- Today we're gonna look
00:00:00.66\00:00:01.60
at how a well-loved theologian
00:00:01.60\00:00:03.73
just might have
inadvertently changed the way
00:00:03.73\00:00:06.00
that you and I think,
00:00:06.00\00:00:07.70
and not
necessarily for the better.
00:00:07.70\00:00:10.31
[gentle light music]
00:00:10.31\00:00:13.44
When I was a kid,
00:00:31.03\00:00:32.43
they still had those
black and white safety films
00:00:32.43\00:00:34.20
that showed you what to do
in the event of an atomic bomb.
00:00:34.20\00:00:38.40
Now, I'm pretty sure
00:00:38.40\00:00:39.93
that my tiny little town
in Northern British Columbia
00:00:39.93\00:00:42.30
wasn't actually
a nuclear target,
00:00:42.30\00:00:45.11
but there was always
the possibility, I guess,
00:00:45.11\00:00:47.11
that Russian missiles
would fly over our heads
00:00:47.11\00:00:49.91
on the way to the US.
00:00:49.91\00:00:51.48
Still, it
wasn't terribly likely.
00:00:51.48\00:00:54.12
So, of course, we were told
00:00:54.12\00:00:55.68
that in case of an
impending nuclear attack,
00:00:55.68\00:00:57.82
we should get
under our school desks
00:00:57.82\00:00:59.65
because well, of course, a
desk would be sturdy enough
00:00:59.65\00:01:02.66
to absolutely
guarantee your safety.
00:01:02.66\00:01:05.96
I'm guessing the idea
was to keep the building
00:01:05.96\00:01:08.20
from crushing you
when it collapsed.
00:01:08.20\00:01:10.23
It might keep the rubble
from causing a head injury.
00:01:10.23\00:01:13.94
Now, I remember the year
00:01:13.94\00:01:15.84
that our teacher read
us this incredible story
00:01:15.84\00:01:18.61
of a Russian defector
who jumped from a ship
00:01:18.61\00:01:21.11
just off the coast of
Prince Rupert, British Columbia,
00:01:21.11\00:01:24.15
not too far from where I lived.
00:01:24.15\00:01:25.91
And against all odds, he
swam to freedom in Canada.
00:01:25.91\00:01:29.58
And of course,
if you're my vintage
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and you grew up in North America
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before the wall
came down in '89,
00:01:32.72\00:01:35.66
you probably
remember the Red Scare
00:01:35.66\00:01:37.86
and how worried people were,
00:01:37.86\00:01:39.79
not without reason,
00:01:39.79\00:01:41.40
that the Soviets would succeed
at conquering the planet.
00:01:41.40\00:01:45.03
And I guess I'm bringing this up
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because I've noticed
a trend in recent years
00:01:46.97\00:01:49.04
where some
people appear to think
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that the threat of
global communism was, well,
00:01:50.77\00:01:55.11
exaggerated. Some
Gen Zs have told me,
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"It couldn't have
been all that bad.
00:01:56.48\00:01:57.75
I think you guys
were overreacting."
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And to be fair, they
aren't really old enough
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to remember the
more serious moments
00:02:03.52\00:02:05.19
like the Cuban Missile Crisis
00:02:05.19\00:02:06.86
or some of the other scary
episodes of the 20th century
00:02:06.86\00:02:10.23
when the Doomsday clock
almost made it to midnight.
00:02:10.23\00:02:14.30
But I think the one
thing I'm hearing now
00:02:15.46\00:02:17.17
that concerns me most
is this new fascination
00:02:17.17\00:02:20.10
with communism
and Marxist ideology.
00:02:20.10\00:02:23.14
I mean, to be fair,
everybody recognizes
00:02:23.14\00:02:25.41
that there is something
profoundly wrong with this
00:02:25.41\00:02:28.54
planet and with
us as human beings.
00:02:28.54\00:02:30.28
And so some people do
understandably see the claims
00:02:30.28\00:02:33.95
of Karl Marx as a
potential solution
00:02:33.95\00:02:36.48
for the social
problems that really plague us.
00:02:36.48\00:02:39.35
In fact, I've even
heard some people suggest,
00:02:39.35\00:02:42.06
not a lot, but some,
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that Jesus probably
would've been a Marxist
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because he cared about
the poor and the suffering.
00:02:46.13\00:02:49.20
I mean, if you remember,
00:02:49.20\00:02:50.80
there was even one candidate
in a recent political campaign
00:02:50.80\00:02:54.00
that everybody
said had a gospel.
00:02:54.00\00:02:56.14
They suggested he was
some kind of Messiah figure
00:02:56.14\00:02:58.97
because they believed
that his Marxist philosophy
00:02:58.97\00:03:02.18
actually harmonized with the
life and teachings of Christ.
00:03:02.18\00:03:06.05
Now, I know some
of you are worried
00:03:06.05\00:03:07.45
I'm about to take
a political position.
00:03:07.45\00:03:09.82
But I promise you, I'm not.
00:03:09.82\00:03:11.92
What I really want to do
00:03:11.92\00:03:13.36
is spend a little time
exploring where Western thinking
00:03:13.36\00:03:15.96
started to diverge
from its Christian roots
00:03:15.96\00:03:18.53
and maybe highlight just
how far a lot of Christians
00:03:18.53\00:03:22.30
have fallen from the
biblical way we used to think.
00:03:22.30\00:03:26.10
And I guess I started
with the Soviet Union today
00:03:26.10\00:03:28.70
because that's
still fresh enough
00:03:28.70\00:03:30.61
in a lot of our memories
to stand as a vivid example
00:03:30.61\00:03:33.48
of where
humanistic thinking takes you,
00:03:33.48\00:03:37.08
especially if you
forget to compare it
00:03:37.08\00:03:39.31
with the
biblical way of thinking.
00:03:39.31\00:03:41.35
And I'm not really
asking anybody to agree with me.
00:03:41.35\00:03:44.49
I just wanna give you
some historical bullet points
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to help you see how and
why the philosophy in the Bible
00:03:46.89\00:03:50.63
might differ from the way
that most modern people think.
00:03:50.63\00:03:54.20
By the time I'm finished,
00:03:54.20\00:03:55.43
you might not
have changed your mind,
00:03:55.43\00:03:57.23
but at least you'll
know the difference.
00:03:57.23\00:03:59.77
So maybe today, let me
start with a really big name
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that most of you
are going to recognize,
00:04:02.80\00:04:05.27
and that's Thomas Aquinas.
00:04:05.27\00:04:07.64
Hands down, he was one of the
most influential philosophers
00:04:07.64\00:04:10.98
and theologians of all time.
00:04:10.98\00:04:13.78
In fact, if you
love books the way I do,
00:04:13.78\00:04:16.12
there's a chance
that you might have a copy
00:04:16.12\00:04:18.82
of his best known
work sitting in your house.
00:04:18.82\00:04:21.26
And that's a massive,
00:04:21.26\00:04:22.79
and I mean
massive multi-volume work
00:04:22.79\00:04:25.63
known as "Summa Theologica"
00:04:25.63\00:04:27.40
which is Latin for
a summary of theology.
00:04:27.40\00:04:31.07
In its original format,
00:04:31.07\00:04:32.67
it runs a little more than
7,300 pages, pretty impressive.
00:04:32.67\00:04:37.41
And even though I don't agree
00:04:37.41\00:04:38.97
with a lot of its conclusions,
00:04:38.97\00:04:40.71
at the same time, I can't deny
00:04:40.71\00:04:43.01
that Aquinas has
been pretty helpful
00:04:43.01\00:04:44.71
to the church as a whole.
00:04:44.71\00:04:46.31
There's some pretty
interesting stuff in here.
00:04:46.31\00:04:48.68
I mean, there's a reason
00:04:48.68\00:04:50.12
he's one of the most
influential Christian thinkers
00:04:50.12\00:04:52.59
of all time.
00:04:52.59\00:04:53.76
But again, that
doesn't mean I agree,
00:04:53.76\00:04:56.73
especially when it
comes to one big tragic flaw
00:04:56.73\00:05:00.46
right at the top of the book.
00:05:00.46\00:05:02.16
And it's a good thing
you find it at the beginning
00:05:02.16\00:05:04.13
because not a lot of people
are gonna have the patience
00:05:04.13\00:05:06.94
to suffer their way through
7,000 pages of dry theology.
00:05:06.94\00:05:11.77
So let me just read it to you,
00:05:11.77\00:05:13.41
and you're gonna find
this in part one, question one.
00:05:13.41\00:05:16.64
Now remember, this was
written about 800 years ago,
00:05:16.64\00:05:19.61
and he's actually
defending the need
00:05:19.61\00:05:21.68
for everybody to read the Bible
00:05:21.68\00:05:23.95
in spite of all the discoveries
of brilliant philosophers,
00:05:23.95\00:05:26.99
and that's a good thing.
00:05:26.99\00:05:29.06
But in the process, Aquinas
accidentally sets the table
00:05:29.06\00:05:32.46
for some unfortunate thinking
00:05:32.46\00:05:34.40
that became dominant
over the next eight centuries.
00:05:34.40\00:05:37.57
Now, to his credit,
00:05:37.57\00:05:38.73
he starts by
quoting 2 Timothy 3:16,
00:05:38.73\00:05:42.20
which is Paul's statement
on the importance of scripture.
00:05:42.20\00:05:45.47
So here's what Paul says,
00:05:45.47\00:05:47.81
"All scripture is
breathed out by God,"
00:05:47.81\00:05:50.71
and that's the literal
meaning of the word inspired,
00:05:50.71\00:05:53.11
"and profitable for
teaching, for reproof,
00:05:53.11\00:05:56.52
for correction, and for
training in righteousness."
00:05:56.52\00:06:00.16
So, of course, Dr.
Aquinas agrees with that.
00:06:00.16\00:06:03.43
And he's reminding us that
no matter how smart we get,
00:06:03.43\00:06:06.93
no matter how
much the philosophers
00:06:06.93\00:06:08.60
wrangle with the
really big questions of life,
00:06:08.60\00:06:11.50
you and I still need
to read the scriptures
00:06:11.50\00:06:14.00
to get God's opinion.
00:06:14.00\00:06:15.64
So, of course,
I agree with that,
00:06:15.64\00:06:18.27
but now listen to what he
writes after quoting that verse
00:06:18.27\00:06:21.38
because this is
really ground zero
00:06:21.38\00:06:23.68
for the thinking
that eventually leads
00:06:23.68\00:06:25.61
to things like the
Bolshevik Revolution.
00:06:25.61\00:06:28.32
Here's what Aquinas said.
00:06:28.32\00:06:30.15
"Now Scripture, inspired of God,
00:06:30.15\00:06:32.75
is no part of
philosophical science,
00:06:32.75\00:06:35.52
which has been
built up by human reason.
00:06:35.52\00:06:37.73
Therefore it is useful
00:06:37.73\00:06:39.36
that besides
philosophical science,
00:06:39.36\00:06:41.70
there should be other knowledge,
00:06:41.70\00:06:43.33
that is inspired of God."
00:06:43.33\00:06:46.00
So would I agree with that?
00:06:46.00\00:06:48.17
Well, yes and no.
00:06:48.17\00:06:49.94
Again, he's
trying to demonstrate
00:06:49.94\00:06:51.77
that you need more than human
ingenuity to understand truth.
00:06:51.77\00:06:55.54
But at the same
time, he just suggested
00:06:55.54\00:06:58.71
that there are
two kinds of knowledge
00:06:58.71\00:07:00.32
that live in
two separate worlds.
00:07:00.32\00:07:02.45
You've got human
knowledge over here,
00:07:02.45\00:07:04.72
and then you've got
divine knowledge over here.
00:07:04.72\00:07:07.96
So would that be true?
00:07:09.02\00:07:11.03
Well, kind of.
00:07:11.03\00:07:12.63
Go and talk to a
group of theologians
00:07:12.63\00:07:14.50
and they'll tell you
that God reveals Himself
00:07:14.50\00:07:16.56
in more than one way.
00:07:16.56\00:07:18.10
On the one hand,
00:07:18.87\00:07:20.24
you've got something
called general revelation,
00:07:20.24\00:07:22.44
which is stuff you
can learn about God
00:07:22.44\00:07:24.41
by studying the universe.
00:07:24.41\00:07:26.01
It's really the study of nature.
00:07:26.01\00:07:28.58
But then on the other hand,
00:07:28.58\00:07:29.98
you've got something
known as special revelation,
00:07:29.98\00:07:32.98
which is
information that God shares
00:07:32.98\00:07:34.75
by speaking directly
as in a vision or a dream
00:07:34.75\00:07:37.79
or the words of a prophet.
00:07:37.79\00:07:40.22
But, of course, special
revelation doesn't really happen
00:07:40.22\00:07:42.96
for the vast majority.
00:07:42.96\00:07:44.86
And I'm usually very
suspicious of people who say
00:07:44.86\00:07:47.66
that God has been audibly
talking to them in private.
00:07:47.66\00:07:51.00
I guess I've just met too many
whackadoodles along the way.
00:07:51.00\00:07:55.10
Far more often,
God spoke to His people
00:07:55.10\00:07:57.74
through the words
of an inspired prophet.
00:07:57.74\00:08:00.31
And, of course, that
would include the entire Bible.
00:08:00.31\00:08:04.71
Now, the reason theologians
talk about two different ways
00:08:04.71\00:08:07.32
to learn about God
is really pretty simple.
00:08:07.32\00:08:10.22
It's because you
find both of these methods
00:08:10.22\00:08:12.69
described in the Bible itself.
00:08:12.69\00:08:15.22
But right now, I'm
receiving a revelation
00:08:15.22\00:08:17.66
from the clock
on the studio wall
00:08:17.66\00:08:19.59
that tells me I'm
running out of time
00:08:19.59\00:08:21.63
and we really
need to take a break,
00:08:21.63\00:08:23.87
but don't go away
because I really, really think
00:08:23.87\00:08:27.00
you're gonna want to hear this.
00:08:27.00\00:08:29.47
- [Announcer 1] Here at
The "Voice of Prophecy",
00:08:31.71\00:08:33.48
we're committed to
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00:08:33.48\00:08:36.04
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00:08:37.45\00:08:40.68
Discovery Mountain
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00:08:40.68\00:08:43.15
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- Okay, how in the world
did an idea from the writings
00:09:01.70\00:09:04.41
of Thomas Aquinas
help to foster a world
00:09:04.41\00:09:07.78
where Joseph Stalin
could set up a Gulag?
00:09:07.78\00:09:11.05
I should probably tell you
00:09:11.05\00:09:12.05
that all I have time to do today
00:09:12.05\00:09:13.62
is set the table for you to
look at this subject yourself,
00:09:13.62\00:09:16.72
but I'll try to make
this well worth your time.
00:09:16.72\00:09:19.25
And if that
doesn't prove to be true,
00:09:19.25\00:09:21.06
well, I'll give
you a complete refund
00:09:21.06\00:09:23.16
on what I charge
to listen to me today.
00:09:23.16\00:09:26.06
But honestly, I think if
you just stick with this,
00:09:26.06\00:09:28.70
I'll be able to
show you some things
00:09:28.70\00:09:30.17
that might help you make sense
00:09:30.17\00:09:32.30
of the world we now live in.
00:09:32.30\00:09:34.44
So right before the break,
00:09:34.44\00:09:36.77
I was talking
about general revelation,
00:09:36.77\00:09:38.74
how God speaks to
us through nature,
00:09:38.74\00:09:41.61
and special revelation
00:09:41.61\00:09:43.81
when He communicates
by means of a prophet.
00:09:43.81\00:09:46.28
And I said that the Bible itself
00:09:46.28\00:09:48.08
confirms both of these methods.
00:09:48.08\00:09:50.45
So first, let me show you
00:09:50.45\00:09:52.02
what it says
about general revelation
00:09:52.02\00:09:53.92
or the way that God
speaks to us in nature.
00:09:53.92\00:09:56.96
You'll find this in Romans 1
00:09:56.96\00:09:59.43
where Paul writes this:
00:09:59.43\00:10:01.40
"For what can be known
about God is plain to them,"
00:10:01.40\00:10:04.67
that is the entire human race,
00:10:04.67\00:10:06.87
"because God has
shown it to them," how?
00:10:06.87\00:10:09.97
"For His invisible attributes,
00:10:09.97\00:10:11.91
namely His eternal
power and divine nature,
00:10:11.91\00:10:14.64
have been clearly perceived,
00:10:14.64\00:10:16.44
ever since the
creation of the world,
00:10:16.44\00:10:18.75
in the things
that have been made."
00:10:18.75\00:10:21.88
So there you have it.
00:10:21.88\00:10:23.42
Paul is telling us
there's plenty of evidence
00:10:23.42\00:10:25.72
to demonstrate the
existence of a creator,
00:10:25.72\00:10:29.32
and you'll find that
evidence by studying the things
00:10:29.32\00:10:32.09
that God has made.
00:10:32.09\00:10:33.96
In fact, in the
very next sentence,
00:10:33.96\00:10:36.36
Paul says that
there's so much evidence
00:10:36.36\00:10:39.30
that none of us really
has an excuse not to believe.
00:10:39.30\00:10:43.20
If we're blind to the existence
of God, the Bible says,
00:10:43.20\00:10:46.57
that's largely because
we're being willfully blind.
00:10:46.57\00:10:50.08
The universe is so
carefully balanced,
00:10:50.08\00:10:52.28
so finely tuned to support life,
00:10:52.28\00:10:54.62
that it looks very much
00:10:54.62\00:10:56.12
like somebody deliberately
designed this place.
00:10:56.12\00:10:59.72
In fact, back in 1983,
00:10:59.72\00:11:01.79
the astronomer Fred Hoyle said,
00:11:01.79\00:11:03.99
"The list of
anthropic properties,
00:11:03.99\00:11:06.29
apparent accidents of
a non-biological nature
00:11:06.29\00:11:09.06
without which carbon-based
00:11:09.06\00:11:10.50
and hence human
life could not exist,
00:11:10.50\00:11:13.23
is large and impressive."
00:11:13.23\00:11:16.10
In other words,
it's just not likely
00:11:16.10\00:11:18.37
that you and I
are here by accident.
00:11:18.37\00:11:20.94
Now, personally,
I think it's more
00:11:22.08\00:11:24.01
than just a list of
scientific variables
00:11:24.01\00:11:26.01
that points to the existence
of a creator because, well,
00:11:26.01\00:11:29.85
I guess this is gonna
sound hopelessly romantic,
00:11:29.85\00:11:32.32
but there's just
something that happens
00:11:32.32\00:11:34.96
when you're confronted
by the sheer magnitude
00:11:34.96\00:11:37.13
and overwhelming
beauty of this universe.
00:11:37.13\00:11:39.73
It actually speaks to your heart
00:11:39.73\00:11:42.10
the way you read
about in the Book of Psalms:
00:11:42.10\00:11:44.77
"When I look at your
heavens," the psalmist says,
00:11:44.77\00:11:47.44
"the work of your
fingers, the moon and the stars,
00:11:47.44\00:11:49.87
which you have set in place,
00:11:49.87\00:11:51.74
what is man that
you are mindful of Him,
00:11:51.74\00:11:54.08
and the Son of Man
that you care for Him?"
00:11:54.08\00:11:57.05
Now, I know.
00:11:57.05\00:11:58.35
Some of you're gonna
say, "That's not proof!"
00:11:58.35\00:12:00.48
And it's not, at least
not mathematical proof.
00:12:00.48\00:12:04.15
And I'm really just
looking at the different ways
00:12:04.15\00:12:06.22
that God communicates.
00:12:06.22\00:12:08.06
It's really
evidence but not proof.
00:12:08.06\00:12:11.09
And when God speaks
to us through nature,
00:12:11.09\00:12:13.23
a theologian would call
that general revelation.
00:12:13.23\00:12:17.03
But then, the Bible also
talks about special revelation
00:12:17.03\00:12:20.07
where God chooses to just
communicate with us directly.
00:12:20.07\00:12:23.54
Here's the way that
Peter described that
00:12:23.54\00:12:25.67
almost 2000 years ago.
00:12:25.67\00:12:27.54
He says, "For no prophecy
00:12:27.54\00:12:29.91
was ever produced
by the will of man,
00:12:29.91\00:12:32.61
but men spoke from
God as they were carried
00:12:32.61\00:12:35.25
along by the Holy Spirit."
00:12:35.25\00:12:37.69
So there you have it,
00:12:37.69\00:12:39.55
Thomas Aquinas was right.
00:12:39.55\00:12:41.16
There are two kinds of knowledge
00:12:41.16\00:12:42.86
that you have to
take into consideration
00:12:42.86\00:12:45.23
when you're
looking for the truth.
00:12:45.23\00:12:47.03
On the one hand,
there's human reason
00:12:47.03\00:12:49.26
which Aquinas called
philosophical science.
00:12:49.26\00:12:52.43
But then on the other hand,
00:12:52.43\00:12:53.80
you have the
knowledge that God reveals to us
00:12:53.80\00:12:55.74
through the pages of scripture.
00:12:55.74\00:12:58.64
So why in the world would
I say Aquinas set the table
00:12:58.64\00:13:01.94
for some really bad thinking?
00:13:01.94\00:13:05.08
Well, it's mostly
because of the way
00:13:05.08\00:13:07.02
that he neatly
divided and separated
00:13:07.02\00:13:10.05
those two kinds of knowledge
00:13:10.05\00:13:11.62
as if they operate completely
independently of each other.
00:13:11.62\00:13:15.06
By doing that,
00:13:15.06\00:13:16.73
he kind of introduced
the concept of humanism
00:13:16.73\00:13:19.43
into Christian
theology, just a little bit.
00:13:19.43\00:13:22.56
And sometimes
bigger problems can grow
00:13:22.56\00:13:25.10
from that just a little bit.
00:13:25.10\00:13:27.94
It's the camel's nose
under the edge of your tent.
00:13:27.94\00:13:31.07
Again, Aquinas
was actually defending
00:13:31.07\00:13:33.51
the need for the
Bible and that's good.
00:13:33.51\00:13:35.64
But in doing that, he left
some people with the impression
00:13:35.64\00:13:39.48
that human reason can
operate completely independently
00:13:39.48\00:13:43.75
in every sphere of knowledge
without any help from God.
00:13:43.75\00:13:48.36
And honestly, you
just can't get to God
00:13:48.36\00:13:51.56
with your unaided human reason.
00:13:51.56\00:13:54.60
And maybe the
problem stems from the way
00:13:54.60\00:13:56.73
that Aquinas borrowed
powerful logical arguments
00:13:56.73\00:13:59.93
for the existence of
God from, well, Aristotle,
00:13:59.93\00:14:03.97
the Greek philosopher.
00:14:03.97\00:14:05.91
Now, in the earliest
days of Christianity,
00:14:05.91\00:14:08.81
we understood
that Greek philosophy
00:14:08.81\00:14:10.88
and the biblical worldview
00:14:10.88\00:14:12.21
had some really
problematic differences.
00:14:12.21\00:14:15.65
When we tried to synthesize
both Greek and biblical thinking
00:14:15.65\00:14:19.19
back in the second
and third centuries,
00:14:19.19\00:14:21.76
it actually
produced some gnostic cults
00:14:21.76\00:14:24.59
who had a real problem
00:14:24.59\00:14:25.99
believing in the
incarnation of Christ.
00:14:25.99\00:14:28.70
Because to the Greek mind,
00:14:28.70\00:14:30.67
no perfect spiritual being
00:14:30.67\00:14:32.30
would ever become a
physical person, why?
00:14:32.30\00:14:35.80
Well, because physicality
was considered to be evil.
00:14:35.80\00:14:39.74
And it was this trend
00:14:39.74\00:14:41.14
towards synthesizing
Greek thought and scripture
00:14:41.14\00:14:44.31
that caused an early church
father by the name of Tertullian
00:14:44.31\00:14:47.32
to write a very famous line.
00:14:47.32\00:14:49.12
He said, "What indeed has
Athens to do with Jerusalem?
00:14:49.12\00:14:53.92
What concord is there between
the Academy and the Church?"
00:14:53.92\00:14:58.59
The Academy, of course,
would be the school of Athens
00:14:58.59\00:15:01.56
where the Greek
philosophers taught.
00:15:01.56\00:15:03.90
Now, of course, that doesn't
mean that these philosophers
00:15:03.90\00:15:06.53
were absolutely wrong
about absolutely everything
00:15:06.53\00:15:09.37
because they weren't.
00:15:09.37\00:15:11.04
Christians need to be
careful with this idea
00:15:11.04\00:15:13.11
that because someone
is wrong about something,
00:15:13.11\00:15:15.78
they must be wrong
about absolutely everything.
00:15:15.78\00:15:18.48
That's just not true.
00:15:18.48\00:15:20.98
Thomas Aquinas found
Aristotle's arguments
00:15:20.98\00:15:23.75
for the existence
of God very compelling,
00:15:23.75\00:15:27.09
so he borrowed them, wholesale.
00:15:27.09\00:15:29.66
You see, Aristotle argued
00:15:29.66\00:15:31.43
that because the
universe is in motion,
00:15:31.43\00:15:33.60
somebody must have started that
00:15:33.60\00:15:35.60
and that would be God,
00:15:35.60\00:15:36.73
the very first mover.
00:15:36.73\00:15:38.57
Then he said that because
every effect has a cause,
00:15:38.57\00:15:41.87
you can work your way back
through the chain of causes
00:15:41.87\00:15:44.11
to the very first cause,
and again, that would be God.
00:15:44.11\00:15:48.38
Now, I won't bore you
with the rest of the argument
00:15:48.38\00:15:50.61
because it's pretty
detailed and it has four parts.
00:15:50.61\00:15:53.98
But I will say this:
00:15:53.98\00:15:55.58
it's pretty interesting
and there is some merit to it.
00:15:55.58\00:15:59.39
What Aquinas did was take
00:16:00.32\00:16:01.79
Aristotle's four
powerful arguments
00:16:01.79\00:16:04.16
for the existence of God,
00:16:04.16\00:16:05.89
and he added a fifth,
00:16:05.89\00:16:07.60
the argument from design.
00:16:07.60\00:16:09.60
Not only did he say
that everything appears
00:16:09.60\00:16:11.43
to be carefully
constructed on purpose,
00:16:11.43\00:16:13.77
he also said that
everything in the universe
00:16:13.77\00:16:16.17
appears to have a goal.
00:16:16.17\00:16:18.51
Everything appears
to be going somewhere.
00:16:18.51\00:16:20.84
Here's what he actually wrote:
00:16:20.84\00:16:22.88
"We see that things
which lack intelligence,
00:16:22.88\00:16:25.48
such as natural
bodies, act for an end,
00:16:25.48\00:16:28.72
and this is evident
from their acting always,
00:16:28.72\00:16:31.05
or nearly
always, in the same way,
00:16:31.05\00:16:33.82
so as to obtain the best result.
00:16:33.82\00:16:36.62
Hence, it is plain
that not fortuitously,
00:16:36.62\00:16:39.33
but designedly, do
they achieve their end."
00:16:39.33\00:16:42.86
Now, a
philosopher might call that
00:16:42.86\00:16:44.70
the teleological argument.
00:16:44.70\00:16:46.87
Aquinas was saying
that the universe appears
00:16:46.87\00:16:48.90
to be carefully
designed for a reason.
00:16:48.90\00:16:52.84
I mean, it all
seems to work together
00:16:52.84\00:16:54.44
just a little too well
to be just an accident.
00:16:54.44\00:16:57.68
It all appears to
have an objective,
00:16:57.68\00:17:00.32
and that objective, Aquinas
said, would be God Himself.
00:17:00.32\00:17:04.49
It's an argument that
you still hear to this day
00:17:04.49\00:17:07.22
in some of those heated
creation/evolution debates.
00:17:07.22\00:17:10.43
And honestly,
Aquinas's Five Points
00:17:10.43\00:17:13.29
could be a really
good place to start
00:17:13.29\00:17:15.33
when you're discussing
your faith with someone
00:17:15.33\00:17:17.10
who doesn't
believe in a creator.
00:17:17.10\00:17:19.30
But they also
accidentally, those ideas,
00:17:19.30\00:17:22.40
became the foundation
for a new way of thinking.
00:17:22.40\00:17:25.94
I'll be right back after this.
00:17:25.94\00:17:27.98
- [Announcer 2] Life
can throw a lot at us.
00:17:31.21\00:17:34.12
Sometimes, we don't
have all the answers,
00:17:34.12\00:17:37.45
but that's where
the Bible comes in.
00:17:37.45\00:17:39.32
It's our guide to a
more fulfilling life.
00:17:39.32\00:17:42.99
Here at the "Voice of Prophecy",
00:17:42.99\00:17:44.56
we've created the
Discover Bible Guides
00:17:44.56\00:17:46.73
to be your guide to the Bible.
00:17:46.73\00:17:48.26
They're designed to
simple, easy to use,
00:17:48.26\00:17:50.77
and provide answers to many
of life's toughest questions,
00:17:50.77\00:17:53.77
and they're absolutely free.
00:17:53.77\00:17:55.80
So jump online
now or give us a call
00:17:55.80\00:17:58.11
and start your
journey of discovery.
00:17:58.11\00:18:01.01
- So far, for the most part,
00:18:01.01\00:18:02.78
I've been talking about
Aquinas's very smart ideas.
00:18:02.78\00:18:07.08
But as I stated at
the top of the show,
00:18:07.08\00:18:09.68
there is a problem
lurking in the background.
00:18:09.68\00:18:13.12
Remember, Aquinas separated
the two kinds of knowledge,
00:18:13.12\00:18:16.83
the work of the
philosophers on the one hand
00:18:16.83\00:18:19.73
and divine
revelation on the other.
00:18:19.73\00:18:22.40
And he did it in such
a way that it suggested
00:18:22.40\00:18:25.33
that these two
kinds of knowledge
00:18:25.33\00:18:27.04
operate
independently of each other.
00:18:27.04\00:18:29.80
He actually implied
that they don't intersect.
00:18:29.80\00:18:33.71
When he borrowed
Aristotle's logical arguments,
00:18:33.71\00:18:36.71
he was reasoning his
way to God's existence
00:18:36.71\00:18:39.35
with only human ingenuity,
00:18:39.35\00:18:41.55
and he inadvertently
gave the impression
00:18:41.55\00:18:44.12
that you and I can discover
00:18:44.12\00:18:45.35
the deepest
truths of the universe
00:18:45.35\00:18:48.26
without any help from God.
00:18:48.26\00:18:50.53
All you really need,
he gave the impression,
00:18:50.53\00:18:53.19
is the power of reason.
00:18:53.19\00:18:55.13
Or to be more precise,
00:18:55.13\00:18:56.93
all you really need
is your unaided reason,
00:18:56.93\00:18:59.90
without any input, from God,
00:18:59.90\00:19:02.80
but that's not the way
that the Bible says it works.
00:19:02.80\00:19:06.61
Yes, the Bible
talks about the two ways
00:19:06.61\00:19:09.41
that God communicates:
00:19:09.41\00:19:10.61
through nature
and the written word.
00:19:10.61\00:19:13.72
But it never ever suggests
that your capacity for reason
00:19:13.72\00:19:17.52
can operate
completely independent from God.
00:19:17.52\00:19:21.86
I mean, just look at the
opening verse of the Bible
00:19:21.86\00:19:24.53
where it says "In
the beginning, God..."
00:19:24.53\00:19:29.00
It never bothers to
explain where He comes from.
00:19:29.00\00:19:32.20
It never logically
tries to prove His existence.
00:19:32.20\00:19:35.17
It just starts with a
declaration that God is there.
00:19:35.17\00:19:39.01
And honestly, that would've
driven a Greek philosopher crazy
00:19:39.01\00:19:43.38
because they had an origin story
00:19:43.38\00:19:45.95
for pretty much
every one of their deities.
00:19:45.95\00:19:48.92
How dare you start a
story without explaining
00:19:48.92\00:19:52.42
where the number one
character comes from?
00:19:52.42\00:19:54.89
But then the Bible
goes a whole lot deeper,
00:19:56.02\00:19:58.79
and here's where
Christians might wanna think
00:19:58.79\00:20:00.96
about the change that took
place after Aquinas suggested
00:20:00.96\00:20:04.70
that rationality might be
the only tool you really need.
00:20:04.70\00:20:08.60
Just listen to what happened
the day that Jesus went back
00:20:08.60\00:20:10.97
to his own hometown to preach.
00:20:10.97\00:20:13.51
The Bible says:
00:20:13.51\00:20:15.01
"And coming to His hometown,
00:20:15.01\00:20:16.64
He taught them
in their synagogue,
00:20:16.64\00:20:18.55
so that they were
astonished, and said,
00:20:18.55\00:20:21.18
'Where did this
man get His wisdom
00:20:21.18\00:20:23.82
and these mighty works?'"
00:20:23.82\00:20:26.19
The audience had never
heard anything like it.
00:20:26.19\00:20:29.62
The religious
leaders of Jerusalem
00:20:29.62\00:20:31.43
were highly trained scholars,
00:20:31.43\00:20:33.86
but they didn't
have the kind of wisdom
00:20:33.86\00:20:36.36
they were hearing coming
from this humble carpenter.
00:20:36.36\00:20:39.90
The same thing happened
later on with Jesus' disciples
00:20:39.90\00:20:43.20
after His ascension.
00:20:43.20\00:20:44.91
It says in the Book of Acts 4,
00:20:44.91\00:20:47.41
"Now when they saw the
boldness of Peter and John,
00:20:47.41\00:20:50.98
and perceived that they
were uneducated, common men,
00:20:50.98\00:20:55.15
they were astonished.
00:20:55.15\00:20:57.02
And they recognized that
they had been with Jesus."
00:20:57.02\00:21:00.82
So what was the
disciples' secret?
00:21:00.82\00:21:03.76
How did the preaching of Jesus
00:21:03.76\00:21:05.29
managed to displace the
classical wisdom of the Greeks
00:21:05.29\00:21:08.03
and take the
entire world by storm?
00:21:08.03\00:21:11.50
The secret is found in
a remarkable prediction
00:21:11.50\00:21:14.24
made by Isaiah the
prophet about 700 years
00:21:14.24\00:21:18.21
before the birth of Christ.
00:21:18.21\00:21:19.97
You'll find this in Isaiah 11,
00:21:19.97\00:21:23.28
"And the spirit of the
Lord shall rest upon Him,
00:21:24.55\00:21:27.62
the Spirit of
wisdom and understanding,
00:21:27.62\00:21:29.82
the Spirit of counsel and might,
00:21:29.82\00:21:31.72
the Spirit of knowledge
and the fear of the Lord."
00:21:31.72\00:21:35.22
You know, Jesus really
lived an authentic human life.
00:21:36.49\00:21:40.13
He was born as a baby,
00:21:40.13\00:21:41.90
went through childhood,
00:21:41.90\00:21:43.20
and suffered the
same kinds of things
00:21:43.20\00:21:45.30
that you and I
have to deal with.
00:21:45.30\00:21:47.07
He might have been fully God,
00:21:48.00\00:21:49.80
but He was also fully
human at the same time.
00:21:49.80\00:21:52.54
And the Bible tells us
00:21:52.54\00:21:53.94
that He had the spirit
of wisdom and understanding
00:21:53.94\00:21:57.18
that comes from
the fear of the Lord.
00:21:57.18\00:21:59.58
In other words, Jesus, the Man,
00:21:59.58\00:22:02.92
didn't just rely on reason
00:22:02.92\00:22:04.29
when He told
those incredible stories
00:22:04.29\00:22:06.45
that you find in the gospels.
00:22:06.45\00:22:08.32
He depended on
His heavenly Father
00:22:08.32\00:22:10.13
to illuminate His understanding,
00:22:10.13\00:22:12.96
and wouldn't you know it?
00:22:12.96\00:22:14.23
That's what the Bible
says we should be doing.
00:22:14.23\00:22:16.80
I mean here, listen to this.
00:22:16.80\00:22:18.07
This is from Psalm 111.
00:22:18.07\00:22:20.84
It says, "The fear of the
Lord is the beginning of wisdom;
00:22:20.84\00:22:24.94
all those who practice it
have a good understanding."
00:22:24.94\00:22:29.04
We don't reason our way to God,
00:22:29.04\00:22:30.98
and then worship Him.
00:22:30.98\00:22:32.78
It's actually
the other way around.
00:22:32.78\00:22:34.92
God makes the first move
00:22:34.92\00:22:36.18
and He illuminates our mind
00:22:36.18\00:22:37.79
so that our reason
can function properly.
00:22:37.79\00:22:40.96
Here's another example,
00:22:40.96\00:22:41.96
this time from Psalm 36,
00:22:41.96\00:22:44.23
the Bible says, "For with
you is the fountain of life;
00:22:44.23\00:22:49.00
in your light do we see light."
00:22:49.00\00:22:52.63
What it's telling us
00:22:52.63\00:22:53.94
is that we can't use
our gift for reason properly
00:22:53.94\00:22:56.94
without God's guidance.
00:22:56.94\00:22:59.17
We might fool ourselves
into thinking we're wise,
00:22:59.17\00:23:02.31
but just take a look
at the results that came
00:23:02.31\00:23:04.58
from all that 19th
century existential philosophy.
00:23:04.58\00:23:08.38
The only thing that accomplished
00:23:08.38\00:23:10.25
was to put a giant question mark
00:23:10.25\00:23:12.19
over just about
everything we believe.
00:23:12.19\00:23:14.72
And now we're
faced with a generation
00:23:14.72\00:23:16.66
that doesn't think the universe
has any meaning whatsoever.
00:23:16.66\00:23:20.86
You and I don't
have the capacity
00:23:20.86\00:23:23.60
to recognize
genuine intellectual light
00:23:23.60\00:23:27.00
unless we live in the
light that God provides.
00:23:27.00\00:23:30.07
And it all started
with a tiny suggestion
00:23:30.07\00:23:32.91
that maybe we could
reason our way to the truth
00:23:32.91\00:23:35.78
without God's help.
00:23:35.78\00:23:37.71
I'll be right back after this.
00:23:37.71\00:23:39.58
- [Announcer 3] Dragons,
beasts, cryptic statues,
00:23:43.49\00:23:47.46
Bible prophecy can be
incredibly vivid and confusing.
00:23:47.46\00:23:52.36
If you've ever read
Daniel or Revelation
00:23:52.36\00:23:54.63
and come away
scratching your head,
00:23:54.63\00:23:56.36
you are not alone.
00:23:56.36\00:23:57.67
Our free,
focus-on-prophecy guides
00:23:57.67\00:24:00.10
are designed to help you unlock
the mysteries of the Bible
00:24:00.10\00:24:02.74
and deepen your
understanding of God's plan
00:24:02.74\00:24:05.17
for you and our world.
00:24:05.17\00:24:06.81
Study online or
request them by mail
00:24:06.81\00:24:09.28
and start bringing
prophecy into focus today.
00:24:09.28\00:24:12.81
- All right, I am
completely running out of time
00:24:12.81\00:24:15.28
and we still need to explain
00:24:15.28\00:24:17.05
how we get to the Soviet Gulags.
00:24:17.05\00:24:19.82
In the centuries
after Thomas Aquinas,
00:24:19.82\00:24:22.19
some people took the idea of
complete faith in human reason
00:24:22.19\00:24:26.16
to its logical extreme.
00:24:26.16\00:24:28.36
Now, I'm pretty sure
Aquinas would be surprised
00:24:28.36\00:24:31.10
by the chain of events
that brought us to nihilism
00:24:31.10\00:24:34.14
and postmodern
angst in the 21st century.
00:24:34.14\00:24:37.44
But he did inadvertently
plant some of the ideas
00:24:37.44\00:24:40.71
that got us here.
00:24:40.71\00:24:42.44
Years after the good
doctor wrote his famous book,
00:24:42.44\00:24:45.71
the humanists adopted the idea
00:24:45.71\00:24:47.52
that human beings are the
ultimate measure of everything,
00:24:47.52\00:24:51.02
that all we ever really
needed was human reason.
00:24:51.02\00:24:54.59
Almost 400 years before Christ,
00:24:54.59\00:24:56.59
Protagoras said, "Man is
the measure of all things."
00:24:56.59\00:25:00.86
What he meant by that,
00:25:00.86\00:25:02.00
or at least what
people think he meant,
00:25:02.00\00:25:04.40
is that real objective
truth doesn't actually exist.
00:25:04.40\00:25:07.67
You and I are just fabricating
what we believe to be true.
00:25:07.67\00:25:12.44
It was an early
form of relativism,
00:25:12.44\00:25:14.81
and wouldn't you know it?
00:25:14.81\00:25:16.08
Once we chose to
believe that we could find truth
00:25:16.08\00:25:18.91
by using unaided reason
without any help from God,
00:25:18.91\00:25:23.22
well, that's what got us here,
00:25:23.22\00:25:25.12
a moment where we,
again, no longer believe
00:25:25.12\00:25:27.66
in objective truth.
00:25:27.66\00:25:29.19
All we have is logic,
00:25:29.19\00:25:31.26
and that brought us
to some moral dead ends
00:25:31.26\00:25:34.20
in the 20th century.
00:25:34.20\00:25:36.20
If we're really on our
own and there is no God,
00:25:36.20\00:25:39.27
then all we have at
our disposal is reason.
00:25:39.27\00:25:42.24
And it was reason
that said that some people
00:25:42.24\00:25:44.67
are in the way of progress
00:25:44.67\00:25:46.88
and needed to be
sent to the Gulags.
00:25:46.88\00:25:49.21
And now look where we are.
00:25:49.21\00:25:50.95
A lot of people just
don't have any hope anymore.
00:25:50.95\00:25:54.22
The 19th century philosophers,
00:25:54.22\00:25:55.85
they hit a dead end.
00:25:55.85\00:25:57.22
They just couldn't come
up with meaningful answers.
00:25:57.22\00:25:59.45
They could not
define the meaning of life.
00:25:59.45\00:26:02.69
And the Soviets,
well, they tried,
00:26:02.69\00:26:05.43
but it turns out
human reason isn't enough
00:26:05.43\00:26:07.76
to fix our worst problems.
00:26:07.76\00:26:09.76
We ended up murdering
millions using faulty reason.
00:26:09.76\00:26:13.64
If you wanna
find the right path,
00:26:13.64\00:26:16.10
you've got to
have the lights on.
00:26:16.10\00:26:18.21
"Your word," the
psalmist tells us,
00:26:18.21\00:26:20.44
"is a lamp to my feet
00:26:20.44\00:26:22.48
and a light to my path."
00:26:22.48\00:26:24.81
It just makes an
awful lot of sense.
00:26:24.81\00:26:27.75
If you wanna know how
fast your car is going,
00:26:27.75\00:26:29.88
you need to check yourself
00:26:29.88\00:26:31.19
against a reference
point on the outside,
00:26:31.19\00:26:33.22
something solid and immovable,
00:26:33.22\00:26:35.32
like, say a lamppost.
00:26:35.32\00:26:37.29
And if you wanna know that
your mind is working correctly,
00:26:37.29\00:26:40.10
if you wanna know for
sure that you can trust
00:26:40.10\00:26:42.06
the evidence of your senses,
00:26:42.06\00:26:44.13
if you want to
be absolutely sure
00:26:44.13\00:26:46.23
that you're not
just fooling yourself,
00:26:46.23\00:26:48.50
well, you need the same thing,
00:26:48.50\00:26:50.57
something external,
something immovable,
00:26:50.57\00:26:53.41
something that never changes.
00:26:53.41\00:26:56.78
Now, don't get me wrong.
00:26:56.78\00:26:57.75
I value reason and rationality.
00:26:57.75\00:27:00.12
And honestly, right now, I
kind of wish we had more of it
00:27:00.12\00:27:03.49
because there's no question
00:27:03.49\00:27:04.92
that reason has brought
human civilization a long way.
00:27:04.92\00:27:08.82
But it's starting to feel
00:27:08.82\00:27:10.09
like we've hit this
philosophical dead end,
00:27:10.09\00:27:11.93
and it's starting to
look like our civilization
00:27:11.93\00:27:14.20
might actually be in
the process of winding down,
00:27:14.20\00:27:17.27
just like it did for
the Greeks and the Romans.
00:27:17.27\00:27:20.00
Today, it seems like it's
everyone for him or herself,
00:27:20.00\00:27:22.90
and we convinced ourselves
that everybody gets to invent
00:27:22.90\00:27:26.01
their own moral code.
00:27:26.01\00:27:28.11
But look where that's going.
00:27:28.11\00:27:29.78
"There is a way that
seems right to a man,"
00:27:29.78\00:27:31.91
the Bible warns us,
00:27:31.91\00:27:33.35
"but its end is
the way to death."
00:27:33.35\00:27:36.35
Look, I know we
can't fix everybody,
00:27:36.35\00:27:38.42
but what would happen
00:27:38.42\00:27:39.69
if you and I
decided to study this world
00:27:39.69\00:27:42.02
with the lights on,
00:27:42.02\00:27:43.32
in the light of God's truth?
00:27:43.32\00:27:45.03
I'm not talking
about a mindless faith.
00:27:45.03\00:27:46.80
The Bible is
anything but mindless.
00:27:46.80\00:27:48.96
It has led to some of
the greatest discoveries
00:27:48.96\00:27:51.07
in the history of the world.
00:27:51.07\00:27:53.34
But look what
happened when we abandoned it.
00:27:53.34\00:27:56.54
Thanks for joining me.
00:27:56.54\00:27:57.71
I'm Shawn Boonstra
00:27:57.71\00:27:59.07
and this has been
another episode of "Authentic."
00:27:59.07\00:28:02.01
[gentle light music]
00:28:02.01\00:28:05.18