Light Brings Salt

 

Volume 3, Issue 45                                                                        November 27, 2005

Iron Range Bible Church

Dedicated to the Systematic Exposition of the Word of God

 

 

Alternative Salvation
Stuart McAllister


In a very perceptive book called Life: The Movie, author Neal Gabler argues that entertainment has conquered reality. All of life has become a stage, and the way to success is through the pathway of becoming a celebrity. Gabler suggests that we spend our life buying and shopping according to images and ideals that we hold as we seek to shape ourselves for our own performance. The constant use of significant celebrities to model lines of clothing, sporting goods, and cosmetics tell us subtly that if we own these items, we too can be like our heroes. We are strategically convinced that we don't have to simply watch the rich and famous; the democratization of credit and the availability of easily-accessed goods guarantee our ability to play the part or parts we choose.

The practical aids are many. Easy credit and finance options bluntly inquire, "Why wait?" In earlier times people had to consider whether they could afford such things, and they might have had to delay while they saved. The time between viewing and having was often considerable, but not anymore. We can have it if we want it, and we can have it now. It comes, of course, with a huge price tag in terms of increasing debt and anxiety. But even as the social crisis ticks like a time bomb in many homes, the waiting has been taken out of wanting.

It has become the job of the advertising industry to keep us in a state of permanent dissatisfaction and restlessness with who we are or what we have. The answer is always bigger, better, faster, or more like someone else. Words like "enough," "sufficient," and "wait" are derided in favor of having what you want now and immediately becoming who you really want to be. We are informed of our lack of something and then told it is ruining the quality of our lives. But the voices of the media then tell us salvation is at hand! The new product or service will liberate you from your problems. It will initiate you into a new world, a new life, an alternative salvation.

Is it possible that we are trapped in a web of deception, and that we are being conditioned to blindly follow the pied pipers of Madison Avenue and Hollywood as they determine who and what we are and how we should live? Is the bottom line to make money at all costs? Is happiness really being able to get what you want when you want it? It is time to recognize that life is far more than these trivial yet powerful views. It is time to call foul, to insist that real life is something far more nuanced, focused, and holistic than what the prophets of materialism have to offer.

The Christian view and alternative is that we are the products of a personal, loving creator, and that our life, opportunities, and resources are a gift to us. We interact with nature and the material world, but we also have other dimensions to our nature. "The earth is the Lord's and all it contains; the world and those who dwell in it" (Psalms 24:1–2). Because we have been made by God and for God, our ultimate fulfillment is found in Him.

The pretensions of our culture are many, the seductions vast, and the attractions powerful. Yet in a world of invasive desires, intrusive demands, and restless indulgence another voice can be heard: "Come unto me all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28). The answer is not in a product but in a living person. "He who has the son has the life, and he who does not have the son does not have the life" (1 John 5:12). Which answer do you hold?

 

Has Evolution become a State Religion?  

by John Morris, Ph.D.

 

Nowhere did they insist on "the separation of church and state" in the sense that religious concepts had no place in government, indeed quotes abound affirming their personal and national dependence on God.

The Church of England had been established as the official state church of that country for a long time, but in the nineteenth century an effort was launched to "disestablish" it, and remove its favored status. Yet some wanted to retain the designation, and launched the anti-disestablish movement. Their movement became known as antidisestablishmentarianism, a beloved word of all school children who brag they can spell the longest word in the English language. There are longer words, but we can learn a lesson from this historical episode.

America's founding fathers rejected all ideas of a national church, even though numerous voices clamored for one and several of the individual states had already selected one or the other. The very first amendment to the constitution codified this commitment, that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. . . ." Nowhere did they insist on "the separation of church and state" in the sense that religious concepts had no place in government, indeed quotes abound affirming their personal and national dependence on God. They insisted on freedom of religion, not the favoring of one denomination over the other. The modern day removal of all vestiges of Christianity from the public arena would greatly displease the founders. Many were devout Christians, of varying denominations, but of deep personal convictions. They wanted to keep the state out of religion, not eliminate a Christian influence on affairs of the state.

How then can we understand the government mandated rush to embrace the concept of evolutionary naturalism? The idea that life originated, indeed the entire universe originated through strictly natural processes (as opposed to supernatural processes) is a religious concept, incapable of observation or proof, yet held by faith. In evolutionary naturalism, life not only finds its origin, but also its meaning and destiny in nature. As many have noted, it is essentially equivalent with atheism.

Our government schools teach evolution with fervor at taxpayer expense, ignoring alternatives. Textbook writers often repeat information known to be false, in the name of good evolution teaching. Teacher unions aggressively combat other views while defending teachers who abuse students of different faiths than evolution. Our courts declare other origins views off-limits, branding them religion. Scientists have even redefined the goal of science. No longer is it "the search for truth," it has become the search for naturalistic explanations. Self-serving civil libertarians promise a bitter lawsuit against any who would return to the views of the founders. How could we have come so far? Where is the road back?

The state-supported church of atheistic evolutionism has been almost fully established in this once Christian country. I, for one, support the "disestablishment" of this false, unscientific, and harmful church. I do not favor establishing any Christian creed as the State Church, but it should be allowed to function without government "prohibiting the free exercise thereof."  I pray that it would flourish and that America's leaders would once again welcome its wholesome influence in society.

Epigram

As things are, most seminaries and churches pose little threat to a blatantly secular society; they are tolerated by the secular mindset, much as a grandmother who no longer knows what day of the week it is or what to do next.

Carl F.H. Henry