The late
Charles Colson once wrote: “It’s true that most Americans profess to believe in
God, but this God is a far cry from the God of Scripture. More than a century
of naturalism has eroded our belief that God is providential—that is, in charge
of all events.”
Mr. Colson
had a point. Many people profess to be Christians, but they are actually
Deists. They believe God created the universe and then left it on its own.
After creating the world, God apparently went on vacation and left no
forwarding address.
The
philosophy of naturalism, as Colson pointed out, certainly is a major reason
why people think this way. When science classes and PBS documentaries
constantly preach the idea that the natural world is all there is, it doesn’t
leave much room for God.
Those who
can’t quite swallow the notion that mankind’s creator is nothing but random
chance, often settle for a happy medium: they cling to the idea that God is
real, but after hitting the start button billions of years ago, this distant
and uncaring God turned over the day-to-day management duties to the Laws of
Physics and blind fate.
There is
another possibly more powerful reason why modern Christians have embraced
deistic beliefs: guilt. Although secular thinking proclaims that mankind is
basically good at heart, most people know better. We instinctively know the
biblical doctrine is true: “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”
(Romans 3:23).
Most of us
realize our basic urges are selfish and sneaky, while at the same time a moral
compass deep in our hearts tells us we ought to be charitable and honest. This
internal conflict produces guilt.
The idea of
an all-knowing, all-seeing God, who observes our every action and knows our
every thought, doesn’t sit very well with all that internal guilt. As a result,
it doesn’t take much prodding for a person to jump on the Deism bandwagon if it
means God no longer sees or cares about our behavior.
As Colson
pointed out, however, this view of God is not scriptural. The God described in
the Bible is not uncaring and distant. He is present; He observes everything;
and most of all, He CARES.
If God were
truly distant and uncaring, He never would have bothered with the defining
aspect of Christianity: the Incarnation. If God were on a cosmic vacation, He
never would have lowered Himself to be born in a stinky old stable. He never
would have preached for three years, only to be misunderstood and mocked. And
He certainly never would have offered up His life as an atoning sacrifice for
our sins.
If Deism
were true, we would not be celebrating Christmas in about two weeks. Instead,
we would be celebrating the old pagan festival of Saturnalia, marked by a
lengthy period of over-indulgence and drunken revelry. Oh wait. That’s exactly
how most people celebrate Christmas nowadays—or as I like to call it, the
Crassmas Season.
When it
comes to faith, the first and foremost question is: Is God real? Thankfully,
most people answer, “Yes.” But there is a second and equally important
question: What is God LIKE? What is God’s nature and personality?
The answer
is not an unknowable mystery, as Deism claims. God went to a lot of trouble to
reveal Himself to mankind, culminating in the awesome miracle of the
Incarnation. Then, to make sure everyone throughout history could know the
truth, God inspired the Holy Scriptures to be written.
The God
described in Scripture is the true God. He is providential. He is in charge of
all events. (Which, by the way, is not the same as CAUSING all events. God is
aware of and allows bad things to happen—part of the deal when He created us
with free will.)
If you want
to know what God is like, pick up your Bible. It’s the best Christmas present
you can give yourself.
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