“IT'S A MAD, MAD WORLD- Deafening Silence” by Chuck Colson

In this commentary Colson highlights two of last weeks most infamous U.N. speeches- one being from Iran’s president and the other being from the president of Venezuela. I’m certainly concerned about the hate mongering rhetoric from these two mind poisoning individuals but I think I am even more concerned and downright fearful of the tolerance and acceptability of such views. In this postmodern world of utter relativism and irrationality we have deadened our listening ears to the sounds of such venomous proclamations.

Great Quotes: John Calvin

“In order that true religion may shine upon us, we ought to hold that it must take its beginning from heavenly doctrine and that no one can get even the slightest taste of right and sound doctrine unless he be a pupil of Scripture.”

Jonathan Edwards: America’s Greatest Theologian

This article serves as a good brief introduction to the greatest American theologian who ever lived.

“Beating back the T.V. takeover” by Michael Medved

How much T.V. do you and your family consume on a daily basis? In this article Michael Medved discusses the latest report exposing American T.V. watching habits. Can we not just turn the T.V. off and read a book or talk to our families? If parents do not have the courage to simply turn off the T.V. - an image bearing box of continuous entertainment, then we have nothing less than an idol of worship plugged into our electrical outlets.

“The Dawkins Delusion” by Al Mohler

In this commentary Mohler exposes a new book proclaiming an old worldview- evolutionary naturalism. Mohler argues that the author Richard Dawkins utilizes the same old arguments for the reality of evolution and the myth of Christian Theism.

“Pain and Purpose” by Betsy Childs

The “Problem of Pain”, which of course includes pain and suffering, has in recent times been one of the most used arguments against the validity and authenticity of Christian Theism. In this devotional Betsy Childs gives the Christian apologetic a very practical twist.

“Wikiality” by Dr. James Emery White

"Truthiness is sort of what you want to be true, as opposed to what the facts support. Truthiness is a truth larger than the facts that would comprise it - if you cared about facts, which you don't, if you care about truthiness."

Pontius Pilate did not ask “What is truthiness?” Pilate asked “What is truth?” while Truth was standing before him.

“Rosie O’Donnell and Pope Benedict” by Michael Craven

In this commentary Michael Craven comments on the nature of the different reactions of both Rosie O’Donnell’s criticism of Christianity and the pope’s criticism of Islam.

Great Quotes: Martin Luther

"When man tries to become God, he becomes the devil."

"Hinduism no barrier to job as priest in Church of England" by Ruth Gledhill

This article serves as an excellent illustration of the influence the relativistic, nihilistic, and irrational postmodern worldview has on the Church. The article concerns the Rev. David Hart’s (a Church of England priest) conversion to Hinduism- a religious and philosophical worldview certainly conducive to the relativism and irrationality of truth deprived postmodernism. Here are some of his quotes:

Mr. Hart believes that his change to Hinduism would be “read in the spirit of open exploration and dialogue, which is an essential feature of our shared modern spirituality”.

“My philosophical position is that all religions are cultural constructs,” he said. “I am acting out God’s story in local terms.”

“The modern world is no longer dominated by any single form of belief. It is a world of religious pluralism. The Anglican Church firmly believes in engaging itself fully in inter-faith dialogues. God is the same irrespective of whether you pray to him in a temple, church or mosque.”

There is nothing wrong with exploring and having dialogue concerning the nature and character of another religious perspective as long as one recognizes that antithetical beliefs (Christian theism- God is transcendent; Hinduism- God is all and all is God) cannot, based upon the God given laws of logic (as reflected by His very nature), synthesize two antithetical beliefs into a “new” synthesized truth.

"Proving His Point- The Pope's Speech" by Chuck Colson

In this commentary Mr. Colson highlights the controversial pope speech criticizing Islam. Don't get me wrong, I have a major problem with Roman Catholic ideas of faith and practice as much as the next conservative protestant evangelical but I have to agree with his "popeness" on this one.

"'False Flag' Theologians" by Chuck Colson

September 11 and Conspiracy Theories

Great Quotes: Francis of Assisi, (1182-1226)

"Preach the Gospel always, and if necessary, use words. "

"A Life Founded on Doctrine" by Dr. Ray Pritchard

This short piece speaks of the importance of doctrine in the life of the believer.

Great Quotes: George Washington

"The future of our country depends upon the Christian training of our youth."

A calling for both the Church and Christian parents.

"Near Him" by Jill Carattini

Here is a quote from the commentary to get you interested:

"If the greatest pursuit in life is discovering who we are, deciphering why we are here, knowing where we are going, it is upsetting, even staggering, to see so many give up the quest of truth for a lesser pursuit."

"First Ammendment Follies" by Chuck Colson

Religious Speech at School

“Buy Your Way to Enlightenment” by Annys Shin

I’m not suggesting that you read this article but I want to highlight something from it. The piece takes a look at a credit card, sponsored by the Conscious Enlightenment LLC and Visa (What a combination!), that one can use to purchase all those material “things” that we Americans think that we so desperately need. With consistent use one can accumulate points that enable the “enlightened consumer” to become one with a yoga class (If you are taking a yoga class I am not talking about you) or two. You might even be able to earn a “yoga retreat” to Tibet and golf with the Dalai Lama.

The author makes a point concerning the option of getting a card imprinted with “the face of Buddha, a.k.a. the man who gave up his worldly possessions in pursuit of spiritual salvation.” According to Buddhism the main reason for suffering is attachment to anything and everything. According to this worldview if you give up everything you will be a "non-suffering enlightened one." That’s what Mr. Buddha did- he left his family and everything he had for a slow and futile road to spiritual enlightenment and the legacy he leaves are millions of statues, most with big bellies, and a worldview that leaves millions of human beings lost without salvation.

John Calvin - Father of the Reformed Faith

On the top of my list of great theologians John Calvin will always be considered as a bulwark for the evangelical faith. This article serves as a good introductory biography on one of the greatest protestant theologians of Church History.

“View of God can predict values, politics” Cathy Lynn Grossman of USA Today

Interesting article that illustrates an essential point: What one believes about God is foundational to everything else he believes.

“The University Code: Unlocking the Secret of Veritas” by Chuck Colson

In this commentary Colson highlights an author and her book where she provides testimony of her quest for truth in the elite academy.

“No Alternative” by Betsy Childs

In her article “No Alternative” Betsy Childs comments on the current trend of movie producers and writers including alternate endings when the movie is released in DVD format. She argues that this activity renders the plot meaningless. Why would movie makers do such a thing? No doubt one reason is to increase DVD sales. A second reason might be that they liked the alternative ending better. I think there could be a third reason which is even more alarming. Maybe the reason is that many movie makers have been transformed by the empty notion of nihilism which leads a person down the path of utter meaninglessness and worthless existence. These nihilistic messengers of futility see the plot and story as a random and meaningless evangelistic presentation of nihilistic philosophy (See my entry for Saturday, August 26, 2006).

Worldview Bible Commentary: Psalm 118:8, 9 - Humanism

“It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man.
It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in princes."

In these verses the Psalmist asserts that humanism is not the way to go. He says that it is better to trust in the LORD than it is to trust in mankind’s ingenuity, scientific prowess, utopian hopes, and dreams of inherent human goodness that truly does not exist this side of the heavenly estate.

“Higher Education: Excellence Without A Soul” by Michael Craven

Michael Craven, in his commentary on education, makes the following closing remark:

“Parents must adequately prepare their children to enter such a hostile moral environment and promote the true object of education: the cultivation of wisdom and virtue that honors God, to learn what it means to be human and to open our hearts and minds to the best that has been written and imagined. This was the purpose of a classical liberal education and it still offers a foundation from which we may recover a right knowledge of the true, the good, and the beautiful.”

He highlights the origin of classical liberal arts education, its present day manifestation, and possibly its recovery. Also, ask yourself the question as to why the trend he describes has taken place?

“The Relativistic Fog- Why Moral Relativism Can’t Be True” by Chuck Edwards

In his commentary on moral relativism Edward’s equips us with some good arguments against the postmodernesque relativism of our day. As I read this article I thought of the following passages:

Judges 17:6 “In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did what was right in his own eyes.”
Judges 21:25 “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.”

I would like to encourage you to examine these passages in their context in order to get their full effect. This period in Israel is illustrative of a postmodern mindset in a premodern epoch.

A note concerning the “Worldview Bible Commentaries”

The Worldview Bible Commentaries (see my entries for “Worldview Bible Reading”) are not intended necessarily to be an exhaustive detailed commentary on the given passage although time permitting, some will be more detailed than others. My intention is to provide biblical answers to those “Worldview Questions” that I have listed in previous entries. Also, due to the fact that many of the worldviews that we find in our own universe today with new characters and vocabulary are the same worldviews prevalent in the Scriptures, I will at times examine what a given text might say about one of these worldviews.
Please feel free to disagree and respond if need be.
Soli Deo Gloria,
Craig

Great Quotes: Noah Webster

"The Bible must be considered as the great source of all the truth by which men are to be guided in government as well as in all social transactions..."

"Has Any People Heard the Voice of God Speaking...And Survived? Part 1" by Al Mohler

Here is a quote from the commentary to get you interested:

"There is no greater challenge than this--to make certain that we know on what authority we speak, and that we know on what authority we know. In Deuteronomy chapter four, Israel is reminded of the authority by which they live. They are reminded that they heard the voice of God speaking from the midst of the fire and survived."

“A Bitter ‘Flavor’: Reality show should make us all cringe” by DeWayne Wickman

If you have never read George Orwell’s “1984”, Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World” or Neil Postman’s “Amusing Ourselves to Death” I would like to encourage you to do so after reading this article by DeWayne Wickman. He uses one of the latest examples of programming from the reality genre to illustrate points made by both Postman and Huxley.

“Losing Our Voice, Losing Our Mind” by Peter Jones

Peter Jones, in his commentary on neo-paganism, presents two illustrations of neo-paganism’s influence on our society. Granted, the two examples come from California but the trends in other states can become realities across the country as history demonstrates very effectively.

“The Big Story” by J. Budziszewski

In order to explain tough concepts and worldviews Dr. Budziszewski explains them through the use of hypothetical dialogues between a Christian professor named Theophilus and his inquiring students. This particular dialogue presents the postmodern view of metanarratives or the “Big Story.”

“U.N. Stands for UnNessary” by Jay Sekulow

As the U.N. committee the Convention on Protection and Promotion of the Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities meets they expose their true view of human dignity (the lack thereof) and also their inability to be an effective organization.

“Windows on The World” by Jill Carattini

When I read this little commentary I thought of this passage: Psalm 19:1

“The heavens are telling of the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.”

Here David (under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit) states that the heavens (the visible universe) declare to all of mankind the glory of God- Creator and Sustainer of the universe. It’s really irrelevant that Pluto is no longer considered a “planet” but is now located in the dwarf planet category. Pluto, along with the other planetary bodies, still proclaims the glory of God and the work of His hands.