Proverbs 30:5-6 “Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Do not add to his words, or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar.”
“Soft days for evangelical Christians are past, and only a strong view of Scripture is sufficient.” (Quote from Francis Schaeffer)
We read that for any offense: “A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.” (Deuteronomy 19:15) This is good for most things that come our way. If a prophetic word is given to me I want it established by the testimony of two or more witnesses. Often the Lord has brought a thought to my mind about a certain thing, subject, etc. The thought does not contradict Scripture, but before I speak it or publish the thought I want two or more witnesses to back it up.
Is this foolish or is it wise? I think it is the latter and when we look at some of the ideas and philosophies that have shaped our culture over the centuries it would have been good to stick to this advice. Most of the men that we will be looking at in the weeks ahead are men who have had a Christian background.
For example:
Rene Descartes – Roman Catholic
John Locke – Puritan, Protestant
Jean-Jacques Rousseau – Calvinist, Protestant
Jeremy Bentham – Anglican, Protestant
Ralph Waldo Emerson – Congregationalists, Protestant
Charles Darwin – Anglican, Protestant
Frederick Nietzche – Lutheran, Protestant
Karl Marx – Lutheran, Protestant
John Dewey – Congregationalist, Protestant
Jean-Paul-Sartre – Roman Catholic and Protestant
Nathaniel Hawthorne – Congregationalists, Protestant
Mark Twain – Presbyterian, Protestant and
Ernest Hemingway – Baptist, Protestant
One thing that we need to keep in mind is that not only do ideas have consequences, but they can be good or bad and we need to be able to discern whatever comes our way. First, if an idea cannot be backed up by Scripture then we need to be wary of it. We see this today with some of our so-called prestigious universities that have ruined the faith of our children who attend these places.
As I mentioned before, Thomas Aquinas born in Italy in 1225 was not only a Dominican Friar and priest, but an influential philosopher and theologian. He was considered one of the top proponents of natural theology; which is a branch of theology based on reasoning and ordinary experience, to be distinguished from revealed theology based on Scripture and religious experience.
As I stated before, Kevin Swanson said in his book APOSTATE: “His influence on Western thought is considerable, and much of modern philosophy was conceived in development or refutation of his ideas, particularly in the areas of ethics natural law, metaphysics, and political theory.”
Thomas Aquinas is honored as a saint by the Catholic Church as well as honored as a Doctor of the Church. Core teaching for new priests is the study of Aquinas’ works.
Thomas Aquinas gave us many good things, but like Kevin Swanson brings out that one flaw in his reasoning is when he suggested that there could be a second method of thought built on human reasoning apart from Scripture. This thought eventually gave our secular universities the open door to kick God out of higher education; which is what we see today. It is said that just before he died he made a statement to his friend, Reginald Piperno: “All I have written seems like straw to me.”
What does Scripture say: “My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding, and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.” Proverbs 2:1-6
The apostle Paul said: “I want you to know how much I am struggling for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me personally. My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” Colossians 2:1-4
We know that in back of all these worldly philosophies is the sinister, warped mind of Satan and his hatred towards anything that pertains to Jesus Christ. What we see is how brick by brick, idea upon idea – a system was built that tore us away from the reality of Scripture; from the truth. Because of this we find that evil strongholds have taken over the higher education and is taking us back to paganism; a pagan society where God is not worshipped or obeyed.