False Idols

Something here strikes an uncomfortable cord. Like the looming discomfort that grabs you right before you buy something you're about to regret spending the money on. The thud in your gut of buyer's remorse before the transaction has taken place. Such is the candidacy of Barrack Obama for the Presidency of the United States.

Watching the spectacle of American politics develop over the last 20 years, one would hope that the process couldn't get much worse. But it seems that every new Presidential election becomes more surreal, incredibly shallow, and crushingly disappointing as we witness the degeneration of our national elective process, our common conscience, and our identity as a people and as a nation.

Deeper and more disturbing however is the danger of politics becoming something frighteningly different all together, global sycophantic celebrity worship.

We are witnessing the inception of this in the nomination of the Democratic Presidential candidate Barrack Obama. Pay any attention to the presidential race in the mainstream media, online news, blogs, or otherwise and you become keenly aware that for some, this is not so much about electing a qualified individual for the most powerful office on earth, but the envisioning of a savior who will produce final peace. What Mr. Obama himself calls "a nation healed, a world repaired." With elevated speeches and sweeping oratory, he tells us that "we are what we've been waiting for!" or that he himself has "...become a symbol of America returning to our best traditions." He tells us that "he is the way" to the end of all our problems. Yet without any form of tested leadership, accomplishment, or otherwise to provide a basis for this belief, people are flocking without rational explanation to adore Barrack Hussein Obama.
A man whom many seem to be labeling a savior.

The Hard Truth is that neither Barrack Obama nor any human being can produce on such a promise of peace and prosperity or rise to the level of savior.

The truth is that there is only one Prince of Peace. One savior for all mankind. The only one who can bring about the end of war, famine, hatred, and all that ails the world. He is that man who lived the perfect life, deserves all our adoration, and died to bring us real salvation. Rising back to life on the third day after being crucified (an experience worthy of praise and worship,) he proved that he had defeated death, atoned for the sins of every one of us, and paid our debt to a just and righteous God.

Jesus Christ is that savior. Jesus Christ is that messiah.

To worship any man or woman, celebrity, politician, pope, or king above the Lord Jesus Christ is to commit the greatest sin there is. The sin of elevating anything or anyone above God Himself. This is called idolatry. And God has said there shall be no other gods before Him.

An important election year side-note from our discussion of the Hard Truth.

Beware of worshiping false idols. Mr. Obama is a man like any other, and as we all know, men make mistakes. We live, we grow old, we die. And we sin. Every single one of us. When we fail to recognize this and instead lift up individuals to greater than human standards, we suffer the consequences in the form of dictatorships, monarchies, and tyrannically oppressive governments. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. It would be prudent to think about electing a leader who shows the humility and experience to question himself and his motives before making decisions that have global, national, and very personal consequences to you and your family.

Evolutionary Arrogance

We're not getting better. We're getting worse.

The popular evolutionary notion that mankind is in a constant state of improvement is wrong.

The largely accepted social and scientific theory that human beings are evolving upward, becoming more intelligent, peaceful, and socially conscious doesn't seem to be holding water. Ever since the theory of evolution was put forth by Charles Darwin, science and humanistic social theorists have attempted to paint a picture of the evolution of man as a creature beginning at a base level morally then constantly moving upward to a higher and higher level. A mutation beginning in simplicity which grows into complexity. That man starts at a very minimalistic level of intelligence and then mutates upward to a greater intelligence. But the facts about life itself, the truth about the physical and moral condition of man, is a complete denial of evolutionary theory.

In the face of ever increasing global struggles for energy, food, territory, and the emergence of the new battle between the civilized western world and middle-eastern terrorism, it would seem that age old problems that have plagued mankind are only getting worse. The last hundred years has seen more bloodshed, more destruction, and more human death in sheer numbers than during any time in human history. Man has waged world wars, developed weapons of mass destruction, and has aided and been the direct cause of pain, disease, death and suffering all over the globe. And with the accumulation of growing technology, it would seem humanity is growing worse and worse at a faster rate every day.

Man did not begin at the bottom of the moral ladder, and slowly by psychological evolution, rise higher. Because if you study human history, you'll find that basically there hasn't been any change. Men are morally no better than they were in the past and really no worse. But technological advances over the centuries have only enabled mankind to escalate and exacerbate his core corruption. To develop more efficient ways to sin. Man started at the top, and since the Fall he has been getting worse. Using his God-given mental abilities to accelerate the acquisition of his sinful desires, man builds up greater and greater iniquity. Human life in every aspect and in every relationship is defined by wickedness and evil, even if he himself believes it otherwise.

If in our age you can't understand this, you have no explain for the human dilemma. The social and psychological evolutionist of our day has a big problem. They can't explain why society is not changing if man is getting better and has grown into this noble goodness that defines the upward evolutionary growth of human existence. The social evolutionist will attempt to explain any moral deficiency by blaming the person's environment. Any failure to achieve a higher level of moral growth is the result of being held back by others (who apparently have themselves been held back since they are capable of creating the negative environment necessary to keep the other guy down.) The psychologist rejects sin because they want to exalt man while eliminating God. And because they reject sin they have no explanation as to why man is the way he is. They misdiagnose totally so they can offer really no help. And in the end nothing devised by men, no psychotherapy, counseling, punishment or drug can deal with or correct the inherited nature of sin.

Without a clear understanding of what is wrong, those in our society who think they have the answers will try to use human methods to treat the human condition, something they don't understand. Disobedient children will be labeled ADHD or Autistic or given the name of whatever syndrome the doctors and drug companies can invent, so they can sell them the drugs they want to sell them. (For more on the issue of psychoactive drug use and misdiagnosis of children and adults, visit http://breggin.com/ ) And when someone commits moral sin, they will be told they have some kind of illness and will be treated like they are sick, never really confronted with the root cause of their problem. Perhaps you've noticed that very few things are really considered serious crimes anymore. Those things once considered morally reprehensible behavior are now classified as 'illnesses' that can be treated with rehabilitation or psychological counseling, or better yet, the ever profitable drug prescription.

The Hard Truth is we are not getting better. We're getting worse. And society will never improve and the human condition will never get better until what is in the heart of man is seen as the real problem. And that we alone cannot treat the sin that corrupts our minds, our hearts, our wills, and our actions.