Government, An Unreasonable God

It's absurd, so it is said, to believe that some "being" creating the material world, or a man named Jesus was raised from the dead. Such thinking is considered unreasonable. Of course the answer to such criticisms is that it is not at all unreasonable to believe that such feats were performed, if they were performed by an all powerful, transcendent and eminent God.

But such a God is unacceptable to the "reasonable" these days. So the one true God is exchanged for a scaled down man sized version. Having disposed of any concept of eternal accountability, reason then finds its own existence in jeopardy as well.

Who was our God?
In describing the attributes of God, the same God to which this nation was once beholden, Christians use words like these:

• Jehovah-Jireh,(God my provider)
• Jehovah-Rapha, (God my Healer)
• Jehovah-Roi, (God my Shepherd)
• Jehovah-Shalom, (God my Peace)

Who is our new God?
Using these same words, on the other hand, one can also determine, regardless of lip service, who actually fills the position of God in one's life. A little contemplation on this may reveal how government has taken on God like status in our current state of affairs. It looks a little like this:

• Gov.-Jireh, (the government that provides for me)
• Gov.-Rapha, (the government that provides health care for me)
• Gov.-Roi (the government that tells me what to do)
• Gov.-Shalom ( )

One would think that with the affinity for "reason" those who attack creation claim to possess that they themselves would be reasonable. But the opposite is true as it turns out. Since unreasonableness is the natural consequence of the absence of god in a society's thinking, government assumes a God like posture in the modern mindset. For example consider the unreasonable and God-like attributes the people now expect from their government:

• Changing of the global temperature
• A life free from worry
• Increased spending with less taxation
• National security without a strong military or intelligence gathering
• A moral economic environment without moral standards
• The power to change the sea levels
• To teach that even though life evolved from nothing and is heading to eternal nothingness, it is ultimately meaningful.  
• Creating wealth by printing money.
• The expending of infinite amounts of fiat-"wealth" so that the people can be assured of sowing as they desire without concerning themselves with what type of harvest will spring.
• The creation of new energy sources simply by the denial of access to old ones, sort of like cutting off ones legs believing that wings will grow without considering life without either.

On Reason

It would appear that the appeal to reason is only legitimate when used to deny the legitimacy of an absolute standard existing outside of man. Beyond that, reason takes a holiday. The fact is however, that since God and Creation are both true and reasonable, the arguments made from the opposite sides of the political, moral and economic perspectives are consistent with the foundations upon which they stand. Let me explain. It is no more unreasonable to assert that:

• as a man sows, so shall he reap
• man was created by an all powerful God
• that their are eternal consequences to our actions
• that life has meaning
• there are limits to what government can do to absolve us form our actions
• there are absolute standards by which we must live in order to have an abundant life; both individually and corporately as a nation

-than it is reasonable to have faith that the opposite of all these are true. Furthermore, it is also a reasonable observation that, as the view of God has diminished in the national mindset, ungodly behavior such as crime, corruption, suicide, fatherless children, child abuse, CEO corruption and apathy has increased. How reasonable is it to assume that any of this will be stopped by now increasing what caused it? Not reasonable at all actually.

The brave new world we are entering is akin to the re-invention of the wheel. Scripture says that there is nothing new under the sun. We will prove this by unnecessary human suffering as we cast off all we know to grope around in the dark in search of a better way, only to rediscover that we are hopelessly trapped in our sinful man-ness, with only one way out: surrender to our maker, and accepting his terms for reconciliation.