Little children, let
no one deceive you.
He who practices
righteousness is
righteous,
just as He is
righteous.
1John 3:7
The Bible declares that some who are associated with believers will depart from the faith, yet, many will still use Christian terms, even Christian practices deceiving many from the true faith and this they do by substituting correct Biblical Doctrine for false Doctrines, even using seducing spirits to mislead people and lead them into a religious experience similar to true Christianity but is far from the truth. Paul states: "Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron" (1Timothy 4:1-2). This deception and deceiving are signs of the Antichrist, and as the Bible declares many Antichrists have entered into the world: "Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that this is the last hour"...."Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son" (1John 2:18, 22).
The fifteenth century was a time of great change for the abuses of the Roman Catholic Church had reached a point where men and women were in need of renewal as they could themselves see that the Church was heavy handed and controlled all they did and what they believed. Only, they did not have the written word, and while they desired to know about God, all they received was what the Church desired them to know. This century, the fifteenth century was the beginning of Reformation and the Protestant movement began and the patience of the people having been exhausted, God raised up men who were faithful in their study of God's word and they exposed the corruptions of the times and of the Church. A new light broke through the clouds of tyranny and the genuine religion that was and is that which the Bible teaches and not man's presuppositions, or predeterminations that determine what the Bible says, it is to read and study the Bible in light of the Bible. Further, how would anyone know that there are abominations being thrust upon them if they do not know history, how things were and how they have become? This is true today, how do you know that what is being taught to you is true? How do you know whether or not the teachings in your Church, your Bible study, etc. are not just some modern or post modernism that is nothing more than what the Enlightenment posed as the way for man to go, and what is truth? Fear, fear of change, the plague of man, is why so many do not want to examine history, their Church, what is being taught, they acquiesce and sit silently by, happy in their ideas of what they want for themselves, they enjoy having their ears tickled, and do not want to be bothered. They make statements such as; 'I am a Christian, I believe in Jesus Christ, I made a decision for Jesus Christ, etc.' Yet they tacitly approve of wrongful teaching, but so long as they are getting what they desire, it is ok. It is not! This is not a new problem, the Church has faced those who promote heresy and false teaching from the beginning, and only when men and women take a stand for the truth will they be Christians that keep His commandments and the world will know, even without a person stating so, that they are Christian, and nothing will tear them from the faith, not persecution, not being part of this dying secular world with all their lies, and abominations: By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments....for whatever is born of god overcomes the world, and this is the victory that has overcome the world--our faith" (1John 4:2, 4).
Let us continue in our research into history and how it has affected Christianity. At the base, the fundamentals of the Enlightenment were
faith in nature and in human progress. A complex of laws interacting so as to
govern the universe were seen in nature. Man was seen as part of that system,
therefore man was to act rationally. If man be free, then he is free to
exercise by their reason, and people were naturally good, acting to further the
happiness of others and with this manner of thought, man could find
righteousness and happiness in freedom, freedom from restraints deemed
needless, for many of those restraints were imposed by the state and the
Church. This brought with it a hostility towards the Church, organized
religion, and for established governments, or monarchies for they reflected a
past time which they now have come to disdain and now were becoming inclined
and favored utopian reform. It was by education that these philosophers and
others thought that human progress would be enhanced and society would become
perfect and only if people were free to use their reason. Historically these
ideologies can be found in Gnosticism, Pelagianism and in Arminianism as can be
seen if one would read what men like Jacobus Arminius wrote, for he speculates
on certain doctrines and this by his presuppositions, and does not use
Scripture, or rarely uses Scripture to support his claims. This is
contradictory in John Calvin’s writings were Scripture is used to teach man
doctrine, Scriptural doctrine and not by some new philosophic ideology, or
theology, and not be rationalizing Scripture to meet his presuppositions.
Scientist of this day were often theologians as well, and even preached in
Churches, therefore if they be affected by this era of Enlightenment, even in
its baby stages, this message would influence what the preached and taught.
In the
beginning the era of Enlightenment was to be found mostly in Holland and
England, and many earlier Dutch spokesmen were religious refugees, escaping the
horrors of the Roman Catholic Church. Men such as the French Huguenot, Pierre
Bayle (1674–1706 A.D.) pled for religious toleration, yet was a man with much
skepticism. Baruch Spinoza (1632–1687 A.D.); a Jewish thinker, and Holland’s
greatest philosopher spoke openly for Pantheism, the belief that God exists in
all nature. With Newton, Spinoza became to influence greatly English thinkers.
Women spoke also at this time, one such woman, Mary Astell (1666–1731 A.D.),
influenced people by lauding rational thinking, and cited Newton as proof of an
ordered universe. As a philosopher she designed her thinking around a
metaphysical account of God and creation. She was a dualist, that is, she
maintained that there are two kinds of beings, this dualism can be found in the
writings of Plato, minds, and bodies. People come in various degrees of
finitude and corruptibility: God is the infinite and incorruptible mind, and
the human mind and corporeal particles are finite being naturally beings that
are corruptible. Astell admits that God is the “First Intelligence,” whose
nature is infinite in all perfections and lists attributes to God; i.e.,
wisdom, goodness, justice, holiness, intelligence, presence, power, and
self–existence. Astell maintains her views by relying on the naturalistic views
of her time, so that metaphysics to be understood, one must have the correct
understanding of God. She attempts in her word to demonstrate who and what God
is, but how to attain a correct understanding of God. This manner of thought is
not to find this understanding in Scripture, rather it is to be found and
attained by naturalistic reasoning. A man whose influence stands strong today
is John Locke (1632–1704 A.D.), who applied Newton’s principles to psychology,
economics, and political theory. By Locke the Enlightenment became mature and
spread abroad, even to the New World.
Major
events that occurred from the 1650’s between England and the Netherlands with
sea battles that killed thousands, maimed many more, over trade caused such an
uproar between fledgling nations that were attempting to consolidate peoples
and form national country boundaries aided in new thinking that found its way
into the education system and into the common people. Common people were also,
as were all peoples of the European and English nations affected by the
widespread Black Plague that killed thousands of people. The Roman Catholic
Inquisition, battling over the Reformation and allying themselves with national
government leaders, kings, and powerful people, as a nation would move from
being Catholic to Protestant and back to Catholic then to Protestant. People
were ready for a change! The war between France and England, and with Spain,
and others concluded in the Peace of Utrecht (1714 A.D.), treaties of peace
between the Dutch republic, Prussia, Portugal, and Savoy. France ceded
Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, the Hudson Bay territory, and the island of St.
Kitts to Britain, and demolished the fortifications at Dunkirk, a base for
attacks on English and Dutch shipping. Society seeking reforms against the
evils of society and this was to be according to reason, thinking that now was
taken hold in the minds of society that was being taught by many philosophers,
educators, and some pastors. Supporting these philosophers, as allies of the
principles of reason, were the salonnieres, women who were learned and socially
conscious, sponsoring the discussions of these philosophers, of their literary
works, artistic creations, and new political ideas. Men now dissatisfied with
government, the wars, became critical of absolute monarchy, and with travel by
some men such as Marquis de Montesquieu (1688–1755 A.D.) came writings
describing the irrational behavior and ridiculous customs of the European.
These writings had a large reading audience. The call by some men to reform
government, in such work as, The Spirit of Laws (1748), main political
principles were addressed by the use of practical common sense and defended
liberty against tyranny. Accompany all the society upheavals, by wars, plagues,
controversy between the Protestants and the Roman Catholic Church, bred new
thinking, and some men such as Jacobus Arminius found themselves looking for
man to renew and reestablish society to a common, reasonable approach to these
ills. Making matters worse was the move either away from the Bible or a rush
into Christian societies that promised to bring about the needed changes. The
call for man to be able to choose societal changes found a listening ear when
pastors or Church leaders interpreted the Bible in such a way that man might
choose to be saved, to find Christ by means of their own reason and rationale.
One man who
is touted today as an important figure of history and is accepted as a voice of
reason was Voltaire (1694–1778 A.D.), who personified the
skepticism of his century. This skepticism found favor as he wrote on
traditional religion and the injustices of the governments. He championed
toleration, and popularized Newtonian science. He fought for the freedom of the
press, and actively campaigned against the Church. In his endeavors to spread
his thinking he employed the use of many histories, plays, pamphlets, essays,
and novels. It is estimated that his correspondence was some 10,000 letters.
Frederick the Great and Catherine the Great aided in spreading Voltaire’s
gospel of rationalism and reform of abuses. Voltaire’s was legendary even among
the present common people but also of kings. Denis Diderot (1713–1784 A.D.) in
his Encyclopedic declared the supremacy of the new science, he denounced
superstition, and expounded on the merits of human freedom. Diderot was a
passionate learned philosophers of France who sought knowledge and answers to
such questions as: the ultimate enigma of all–our universe; why are we here?
Why is there a universe? Why is there anything at all? Diderot feared that
history would be destroyed by Christians; this fear developed by his reading
and by living in times where the Roman Catholic Church had imposed many rules,
indulgements, and the inquisitions were many people were killed and burned at
the stake for not following the Roman Catholic Church. His work the
Encyclopedie of history was submitted to such men as Ben Franklin, Thomas
Jefferson, and Benjamin Rush. While the kings who needed the Church to maintain
so–called Biblical concepts, such as the Divine Right of Kings opposed Diderot
for if the Church was weakened so was their authority. Yet, this opposition did
not stifle the use of Diderot’s Encyclopedie as it was used in all libraries,
and homes, and further were open and accessible. Diderot in his seeking for
answers for a world that was filled with ignorance, slaves, illiteracy,
superstition, and piety, could only see that the Bible did not necessarily, at
least by his rationale, to show favor towards education, investigation, science
and art. With the Reformation having a huge following among many people it was
this new thinking that caused them to realize that the Pope and his threats
were hollow and did not accept the fact that the Pope did not give approval to
the teachings of Diderot. Diderot was a free thinker who disregarded any dogma,
tradition, or authority, ecclesiastical or secular, over his mind–his right to
think and express his thoughts. Diderot would say:
Although a man may
wear fine clothing, if he lives peacefully; and is good, self-possessed, has
faith and is pure; and if he does not hurt any living being, he is a holy man.
If you want me to
believe in God, you must make me touch him.
Most of the philosophers
relied on support and this support came to them in large measure by the women
of the salonnieres. Here they planned and managed these philosophical
ideologies, editing their work, even coaching Voltaire in science, especially
by Madame du Chatelet and the Marquies de Condorcet (1742–1812 A.D.) who
popularized these ideas in their salons. It was during this time that a man,
Jean–Jacques Rousseau (1712–1778 A.D), an eccentric philosopher of romantic
rationalism distrusted reason and science and expounded that it was human
impulse and intuition, to trust in thought, the heart rather than the mind.
Rousseau wrote and spoke against established institutions, with his most famous
writing: The Social Contract (1762) that began in this manifesto: “Man is
born free, but today he is everywhere in Chains.” (Jean–Jacques Rousseau, The Social Contract,
trans. By W. Kendall; Chicago, Henry Regnery Co., 1954, p. 2). The Enlightenment of France, the place where
this era began in earnest, had great influence in Great Britain with those who
attended higher education, such men as Adam Smith (1723–1790 A.D.); David Hume
(1711–1766 A.D.); Jeremy Bentham (1748–1832 A.D.). Further this Enlightenment
had a great affect on Edward Gibbon (1737–1794 A.D.) who wrote the famous book;
The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, a book that criticized early
Christianity in a markedly manner. Among these men were Joseph Priestley,
Richard Price (1723–1791 A.D.), Thomas Paine (1737–1809 A.D.); who figured
prominently in the American and French revolutions and was a radical leader in English
politics.
The
Enlightenment movement that was reforming Europe and England spread over those
countries reaching the New World, the Americas. Moses Mendelsssohn (1729–1786
A.D.), a German who wrote against dogmatism in favor of natural religion. Some
men of this age pleaded for humanitarian legal reforms and brought much favor
among the influential men and women of the day for these men of the
Enlightenment. This popularity found a home in the minds of such men as
Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, among others having been influenced by
Locke and his philosophies. Although having found favor in the 19th
century there became a reaction against this philosophy of Reason, by a new
philosophy; Idealism. This reaction came against the materialism that was
formed by the Enlightenment and the Naturalism of Reason. Along with Idealism
came another reaction and that was an emotional appeal to religious revival,
and by this won back many wavering Protestants, and Catholics. Another form or
reaction against reason was its replacement with religion as the justification
for humanitarian reforms. What these movements did with their reactionary
movements was to stress emotion over reason but also continued the
Enlightenment’s stress upon individual freedom.
Men and
women at this period time or era searched for answers but not from the Bible’s
teaching on the rights of man and the need for man to act in accordance with
what God taught from His word; these men of Enlightenment, or Idealism, or
Emotionalism, all thought to find the answers they sought by looking and
examining man, and forming new thought in regards to man’s relationship with
the world, and with God. Immanuel Kant (17124–1804 A.D.), was a skeptic and was
aroused by such extremes of materialism due to the Enlightenment and sought to
bring some form of reason to the table and to shift philosophy back to a more
sensible position; yet not to remove rationalism as a basis. His book; Critique
of Pure Reason (1781) ushered in a new age of philosophic idealism. Under the
Kantian philosophy intuition was that human endeavor was of the highest forms
and was close to sensory experience. In other words, Kant proposed that pure
reason proceeded from certain subjective senses that were built into human
nature. According to Kant the idea of God was a derivation of the mind
logically pursuing harmony. Therefore, the human conscience had the ability to
be developed or crippled by experience, but it originated by means of a
person’s nature to think. By reason then, abstract reason, apart from science
and it s laws, was a valid source of moral judgment and religious
interpretation. Reason then, according to Kantian philosophy, gave mysticism to
religion.
For a person to move away from the truths of the Bible and to tout and expound on philosophies, idealogies, and false theology is nothing more than an antichrist and we are to flee from such men and the only way to know that you are being deceived is to know what we are covering in these blogs, that when man becomes the center of life, and that man can by some goodness, some left-over good that remained after Adam sinned and brought man into condemnation and in need of redemption, we are listening to those preaching and teaching what is not to be found in the Bible. Yes, there are things hard to understand, but without trying to understand by reading the Bible and seeing what has occurred in history is to remain ignorant and possibly involved with heresy or at the very least false teaching, leading people in ways that are unBiblical. Is this important? Yes! We have our children, our spouses, our friends, others, who need the truth of God's word. Our very lives, our living in this world demands for Christians to know and follow the truth.
My little children,
let us not love
in word or in tongue,
but in deed and
in truth.
1John 3:18
Prayer for Guidance Is Needed
Richard L. Crumb
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