Mankind the world over has enjoyed the benefits derived from scientific achievements, especially over the past few hundred years. “Science” simply means “to know” or “to understand”. In general, science has to do with knowing and understanding the physical laws of our world and how they work. When we are able to transfer that knowledge into work-producing inventions, a society progresses and standards of living are raised, and it’s truly wonderful and universally beneficial. But it all has to do with the physical and is limited to the physical. Well, how, then, can science address anything that is not physical? It cannot. Science, in any of its fields, is locked into and limited by the physical, thus, science cannot discover nor understand the non-physical spiritual. This sadly leads some scientists to conclude that the spiritual does not exist. The attitude of some is that, if a concept is not within the purview of their examination, it doesn’t exist. These are called naturalists, physicalists, or empiricists. And, while not all naturalists, physicalists or empiricists are atheistic, it is safe to say all atheists are naturalists, denying that the non-physical exists. This, of course, means they deny the existence of anything or anyone spiritual, including the idea of God or angels. But, if the spiritual does exist and it is not to be found, measured, or weighed in the scientists’ laboratory, where do we get information or understanding about the spiritual?
We get it exclusively by divine revelation, and this brings us back to the Bible. It always does. Herein, and herein alone, are we clearly told by Jesus Christ that God is Spirit, and they who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth. He said it in John, chapter 4. The Apostle Paul adds to this in addressing the intellectual elite of the Greeks on Mars Hill, in Acts 17. He made it clear that God is not represented by gold, silver, or stones such as man fashions in his efforts to depict deity. The Athenians had idols placed all over town, lords many and gods many and specific names for each one. The nation that produced the brilliance of Plato, Aristotle, Socrates and the like was filled with a population of idolaters. God condemned the making of any graven image or idol designed to represent Himself in the earliest of the commandments given in Exodus 20, and repeated in Deuteronomy 5. The reason is simple: all such statuary, images and idols constitute an enormous injustice to the Creator God. He is, by them, depicted as a very limited and confined deity, reflected by their manmade images and, as such, insults the power, majesty, and wisdom of the Creator God, and He does not take kindly to insults from those He created. Even the intellectually superior Athenians were warped in their thinking by the fall. Paul was there for the express purpose of enlightening them through the Gospel and the revelation He would give of the true God. It’s all in Acts 17 and should be under our frequent review.
Because man’s fallenness leaves him with a warped intellect, he cannot reason himself to a knowledge of God. We are dependent on revelation.
CC 09-08
Published by