BEWARE
OF INTELLECTUAL SCHIZOPHRENIC PROFESSOR’S
MIKE
CUNINGHAM
NOVEMBER
4, 2007
Christian parents understandably have
legitimate concerns whenever a child leaves home to attend college. In addition
to his or her health and safety, parents often fear their son or daughter may
succumb to the widespread anti-Christian influences on today’s college
campuses. Informed parents know their child runs the risk of sometimes having
their faith attacked in an effort to destroy it. Imagine the thoughts flowing
through the mind of a father after he read a very disturbing text message from
his daughter. The distraught young woman sent it to her dad as soon as she left
her philosophy class. The message concerned the disgusting lecture she had just
been subjected to. Allow me to quote a greatly toned down portion of what the father
shared in a recent article he posted on his web site. Referring to his
daughter’s professor, the dad wrote:
“At one point
(47 minutes into the lecture) he opines, regarding followers of Jesus when he
returns, “We don’t give a crap about your ideas, don’t give us this idea stuff,
we can’t understand
that s**t anyway! It’s the power we want, man, and you’ve got
miracles . . . good enough for me!” Then he speaks about how people would not
recognize Jesus were He to come back. “They wouldn’t know who the hell he was.”
He speaks of how you might marry someone when you are young and then one day
wake up and say, “Son of a bitch! Who is that person I married?” “You were
looking through a lot of illusions.” In this context then he made the following
statement that became the main element of the text my daughter sent to me after
class:
“And in fact,
if Jesus did come back, the most likely people to put him back on the cross
would be Christians, and the most likely people to nail him to the cross would
be fundamentalist Christians. They would be the ones who would be nailing that
son of a bitch back to the cross, because he’d be the one who’d be refuting
what they believe, and they wouldn’t want that. Fair enough? So the most likely
guys to be hammering in the nails, they are the guys who elected George Bush, and believe in the literal
truth of the Bible, and don’t believe in evolution, because they don’t want
to use reason, and they don’t want to think, they’d rather stick to
their illusions that hopefully may convince them that they don’t have to be
afraid at night when they are all alone, and the devil may whisper in their
ears.”[i]
If you were
that student’s parent; how would you respond to this kind of anti-Christian
bigotry? The girl’s dad wrote an open letter to the professor as well as a
follow up. As you might have guessed, he never received the courtesy of a
response. What advice would you give your college student son or daughter in
order to help them to better understand the dynamics of similar divinely
ordained tests of their faith? Are you prepared to intelligently help him or
her to respond in a manner which will bring glory and honor and praise to our
Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ?
When I read
the father’s article the evolution comment jogged my memory of something I
shared in one of my recent sermon’s concerning the biblical account of creation
in which I said: “Science cannot go beyond the “big-bang.” It’s
impossible. That particular area is beyond the realm of science, because to do
so would involve entering into the supernatural, an area which scientists tend
to dismiss. They’re only interested in scientifically verifiable facts, such
as what Satan has convinced them evolution is”
I went on to add, “It saddens me whenever I think that men and
women whom God has blessed with what are often brilliant and inquisitive
mind’s, but who have absolutely no interest in learning about what was going on
before what they refer to as being the “big-bang.” [ii] From the beginning,
Christians have always had to contend with unbelievers…
The Apostle Peter wrote his famous letter to
the First Century Christians who were also living in very challenging times in
which their faith was
often tested to the
max. Those early Christians were suffering greatly because of their
faith and Peter wrote his letter to encourage and exhort them to hang in there
(1 Peter 5:12). He also told them that each of them should always be ready to
defend their faith (1 Peter 3:15).But first the great Apostle of Hope (cf. 1:3, 13, 21; 3:15) offered the
following comforting words of reality concerning Biblical truths that all
Christians can never be reminded of too often.
Peter
1:1-7 (AMP) 1 PETER, AN apostle ( a
special messenger) of Jesus Christ, [writing] to the elect exiles of the
dispersion scattered (sowed) abroad in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and
Bithynia, 2 Who
were chosen and foreknown by God the Father and consecrated (sanctified,
made holy) by the Spirit to be obedient to Jesus Christ (the Messiah) and to be
sprinkled with [His] blood: May grace (spiritual blessing) and peace be given
you in increasing abundance [that spiritual peace to be realized in and through
Christ, redeemed from fears, agitating passions, and moral conflicts].
3 Praised
(honored, blessed) be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (the
Messiah)! By His boundless mercy we have been born again to
an ever-living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
4 [Born
anew] into an inheritance which is beyond the reach of change and decay
[imperishable], unsullied and unfading, reserved in heaven for you, 5 Who are being
guarded (garrisoned) by God’s power through [your] faith [till you fully
inherit that final] salvation that is ready to be revealed [for you] in the
last time. 6 [You
should] be exceedingly glad on this account, though now for a little while you
may be distressed by trials and suffer temptations, 7 So that [the genuineness] of your faith may be tested,
[your faith] which is infinitely more precious than the perishable gold which
is tested and purified by fire.
[This proving of your faith is intended] to redound to [your] praise and glory
and honor when Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One) is revealed.
The Apostle Paul
reiterated the fact that they and every follower of Jesus are aliens in this
world. Personally I cannot remind any of us of this wonderful fact too often; Christians are traveling through
a world which is a perilous spiritual minefield on the way to their real home.
Philippians
3:20 (AMP) 20 But we are citizens of the state (commonwealth,
homeland) which is in heaven,
and from it also we earnestly and patiently await [the coming of] the
Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah) [as] Savior,
Referring to the status
of the deceased Old Testament saints, the divinely inspired author of the
Letter to the Hebrew Christians echoed Paul’s comforting reminder of reality
when he wrote:
Hebrews
11:13-16 (AMP) 13 These people all died
controlled and sustained by their faith, but not having received the
tangible fulfillment of [God’s] promises, only having seen it and
greeted it from a great distance by faith, and all the while acknowledging and confessing that they
were strangers and temporary residents and exiles upon the earth.
14 Now
those people who talk as they did show plainly that they are in search of a
fatherland (their own country). 15 If they had been thinking with [homesick] remembrance of
that country from which they were emigrants, they would have found constant
opportunity to return to it. 16 But the
truth is that they were yearning for and aspiring to a better and
more desirable country, that is, a heavenly [one]. For that reason
God is not ashamed to be called their God [even to be surnamed their God—the God
of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob], for He has prepared a city for them.
All Christians live
in a world which I like to describe as being “The Planet of
the Living Dead.” We’re surrounded by animated dead people such as that college
professor I spoke about earlier who unknowingly hit the nail on the head when,
speaking of the return of Jesus said: “we can’t understand that s**t anyway!
Whenever we are interacting with non-Christians we must remember to factor in
the reality that every one
of them without exception cannot understand spiritual truth any more than
the pew you folks are sitting in right now can. If we don’t remember this
fact we are apt to frustrate ourselves and become discouraged, especially
whenever we attempt to lead them to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
1
Corinthians 2:14 (AMP) 14 But the natural,
nonspiritual man does not accept or welcome or admit into his
heart the gifts and teachings and revelations of the Spirit of
God, for they are folly (meaningless nonsense) to him; and he
is incapable of knowing them [of progressively recognizing, understanding, and
becoming better acquainted with them] because
they are spiritually discerned and
estimated and appreciated.
Ephesians
4:17-18 (AMP) 17 So this I say and
solemnly testify in [the name of] the Lord [as in His presence], that you must
no longer live as the heathen (the Gentiles) do in their perverseness [in the
folly, vanity, and emptiness of their souls and the futility] of their minds. 18 Their moral understanding is
darkened and their reasoning is
beclouded. [They are] alienated (estranged, self-banished) from the life of God
[with no share in it; this is] because of the ignorance (the want of knowledge
and perception, the willful blindness) that is deep-seated in them, due to
their hardness of heart [to the insensitiveness of their moral nature].
How should followers
of Christ respond to those “in-your-face”
spiritually dead people such as the college professor who claims that
Christian’s “don’t believe in evolution, because they don’t want to use
reason, and they don’t want to think?” Remember what
Peter advised his readers.
Peter 3:15(AMP)15 Always be ready to
give a logical defense to anyone who asks you to account for the hope that is
in you, but do it courteously and respectfully.
Responding to my recent
sermon in which I spoke about folks who believe in evolution as being “only interested in scientifically verifiable facts, such as what Satan
has convinced them evolution is,” I received the following from a brother in the Lord.
Hi Mike. ”Here's some
additional food for thought. For any scientist to claim that they cannot accept
creationism because of their professional background---i.e. the years of
training to learn the scientific method which uses observable and measurable events
as the ultimate test of an hypothesis---is to ignore the historical context within which
“science” actually originated. Multiple times in the past the scientific
community was forced to accept scientific “truths” that were in apparent
contradiction to one another or at the very least could not both be explained
by a single principle. The physics of Isaac Newton that explained the behavior
of the physical world that we can see with our eyes failed miserably when
applied to the subatomic world of electrons and quarks, although the former is
made up of the latter.
Even when an eventual
explanation of the subatomic world was discovered it was based on
probability; not an observable certainty---something that “science” on
the macro level abhors and denounces. Even one of the breakthrough
principles that gave rise to the physics of quantum mechanics is called “the Uncertainty Principle”---first
postulated by Weiner Heisenberg. So profound was the impact of these
“nonsensical” truths derived in whole from mathematical and scientific
certainties that many early quantum physicists ended their historic careers in
philosophy and/or theology.
So when a man of
science or math says that belief in creation cannot be squared with his
lifelong education in that profession he is clearly choosing to ignore not only
how science as a discipline of higher education came to exist itself, but also
how, in reality, the scientific community makes the “giant” leaps forward in
human understanding of a God created world, and universe,” J. Scott Strenio.[iii] In my opinion, our
friend Scott has given exactly what Peter advises; a logical, courteous and
respectful defense of the hope he has in the veracity of God’s Word. The
Apostle Paul gave sound advice to young Timothy as to how he ought to interact
with these spiritually dead people, advice which all Christians ought to
follow.
2 Timothy
2:23-25 (AMP) 23 But refuse (shut your mind against,
have nothing to do with) trifling (ill-informed, unedifying, stupid)
controversies over ignorant questionings, for you know that they foster strife and breed quarrels. 24 And the servant
of the Lord must not be quarrelsome (fighting and contending). Instead, he must
be kindly to everyone and
mild-tempered [preserving the bond of peace]; he must be a skilled and suitable teacher, patient and forbearing and willing to suffer wrong. 25 He must correct
his opponents with courtesy and
gentleness, in the hope that God may grant that they will repent and come to
know the Truth [that they will perceive and recognize and become accurately
acquainted with and acknowledge it],
As I said a moment ago, all Christians should
follow Paul’s advice to Timothy. We must never attempt to answer foolish
questions or allow ourselves to get all bent out of shape. Furthermore, relying
on God for the strength, Christians must humbly and lovingly attempt to educate
the non-Christian, and always remember to be mindful of a crucial fact Paul
pointed out in his letter to the Church at Rome.
Romans
1:19-22 (AMP) 19 For that which is known about God is
evident to them and made plain
in their inner consciousness, because God [Himself] has shown it to them.
20 For ever since the
creation of the world His invisible nature and attributes, that is, His
eternal power and divinity, have been made intelligible and clearly
discernible in and through the things that have been made (His
handiworks). So [men] are without excuse [altogether without
any defense or justification], 21 Because when they knew and recognized Him as God, they did not honor and glorify Him as God or give Him
thanks. But instead they became futile and
godless in their thinking [with vain imaginings, foolish reasoning, and stupid
speculations] and their senseless minds were darkened. 22 Claiming to be
wise, they became fools [professing to be smart, they made simpletons of
themselves].
I don’t know about you, but I think Paul just
gave an accurate characterization of a certain College Professor who is
behaving like an “intellectual schizophrenic.” Dr. Greg
Bahnsen in his excellent book “Always Ready”, makes this very insightful
observation: “The unbeliever “opposes himself.” By his foolish
presuppositions the unbeliever actually works against himself. He suppresses
the clear truth about God which is foundational to an understanding of the
world and of oneself, and he affirms a position which is contrary to his better
knowledge.”[iv]
Romans
1:18 (ESV) 18 For the wrath of God
is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.
In
closing, I want you folks to know that I have already prayed and asked the Holy Spirit to
constantly remind each of us, especially college students, that all
non-Christians, including the intellectual Schizophrenic professor’s, are spiritually
dead fools. Lord willing, in a couple of weeks…
[i]
http://www.americanvision.org/articlearchive2007/10-30-07.asp?vPrint=1
[ii]
http://s128601634.onlinehome.us/sermons/how_great.htm
[iii] http://www.charlieandtheangel.com/3.html
[iv] Always Ready: Directions For Defending The
Faith, Dr. Greg L. Bahnsen, ©1996 by Robert and Virginia Bahnsen, page 65, published jointly by American Vision
P. O Box 724088, Atlanta, Georgia and Covenant Media Foundation 4425 Jefferson
Ave. Suite 108, Texarkana, Arkansas 71854.
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