A simple question.

What is your Authority?

In other words, what is the reason, foundation, source for your spiritual choices?

For example, the atheist denies the existence of God. And, consequently, denies that he has any sin. Or has done any sin. And has nothing to confess.

In fact, he doesn’t even believe there is anyone he has to confess to!

He does this based upon whatever authority he has chosen to follow.

Every person that has ever lived has chosen some authority to follow. To believe in.

We each must choose. There is no escaping this reality.

A person may claim that his “authority” is founded upon knowledge, or science, or logic, or on some variation of humanistic philosophy.

And then he makes a determination of who is and / or what is good or bad in the world based upon his “code”. Making the whole idea of morality and right and wrong a very subjective thing.

But every one of these authorities is faulty at best. And each is based upon popular consensus rather than some absolute, objective truth.

Reminding me of the people from the book of Judges in the Old Testament. Where “… every man did that which was right in his own eyes“. (Judges 21:25)

And Pontius Pilate said, “What is truth”?

“Truth”, in our modern, popular culture, seems to be based upon statistics. As in, 99 people out of 100 accept something to be true; and 1 person does not. Therefore, according to this way of thinking, the 99 people “certainly can’t be wrong”.

And we’ve all heard some variation of “All of those people can’t be wrong!” People are banking on the overall flow of the world around them. And what is popular and accepted.

Most people take comfort in the relative safety of numbers. And put literally everything on the line based on those numbers.

And, by the way, science or knowledge is no different here. It has always been that way. Science is only as good as the accepted assumptions and presumptions of the age. 100 years from now many of the things the intellectuals are so smug and certain about will have been discarded.

However, most people want to be thought of as intellectual and praised for their reason and logic. And so, they will bow the knee to whatever the overall society accepts as “proven” knowledge. And whatever the “respected” institutions deem to be true or false.

And the more one’s reputation, licenses, or way of living is dependent upon being accepted by these intellectual and bureaucratic authorities, the less disagreement people will express against the popular consensus.

A person will rarely stick their neck out to oppose the daunting authority of “science”.

We Choose What We Worship

This is, actually, what “Scientism” is – the worship of science or the idea of science.

Or in the process by which man gathers and confirms knowledge. Such as trust in the “scientific method”.

Scientism is the acceptance of the religious doctrine that science defines “truth”. And that religious belief (especially Bible-based faith) is contrary to what is real as well as what is good for mankind.

Scientism is every bit a religious belief as any other. It is a deep faith and confidence in “knowledge”. Giving those who are engaged in this pursuit of “knowledge” the confidence to justify their denial of the biblical record.

They deny God’s revelation of Himself to man through His written word. Because it does not line up with the popular consensus of what true knowledge is.

And so, in defense of this faith in “knowledge”, (whatever that really means) a person will reference all of the articles, websites, books, reports, studies, graphs, professors, doctors, writers, theologians, politicians, etc. that support his point.

All those who have supposedly proven that something is true.

This blind faith is often expressed as, “I just follow the science”, “I just follow the data”, or “I just use logic instead of superstition.”

This is the way people determine what is “truth” today.

Assuming that an individual has not become lost in the deep weeds of the Postmodern swamp. Where he rejects “absolutes” or believes that “Your truth is your truth; and my truth is my truth.”

The acceptance of such an idea is regarded as tolerance and open-mindedness; when, in truth, it is really a sign of their departure from reality.

They have become a ship without an anchor, or even a rudder, in the endless raging sea of opinions.

The Worship of Self

A man who rejects the existence of God is essentially relying on his own self as the authority. And he is proud of this. Rejecting the “crutch” of religion or of Christian “dogma”.

He has become like the “existential” man against nature. That lone, heroic figure of a man against God. That great “hero” of science, intellect, and reason.

With a selective smattering of humanistic activism thrown in here and there.

The reality is, when you get right down to brass tacks, unbelieving men and women are really just narcissists. They are thoroughly convinced of the superiority of their own good intentions. And of their own inner goodness.

They believe that man is basically good (except for “evil” people like Trump, Conservatives, and Fundamentalists, of course). And that society and government, properly organized and managed by good, intelligent people, can create a harmonious “utopia” where people can flourish and be happy.

“If only”, they say, “these good and intelligent people had control. And the full power to do these good things.”

All of this they believe is possible without God, without religion, and without the traditional ideas of the past.

They are confident that science and reason will bring this hope to fruition.

And they point to their own faithfulness to some form of humanist “morality” as the justification for their unbelief. Offered up as a kind of substitute belief system in place of all the “evil” they see within literal biblical faith.

Nowhere to Hide

In the end, whatever upheavals our country and society will go through, every man will ultimately stand before God based on his or her own “faith”.

It really boils down to either having faith in one’s own self or in believing that the Lord Jesus Christ alone is God.

After all is said and done. After one breathes their last breath, he or she will no longer be able to hide behind the facade of intellect, logic, relative goodness, and whatever other “code” a person has placed his faith upon. What he has trusted in on this side of eternity.

Over there, in the Lord’s full, glorious, and holy presence, each person will be faced with the terrible reality of all that he has hoped upon. There will be no more illusions there.

The curtain will be pulled back all the way.

The bankruptcy of all of one’s supposed good works, his own sincerity, and his own inner “goodness” will be revealed.

His clear denial of Jesus Christ, who has horribly suffered and died for each soul, will be fully seen. A man’s rejection of his need for forgiveness, cleansing, and salvation will also be revealed … for all to behold.

There will be no hiding there. No covering of what a man really is and of what he has chosen as his “authority”.

“He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.” (John 12:48)

Image by geralt from Pixabay