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Vain Philosophies
May 4, 03:17 PM
“For though they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.” Romans 1:21
The problem with most philosophies held by people is that they are vain philosophies. They are full of vanity. They begin with self over God, the exaltation of humanity over divinity, the placement of human intellect over the wisdom of God. There is little or no humility in it. As the Age of Reason set in, human vanity increased. In the Enlightenment, human beings basically cast off all restraints of authority, exerted their own intellectual dominion, and said in essence, “We have very good brains; we need neither King nor God to tell us what to do.” This was an exact repetition of Eden when the serpent in essence said to Eve, “You have a brain, use it! You do not need this God of yours telling you what is right or wrong, what is good or evil. You can determine that for yourself. You can be god of your own lives!”
Take liberation for example. Who could possibly argue against the liberation of human beings from an oppressive dominion? And yet, most philosophies of liberation begin with the demand to be liberated, they do not begin with the desire to honor God. Therefore the theological framework of liberation is not founded in God, it is founded in a human desire. The image of God is then shaped by that desire, twisted according to the cravings of human beings. Ironically, they try to take by force what God would readily give them. Is not God the ultimate liberator? Was it not God who commanded Moses to say to Pharaoh, “Let my people go?” Is not Jesus the one who said, “You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free?”
Consider feminism. Who in their right minds could possibly argue against the full valuation and empowerment of women? And yet, most feminist philosophy begins and ends with a human demand, it does not first submit itself to the Creator of all men and women. Once again, the theological framework, and thus the image of God are distorted so as to fit the narrow self-interest of human beings. The sad reality is they fail to realize that God is the One who is the very best at elevating both men and women in their true dignity. They seek to take by force what God would willingly give them.
Religious zealots, especially Christian zealots, do exactly the same thing. They hijack Jesus and attempt to make the Lord of Life serve their own selfish desires and vain philosophies. They shall receive the greatest condemnation. They, above all people, should know better. This is why Jesus called arrogant, self-righteous religious zealots “white washed tombs full of dead men’s bones.”
The journey to freedom in this life often involves human struggle. This has been true from the Exodus to the civil rights movement to the battles for freedom within individual lives. In such cases where God is present in the struggle, the leaders of those confrontations have first and always submitted themselves to God and proceeded under divine strategy. The initiative and direction of the movement have proceeded from the unction of God. However when the movements are founded in the seed of human rebellion, people inevitably seize by force what God would have willingly led them to. By so doing, they secure for themselves a counterfeit freedom which is no freedom at all. They simply exchange one oppressive dominion for another.