This article might give Marlon (and others) some insight into the fundamentalist Christian mind.
July 6, 2005 The Foundation Jill Carattini At Ohio State University there is a performing arts center that has been labeled, "America's first deconstructionist building." The entire site demands a double take. The viewer encounters angled surfaces that disorient, stairways that lead nowhere, and pillars that protrude without purpose. Ignoring the rules that organize the world of construction, the architect makes a loud statement about the incoherence of life itself: Life is a random, disjointed series of time and chance, note the deconstructionists. Yet upon observing the architect's work at the university, Ravi Zacharias noted only one revealing question: "Did he do the same with the foundation?” The illustration is convincing in its simplicity. We can attempt to explain life as senseless but had the architect followed this philosophy in creating the foundation no one would want to enter the building. Notes Zacharias, "It is possible to dress up and romanticize our bizarre experiments in social restructuring while disavowing truth or absolutes. But one dares not play such deadly games with the foundations of good thinking." But it has been done, and is done, and often we have learned the hard way, if we have learned at all. The philosophy of Frederick Nietzsche played such games, making assertions aimed at changing the very foundations of a society, ultimately influencing the deadly quests of Hitler and Stalin. Nietzsche believed that Christianity had stifled the potential of human beings with its teachings, and held that atheism would provide a better foundation—a God-less foundation that would naturally allow power and greatness to rise without restrictive Christian notions such as forgiveness and humility. Sadly, history saw the logical end of the atheist's philosophy and witnessed the deadliest century ever. The fact remains, we can vehemently reject the depravity of man, but we always seem to verify its truth. When God is removed from the foundation of life, something is missing that man is unable to provide. And while we can justify our philosophical actions behind academic doors, other arenas will not remain silent. The poignant lyrics of many of our popular songs point out a struggle with restlessness, isolation, and emptiness. The music of one such song creates a haunting and urgent background for voices that cry out repeatedly: "Wake me up inside. Wake me up inside. Call my name and save me from the dark. Bid my blood to run. Before I come undone. Save me from the nothing I've become… Don't let me die here. There must be something more. Bring me to life. I've been living a lie. There's nothing inside." How do we explain such alienation and darkness? What is the lie we've been living? What is the "more" we are looking for? Many of the popular philosophers of our day sing unconsciously of the emptiness and alienation of a philosophically incoherent, morally bankrupt society. Writes Dave Matthews, "We followed a drunken man/ He got us all spinning round/ But it's like he swallowed himself/ And didn't leave us a way out." The longing is for that which we've intellectually deemed non-existent, but can't live without. The foundation cannot be destroyed without destructive consequence. The words of Jesus Christ spoken two thousand years ago remain unshakable in their wisdom. He radically declared, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (See John 14:5-7). It is hard not to marvel at the sovereign mind that saw the need to vividly remind us through his Son that truth is knowable, personal, solid, and real. His authority remains radical yet everlasting. May the one whom men did not crown, the one whom men cannot dethrone, be the foundation upon which we live and breathe and understand our being. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright (c) 2005 Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM) Reprinted with permission. "A Slice of Infinity" is aimed at reaching into the culture with words of challenge, words of truth, and words of hope. If you know of others who would enjoy receiving "A Slice of Infinity" in their email box each day, tell them they can sign up on our website at http://www.rzim.org/publications/slice.php.
