"The Foolishness of Men"

School of Athens, Raphael.

There are men today that claim that The Age of Religion is over and The Age of Science has taken It's place. These men say that God and the devil are old conventions and that what really exists is energy fields and philosophies. The scholars and thinkers of Greece & Rome are revered and the pagan gods are memorized by children in American schools. I find it quite interesting that our society has decided to become Greco-Roman, when those two civilizations were some of the most brutal and ruthless that ever walked the earth. The Greeks under Alexander The Great conquered the known world and tried to make diverse peoples submit to their beliefs. The Romans followed in Greek  footsteps and took over the world. The Romans were so cruel and malicious that they would salt the fields of their enemies causing the crops to perish and not grow back. The Romans also invented many of the worst forms of torture and execution; including crucifixion.

So why do we admire these empires? These people who lived in decadence, but scorned and decimated other civilizations? The answer lies in the Book of Romans. In Chapter I, The Apostle Paul addresses a church in Rome and examines those people who choose not to believe in the One True God and instead in idols and their own comforts. "Since earliest times men have seen the earth and sky and All God made, and have known of his existence and great eternal power. So they will have no excuse when they stand before God at Judgement Day. Yes they knew about him all right, but they wouldn't admit it or worship hm or even thank him for all his daily care." (Romans 1:20-21). This reminds me of the Darwinist scientists of today. They are making discoveries that are pointing to creative design and yet they still obstinately deny the Creator glory and maintain their Atheism.

It goes on to say in Romans, "after a while they began to think up silly ideas of what God was like and what he wanted them to do. The result was that their minds became dark and confused." (Verse 21). How true! What is being propagated by pseudo-historians, scientists, and philosophers is devoid of reason and full of vain conjecture. These men and women who are suppose to be enlightened, teach this generation that they come from apes and monkeys or that they have not purpose at all. They tell impressionable youths to worship intellect and to seek pleasure instead of believe in a higher calling and Biblical morality. In Romans is says, "Claiming themselves to be wise without God, they became utter fools instead. And then instead of worshipping the glorious, ever living-God, they took wood and stone and made idols for themselves, carving them to look like mere birds, animals and snakes and puny-men." This is exactly what the "beloved" Greeks and Romans did. And it is what the humanist, atheist, and Darwinists are trying to achieve. They encourage you to worship the same gods like Minerva (worship of intellect and education), Mammon (greed, avarice, love of money), and Aphrodite (sex, pornography, and lasciviousness) and in addition they teach you to embrace new idols in the forms of celebrities, houses, cars, and other glittering possessions.

God responds to all this insanity by letting the people have their way. He lets people indulge their base passions and lascivious desires. It says in the Book of Romans, "So God let them go ahead into every sort of sex sin, and do whatever they wanted to - yes vile and sinful things with each other's bodies. Instead of believing what they knew was the truth about God they deliberately chose to believe lies." I am witnessing this with several acquaintances and a few friends who are born again Christians. While these friends say they cling to the Cross, they also accept the philosophies of these men and women who are in rebellion to the Most High. These acquaintances say there is no devil, and that he is an old convention and not a insidious being. They also accept the new apostasy that Mary, Mother of Jesus, was actually not a virgin. I don't understand how they can live on the fence! How can someone believe two completely contradicting theologies? How can you say the Bible is the truth and then refute it with some new ideology espoused by a professor of Cambridge or Harvard?

The ultimate result of this blending and accepting of lies leads to the final paragraph in Romans 1: "So it was that when they gave God up and would not even acknowledge him. God gave them up to doing everything their evil minds could think of. Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness and sin, of greed and hate, envy, murder, fighting, lying, bitterness and gossip. They were backbiters, haters of God, insolent, proud braggarts, always thinking of new ways of sinning and continually being disobedient to their parents. They tried to misunderstand, broke their promises, and were heartless without pity." (Romans 1:28-31).

This I believe describes the very generation that is rising. Think about what you see on TV, even the daily news. Rampant shootings, massacres, and avaricious acts of greed by Banks, Wall street, and even Congress. You see constant contention and quarrels between loved ones. You discover your friends are lying to you and gossiping behind your back. You see children turning against their parents and becoming full of anarchy. People not longer keep their vows or promises. Everything listed in this last paragraph is becoming prevalent in our world today. Why and how this happened is evident to those who are aware. This tidal wave of debauchery, narcissism, and hatred has come because America has turned It's back on God. We allowed Him and his Bible to be expelled from schools and we allowed statues and doctrines to be erected that promote the very sinfulness listed in Romans 1.

Our nation has turned away from the Most High and has embraced the gods of Greece, Rome, and Egypt. Most public school students are taught to believe Jesus is an Arab! They have no idea that he was a Jewish rabbi who is the Son of God and died for their sins. They do however know the full tale of Zeus and Hercules. They have all the names of the Greek, Roman, Egyptian gods memorized. They however, cannot recall all the different names of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Nor do they know all names of the Twelve Disciples or the prominate Apostles.

Why are we surprised when this generation and the generations before it sink into depravity? When young minds are saturated five days a week with humanistic and romanistic beliefs and then on Sunday they hear some words from the Bible. In order for their to be change, parents and children will have to endeavor to resist these philosophies of lunacy and perhaps take measures to separate themselves out. While I do believe we should, "be in the world, but not of it." I think it is foolishness to send five year olds to the front line of public schools where they will be indoctrinated with humanism, Darwinism, and all the other corrupt philosophies of men. Children should be safeguarded from these propagadic lies; at least until they are ready to combat them with Truth. Hence why Private schools and Homeschooling have arisen. The private institutions make it possible for parents to rear their child in the Faith while they learn the essentials of a good education.

Eventually we all will have to face the devil. We all must travel into the Wilderness and face temptation. However, I recommend this be when a believer goes to College. By then you should have been taught the Truth long enough for it to have been "written on the tablet of your mind and heart." (Hebrews 10:16). Then you can go to the "Gates of Hell," and preach to the lost and unsaved. However, it is imperative that even at the Gates of Hell (your local secular school) you maintain relationships with strong Christians. Otherwise those lies may infect your mind and then you will find that famous proverb coming true: "bad company corrupts good character." (1 Corinthians: 15:33).