I woke up early this morning. It was still dark, so I got to watch the sunrise over the mountains. I’ve seen this hundreds of times, but it never fails to amaze me. It struck me that most of us rarely see the awesome beauty of the sunrise. Most of those who see it don’t make the connection between the beauty of the sunrise and the God who created it. Most of us see the mechanics of a spinning globe circling a ball of burning gas………and miss the heart of the being that created it. It struck me that our perception of the sunrise is a microcosm of the conflict between secular humanism and Creationism.
The humanist sees a moving ball of burning gas……the result of a giant accidental explosion 14 billion years ago. The Creationist sees the handiwork of an intelligent being who called it all into being for his own purposes. I can only speculate as to God’s motivation. I suspect that he did it all because he wants a relationship with us…….a relationship with me……based on reciprocal love…….a conversation. That conversation is how my day begins.
The central tenet of secular humanism is the complete removal of the Creator from the creation. Many of us embrace secular humanism because we want control of our lives. We chafe at the idea…..the presence……of a creator who has plans for us…….who has expectations of us. In order for the humanist to achieve control, he must accept a creation story that is built on theories and assumptions…….a series of trillions of sequential events, billions of years ago……..events that cannot be documented. You cannot collect data, then analyse that data by applying assumptions and theories, and say that your conclusion is a fact. But, scientists do just that……all day……every day.
This is the core of secular humanism. And, if you close your eyes and hold your nose, if you ignore the gaps, missing links, theories, and assumptions, if you ignore dark matter and dark energy, if you ignore the probability of a human genome consisting of several hundred billion chemical bonds…..each one a random accident……if you can commit those logical atrocities…….you can almost convince yourself that an intelligent creator, God, is not necessary. This is the price that you pay for control.
But, as I sit in my chair this morning, having a conversation with a creator who loves me more than life itself, I have to ask two questions:
What is the secular humanist giving up when he sacrifices that conversation, that relationship……….in order to gain a little temporary control of his life?
What is the secular humanist depriving God of…….in terms of the lost relationship……the lost conversation? This morning, it was about a spectacular sunrise. In a few hours, that conversation will be about things far more important.
Both God and the humanist lose out on the single most important thing in the universe…….relationship.
And that saddens me.
He has told you, O man, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?
Micah 6:8, ESV