word is insufficient without the Spirit, and the Spirit is insufficient without the Word. Some believers embrace the idea that biblical orthodoxy is all that matters, and biblical teaching alone produces a healthy church. Idolising orthodoxy itself is not the same as worshipping God, and it can inflate pride and quench the Spirit.
On the other hand, many Charismatics have an attitude of being anti-intellectual, impatient with biblical and theological study, insisting that their movement is about experience rather than the truth, content with a tiny handful of biblical truth and unwilling to reason out guidance for life from the Scripture.
When we lay aside the Word to follow supposedly direct instruction from the Spirit in vision, dream, prophecy or inward impression, we open up endless possibilities of self-deception and satanic manipulations.
We need to realise that both situations (Word without Spirit and Spirit without Word) set the stage for the work of the devil and his minions, and this is part and parcel of the war between God and the evil one.
There is always danger when the formation of the mind by the Word is in any way neglected. What is really needed is constant instruction in biblical truth with constant prayer that the Spirit will make it take fire in human hearts, regenerating, redirecting, and transforming into Christ’s likeness at character level. Christ’s prayer is that His people would be sanctified by the Spirit through God’s Word of truth.
A helpful statement: “Belief does not create truth. Unbelief does not destroy truth. Christian faith goes beyond reason but not against reason. Faith involves mind and heart”.
And the battle for the mind, heart and truth continues against the background of the daily happenings in this world – in the past, in the present, and in the future, with the promise of victory in Christ as a certainty.