Proverbs 8:12-16 “I, wisdom, dwell together with prudence; I possess knowledge and discretion. To fear the Lord is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech. Counsel and sound judgment are mine; I have understanding and power. By me kings reign and rulers make laws that are just; by me princes govern, and all nobles who rule on earth.”
My article’s title, God or Man, could be stated Christian vs. Humanistic Worldview. When we think of the battle that we are in it is really a war of worldviews. This is what we are faced with in the United States and the West, and in the rest of the world – although it takes a different form in each country depending on its dominant religion. But here in the West it is either Christianity or humanism that make decisions for the nation. It is a battle between man and God as to who will make decisions for us all.
In the U.S.A. as well as Western Europe we see the great divide between these two worldviews. Here in the U.S.A. we saw this in our last election and see how it has become even more distinct today. This divide centers around issues of life, family, morality, property rights, the role of government in business and as well as our Constitutional laws and liberties.
What are some of the differences between these two worldviews? A biblical or Christian worldview has truth rooted in God and His Word; it will embrace limited government, support and defend its borders and the freedom of religion and property. This biblical worldview recognizes that laws cannot change man’s heart or behavior, but can only restrict his unlawful actions by the fear of punishment. (Romans 13) Law from a Christian or biblical worldview, the way our Founding Fathers viewed, originates with God and not man. This laws rooted in truth are reveal to us through nature, through our conscience and through the clear revelation of the Holy Scripture. For the biblical worldview, man’s ‘law(s)’ can NOT change the heart nor the attitude of man. No law or set of laws can make man moral. A Christian worldview recognizes the moral basis for all laws to be made. We see this with the Ten Commandments. In other words, all law must have a moral concern for the good of its society, but for the Christian worldview the question is: Whose morality does ‘the law’ legislate?
Law from a humanistic view point originates with man and not God; it’s executed through the state and based on what the majority says, or of a powerful minority-judicial system. For those who operate from a humanistic worldview they see the evils in society but arrive at different solutions because there is no higher authority than man. There is no savior, there is no hope of internal regeneration or transformation in man. So if changes come – it must come from man himself. To carry this out to its logical conclusion: man relies on government with its laws to eliminate evil and bring about utopia; man becomes god and government is his instrument to bring about salvation. This is one of the reasons why there is such a divide right now in the U.S.A. The ones who advocate the humanistic worldview fight to have the power of the government. The Christian worldview sees the role of government not trampling on the unalienable rights of man. Government is not the main source for what we need, for we have a higher source that we can go to; we have the Savior. Our Founding Fathers believed this.
By contrast the biblical worldview sees that ‘laws’ can only restrain man from doing evil deeds, but cannot change the heart of man, and because of that there will be no advancement towards a better society. Thomas Jefferson’s pastor, Charles Clay, said: “The sacred cause of liberty is the cause of God.” John Adams said: “The world, the flesh, and the devil, have always maintained a confederacy against liberty, from the fall of Adam to this hour, and will, probably continue so until the fall of antichrist.” Stephen McDowell was right when he said: “Every nation is built upon some set of presuppositions, some basic ideas of right or wrong, which are ultimately rooted in the religion of the people. With the humanistic worldview there are no absolutes. Right and wrong are based upon what the majority says or what a minority power says, therefore, law is always evolving.”
We see that ideas have consequences and this is being played out in the world today. Although I have concentrated mainly on the Western countries those of you in other countries are faced with the same situation of a biblical worldview versus whatever your dominant religion is. Eventually these other worldviews will fall, because they are not rooted in God’s truth.
Proverbs 29:14 “If a king judges the poor with fairness, his throne will always be secure. When the wicked thrive, so does sin, the righteous will see their downfall.”