Wednesday, March 27, 2013

ancient wisdom > modern rationalism






With him are strength and sound wisdom; the deceived and the deceiver are his. He leads counselors away stripped, and judges he makes fools.
Job 12:16-17

Job's speech in chapters twelve and thirteen really is a sermon of worship and praise. It is pointed at the majesty, power, and wisdom of God... the God who wagered Job's life with Satan. Job would not let his suffering pull him away from worship. He would not let the ignorant theologizing of his friends keep him from worship. Worshiping God brought a balance to his grief and his attempts at making sense of his suffering. Worship, when done in a manner that focuses on God and desires Him above all else, is very clarifying for us. If it is only about people, it is not worship. That experience is really a false religion, sure to disappoint.

I personally love that sarcasm was a part of Job's wry observations on life and God. In the midst of this hymn of praise, there is a dry sarcasm directed at the misguided musing of his friends. It begins in verse one: "No doubt you are the people and wisdom will die with you." It continues in verse seventeen where Job exalts God for His sovereignty over corrupt human reason and power. God will embarrass the misguided advice of warped reasoning from human counselors. God will show the foolishness of human judges. The very best human reasoning is really just drooling infant babble compared to the wisdom of God.




The rising worldview in the western world exalts human reason as enlightened and pure. It seeks what only God can be and is just another variation on the pride in Satan's heart. But human wisdom, though technologically impressive, fails to compare with even the simplest wisdom of God. It seeks to replicate His wisdom as it is seen in the physical universe, to some small success. But it rejects His wisdom revealed in Christ and the Word of God. With no moral reality to guide it, science gives full power to any human atrocity. Hitler and Stalin were great utilizers of scientific advancement. They show us the extent to which blind faith in human reason deceives us to the point where millions die.

So when the Science Channel broadcasts that the Higgs Boson particle eliminates the need for a Creator, it simply just creates more chaos for atrocity. Only in God can strength and wisdom be found. And yes, no experiment can prove that statement. There is no need. God has already revealed it to a desert nomad sitting in the ashes of his losses thousands of years ago.

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