The Peril of Rationalism

As we live out of days on earth, there will be things others do that bother us.  As I grow older I don't know if I am more or less likely to be annoyed by things other people do - or a combination of both!  I believe we all experience things which "bug" us, and it is good to approach these circumstances with love and grace - unlike Sylvester in the movie "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World."  Still, I think we all know exactly how he feels.

One thing that bothers me is when people (especially Christians) feel the need to explain away or rationalise the miraculous with a scientific explanation, as if science and the scriptures are opposed to one another.  How many times I have heard God's Word rationalised and apologised for in an attempt to appeal to modern minds.  I find the distortion and twisting of the scriptures to draw ridiculous conclusions downright painful.  Right when I think I have heard it all, I realise I haven't even scratched the surface of the spin people put on things.  A classic technique for false teachers is to shock by denying a truth the Bible plainly states, then insert their own concepts which appeal to men.

For a person who believes in an eternal, omnipotent, and Almighty God, it is marvellous thing we feel the need to explain how He does anything.  Can anyone explain scientifically how Jesus rose from the dead?  How did God create the heavens, earth, and living creatures from nothing?  I don't know, and no one does.  He does things we don't know about all the time!  Then why do we feel the need to insert Darwinian evolution into how life forms grew and multiplied on the earth?  If you believe God sent 10 plagues upon the Egyptians, why deny the Hebrews actually crossed through the Red Sea and the Jordan River on dry ground?  When people are described as "demon possessed," since some doubt the existence of devils today they claim this is nothing more than mental illness misunderstood by ignorant people.  These sorts of things bug me because they deny God of glory He deserves and effectively call God a liar.

Either the Bible is the Word of God, or it isn't.  IF it is the Word of God, then it can be trusted and cannot be broken (John 10:35).  It is utterly ridiculous to believe in the miracle of salvation by grace through faith and the resurrection but deny the fact God created the world out of nothing by the words of His mouth.  It is silly to believe Jesus Christ was the Son of God but didn't know the difference between schizophrenia and demon possession.  God has graciously given us His Word to reveal Himself to us, and it is for us to believe or reject wholesale - not pick and choose what aligns with our current understanding or belief.  A cherry-picking approach to scripture will not lead to revelation of God, transformation of heart or mind, or maturity of faith but is abominable in God's sight for it sows discord amongst the brethren.  It is bad for you and for others to believe only what makes sense to unregenerate minds.

The Bible is the Word of God, brethen, and God who has revealed Himself to us has also joined us together as one Body, the church, with Jesus Christ as Head.  There may be different views and interpretations among us, and this is understandable because our knowledge is not yet complete.  God's ways and thoughts are higher than ours, and because we are not God we cannot know all.  But let us not bring His Word down to our level in authority, where we sit in the judgment seat and say what God really meant instead of what He already said - because we are without faith and refuse to submit our feeble minds to Him.  God says to us, "Let us reason together."  Ours is a God of logic, order, and purpose.  But humanistic rationalism cannot rightly divide the Word of God.  We need the Holy Spirit to do that, and He has already spoken.