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"If
you disturb the bee, you will annoy it and it will try to sting you". So
said the naturalist on the TV program. His words set me on a trail of ideas
which are as follows :
Bees,
we are led to believe, become angry when they are disturbed? This is a general
assumption commonly held by children and a large number of adults - I know I
used to believe it when I was young. You see, an insect really does appear to be
angry when you disturb its activities, but I believe now that the assumption is
wrong. I believe that bees (and all insects in general) know nothing at all of
annoyance or anger. Neither do they know anything of frustration, jealousy,
revenge or sadism. Insects are, as far as I know, driven through life 100% by
instinct - in in-built program, which operates moment by moment from the time
the insect is first conceived to the time it ceases to function viably.
If
we accept the supposition that insects can be "annoyed" we ought to
also accept that they can be happy, ‘in love’, dreamy, and reflective. And
why stop there? Every human emotion we can think of could be imputed into the
tiny brain of any and all insects. Such a giant step of faith on our part would
probably lead to quite a few legal problems!
But
why do humans constantly jump to the conclusion that animals are similar, if not
equal in some cases, to themselves?
Before
we look at the possible answers, let us consider another realms in which
‘imputed humanness’ is involved - first of all science fiction.
Almost invariably, whenever an ‘alien’ is brought into a story, it has
emotions and reactions similar to ours. There are degrees of humanness of
course, from the outright human alien, that is the creature which has a human
body and talks English, and behaves in a typically human way - to the ugly
monster, which nonetheless still reacts with anger, revenge and malice.
One
could catalogue the hundreds (or thousands) of ‘aliens’ which Hollywood has
produced. All of them would have some human qualities. The reason for this is
probably twofold. First, an ‘alien’ which was totally outside human all
qualities would be impossible to communicate to an audience, and secondly,
humans feel much more at home with aliens which are reasonably human. Perhaps in
our subconscious, an alien represents the ‘monsters under the bed’ or the
‘big bad world’ we have to face as we grow up?
Most
aliens in the past have been presented as a dangerous threat and therefore
destroying them has been justifiable - i.e. ‘War of the Worlds’,
‘Independence Day’, ‘Alien’ 1 and 2.
Exceptions
would be ‘Alf’ - more of a hyperactive but funny disobedient child in an
animal costume, and E.T. - a Messianic sort of alien with healing powers who
helps people, then leaves earth promising to come again. But in both cases, the
aliens have exhibited strongly human qualities. E.T. ‘Space Odyssey 2001’
and the sequel portrays the aliens as guides of mankind to perfection. ‘Close
Encounters’ portrays the aliens as harmless. ‘Coccoon’ 1 and 2 do this
also. Especially, though rather ugly, is portrayed as loveable, kindly, gentle,
forgiving and benevolent.
Another
area is the demonic. Films such as 'Poltergeist' openly portray evil
spirits which occupy humans’ bodies. The demons are usually portrayed as
malicious, destructive, violent, hateful and malevolent - all qualities which
humans can identify with. The bible supports this view, although it has a lot
more accurate information to add. The demonic realm is usually depicted as
harmful to humans, although lately there have been instances where demons and
demonic beings have been sweetened a little - ‘Critters’ 1 and 2, for
example.
Angels
have also been ‘humanised’ a great deal. In one movie they play baseball, in
another they assume human form and work wonders in various people’s lives -
‘Touched by an Angel’ is just one of movies with this popular theme. In
every case the angels seem to be just very good, very kind humans, whose mission
is to tell people about God’s love and God’s forgiveness - but never (as far
as I know) about God’s wrath over sin, or the coming judgement day.
Psychopaths
and the insane
also feature in some movies, in which human vice is usually stretched to some
extreme area making the destruction of such fantastic creations quite logical
and necessary. But the rule still applies. Even insanity must fit within the
expectations and assumptions which humans have of other humans, however twisted.
And
finally, the ‘criminal’. In some cases the criminal is portrayed as a
mindless villain, who's joy at killing is unbounded. Such portrayals present the
human idea of hate, brutality and unfeeling indifference to life. Other
criminals are portrayed as ‘reachable’ and capable of repentance. But in all
cases, the ‘criminals’ are made in the likeness of humans, and therefore we,
‘the audience’ can identify with them.
Running
through all the above examples, but more especially the science fiction aliens,
the demonic, and the angelic, is the common human desire to produce other
creatures or beings similar but different to humans. It is this same trait which
has, in the past, produced the tales and myths of gods and goddesses, of strange
beasts and even objects with powers. Talking mountains, talking statues,
the worship of the sun, animism - in which it is believed that every part of
Nature is in some way inherently alive.
The
Romans had a god for their doorstep, their door, their house, their table and
chairs. The Egyptians had a god for the germinating seed, the first shoot, the
second shoot and the stalk. Humans have always found ways to transmute their
‘humanness’ to the world around them, and often to increase the power of
those things thus deified.
Maori
and Greek legends abound with gods and goddesses who : commit adultery, kill
each other, act out of hate or revenge, lust after things, show jealousy, hurt,
injure, steal, lie and so on. The gods and goddesses of the nations have always
been simply projections of those who invent and then worship them. This is one
aspect of religions with such deities which has led many people to deny their
existence.
The
only religion which has stood apart from this is the Biblical one, in which the
God of the Bible claims to be the One True God, and also the Creator - which
rules out all possible rivals - and this One God demands total allegiance to
Himself only.
But
humans have long persisted in refusing the witness of the One True God. Instead,
they have made artificial substitutes, or they have tried to combine the Bible
God with the human inventions. For example, look at the time when the Hebrews
started to worship the golden calf, in Exodus 32 :3-5
"And
all the people broke off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and
brought them to Aaron. And he received them, and fashioned (them) with an
engraving tool, after he had made (them into) a molten calf: and they said,
"These are your gods, O Israel, which brought you up out of the land of
Egypt. And when Aaron saw it (the people worshiping the calf), he built an altar
before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, "To morrow is a feast to
the LORD!". Notice that Aaron allowed the worship of the statue, but at the
same time he combined this with "a feast to the Lord - Jehovah".
When
people ‘make gods’ they make them out of their imagination, and they worship
them with their physical senses. In this case the Israelites made a calf, which
they were already familiar with because it was worshipped in Egypt. (Neh.9:18)
The
human tendency to relegate human qualities to inanimate objects is disguised in
comedies such as ‘My Mother the Car’ and ‘Chitty Chitty’ and robot
stories. It is jokingly seen in comments we make about things we are familiar
with - ships are always female, cars can be both but quite a few drivers refer
affectionately to their vehicle as ‘the old girl’ or some such term. When a
machine refuses to operate properly some people become very emotional and treat
the machine as if it was a disobedient creature. They try to ‘hurt’ the
machine, as they would a person they were angry with. They talk to the machine
as if it can hear them.
One
of the most interesting stories, Lord of the Rings’ is virtually overflowing
with beasts, monsters, and spirits, all of whom manifest in some extreme or
other the human range of feelings and behaviour. The Hobbit is more like a
conservative English gentleman (even Tolkien himself?) than a creature which has
appeared and developed in a universe where there have never been humans - yet
the whole story of the Rings is drenched in human ideas, human behaviour, and
human emotions. Evil battles good and good triumphs - probably why the story is
such a success. It contrasts the two great Biblical themes and its protagonists
are the humble hobbits and other ‘folk’ who overcome all odds through
courage and other noble virtues.
Lord
of the Rings is really two classes of humans - good and bad - battling against
spiritual overlords - just as the Bible says the reality here on earth is.
But
why do people have such a strong and universal desire to :
1.
Have gods and goddesses as part of their ‘origins’ background ?
2.
Worship or show respect to them?
3.
Relegate the course of their life to their control or guidance?
Romans
1:18-23
"For
the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and
unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;"
("Hold the truth" means "Hold down, or suppress,
the truth". It is a common human failing to ignore, reject, or deliberately
overlook the truth.)
"Because
that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath showed [it]
unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly
seen, (This means that the fact that our universe was created is open to our
senses, not just to our sight, but to full examination) being understood by the
things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are
without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, (Or, when it was obvious to
them that there must be a God) they glorified him not as God, neither were
thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was
darkened.
Professing
themselves to be wise, they became fools".
Romans
1:23 And changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to
corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.
Man
was made in the image of God.
Man therefore shares with God some of God’s character and attributes -
abilities and so forth. These attributes are reduced to minute portions in Man,
because God is infinite and man is finite. God is Creator while Man is merely
the created. Potter and clay. One of the areas in which Man is like God is in
the thing we call creativity.
Creativity
involves visualisation, imagination, lateral thinking, combining familiar and
unfamiliar elements to produce new combinations, deliberate randomness,
speculation, forward and backward projection ("what if?) and a number of
other things.
As
Romans 1:18-23 shows, Man originally had a clear and undistorted view of God’s
reality through the evidence of the universe. Then, and now, and all through
history, Man has distorted, or rejected this evidence, preferring instead to
construct imaginary substitutes. Despite all the ‘religious’ ornamentation,
there is often some remnant of the truth left, i.e. the "Great White
Spirit" of the American Indians, and if any of the major religions of the
world are examined, it will be seen that traces of Biblical truth run through
all of them. It is this truth part which gives the ‘false’ religions their
sense of authority and credibility.
For
example, in Buddhism, the 8-fold way is similar to the Christian virtues. In
Islam there is a call to worship ‘the One True God’ - unfortunately the
Islamic God is not the God of the Bible, although in some respects Allah is
similar to Jehovah, which is why Allah has such pulling power.
All
religions evoke worship and a sense of spirituality - all similar to
Christianity. All religions have a deity, prayers, and ceremonies. All religions
have a priesthood (holy ones) and a series of ranks which go from the most
enlightened to the least. All religions expect obedience to the creed and
usually demand followers to become evangelists.
In
Nature-worship cults, Nature is treated with huge respect. Christians can agree
with Nature-worshipping cults to a certain respect, because the Bible has much
to say about caring for Nature, but the cults miss the God of Nature.
So
in all the above cases, the truth has been revealed to Mankind, but subsequently
the truth has been suppressed or obscured. Christianity is therefore a process
of re-education. All people outside the Church are misinformed, ignorant, or
deluded. They are like Moses, who was brought up in all the wisdom of Egypt for
40 years, and who then had to spend another 40 years being re-educated. Or like
Saul of Tarsus, who was raised as a Pharisee, and had to spend years having all
his knowledge adjusted before he could begin his Christian work.
But
what is Man?
Man is an organism which is physically part of a whole biosphere, in which all
the ‘Laws of Nature’ operate. Man was originally given dominion over the
earth, but when he rebelled against God, Man and all he had dominion over
was cursed. The human race has inherited this punishment for sin - gradual decay
and death - because the whole human race has also inherited the bias towards
rebellion.
But
there was a time when all energy and all complexity was at its maximum. At the
moment of Creation all planets were spinning at their maximum, the stars were
fully fuelled, comets were as large as they would ever be, gravity was at its
strongest, and so forth. Every part of the whole universe was freshly ‘wound
up’ and packed with energy. But from the moment Adam and Eve sinned, the
Second law of Thermodynamics began to operate. The earth began to slow down, the
moon began to spiral away, comets began to break up, stars burned their fuel and
some eventually collapsed, and so forth. The human race is presently living in
the space between maximum and minimum. The all pervasive Second Law is part of
every aspect of our lives - everything is running down, decaying, rusting,
collapsing. People need food every day because their bodies burn the energy
away, vehicles need fuel too - from depleting oil and gas reserves. Buildings
need repair, historic objects need specially controlled environments. Machinery
wears out, clothes disintegrate. Depressing though it may be, the reality is
that all things are running down hill.
Despite
the clear evidence that the above conditions exist, Man rejects or suppresses
this truth, and instead conjures up a wide range of fanciful and illogical
stories to smother the obvious. The Theory of Evolution is one of these stories
(See my notes on ‘Evolution and the Two Laws of Thermodynamics’). Religious
myths and legends are another attempt to cover the truth. Like sick children who
refuse to take the foul medicine, humans obstinately turn their faces away when
God presents the harsh and unpleasant truth.
"And
they heard the voice of the LORD God (as He came) walking in the garden in the
cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence
of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden". Genesis 3:8
Why
did they hide? Because they knew they had violated the command - the truth had
been suppressed and Satan’s version had been followed instead. This is the
pattern throughout history.
"In
meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give
them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;" 2 Timothy 2:25
And
they shall turn away [their] ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto
fables". 2 Timothy 4:4
I
remember a day when I offered to let a Playcentre use some of my audio-visual
Bible stories, but the women told me flatly that Playcentre rules forbade this
on the grounds that the children were not to be given ‘religious’
instruction. However, that same Playcentre had books telling the Maori legends,
which were read to the children. The women either did not believe that the Bible
stories were true, historical accounts, or they were intent on suppressing the
truth. (Perhaps it is a common misconception that 99% of the Bible is just
history?)
There
is a curious confusion about he nature of Man. Some say that Man is intractably
evil, sinful and bent of rebellion from birth. Others (such as the Quakers) say
that Man is inherently good. The fact is, both are correct. Man is a dichotomy,
or a synthesis of both good and bad.
Because
we were created by God, we have a divine aspect. Because we are descended from
Adam, we have a rebellious aspect. In many ways the attributes which make us
human are ‘neutral’ - in the same way that a computer is ‘neutral’. What
we do with those attributes makes all the difference.
For
example, Hitler was once a sweet, innocent, harmless, naive baby. He had a body,
a brain, and emotions, just like virtually all babies. He passed through infancy
and developed his freewill and intellect. He made choices. He read Darwin’s
‘Origin of Species’ and other books. He made more choices and developed
goals. Eventually he became Hitler the Fuhrer and cloned himself into a
devastating army of horror.
But
if Hitler had been brought up in a Christian home, and heard only books of
truth, he might have been known as Billy Graham, or Wesley, or Sturgeon, or
Booth.
So
what are the attributes which distinguish us as God’s handiwork?
God
made humans "in His own image" = shadow, likeness. From this fact we
should be able to draw logically the idea that Man shares some of the character
and ability of God into himself.
There
must be many books which focus on human abilities. One book which I find useful
is the Thesaurus. Under the various headings at the front of the book, a general
summary of Man can be constructed.
Senses
- taste, smell, touch, sight, hearing
Emotions
- feelings of love, hate, irritation, frustration, benevolence, kindliness,
gentleness, contentment, foresight, imagination, curiosity, judgement,
experiment, jealousy, happiness, peace, joy, anger, spite, maliciousness, greed,
and so on. (Emotions are difficult to separate neatly from each other and from
the actions they usually invoke)
Appreciation
of
- music, art, literature, sculpture, photography, and all the other branches of
The Arts. Size, colour, beauty, ugliness, danger, safety, and so forth.
Intellect
- reasoning, awareness (self-awareness and other levels), logic, maths. The
ability to construct hypothetical arguments. Understanding of randomness.
Freedom
to
choose between one or more possibilities. Freedom to argue, or disagree with
something which is known to be right.
Two
good reasons why God has given Man such a wide range of abilities, is so that :
1.
Man may enjoy a full range of experiences, and
2.
Man has no excuse on Judgement Day for denying the reality of God.
(If
Man was extremely ignorant and intellectually dull, some slightly cleverer
people might claim that God was unfair and unjust. It would come to the same
sort of argument which some homosexual advocates use - that homosexuals are
‘born that way’ because of their genetic make up. If this were true,
then God would be a sadist. Logically, if God created people with
an unavoidable defect, He could not then correctly judge those with it.
It would be the same as God creating people with two legs and then condemning
all people with two legs!)
Scripture
comes very close to saying that humans are gods - a belief which many cults and
some religions hold. But Scripture qualifies this idea by adding that Man is
also "dust" and that Man depends in every way on God
i.e.
Colossians 1:17 "And he is before all things, and by him all things
consist",
or
Acts 17:24-29 "God that made the world and all things therein,
seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwells not in temples made with
hands; Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing,
seeing he gives to all life, and breath, and all things; And hath made of
one (blood) all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and
has determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;
That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find
him, though he be not far from every one of us:
For
in him we live, and move, and have our being;
as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his
offspring."
Note
: "We are His offspring". This direct teaching from Scripture, which
is true and valid, has been twisted and distorted by evolutionists and
Nature-worshippers. Both say the lie that : "We are Earth’s
offspring"- the former speak ‘science’ lies (natural selection,
mutations, time) while the latter speak ‘pagan’ lies (Earth Mother, Mother
Nature, Earth Goddess).
But
even Jesus was happy to allow human leaders to be called "gods".
"Jesus
answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, You are gods?
If
he called them (the human godly leaders) gods, unto whom the word of God came,
and the scripture cannot be broken;
Say
you of him (the Son of God), whom the Father has sanctified, and sent into the
world, You blaspheme; because I said, I am the Son of God?" John 10:34-36
Jesus
was quoting from Psalm 82:6,7 :
"I
(God) have said, You are gods; and all of you are children of the most High
(that is, created by God).
But
ye shall die like men (mortal and earthy), and fall like one of the (mortal and
earthy) princes". Psalm 82:6-7
To
find out where these words in the Psalm come from we have to go back to Exodus
22:8 and 28. Here, the elected judges and rulers of Israel were called
"gods", from the Hebrew word "Elohim" which is the plural of
El. In its highest sense, Elohim refers to God the Creator, because God (Father
and Holy Spirit) created all things through Jesus. The Trinity. Plural. In its
lower sense it refers to people who act on God’s behalf - as godly judges and
rulers. So God calls His own judges and rulers "gods", but in no way
allows for any heathen deity or pagan being to take the name. Only misguided and
ignorant people have done this.
It
was this usage of the word "gods" which Jesus accepted, then he
applied the highest sense of the word to himself. The Pharisees could accept the
first part, and probably thought they themselves were God’s appointed
"gods", but they could not accept the logical extension of the word,
which applied fully to Jesus, who was God’s own Son, and therefore El
"God" on earth.
So
the Bible teaches strongly that in many ways Man is like God. Man’s free will,
self-awareness and ability to understand things, his inherent knowledge of right
and wrong, his innate ability to be self-expressive, to individualise, to
imagine, his ability to act, feel and behave like God, and his desire to find
happiness, completeness and meaning - these are all marks of the Creator.
So
far we have sketched in what makes humans like God. Now we will glance at
what makes humans unlike God.
Man
is not all bad.
Some people in the Church are determined that this is not so. They seem to speak
of nothing else but Man’s depravity, Man’s evil heart, Man’s wicked
imagination, and man’s utterly filthy condition in God’s sight. Logically,
if this were true, then no-one would ever be saved. It is thanks to the divine
aspect still remaining in Man that those who preach the gospel find something to
appeal to! Man has a conscience, and a sense of right and wrong. When the
preacher appeals to these God-given attributes, some people respond by
repenting.
That
Man has an evil side is obvious. One has only to listen to the day’s news, or
read a newspaper to find this out. If Man was good, we wouldn’t need prisons,
security guards, armour-plated vehicles, military defence, strong walls, locks,
bars and bodyguards. Parents would never need to smack or discipline their
children. No-one would be lazy, or careless, or indifferent. World leaders would
spend everything on the welfare of their people and nothing on arms. If Man was
good we wouldn’t need referees, lawyers, or the criminal justice system. The
world would be free of drugs, booze and cigarettes. No home or car would need to
be locked or insured. It would be quite a different place - the sort of Utopia
which many people dream of, but which can come about only when the whole world
is Christian.
But
Man’ behaviour is logical. Like Nature, Man cannot abide a vacuum. If the
truth is pushed out, something has to rush in to fill its place. If the True God
is removed, the logical alternative is a Man-made version. This is where the
subject of idols becomes very interesting.
"You
shall make you no idols nor graven images, neither rear you up a standing
image, neither shall you set up any image of stone in your land, to bow
down to it: for I am the LORD your God". Leviticus 26:1
This
verse does not forbid the making of Art, i.e. sculpture, embroidery, painting,
engraving and so on, because if it did, then the God-given designs for the
Temple and the beautiful, decorative parts of the Tabernacle, and the patterns
for New Jerusalem, would all be a total contradiction of the Law. What this and
other verses forbid is Art with the intention of worshipping that which is
made through Art.
That
Art and idolatry and demonic activity are connected can be seen in :
1.
"Moreover
the workers with familiar spirits, and the wizards, and the images,
and the idols, and all the abominations that were spied in the
land of Judah and in Jerusalem, did Josiah put away, that he might perform the
words of the law which were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in
the house of the LORD". 2 Kings 23:24
2.
"And
the spirit of Egypt shall fail in the midst thereof; and I will destroy the
counsel thereof: and they shall seek to the idols, and to the charmers, and to
them that have familiar spirits, and to the wizards". Isaiah 19:3
But
why would any human even want to worship something Man-made?
(To
see the extent of this problem, in just the comparatively tiny land of Israel,
hear Isaiah : "Their land also is full of idols; they worship the
work of their own hands" Isaiah 2:8) The answer may be simply "Because
Man is made in God’s image, therefore Man has a desire to create an image
too".
Originally,
Mankind was given dominion over all the world. "And God said, Let us make
man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish
of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the
earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth". Genesis
1:26
Man,
like God, was originally meant to rule over Creation. Man was down the chain as
far as rank went, but he had a very important role. Satan of course was angry
that Man should have this dominion, especially as he had just lost his position
in heaven, so when he heard the words "In the day you eat . . . you will
die" Satan decided to cause Man to sin, thus (apparently) eliminating Man
from the position he, Satan, now coveted. But of course God had another plan,
that of redemption, so instead of taking over the earth, Satan instead found
himself in all-out war against God. That war has waged for about 6000 years, and
continues today.
Satan
himself had no desire to worship God, and having influenced Man to follow his
rebellion, Satan now set about to divert as many people as he could away from
focussing their attention on God and on to other things. Other fallen angels
began their work. New deities were invented. Demonic possession, signs and
wonders, and misinformation began to spread amongst the burgeoning population,
until we read that only one man, Noah, as faithfully worshipping the True God.
After the Flood the Tower of Babel showed that humans were just as ignorant of
the truth, and so on right through history. Only the Western nations generally
have retained the truth, but even they are riddled with cults, materialism,
hedonism and all the miserable counterfeits to God’s Word which Satan has
fostered.
It
is undeniable that Man is a worshipping creature. With some people it is obvious
- shrines, idols, incense, prayers, chanting, pilgrimages, priests,
witch-doctors and so on. With other people it is less obvious. A definition
which I have heard, of an idol is : "Anything which is considered to
be more important than God". The Dictionary says "Object of excessive
devotion". By the second definition, we are forced to include, in some
cases "Job, Sport, Wife or Husband, Children, Machine, Outdoor Pursuit,
Indoor Pursuit, Self, Girl or Boyfriend, Animal, and then on down to more and
more subtle things. Humans have an inbuilt desire to focus on one thing, and to
make that one thing more important than any other thing. Idolatry, which is
Man’s substitute for true worship, is the logical replacement.
And
its not that God is ambivalent about worship. God actually expects it, loves it,
wants it, and even demands it. God made Man to worship Him. The normal, healthy
behaviour of a Christian is to place the True God at the top of the list every
time.
But
getting back to the fact that Man was made in the image of God, it is a common
thread which runs through the Bible, that Man is like God. Man bears the
physical likeness, and sometimes the moral likeness of God. That this is so is
referred to indirectly in the law on murder : "Whoever sheds man's blood
(kills another human), by man (through justice) shall his blood be shed: for in
the image of God made he man". Genesis 9:6
What
Man does is take the truth about the invisible God, and create a substitute
which is more to Man’s liking. As Paul says :
"(They)
changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to
corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things".
Romans 1:23
Most
of the gods concocted by Man are deficient in some way. They are either
unreliable, or fickle, or too remote to be of any use, or too ‘human’ to be
trusted, or they are given to fits of anger, lust, jealousy and spite. The gods
invented by the world are really projections of the ones who made them, complete
with every human vice, and it is no wonder then that the theory of Evolution
claims that all religions are a result of evolving Man’s attempt to explain
the unknown. In this they are mostly correct. Man, having rejected the One True
God, has indeed manufactured religion. But religion is a result of descending
devolution, not ascending spiritual evolution. Man abandoned the
truth and fell into idol-worship, quickly becoming ‘primitive’ and
thereafter climbing up the ladder of more and more complex religious practises.
Today’s major religions are the result of centuries of denial of truth.
But
today God wants to bring fallen humans back to the truth. He wants people to
abandon the "wisdom of Egypt" and embrace the true. Christianity is
the process whereby people are educated in ‘how things really are’ :
"But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord,
are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of
the Lord". 2 Corinthians 3:18
"In
whom the god (Satan) of this world has blinded the minds of them which believe
not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God,
should shine unto them". 2 Corinthians 4:4
"And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:" Colossians 3:10. Notice how being created into the image which God requires and "knowledge" go together. The whole Christian life is a matter of learning the truth and unlearning the lies. Light comes as ignorance and misinformation are dispelled. It is not enough to be converted - the whole job is to learn.