Our world is in free fall these days. And there are probably as many explanations for all our problems as there are people.
But it occurred to me this morning that no matter what happens, it doesn't surprise me. Oh, sure, there are new outrages coming out of Washington every day, new natural disasters to gape at, horrifying new examples of evil being called good and good evil, new acts of incredible human kindness or courage to warm the heart.
But I can’t remember the last time I was really astounded by any development.
The reason? My worldview is entirely biblical. And when you view the world through the lens of the Bible, everything makes sense.
Take, for example, the deterioration in how we deal with each other. Rudeness and violence are on the upswing, civility is long gone. Abortion is a right. The latest amusement for thugs is The Knockout Game. The “do your own thing” siren call of the ‘60s has matured into a way of life for most people. And the very idea of obeying or even respecting a higher authority has become a joke.
Or consider the death of truth. Hardly anyone believes in it anymore, at least not the absolute kind. Everything’s relative, everything’s conditional, and we have grown used to hearing partial truths put forth as explanations when we know, if we’ll just think about it, that a partial truth is most often nothing more than a lie.
Or think about our love affair with the material, our obsession with outward appearance, our worship of celebrities, our demand for 24x7 entertainment, our glorification of the intellect.
Or even the way old cars rust out and fall apart.
I could cite Bible passage after Bible passage explaining each of these phenomena, and just about everything else that we see happening today. That’s because, quite simply, the Bible is truth, and the biblical worldview is the only way to recognize it in this post-modern world.
That’s the thing about truth. It always rings ... true.
Am I wrong? Does your non-biblical worldview do an equally fine job of explaining this world? Or does it explain part of it, but require a lot of “just so” stories to make sense of the rest?
Let’s give it a test.
Does your non-biblical worldview explain poverty in America, in spite of the trillions of dollars that have been poured into eradicating it over the last 50+ years?
Does it explain the dramatic increase in crime, in suicide, in mental illness?
How about the drive to globalization?
Or the dramatic increase in information and travel?
How about the growth of greed? Or the escalating tensions in the Middle East and the return of the horrors of antisemitism?
And how about the stubborn refusal of man to quit believing in a purpose for this life, and an afterlife to follow?
If your non-biblical worldview can explain all of these phenomena, I’d love to hear about it.
But if it doesn’t, I invite you to take a close look at mine.
One of the best introductions I’ve ever come across is in James Sire’s amazing book The Universe Next Door. You’ll find a glimpse of a synopsis of it in my library, and used and new copies of it wherever books are sold.
Why not give it a shot? What have you got to lose, except a view of the world that leaves you scratching your head whenever you pause to ponder it.
But it occurred to me this morning that no matter what happens, it doesn't surprise me. Oh, sure, there are new outrages coming out of Washington every day, new natural disasters to gape at, horrifying new examples of evil being called good and good evil, new acts of incredible human kindness or courage to warm the heart.
But I can’t remember the last time I was really astounded by any development.
The reason? My worldview is entirely biblical. And when you view the world through the lens of the Bible, everything makes sense.
Take, for example, the deterioration in how we deal with each other. Rudeness and violence are on the upswing, civility is long gone. Abortion is a right. The latest amusement for thugs is The Knockout Game. The “do your own thing” siren call of the ‘60s has matured into a way of life for most people. And the very idea of obeying or even respecting a higher authority has become a joke.
Or consider the death of truth. Hardly anyone believes in it anymore, at least not the absolute kind. Everything’s relative, everything’s conditional, and we have grown used to hearing partial truths put forth as explanations when we know, if we’ll just think about it, that a partial truth is most often nothing more than a lie.
Or think about our love affair with the material, our obsession with outward appearance, our worship of celebrities, our demand for 24x7 entertainment, our glorification of the intellect.
Or even the way old cars rust out and fall apart.
I could cite Bible passage after Bible passage explaining each of these phenomena, and just about everything else that we see happening today. That’s because, quite simply, the Bible is truth, and the biblical worldview is the only way to recognize it in this post-modern world.
That’s the thing about truth. It always rings ... true.
Am I wrong? Does your non-biblical worldview do an equally fine job of explaining this world? Or does it explain part of it, but require a lot of “just so” stories to make sense of the rest?
Let’s give it a test.
Does your non-biblical worldview explain poverty in America, in spite of the trillions of dollars that have been poured into eradicating it over the last 50+ years?
Does it explain the dramatic increase in crime, in suicide, in mental illness?
How about the drive to globalization?
Or the dramatic increase in information and travel?
How about the growth of greed? Or the escalating tensions in the Middle East and the return of the horrors of antisemitism?
And how about the stubborn refusal of man to quit believing in a purpose for this life, and an afterlife to follow?
If your non-biblical worldview can explain all of these phenomena, I’d love to hear about it.
But if it doesn’t, I invite you to take a close look at mine.
One of the best introductions I’ve ever come across is in James Sire’s amazing book The Universe Next Door. You’ll find a glimpse of a synopsis of it in my library, and used and new copies of it wherever books are sold.
Why not give it a shot? What have you got to lose, except a view of the world that leaves you scratching your head whenever you pause to ponder it.
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