And the War Rages On

I met a doctoral candidate at the university while waiting for a friend outside of the dinning common. It turns out that he was a missionary to Germany. His ministry was focused on starting churches in communities located in the eastern part of Germany. I became very curious and began asking him questions about the challenges he faced sharing the gospel in Germany. He mentioned that the historically socialist environment as well as the current cultural climate had resulted in an entrenched atheistic perspective of life. He spent most of his time proclaiming the gospel and providing and promoting literature that gave a rational defense for the existence of God. He lamented at the fact that most people think that the concept of God is irrational and consider anyone who believes in God to be foolish. He said that Ben Stein was ridiculed for being in a video that promoted intelligent design as a more viable scientific alternative to evolution. I asked him if he saw similar attitudes here in the U.S. He mentioned that the same rhetoric that promotes the atheism in Europe is also found here. It left me thinking of our future as a nation founded on the principle of religious freedom.

             When I think of the religious history of the German people I automatically think of the "birth" of the reformation. I know Germany contributed more than Luther but his part in the popularization of the Reformation has greatly affected Christianity placing it on the shoulders of the people instead of an ecclesiastical hierarchy. Many people died taking a stand for religious liberty and hoping for the day that their children would be free to worship God with a clear conscience. They desired to let God's Holy Scriptures be the only authority over their lives. Centuries later a nation was born as independence from foreign political and local ecclesiastical oppression was wrought in the crucible of war. Our founding fathers forged a document that guaranteed certain inalienable rights one of which was the freedom of religion. My brother in Christ who is contending for the faith in Germany made an important comment when he mentioned the video by Ben Stein. He said they ridiculed him but never addressed his argument for intelligent design. The arguments presented against evolution and for intelligent design were actually proposed by European professors in countries surrounding Germany that have also been affected by the postmodern atheism resulting from the theory of evolution. It seems evolution does not satisfy the scientists that actually stop and think about this issue. The question is why does a culture that supposedly clings to a profound belief in the superiority of science discredit anything that challenges their position without addressing the argument? The answer lies in the core values resident in the heart of the theory upon which a whole society has been built. The fact is that it has never really been about truth. There has always been a presupposition that God does not exist in the camp of evolution. This theory gave atheists academic credibility because it presented facts while redefining their context. The excitement of the scientific community clashed with the apathy of the church and many theologians did not have reasonable explanations for the interpretation of the facts that challenged their propositional truths. The result was a theological compromise and a philosophical drift in the church which struggled to find relevance in a world that was looking to find answers in anything but the God who created it. Christianity found itself oppressed and persecuted once more. It had been betrayed by the very people who professed to defend and promote sound doctrines of the faith. The battles for liberty rage once more. Today these battles are not fought on foreign shores or distant lands. The casualties are not the mortal bodies of valiant men trained and equipped for battle. The war for freedom has entered your homes and it is being fought in the hearts and minds of you and your children.

        Peter wrote under divine inspiration "But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep."(2Peter 2:1-3) We are seeing the results of destructive heresies that stem from a deplorable attitude toward Christ in the ideological battles being fought in our country today. I encourage you to seek the truth.  ". . . Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, 'If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.'" (John 8:31-32) Do not scoff at the truth in the Scriptures. They alone result in victory over the empty philosophies the enemy of truth promotes today. The Word of God is the only place where you can find and deepen a saving faith in Jesus Christ. Be eternally free by turning to God from the bondage of sin. Believe in Jesus Christ.