Last night I suddenly became interested in why I am so interested in dark imagery. I thought it through and I realized exactly what it is.
This particular fascination of mine probably started with my interest in the Saw movies. In case you don't know already it's about a murderer called Jigsaw who puts his victims in situations where they have a choice whether they live or die. In order to live they usually have to prove that they deserve to live by doing something really crazy and painful. Examples include cutting off one's own limb, digging in one's own stomach for a key that unlocks a death trap or being sprayed with some sort of acid. The dark story (which was actually pretty ingenious through all seven movies) and the dark filming style captured something that is so real: the state of the world.
From here my attention went towards a couple of dark bands. I started listening to My Chemical Romance and The Used. Both use dark imagery in most of their work. Their portrayal of the world comes in a very dark style. Plus the music is really awesome! I tend to enjoy the alternative and heavy metal genres.
The point is that dark imagery is just honest. The world is dark place and you're blind if you can't see that. These movies and bands are simply being honest in their portrayal of the world and life. Dark imagery displays truth. Now not all dark imagery is acceptable, the use or rather misuse of the Christian faith in dark imagery is unacceptable and often blasphemous and I am well aware of the presence of this type of dark imagery. This is not what I enjoy. I enjoy the truth. I love the truth! And so since dark imagery is brutally honest, I enjoy it.
22.11.11
9.11.11
Worldview
I am very into analyzing worldviews. Books, movies and even the way people act have a worldview behind them whether they realize it or not. So to see where I'm coming from in all my posts it is important to know my worldview. My last big project in grade 12 was to write a paper on my worldview. It's a beastly thing, but maybe just skim through if you don't want to read the whole thing. Enjoy!
I. Introduction
This essay will strive to demonstrate my worldview. My worldview is extremely important to me. I believe everyone’s worldview should be important to their respective owners. However, I do not believe that all worldviews are correct. In fact I believe only one worldview is able to adequately answer every reasonable question about the universe and beyond. This is the worldview to which I hold and will put forth in the following paper. But first one must understand what a worldview is.
One dictionary definition of worldview is “a particular way of viewing and interpreting the world; a philosophy of life.”[1] Another says a worldview is “a comprehensive view of the world and human life.”[2] James W. Sire says a worldview is “a set of presuppositions (assumptions which may be true, partially true or entirely false) which we hold (consciously or subconsciously, consistently or inconsistently) about the basic makeup of our world.”[3] These definitions are all correct, but a little is lacking in them. I believe worldviews go a little farther. I believe that a worldview is a set of preconceived ideas about the world we live in and about how we should live. A worldview also includes ideals for the world based on the holder’s preconceived ideas. These ideas or presuppositions pertain to five spheres of thought, life and belief: theology, metaphysics, anthropology, epistemology and ethics. Each of these will be discussed at length in the essay.
One further note concerning worldviews which is important is that everybody has one. Whoever exists right now has a worldview. Everyone has an idea of what the world should be like. All people will live consistently with how they view the world. Some people claim to hold a worldview of randomness and yet they stop at red traffic lights and look both ways before crossing. These people, therefore, do not actually hold to a world view of randomness whether they are willing to admit it or not. Every person’s worldview has a direct impact on how that person lives their life. And so some worldviews are false simply because it is impossible to live consistently with them.
II. Theology
My worldview is based on one main presupposition: God exists. I start with God because to start with anything else would make no sense. I believe that God caused everything and that He is not caused by anything. Someone may say to me that, “everything has a cause, don’t you know that law of cause and effect?” I know and embrace the law of cause and effect. I believe that every effect must have a cause, but not that everything must have a cause. If everything needed a cause then God would need a cause. But God is uncaused and therefore God cannot be an effect. God, rather, causes all other effects. He is the uncaused Cause. So if I started with something that is an effect, I would have to show what affected it, next I would have to give that cause its effect ad infinitum. Or maybe not, eventually I would end the search by finding some ultimate (that is an uncaused) cause. That ultimate cause would be God and therefore I must start with Him.
Now to answer the obvious, but difficult question: Who is God? This question will be answered throughout the essay, but to begin with I will attempt to give a brief, yet complete view of God’s essence and attributes.
Firstly, I must deal with God’s essence. One of the key aspects of God is that He is triune. This means that God is three persons and is yet one God. Each person has a different role. All three persons have the same goals and work in harmony to achieve them. The three persons love each other perfectly and have loved each other for all eternity. Yet there are not three gods but one God in three persons. This doesn’t mean that God is schizophrenic. Also, these persons are absolutely real. They are not just a clever way of describing all the different roles God has. These three persons are God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Yet there are not three Fathers or three Sons or three Holy Spirits. Each person is equally and wholly God. The Trinity is a great mystery which our finite human minds can never fully understand. The Athanasian Creed refers to the Trinity like this: “Now this is the Catholic faith, that we worship one God in Trinity and Trinity in unity, without either confusing the persons or dividing the substance. For the Father’s person is one, the Son’s another, the Holy Spirit’s another; but the Godhead of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit is one, their glory is equal, their majesty co-eternal.”[4]
Secondly, concerning God’s essence, God is spirit. God has no material body. He does not take up space (Isaiah 57:15), though no space can contain Him (I Kings 8:27). He cannot be seen by anything without causing some sort of harm for He is too magnificent for earthly eyes (Exodus 33:20; Acts 9:3-9). Because God is a spirit He can be everywhere all the time. He is not, as pantheists believe, part of everything. God is everywhere, but He is not everything.
Thirdly, and finally concerning God’s essence – God is perfect in every way (2 Samuel 22:31). God is perfectly glorious and perfectly beautiful. He is the definition of perfection. Each one of the following attributes describes God’s perfection.
A brief list of God’s attributes is: God is omniscient, (1 John 3:20), truthful (John 17:17), all wise, good (Psalm 119:68), lovely (John 3:16; Romans 5:8), merciful (Ephesians 2:4), holy (Leviticus 11:44; Revelation 15:4), immutable (Job 23:13), eternal (Hebrews 1:12), righteous (Psalm 11:7; Romans 3:21-26), jealous (Exodus 20:5; Deuteronomy 4:24), wrathful (Romans 1:18), omnipotent (Job 40:2; Revelation 21:22), just (Isaiah 30:18), and sovereign (1 Timothy 6:15). In order to know who God is, we must know each of these things.
God, being perfect, must be perfect in knowledge. He is omniscient and all wise. God knows everything, this includes the minds of men, how science works, the future, the past, the number of the stars, etc.. Nothing happens without God having known eternally that it would happen before it happens. Also, God is all wise. This means that no matter what difficult situation occurs God knows how to deal with it perfectly for His perfect purposes.
Next, God is good. God is nothing but goodness. He never sins. He absolutely always has and always will do what is right. In this way God defines goodness – everything God does is good.
Third, God is love. Love is always doing what is best for those around you. In some cases love is giving blessing, in others it is seemingly harsh discipline. To God, love is an action, not just a feeling. Again, God demonstrates what true love is by His own love.
Fourthly, God is immutable. God never changes. His attributes, commandments and perfection always have and always will remain the same. If God were to change to become something less perfect, then He couldn’t be God since God is wholly perfect. And if God turned into something more perfect than before, then he couldn’t be God because He was less than perfect before and needed to improve. God’s purposes never change. If they did, there would be chaos in the world and in heaven. God’s immutability is an amazing thing which no other being in all of creation can boast of.
Fifthly, God is eternal. God has always existed and always will exist. He has no beginning and will have no end. He was there before time and before all others things. This follows from the fact that God is uncaused. The ultimate cause must be eternal otherwise it cannot be the ultimate cause, but an offspring of the ultimate cause.
Sixthly, God is wrathful towards sin. Sin disgusts God. Sin is what God hates more than anything else. God couldn’t even look on His own Son because He was so disgusted with the sin Christ bore. Christ goes so far as to ask God, “Why have you forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34). One of the ways that God’s wrath towards sin manifests itself is in hell.
Seventh, God is omnipotent. He is all powerful and has control over all the authority (Matthew 28:18) and power of men. Nothing is too hard for God. There is nothing and no one who can rival God’s strength, power and authority.
Eighth, God is sovereign. This means that God has planned everything that has ever happened, everything that is happening right now and everything that will happen. From the smallest, most, microscopic details to massive natural disasters and wars. No matter what happens, God is in control over it, working everything for His good purpose (Job 42:2). God even uses sin, that which He hates the most, to accomplish His goals. Only the perfect God could be capable of such brilliance.
Ninth and finally, God, because of all these things, is holy. To be holy means to be set apart. God, on account of His perfect essence and attributes is truly holy. He is the Holy of holies, the most holy being ever to exist. Who can compare with this omniscient, omnipotent, sovereign, eternal, loving, merciful, just, righteous, immutable and holy God?
III. Metaphysics
It follows that since I believe in God I believe something supernatural exists. God, based upon my description of Him above, is far from being natural. I believe that the supernatural (God) interacts in some way with that which is natural. Before I discuss that however, I will present my view on the natures of nature and super-nature. Nature is what all human beings are accustomed to. The way the physical world works is built into human brains from a very young age. The laws of nature, that which is studied by the sciences, are all the human race has ever known. Others have claimed to experience so called paranormal or unnatural events, but these are few and far between. But for the vast majority of humans the natural is all that they know. It is extremely difficult to describe the nature of the supernatural. Nature is what all humans know, it seems simple, but that which is supernatural brings a whole different set of laws. Man cannot understand it and since I’m a man who has had no “out-of-body” experiences or encounters with ghosts I cannot efficiently describe the supernatural. All I can say is that God is the supernatural. He and His heavenly host and what He does and the places called heaven and hell are supernatural. But can that which is supernatural interact with that which is natural? Do paranormal events like miracles ever occur? I must answer in the affirmative to both questions. I wholeheartedly believe that God interacts with nature. How is this possible? Well, it all started with Creation.
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). God designed and made nature. So it took someone supernatural to create the natural. This makes sense because the supernatural is far greater than the natural. Some people believe that God created nature and gave it its laws, but now He has nothing to do with it. They say that the world is running like a clock with no interference from God. I must disagree with these deists. I believe that God creating the world gives Him the basis to interact with it.
So how, then, does God interact with His Creation? The most familiar way is through miracles. But there are many other ways. For example, God sent the global flood in Genesis 7. He mixed up people’s languages in Genesis 11. He has spoken directly to many of His people and even to his enemies. Prophets of God have brought His oracle and pronouncement of judgment to the people of the earth (Isaiah; Jeremiah; Ezekiel, etc.). To come to miracles then God has split the Red Sea (Exodus 14:15), made the sun stand still in the sky (Joshua 10:12-13), turned water to wine (John 2:9) and the list goes on and on. Clearly, God is in control of nature. He can make global floods come and rain manna from the sky (Exodus 16:4). The supernatural Creator of the whole universe has absolute and complete control over everything that He has created.
Finally, concerning God and nature, why did God create nature? Why does God interact with it? God’s purpose for nature is His own glory (Romans 8:21). Everything that happens on earth is for God’s glory (1 Peter 4:11). The world was made to show God’s greatness in all things.
IV. Anthropology
The key way that God interacts with the earth is His interaction with Man. Man is God’s greatest creation. I must, therefore, discuss God’s interaction with Man and also the things that make Man God’s most wonderful creation.
“So God created Man in His own image, in the image of God He created him” (Genesis 1:27a). What does this mean? What is the image of God? Wayne Grudem gives a good definition: “The fact that man is in the image of God means that man is like God and represents God.”[5] Man is not like God in His attributes. It has already been demonstrated that only God has the perfection of His attributes. No one is like God in His greatness and glory. How, then is Man like God? Man has some of the attributes that God has. Some of these attributes are intellectual ability, morals, spiritual nature, creativity and a free will. It is not possible to give a complete list here, the Bible simply says that Man is made after God’s likeness (Genesis 1:26). The several things listed above are just some of the things included in God’s likeness that Man clearly has. Though Man has these attributes, he is not like God in God’s perfection of them. He is only like God in that Man actually has them.
One part of God’s image that is specified in Genesis 1, though, is dominion. In fact, the first command that God gives to Man is to take dominion over the earth (Genesis 1:28). God subdues all things and so in His likeness Man must take dominion over his small realm of earth. Man is to rule over vegetation and animals. This means that Man not only uses them to his benefit, but also that he takes care of them and preserves them. It also means that nothing on earth should be given a higher place than Man. In fact, only God is above Man in the hierarchy of authority.
Also, as a result of being created in the image of God, Man has an intellectual ability and creativity similar to those of God’s. This has resulted in civilization and technological advancements. The image of God also gives people imagination and ideas. It gives Man an urge for order and progress. God’s image extends to all areas of life.
Man bearing the image of God also manifests itself in conscience. Man has a natural sense of right and wrong. God has instilled morals into all human beings. Their consciences make them feel guilty when they do something wrong. This is the image of God in Man.
Man has a free will. He can make any choice he desires in any situation. Though he may seem to be forced at times he still chooses what to do. No man can control the will of another man. The difference between God and Man’s will is that God’s will is sovereign. God has planned everything Man does, including his choices. But because Man doesn’t know God’s mind, he is still responsible for his actions (1 Corinthians 2:6-8). They still have freedom of choice because they do not know what they were predestined by God to choose. God’s will, being sovereign, is far superior to that of His creation.
At first man was sinless, everything he did pleased God. But then Man broke God’s commandment to not eat of the tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil (Genesis 3:6). This distorted the image of God in Man. God’s image is still there giving Man the several things enumerated above, but Man has become less like God as a result of his disobedience. The reason that all of mankind sins today is this fall of Man. All the evil that is in the world is a result of the original sin committed by Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. God made them our representatives and they failed. As a result we fail as well. And since Man represents God badly by sinning, they are cursed in their lives which will end in death. Sin then is a misrepresentation of God. Everything has become distorted by evil as a result of the fall, as Rushdoony puts it: “the Bible is clear that all things are created by God and created good; all things in their fallen estate are evil, not by nature, but as a consequence of a fall on Man’s part.”[6]
Even though Man and his world have become evil, God still communicates with him. God goes so far as to allow men who are in Christ to speak directly to Him through prayer. God has communicated to men through prophets, preachers, teachers, dreams, signs, wanders and His Word. It is the image of God in Man, though corrupted by sin that makes the communication between the supernatural and the natural possible.
Another way in which man is like God is in Man’s spirit/soul. Though Man has a body, it is his soul which is his essence, which will never die. Man’s body is a temporary capsule for Man’s soul on earth. When the imperfect, disease-prone, deformed body dies, the sinful soul lives on. Because Man sinned, his soul - his essence - became evil. As a result his body also became imperfect. However, a man will be given a new body if his soul goes to heaven. This body will be glorified because his soul has been justified (Romans 8:30). Or a man’s old body will be given back to him to suffer in hell, this results from a still sinful soul (2 Peter 2:4-7). So what “cleans” or rejects a soul? To answer this, a discussion of one particular man is required.
This man is called Jesus Christ. But He is not only a man. He was born of a woman, with God as His Father (Matthew 1:18). Christ is the God-man. He is not a “demi-god” from Greek mythology. Jesus is fully God and is fully Man. He is not a mix of the two. His divine nature is completely distinct from His human nature. Yet both natures exist in one person: one of the three persons of the Trinity – the Son. Christ led a perfect life on earth, though He was subjected to temptations and bodily harm. He faced everything other men face and yet He did not ever sin once. The reason He came to earth was to save His people – the elect (1 Timothy 1:15). The elect were predestined before time by God to be saved from their sin (Romans 8:30; Ephesians 1:5, 11). This was and is the will of God. So Christ came to willingly die (Matthew 26:39) for the sake of the elect. But why die? Because sinners deserve death (Romans 6:23). When Christ went to the cross He took all the sins of His elect on to Himself. Because He bore sin Christ had to be punished. He took Man’s punishment. When Christ died so too did the rule of sin over the elect. And since Christ didn’t commit any sin, when He rose from the dead on the third day sin’s rule stays dead. It is conquered. And now all the elect become Christians (those saved by God) not by anything that they do, but because God calls them and brings them to Himself (Romans 9:11). And now Jesus has ascended into heaven where He will punish those He did not elect. The sin that Jesus did not die for must now be dealt with in hell. It was not because Christ could not die for anymore sins, but it was God’s sovereign choice in order to bring the most glory to Himself. That is His “purpose for election.” And so all elected souls go to heaven to eternally worship God and all reprobated (those judged) souls go to hell to be eternally punished. This is not unfair. It is God’s grace that saved those He did. He gave them a free gift. Though all deserved eternal damnation on account of sin, God chose to save some by His sovereign choice (Matthew 20:1-16). This is the Gospel story and I believe that anyone can become a part of it by coming to trust that Christ removed their sin. No one knows who all the elect are, so no one can sit back and hope He’s elect without acting on the grace of God that has been so freely given.
V. Ethics
As I begin my discussion of ethics, I must first explain another attribute of God. God is just. This means that everything He does is in accordance with His character, goodness and laws. It is perfectly just for God to save some sinful people even though they at first deserved eternal punishment in hell. Christ was a substitute for these elect people, He paid their “fine” for sin which is death. And since He was sinless on earth, Christ was fully capable of and indeed did wipe the sin of His people away with full justice. Romans 8:30 says,”…and those whom he called, He also justified…”
So what is ethics? Ronald H. Nash says it is a study of why things are morally wrong.[7] Ethics is not simply a list of what is right and wrong. It is concerned with the basis for calling something right or wrong. My view of ethics, like everything else, is centred in God. Therefore, I believe God is the reason things are right or wrong. Anything done contrary to the nature of God is wrong. God has given us a law and morals that demonstrate His nature by their commands. Morality is based on God’s perfect character.
God is the One and only authority on ethics. He and He alone is perfect so only He could possibly give us a morality that contains no flaws. Today and throughout history mankind has attempted to create their own morality and erect their own law. Every country that has done this before has been judged by God. Babylon, Assyria, Ancient Egypt, the Ancient Roman Empire and even Ancient Israel are perfect examples. There is no reason to believe that every country with ethics foreign from God today will not be judged. God has set forth His law in the Bible. The principles needed to judge in any possible case that which is right or wrong are given throughout the Bible. Man has no excuse for not knowing right from wrong. To set forth God’s law here is beyond the scope of this essay. For this paper it is enough to say that God has a law written in the Bible based on His own perfect character and nature.
Finally, concerning ethics, godly ethics is absolute and objective. As I said before it is the only proper morality. Every man, because he bears God’s image, is subject to God’s law. Whether he admits that God exists or not, whether he worships God or not, whether he believes in ethics or not, men are accountable to God’s law. Ethics is not subject to cultures or periods of history. Since God is immutable, His law is too. It has always been the same throughout history and it always will be. The breaking of God’s law, then, by any person is a sin.
VI. Epistemology
Clearly, from what I have said up to this point, I believe in absolutes and that, therefore, certain knowledge is possible. I believe knowledge is made possible by God. If something is true, it is true to everyone. It is not false to John, but true to Jacob. I do not mean that if it is true that John is sad that Jacob must also be sad. I am speaking about objective truth. If it is raining in England where John lives it is true to him that it is raining in England. And if it is not raining in China where Jacob lives it is still true to him that it is raining in England. So the fact that it is raining in England is an objective truth, something true to everyone in the world. The existence of God and His law is objectively true.
How do I know what I have claimed to know? Can I even claim to know anything? I will not now go off into a huge philosophical discussion. These questions have already been discussed and debated in depth by men much more qualified than myself. Therefore, my own discussion of these issues would be a waste of paper and ink. I simply say this: God has revealed Himself to man through primarily His Word, the Bible, and secondarily in His Creation. “But,” you say, “How do you know God exists in the first place?” I am presupposing that God exists just like evolutionists presuppose that at one stage there was no life, only a pool of random chemicals. Every worldview is based on one or several presuppositions. Mine is clearly based on the one that God exists. I know things then because God has revealed them to me in His infallible Word – the Bible. Knowledge that the perfect God gives us must also be perfect.
Another thing I have used throughout this paper is reason. I believe that we can gain more knowledge by reasoning from the truths that God has revealed to us. I have faith in God and the knowledge He has revealed because I believe the existence of God and the truths He has revealed are reasonable. God is reasonable. Everything God does makes sense, each thing follows from another going all the way back to His essence and character. God uses reason. This does not mean that God is predictable. All we can know is that God is reasonable. If anyone has faith in something unreasonable, then he has a false faith.
So why, then, have I chosen to have faith in God rather than in evolution or in Man or in Buddha or in Allah, etc.? Because I was saved through faith in Christ. Not because reason told me to, God is the ultimate authority, not reason. This faith is of course the Christian faith. I am a Christian and I have presented the Christian worldview. Christianity has the most satisfying answers to all the questions dealt with in this paper without exception.
VII. Conclusion
The last thing to talk about then is how someone is to live with this worldview. “God exists, so how does that affect me? I’m in His image, so what? He has this law…what’s it got to do with me?”
The first step to take is to believe the worldview by having faith in God. Someone must, therefore, believe everything that has been written in this paper. After belief, step two is to obey the commands of this worldview by following the ethical code and laws of God. Finally, everything a person sees happening in the world he will look at through this worldview.
I honestly believe that if everyone held to the Christian worldview presented in this paper the world would be a much better place. There are so many irrational faiths out there these days. They poison society. It is not possible that this worldview wouldn’t change the world for better. And since it is the only wholly true and rational worldview there is, it is the only one that can cure this poisoned world.
One further note concerning worldviews which is important is that everybody has one. Whoever exists right now has a worldview. Everyone has an idea of what the world should be like. All people will live consistently with how they view the world. Some people claim to hold a worldview of randomness and yet they stop at red traffic lights and look both ways before crossing. These people, therefore, do not actually hold to a world view of randomness whether they are willing to admit it or not. Every person’s worldview has a direct impact on how that person lives their life. And so some worldviews are false simply because it is impossible to live consistently with them.
II. Theology
My worldview is based on one main presupposition: God exists. I start with God because to start with anything else would make no sense. I believe that God caused everything and that He is not caused by anything. Someone may say to me that, “everything has a cause, don’t you know that law of cause and effect?” I know and embrace the law of cause and effect. I believe that every effect must have a cause, but not that everything must have a cause. If everything needed a cause then God would need a cause. But God is uncaused and therefore God cannot be an effect. God, rather, causes all other effects. He is the uncaused Cause. So if I started with something that is an effect, I would have to show what affected it, next I would have to give that cause its effect ad infinitum. Or maybe not, eventually I would end the search by finding some ultimate (that is an uncaused) cause. That ultimate cause would be God and therefore I must start with Him.
Now to answer the obvious, but difficult question: Who is God? This question will be answered throughout the essay, but to begin with I will attempt to give a brief, yet complete view of God’s essence and attributes.
Firstly, I must deal with God’s essence. One of the key aspects of God is that He is triune. This means that God is three persons and is yet one God. Each person has a different role. All three persons have the same goals and work in harmony to achieve them. The three persons love each other perfectly and have loved each other for all eternity. Yet there are not three gods but one God in three persons. This doesn’t mean that God is schizophrenic. Also, these persons are absolutely real. They are not just a clever way of describing all the different roles God has. These three persons are God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Yet there are not three Fathers or three Sons or three Holy Spirits. Each person is equally and wholly God. The Trinity is a great mystery which our finite human minds can never fully understand. The Athanasian Creed refers to the Trinity like this: “Now this is the Catholic faith, that we worship one God in Trinity and Trinity in unity, without either confusing the persons or dividing the substance. For the Father’s person is one, the Son’s another, the Holy Spirit’s another; but the Godhead of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit is one, their glory is equal, their majesty co-eternal.”[4]
Secondly, concerning God’s essence, God is spirit. God has no material body. He does not take up space (Isaiah 57:15), though no space can contain Him (I Kings 8:27). He cannot be seen by anything without causing some sort of harm for He is too magnificent for earthly eyes (Exodus 33:20; Acts 9:3-9). Because God is a spirit He can be everywhere all the time. He is not, as pantheists believe, part of everything. God is everywhere, but He is not everything.
Thirdly, and finally concerning God’s essence – God is perfect in every way (2 Samuel 22:31). God is perfectly glorious and perfectly beautiful. He is the definition of perfection. Each one of the following attributes describes God’s perfection.
A brief list of God’s attributes is: God is omniscient, (1 John 3:20), truthful (John 17:17), all wise, good (Psalm 119:68), lovely (John 3:16; Romans 5:8), merciful (Ephesians 2:4), holy (Leviticus 11:44; Revelation 15:4), immutable (Job 23:13), eternal (Hebrews 1:12), righteous (Psalm 11:7; Romans 3:21-26), jealous (Exodus 20:5; Deuteronomy 4:24), wrathful (Romans 1:18), omnipotent (Job 40:2; Revelation 21:22), just (Isaiah 30:18), and sovereign (1 Timothy 6:15). In order to know who God is, we must know each of these things.
God, being perfect, must be perfect in knowledge. He is omniscient and all wise. God knows everything, this includes the minds of men, how science works, the future, the past, the number of the stars, etc.. Nothing happens without God having known eternally that it would happen before it happens. Also, God is all wise. This means that no matter what difficult situation occurs God knows how to deal with it perfectly for His perfect purposes.
Next, God is good. God is nothing but goodness. He never sins. He absolutely always has and always will do what is right. In this way God defines goodness – everything God does is good.
Third, God is love. Love is always doing what is best for those around you. In some cases love is giving blessing, in others it is seemingly harsh discipline. To God, love is an action, not just a feeling. Again, God demonstrates what true love is by His own love.
Fourthly, God is immutable. God never changes. His attributes, commandments and perfection always have and always will remain the same. If God were to change to become something less perfect, then He couldn’t be God since God is wholly perfect. And if God turned into something more perfect than before, then he couldn’t be God because He was less than perfect before and needed to improve. God’s purposes never change. If they did, there would be chaos in the world and in heaven. God’s immutability is an amazing thing which no other being in all of creation can boast of.
Fifthly, God is eternal. God has always existed and always will exist. He has no beginning and will have no end. He was there before time and before all others things. This follows from the fact that God is uncaused. The ultimate cause must be eternal otherwise it cannot be the ultimate cause, but an offspring of the ultimate cause.
Sixthly, God is wrathful towards sin. Sin disgusts God. Sin is what God hates more than anything else. God couldn’t even look on His own Son because He was so disgusted with the sin Christ bore. Christ goes so far as to ask God, “Why have you forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34). One of the ways that God’s wrath towards sin manifests itself is in hell.
Seventh, God is omnipotent. He is all powerful and has control over all the authority (Matthew 28:18) and power of men. Nothing is too hard for God. There is nothing and no one who can rival God’s strength, power and authority.
Eighth, God is sovereign. This means that God has planned everything that has ever happened, everything that is happening right now and everything that will happen. From the smallest, most, microscopic details to massive natural disasters and wars. No matter what happens, God is in control over it, working everything for His good purpose (Job 42:2). God even uses sin, that which He hates the most, to accomplish His goals. Only the perfect God could be capable of such brilliance.
Ninth and finally, God, because of all these things, is holy. To be holy means to be set apart. God, on account of His perfect essence and attributes is truly holy. He is the Holy of holies, the most holy being ever to exist. Who can compare with this omniscient, omnipotent, sovereign, eternal, loving, merciful, just, righteous, immutable and holy God?
III. Metaphysics
It follows that since I believe in God I believe something supernatural exists. God, based upon my description of Him above, is far from being natural. I believe that the supernatural (God) interacts in some way with that which is natural. Before I discuss that however, I will present my view on the natures of nature and super-nature. Nature is what all human beings are accustomed to. The way the physical world works is built into human brains from a very young age. The laws of nature, that which is studied by the sciences, are all the human race has ever known. Others have claimed to experience so called paranormal or unnatural events, but these are few and far between. But for the vast majority of humans the natural is all that they know. It is extremely difficult to describe the nature of the supernatural. Nature is what all humans know, it seems simple, but that which is supernatural brings a whole different set of laws. Man cannot understand it and since I’m a man who has had no “out-of-body” experiences or encounters with ghosts I cannot efficiently describe the supernatural. All I can say is that God is the supernatural. He and His heavenly host and what He does and the places called heaven and hell are supernatural. But can that which is supernatural interact with that which is natural? Do paranormal events like miracles ever occur? I must answer in the affirmative to both questions. I wholeheartedly believe that God interacts with nature. How is this possible? Well, it all started with Creation.
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). God designed and made nature. So it took someone supernatural to create the natural. This makes sense because the supernatural is far greater than the natural. Some people believe that God created nature and gave it its laws, but now He has nothing to do with it. They say that the world is running like a clock with no interference from God. I must disagree with these deists. I believe that God creating the world gives Him the basis to interact with it.
So how, then, does God interact with His Creation? The most familiar way is through miracles. But there are many other ways. For example, God sent the global flood in Genesis 7. He mixed up people’s languages in Genesis 11. He has spoken directly to many of His people and even to his enemies. Prophets of God have brought His oracle and pronouncement of judgment to the people of the earth (Isaiah; Jeremiah; Ezekiel, etc.). To come to miracles then God has split the Red Sea (Exodus 14:15), made the sun stand still in the sky (Joshua 10:12-13), turned water to wine (John 2:9) and the list goes on and on. Clearly, God is in control of nature. He can make global floods come and rain manna from the sky (Exodus 16:4). The supernatural Creator of the whole universe has absolute and complete control over everything that He has created.
Finally, concerning God and nature, why did God create nature? Why does God interact with it? God’s purpose for nature is His own glory (Romans 8:21). Everything that happens on earth is for God’s glory (1 Peter 4:11). The world was made to show God’s greatness in all things.
IV. Anthropology
The key way that God interacts with the earth is His interaction with Man. Man is God’s greatest creation. I must, therefore, discuss God’s interaction with Man and also the things that make Man God’s most wonderful creation.
“So God created Man in His own image, in the image of God He created him” (Genesis 1:27a). What does this mean? What is the image of God? Wayne Grudem gives a good definition: “The fact that man is in the image of God means that man is like God and represents God.”[5] Man is not like God in His attributes. It has already been demonstrated that only God has the perfection of His attributes. No one is like God in His greatness and glory. How, then is Man like God? Man has some of the attributes that God has. Some of these attributes are intellectual ability, morals, spiritual nature, creativity and a free will. It is not possible to give a complete list here, the Bible simply says that Man is made after God’s likeness (Genesis 1:26). The several things listed above are just some of the things included in God’s likeness that Man clearly has. Though Man has these attributes, he is not like God in God’s perfection of them. He is only like God in that Man actually has them.
One part of God’s image that is specified in Genesis 1, though, is dominion. In fact, the first command that God gives to Man is to take dominion over the earth (Genesis 1:28). God subdues all things and so in His likeness Man must take dominion over his small realm of earth. Man is to rule over vegetation and animals. This means that Man not only uses them to his benefit, but also that he takes care of them and preserves them. It also means that nothing on earth should be given a higher place than Man. In fact, only God is above Man in the hierarchy of authority.
Also, as a result of being created in the image of God, Man has an intellectual ability and creativity similar to those of God’s. This has resulted in civilization and technological advancements. The image of God also gives people imagination and ideas. It gives Man an urge for order and progress. God’s image extends to all areas of life.
Man bearing the image of God also manifests itself in conscience. Man has a natural sense of right and wrong. God has instilled morals into all human beings. Their consciences make them feel guilty when they do something wrong. This is the image of God in Man.
Man has a free will. He can make any choice he desires in any situation. Though he may seem to be forced at times he still chooses what to do. No man can control the will of another man. The difference between God and Man’s will is that God’s will is sovereign. God has planned everything Man does, including his choices. But because Man doesn’t know God’s mind, he is still responsible for his actions (1 Corinthians 2:6-8). They still have freedom of choice because they do not know what they were predestined by God to choose. God’s will, being sovereign, is far superior to that of His creation.
At first man was sinless, everything he did pleased God. But then Man broke God’s commandment to not eat of the tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil (Genesis 3:6). This distorted the image of God in Man. God’s image is still there giving Man the several things enumerated above, but Man has become less like God as a result of his disobedience. The reason that all of mankind sins today is this fall of Man. All the evil that is in the world is a result of the original sin committed by Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. God made them our representatives and they failed. As a result we fail as well. And since Man represents God badly by sinning, they are cursed in their lives which will end in death. Sin then is a misrepresentation of God. Everything has become distorted by evil as a result of the fall, as Rushdoony puts it: “the Bible is clear that all things are created by God and created good; all things in their fallen estate are evil, not by nature, but as a consequence of a fall on Man’s part.”[6]
Even though Man and his world have become evil, God still communicates with him. God goes so far as to allow men who are in Christ to speak directly to Him through prayer. God has communicated to men through prophets, preachers, teachers, dreams, signs, wanders and His Word. It is the image of God in Man, though corrupted by sin that makes the communication between the supernatural and the natural possible.
Another way in which man is like God is in Man’s spirit/soul. Though Man has a body, it is his soul which is his essence, which will never die. Man’s body is a temporary capsule for Man’s soul on earth. When the imperfect, disease-prone, deformed body dies, the sinful soul lives on. Because Man sinned, his soul - his essence - became evil. As a result his body also became imperfect. However, a man will be given a new body if his soul goes to heaven. This body will be glorified because his soul has been justified (Romans 8:30). Or a man’s old body will be given back to him to suffer in hell, this results from a still sinful soul (2 Peter 2:4-7). So what “cleans” or rejects a soul? To answer this, a discussion of one particular man is required.
This man is called Jesus Christ. But He is not only a man. He was born of a woman, with God as His Father (Matthew 1:18). Christ is the God-man. He is not a “demi-god” from Greek mythology. Jesus is fully God and is fully Man. He is not a mix of the two. His divine nature is completely distinct from His human nature. Yet both natures exist in one person: one of the three persons of the Trinity – the Son. Christ led a perfect life on earth, though He was subjected to temptations and bodily harm. He faced everything other men face and yet He did not ever sin once. The reason He came to earth was to save His people – the elect (1 Timothy 1:15). The elect were predestined before time by God to be saved from their sin (Romans 8:30; Ephesians 1:5, 11). This was and is the will of God. So Christ came to willingly die (Matthew 26:39) for the sake of the elect. But why die? Because sinners deserve death (Romans 6:23). When Christ went to the cross He took all the sins of His elect on to Himself. Because He bore sin Christ had to be punished. He took Man’s punishment. When Christ died so too did the rule of sin over the elect. And since Christ didn’t commit any sin, when He rose from the dead on the third day sin’s rule stays dead. It is conquered. And now all the elect become Christians (those saved by God) not by anything that they do, but because God calls them and brings them to Himself (Romans 9:11). And now Jesus has ascended into heaven where He will punish those He did not elect. The sin that Jesus did not die for must now be dealt with in hell. It was not because Christ could not die for anymore sins, but it was God’s sovereign choice in order to bring the most glory to Himself. That is His “purpose for election.” And so all elected souls go to heaven to eternally worship God and all reprobated (those judged) souls go to hell to be eternally punished. This is not unfair. It is God’s grace that saved those He did. He gave them a free gift. Though all deserved eternal damnation on account of sin, God chose to save some by His sovereign choice (Matthew 20:1-16). This is the Gospel story and I believe that anyone can become a part of it by coming to trust that Christ removed their sin. No one knows who all the elect are, so no one can sit back and hope He’s elect without acting on the grace of God that has been so freely given.
V. Ethics
As I begin my discussion of ethics, I must first explain another attribute of God. God is just. This means that everything He does is in accordance with His character, goodness and laws. It is perfectly just for God to save some sinful people even though they at first deserved eternal punishment in hell. Christ was a substitute for these elect people, He paid their “fine” for sin which is death. And since He was sinless on earth, Christ was fully capable of and indeed did wipe the sin of His people away with full justice. Romans 8:30 says,”…and those whom he called, He also justified…”
So what is ethics? Ronald H. Nash says it is a study of why things are morally wrong.[7] Ethics is not simply a list of what is right and wrong. It is concerned with the basis for calling something right or wrong. My view of ethics, like everything else, is centred in God. Therefore, I believe God is the reason things are right or wrong. Anything done contrary to the nature of God is wrong. God has given us a law and morals that demonstrate His nature by their commands. Morality is based on God’s perfect character.
God is the One and only authority on ethics. He and He alone is perfect so only He could possibly give us a morality that contains no flaws. Today and throughout history mankind has attempted to create their own morality and erect their own law. Every country that has done this before has been judged by God. Babylon, Assyria, Ancient Egypt, the Ancient Roman Empire and even Ancient Israel are perfect examples. There is no reason to believe that every country with ethics foreign from God today will not be judged. God has set forth His law in the Bible. The principles needed to judge in any possible case that which is right or wrong are given throughout the Bible. Man has no excuse for not knowing right from wrong. To set forth God’s law here is beyond the scope of this essay. For this paper it is enough to say that God has a law written in the Bible based on His own perfect character and nature.
Finally, concerning ethics, godly ethics is absolute and objective. As I said before it is the only proper morality. Every man, because he bears God’s image, is subject to God’s law. Whether he admits that God exists or not, whether he worships God or not, whether he believes in ethics or not, men are accountable to God’s law. Ethics is not subject to cultures or periods of history. Since God is immutable, His law is too. It has always been the same throughout history and it always will be. The breaking of God’s law, then, by any person is a sin.
VI. Epistemology
Clearly, from what I have said up to this point, I believe in absolutes and that, therefore, certain knowledge is possible. I believe knowledge is made possible by God. If something is true, it is true to everyone. It is not false to John, but true to Jacob. I do not mean that if it is true that John is sad that Jacob must also be sad. I am speaking about objective truth. If it is raining in England where John lives it is true to him that it is raining in England. And if it is not raining in China where Jacob lives it is still true to him that it is raining in England. So the fact that it is raining in England is an objective truth, something true to everyone in the world. The existence of God and His law is objectively true.
How do I know what I have claimed to know? Can I even claim to know anything? I will not now go off into a huge philosophical discussion. These questions have already been discussed and debated in depth by men much more qualified than myself. Therefore, my own discussion of these issues would be a waste of paper and ink. I simply say this: God has revealed Himself to man through primarily His Word, the Bible, and secondarily in His Creation. “But,” you say, “How do you know God exists in the first place?” I am presupposing that God exists just like evolutionists presuppose that at one stage there was no life, only a pool of random chemicals. Every worldview is based on one or several presuppositions. Mine is clearly based on the one that God exists. I know things then because God has revealed them to me in His infallible Word – the Bible. Knowledge that the perfect God gives us must also be perfect.
Another thing I have used throughout this paper is reason. I believe that we can gain more knowledge by reasoning from the truths that God has revealed to us. I have faith in God and the knowledge He has revealed because I believe the existence of God and the truths He has revealed are reasonable. God is reasonable. Everything God does makes sense, each thing follows from another going all the way back to His essence and character. God uses reason. This does not mean that God is predictable. All we can know is that God is reasonable. If anyone has faith in something unreasonable, then he has a false faith.
So why, then, have I chosen to have faith in God rather than in evolution or in Man or in Buddha or in Allah, etc.? Because I was saved through faith in Christ. Not because reason told me to, God is the ultimate authority, not reason. This faith is of course the Christian faith. I am a Christian and I have presented the Christian worldview. Christianity has the most satisfying answers to all the questions dealt with in this paper without exception.
VII. Conclusion
The last thing to talk about then is how someone is to live with this worldview. “God exists, so how does that affect me? I’m in His image, so what? He has this law…what’s it got to do with me?”
The first step to take is to believe the worldview by having faith in God. Someone must, therefore, believe everything that has been written in this paper. After belief, step two is to obey the commands of this worldview by following the ethical code and laws of God. Finally, everything a person sees happening in the world he will look at through this worldview.
I honestly believe that if everyone held to the Christian worldview presented in this paper the world would be a much better place. There are so many irrational faiths out there these days. They poison society. It is not possible that this worldview wouldn’t change the world for better. And since it is the only wholly true and rational worldview there is, it is the only one that can cure this poisoned world.
[1] Reader’s Digest Great Illustrated Dictionary, 1984 ed., p. 1893.
[2] Dictonary.com: www.dictionary.reference.com/browse/world+view.
[3] James W. Sire, The Universe Next Door, 3rd ed. (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1997), p. 16.
[4] John H. Leith, ed., Creeds of the Churches, 3rd ed. (Louisville: John Knox Press, 1982), p. 705.
[5] Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1994), p. 442.
[6] Rousas John Rushdoony, The Institutes of Biblical Law. vol. 2: Law and Society (Vallecito: Ross House Books, 1982; reprint ed., 1986), p.550.
[7] Ronald H. Nash, Faith and Reason (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1988), p. 31.
[2] Dictonary.com: www.dictionary.reference.com/browse/world+view.
[3] James W. Sire, The Universe Next Door, 3rd ed. (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1997), p. 16.
[4] John H. Leith, ed., Creeds of the Churches, 3rd ed. (Louisville: John Knox Press, 1982), p. 705.
[5] Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1994), p. 442.
[6] Rousas John Rushdoony, The Institutes of Biblical Law. vol. 2: Law and Society (Vallecito: Ross House Books, 1982; reprint ed., 1986), p.550.
[7] Ronald H. Nash, Faith and Reason (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1988), p. 31.
7.11.11
Raven in a Gas Mask
The idea is that ravens are used to picture death, crime, sorrow and the like. It gives a sort of dark feel to whatever it pictures. And yet ravens carry themselves in an almost noble way.
Gas masks are used to avoid breathing in poison even if it is all around you. They also give off a rather dark feel when used in imagery.
I have a weird kind of fascination with dark imagery so that's why I went with dark things. But I wanted to use the dark imagery to demonstrate something totally opposite. You see, the raven has a gas mask, it avoids the poison all around it. It will wear the gas mask until the poison is gone. What the raven sees in the poison is part of itself, yet he has hope of escaping it. That is why he even wears the gas mask, that is why there are traces of nobility in his make up. The raven wants what's around him to change and he wants himself to change, but he can't do it himself. So until someone does it for him he wears the gas mask, not getting any worse, just aiming for nobility even though he can't get all the way there in his current state.
Gas masks are used to avoid breathing in poison even if it is all around you. They also give off a rather dark feel when used in imagery.
I have a weird kind of fascination with dark imagery so that's why I went with dark things. But I wanted to use the dark imagery to demonstrate something totally opposite. You see, the raven has a gas mask, it avoids the poison all around it. It will wear the gas mask until the poison is gone. What the raven sees in the poison is part of itself, yet he has hope of escaping it. That is why he even wears the gas mask, that is why there are traces of nobility in his make up. The raven wants what's around him to change and he wants himself to change, but he can't do it himself. So until someone does it for him he wears the gas mask, not getting any worse, just aiming for nobility even though he can't get all the way there in his current state.
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