The fool has said in
his heart,
"There is no
God."
They are corrupt,
they have done
abominable works,
there is none who
does good.
The LORD looks down
from heaven
upon that children of
men,
to see if there are
any who understand,
who seek God, they
have together they come corrupt;
there is none who
does good,
no, not one.
Psalm 14: 1 -- 3
As has been
pointed out in previous blogs, such things as philosophy; i.e., Platoism,
Neoplatonism, which formed ideologies from such philosophies that were and are
contradictory to the Christian faith which led to many false teachings, and
heresies. Much of Paul's, Peter’s,
James’s, and the writer of Hebrews, was written against such things as these
heretical teachings. Many various
forms, sects, developed along lines of personal prepositions, and desires to
somehow define God and life. These did
recede but never were completely extinguished.
We can see the effects of these heresies in some churches today who have
allowed these false teachings and heresies to be the foundation for their
theology and faith. Before I address
the doctrine of original sin, the totality of sin, which is so depraved by
Adams sin and addressing those who hold a belief that man is not totally
depraved, that man has at least some good, some original good, that man can
save himself, allow me to write briefly how these early philosophies,
ideologies, and heresies, have developed in later years. I must set forth this fact before
continuing: some good may be found in all religious, philosophies, and
ideologies, yet because there is some good in them does not mean that they are
acceptable according to God, his Word, and his doctrine.
During the
16th century Protestantism arose against the many atrocities found in Roman
Catholicism. Many ideas developed which
is the basis to Protestantism. This
development was good and necessary, but in the 17th century Protestantism took
steps to developing a system of Orthodox dogma which a person accepted
intellectually. First, there is nothing
wrong with Orthodox Christianity that holds to Scripture as the highest object
of Christian faith that guides practical life.
This system of dogma led to Scholasticism which led men to be more
interested in dogma van in practical life.
This Scholasticism is nothing more then a cold expression of
Christianity. The scholasticism coupled
with other political and social events; i.e., religious wars, gave rise to
rationalistic philosophy and empirical science. Rationalism and formalism in religion rose between 1560 and 1648
in England, Europe, and later in the United States. A distaste for this cold orthodoxy among a rationalistic
philosophers and scientists gave rise to a theology of natural religion, and
insisted that the church, the groups of believers in God that by means of this
natural theology or religion would then lead to the rise of toleration and
denominationalism. Go slow here, do not
point their fingers at either of toleration or denominationalism as though they
are bad. Remember there is both good
and bad in each, but we must come to understand the bad, and the good so as to
be able to hold on to the good which is to be found only in Scripture.
Protestant
scholasticism developed in the late 17th and 18th centuries into two responses:
(1) rationalism, which found its expression in Deism; (2) Revivalism, and from
this expression in some cases, they emphasis on what is called a theology of
the inner light, and in another expression which delayed stress upon the
importance of Scripture and personal piety.
Modern thought has emphasized the importance of reason and holds in high
esteem the scientific method in the discovery of truth shying away from the
traditions of the past as though they must be avoided. Looking back into the past to find the
origin of such thinking we need to look deeply into the period between the
Thirty Years War (1618–1648) and the beginning of the French Revolution
(1789–1799). We must give attention for
the reasons that gave rise to such as rationalism and revivalism and their
results how they impacted and have had such an impact upon religion.
PRESERVE me, O God, for in
You I put
my trust.
O my soul, you have said to the LORD,
My goodness
is nothing apart from You.
Psalm
16:1-2
Trust God and His word
Richard L. Crumb
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