What is Scientism?

I accidentally found this article on the Social Justice Wiki, and thought it was very clear and concise.  Hope you like it.

Scientism entry on SJ Wiki

Life is More than Politics

"Thanks for everything, Bernie!"

Politicians have words to thank for their positions. They are often long on promises and (somewhat short on delivery). This persistent human phenomenon leads people to think that somehow the solution to our problems is political. I mean, if the politicians would “get out of the way” then “we could really get things solved.” This is what creates the cheap theater that is politics (see photo).

I firmly believe that the root of human problems is sin. By sin I mean a broken relationship with God that one inherits because one is human. This sinful nature is a spiritual problem, meaning that one only addresses it in spiritual terms, in terms of intangible indescribable interaction with the Divine. And is there not One who is Divine?

Our counselors must point us to God, our money won't save us, our entertainment escape will fade quickly. Our relationships all ultimately drive us to the one relationship that matters, our relationship with the One who created us, and who calls us by name to return to Him.

The root of humanity's problem is sin. The solution to sin has been provided by God, who sent His only Son Jesus Christ to be the resolution for our sins. Jesus perfectly revealed the Father in heaven, the Lord of all of us. How can we hope to know our God if we won't know His Son who perfectly showed us what he is like?

One thing that Jesus showed us clearly is that He died for our sins, not for His own. Jesus was the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. He taught that whoever believed in Him would not perish, but would have everlasting life.  Why would we not embrace this gift that God gives to us by His grace?

It is part of our duty as citizens to be engaged in the political process. But we are foolish if we imagine this will solve ultimate problems. People are good in many ways, but we are all dead in our sins with respect to God.  We ultimately cannot even help one another until we truly repent and believe Jesus. We then enter the life of God, as our sins are taken away, and we receive a new heart, a transformed moral disposition, that inclines us ever more towards the God who made us.

It is then that life truly is more than politics, more than success,  more than scientific materialism, more than...

Come Make a Place in Me

What will we pray this Christmas?

Sam Harris, my favorite neo-atheist says confidently, "minds cease to exist when bodies cease to function." He says this as if it were an irrefutable fact of science.  However, the scientific community really has no language to describe consciousness, or mind.  Harris' assertion, while giving comfort to college age rebels who are "losing their religion," must remain an assertion.

I believe, by faith, that our hearts are God's home. I believe that our souls are immortal, and that we are in danger of leaving ourselves under God's eternal judgment on sin if we "live and let live" in our relationship with God. There's a nice Christmas present.

Of course there are many responses to the notion that sin leads to judgment. In much of theistic Judaism, finding a way to keep Torah, a way to be faithful to God's law, is a key to overcoming the gulf between God's holiness and our weaknesses. In Islam, God is focused on our striving for obedience to the commandments revealed to the Prophet.  If one is obedient enough, then God may be merciful to a person on judgment day.  Doesn't that sound hopeful?  In other religions, heartfelt sacrifice and worship, along with proper offerings, will appease whatever deities there are in one's sphere of life.  One other answer is that sin isn't our immediate concern, but we ought to focus on the alleviation of suffering in the here and now.  

It is abundantly clear that scripture says we are much more than our material selves. While avoiding simple dualism, the Bible tells us that we our bodies are the temple of the holy spirit (I Cor. 6:19). We are told that we have early tents, in which we groan (2 Cor. 5).  We long to have a house in the heavens, made not with hands, but by God. God teaches us that there are two aspects of humankind, body and soul.  In fact, we are lights that have been lit by God Himself (Prov. 20:27)!  So we should realize that all of us, the whole person, belong to God (I Cor. 6:20).

Somehow or another, Augustine and Pascal (those often quoted) said that there was a place within ourselves made for God.  The ideal state of a person is that God dwells within, for the redemption of the person and for the glorification of God who gives us life.  One favorite phrase is, "Our souls are restless until they find rest in thee." 

I firmly believe the Christian answers to life better fit the evidence that human history provides for us.

So at Christmas time, may we all say to God, "come make a place in me."  One of our Christmas songs at church this year says, "as you did in the manger, come do it all again.  Show us your grace, come make a place in me."  Finally, the song declares, "there is room in my heart for you."

My hope is that you'll join with me in praying through Christmas with those words of faith in your soul.