Living In The Real World
Humanism does not accord with reality. It cannot provide a foundation for truth or morality, and as such, it is an incoherent worldview. So, the question is how do we as Christians live in a culture dominated by this philosophy while maintaining faithfulness to Christ? The answer is that we must deny the fabricated lies and live in the real world of God’s truth. If our garments are to remain unspotted by the dominant ideas of the day we must live in reality. Scripture is truth. God is the King of Creation. Jesus Christ has complete authority in both heaven and earth. We, as believers, are His servants. The culture around us will increasingly reject that which is true because their worldview is not in accord with the truth of God. As such, we can expect the culture to spiral down its long humanistic tumble so long as it bases itself on false ideas, beliefs, and worldviews.
Now, some might have an inquisitive curiosity in their minds right now wondering if I am making a sweeping generalization about those who live on the basis of a pure chance universe (a.k.a. humanism or atheism). This dominant worldview in our society has no apologetic to stand on as illustrated in the three previous posts of this series. If you need another final nail in the coffin, then just consider the fact that our society which thrives on this humanistic worldview has apparently all of a sudden discovered that there are more than two genders.1 If you need an example of living outside reality, that is the prime illustration. To be clear, I am certainly not saying every individual who affirms humanism would hold to the view there are more than two genders because that would not be true. That being said, I do believe that if they lived consistently with their worldview then they would reach this conclusion because they have no standard for absolute truth and thus no standard for absolute gender binaries.
The Realistic Extremist
I use this term “Realistic Extremist” intentionally because I think it is helpful. The “Realistic” part of the phrase is referencing someone who lives in accordance with truth and reality. Subsequently, “Extremist” portion of this term demonstrates how that person will be portrayed as the culture goes further away from reality. If you are a person living out reality in accordance with biblical Christianity, then you can expect to be treated as a “Realistic Extremist” and I would go so far as to you should highly expect to be treated in that fashion. Our humanistic society will not be able to overthrow your worldview because you are living in reality. You serve God, honor Christ as Lord, and submit to biblical teaching. This worldview cannot be overthrown because it is true, it is reality. Therefore, the culture will consider you an extremist because you stand firm on the truth.
Primarily, our driving focus has got to be on embracing the role of a realistic extremist. We are going to be attacked by those who say they affirm the universe arose from pure chance and who actually live like they believe what they say! Get used to it, the culture is going to come for you if you actually live in accordance with reality. However, this role actually gives us a beautiful opportunity if we use it correctly. The society has no logical argument that can be brought against the position of biblical Christianity because they don’t even have a foundation for logic to begin with! Hence, when they illogically attack us it will provide ample opportunities for us to give a defense of the faith and proclaim the Gospel. The Lord can certainly use the targeting of His people for the spread of His name. The vital component is to take joy when being targeted. We must stand firm in the reality of the truth of God and play the role of a realistic extremist with grace and dignity for the glory of Christ.
The Key To All of This
If you are going to thrive in a culture attacking Christianity then the critical component is to know the truth of the Word of God. You will not be ready for the attacks of the enemy if you are not grounded in Scripture. Therefore, the key to all of this is to dig deep and to study the Bible intensely.2 You must saturate yourself in the Word and be faithful to obey it. The crazier the culture gets the crazier you will look to others for not following the trends. Thus, you need to have a stable foundation or else you too will fall prey to a false belief. To guard against that fall, you need to know the truth of the Word of God.
As I wrap up this series detailing the differences between humanism and Christianity I pray you have been blessed by this examination. I hope you and I will stand strong against the false ideas of our day and boldly herald the truth of Christ. May we be faithful servants of our Lord and steadfastly proclaim His name!
Sources
1 https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2014/02/14/confused-by-facebooks-new-gender-options-heres-what-they-mean/
2 Here is an article I wrote giving lessons I’ve learned on studying Scripture: https://thechristianmanifesto.org/202/how-to-study-scripture/
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