Bible Counterfeits
- Denisa Gabriela
- Jun 13, 2020
- 5 min read
Isn't it trendy to think about a philosophy as a means to strike people's attention? Back in my college years I used to spend hours reading philosophy and taking notes on it. It seems so fascinating, but we should never judge a book by its covers, right? The truth is NOT in the appearance of things, but the TRUTH itself is Jesus Christ.
John 14;6, "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."
Don't take me wrong! I firmly believe a person should study, read many materials, judge through Biblical lenses righteous judgement, yet he/she should be cautious about some materials that they read and be as sensible as they can when it comes to exposing themselves to all sorts of materials. Not only are we what we eat (as the telling), but also what we read. In fact, remember that the word of God is likened unto bread (Matthew 4:4), and both of them are connected: one for the nourishing of the body (eat), the other for the nourishing of the spirit (read); interesting, eh? HOWEVER, we are commanded to read GOD's word as the best provision for the spirit.
I believe God is clear when it comes to different theories which go against Him and His word. Let us see in more depth how philosophy can be strange ground even for a Bible believer.
Philosophical dogmas – an antithesis to Biblical doctrine
· False doctrines and unbelief
Philosophies and certain types of science developed out of heathenism as a consequence of unbelief. Heathens began in the early history of the Bible, when Cain at satanic encouragement offered false, ungodly sacrifices to God, unlike Abel, who was devoted to the covenant of God.
Heathenism is related to nature worshiping, spirit power, beasts and other peculiar creatures, strange things. Heathens used to deny God’s creation and majesty, so they were focusing their attention on myths, legends, pagan practices.
Greek philosophy, Hinduism, Buddhism, etc. are major corruptions which used the idea of God being shaped according to people’s subjective perceptions of reality.
Colossians. 2:8, “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world and not after Christ.”
Starting with the 2nd century B.C. the the Jews adopted philosophies (“the renowned Jewish thinker Philo”), combining them with the Scriptures of the Old Testament in
Hebrew, especially the ones who lived in Alexandria, Egypt. The mixture of the Old Testament with Plato’s theories and the logos of Heracleitus and other Stoics was a satanic perversion which people encouraged. This “Logos” played a major role in the early Christian church and its misinterpretations – the term was initially translated in the Septuagint (the early Greek Old Testament) as “word”, term translated from the Hebrew word “dabar” to “logos”. Thus, Philo interpreted it in a Greek sense, borrowing Plato’s philosophy, considering that God created the world out of matter, and not out of nothing, as the Scriptures claim, and that He employed Logos to do this work, for God was too Great to make direct contact with matter. This is how the idea of Gnosticism took form and evolved throughout centuries. Hence, the heresies begat fake Christian practices, cults, even gave birth to blasphemies concerning our Saviour, asserting that Jesus and Christ were two separate entities, or that Jesus was proclaimed God after His bodily Incarnation and baptism, that He was created, according to Arius. Every denial of the deity of Jesus Christ is satanic. The answer to all these apostasies was given by John the apostle, when under the guidance of the Holy Ghost, he gives the whole meaning of “dabar”, saying,
John 1:1, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
· Modern philosophy
Modern philosophy took a stand right after the Protestant Reformation. The leaders of this movement tend to ridicule the main conflicts in the Christian area (mainly between Catholicism and Protestantism), talking in vain about the Creator. Their spirit of antichristianism was denied.
In modern rationalistic philosophy, Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz believed in rational matters, leaving God out of the picture, focusing on their own idea of self-existence, spirituality, matter and spirit. From Spinoza, the term "pantheism" is being adopted in his philosophy, considering that “God is nature viewed as active (natura naturans), and the universe is nature viewed as passive (natura naturata).” - Hills.
Imannuel Kant and his philosophical views also influenced the idea of many modernistic scholars, modern teachers, preachers, where everything is based on our perception toward an experience and the impossibility of knowing the existence itself. Kant believed that the intellect itself could not approve or disapprove the existence of God, but through the rational faith, God the Governor would provide us rewards according to our worthiness, conformity and moral law. The worthiness in a person Kant believed that it can be achieved when a man is his own law-giver, denying the Law given by God which actually governs our existence. He allegorized the Scriptures, denaturating its meaning by claiming about Adam and the sin as being a metaphor of failing to obey our law-giving nature.
In the 19th century, neo-kantianism was adopted by the Christian church in the United States of America, declaring that God is love and only love. In addition to this, the existentialism which developed in Denmark, from Soren Kierkegaard also impacted society in a huge way. Kierkegaard focused on either/or, meaning that an individual had to make his own decisions, and that at every corner of life, his/her choices would have continually shifted. Therefore, the unknown is continually before our eyes - would be the logo of his doctrine. (I liked to read Kierkegaard when I was a student).
· Time and Space
Even the philosopher Isaac Newton believed that time and space are just a concept of eternity, absolute, according to his “Principia”. The idea of absolute is in relevance with the co-eternal, omniscient God. In opposition, Albert Einstein believed in a 4th dimension space, according to his theory of relativity which is slightly inconsistent in its approach. He asserted that the events next to each other, as long as they can be perceived by the individual, are simultaneous in the face of the observer, and this can also be available for the events that are far apart. A big question rises, however... “[…] how can the knowledge or lack of knowledge of a human observer determine the simultaneity of external events?” - Hills.
The pantheism introduced by Albert Einstein is exposed to experimental threats. The English scientists Endean and Allen, in 1970, proved that the electromagnetism of Crab Nebula are travelling faster than the velocity of light. This contradicts from the beginning Einstein’s absolute in terms of the velocity of light. Although Newton considered the time and space two absolutes which are independent of the Creator and Einstein’s pantheistic view of the two discordant definitions of simultaneity, God reveals Himself as the Absolute in all things,
Isaiah 46:9, “[…] I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me.”
· Causation and Atomic Science in the New Age Movement
On the premises of Newton’s law of causation, many scientists tend to claim the human predictions (in the case of an effect which becomes a cause, and a cause becomes the effect). However, there are many disclaims which from the beginning contradict the theory. In 1920, certain physicists proved that the behaviour of atomic particles taken separately cannot be predicted. Thus, it cannot be asserted anything about the causation at the subatomic level. The Bible describes the atomic predictions not from men’s perspective, but according to God’s creation, since He is the Governor of everything, including atomic and subatomic particles,
Ephesians 1:11, “[…] who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will.”
There are so many other things to be discussed about the subject. Nonetheless, the main parts have been covered, guys!
May God's wisdom abound on you all,
Denisa
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