But
Where Is the Soul?
“But what shall it
profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what
shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” -Mark 8:36,37
Are atom,
molecules, elements, and physical energy all there is? True evolution and
modern science so-called have in common basic materialistic presuppositions.
Materialism is simply the idea that the “Cosmos is all there is, all there ever
was, and all there will be.” (Carl Sagan)
The world in
the twentieth century, especially during the social revolution of the 1960's,
was seduced by the siren of materialism, which was supposed to explain everything.
Even before
the revolution of the 1960's, materialism had dominated the thought of modern
science. Men had wildly dreamed of
being able to explain all phenomenon on the earth in terms of it. Consciousness
itself would be explained in terms of electrical and chemical impulses. The
sober editors of Time Books wondered in the 70's whether or not the elementary
beginnings of consciousness were even then lurking in the circuits of computer
mainframes.
Materialism
had gained control of the universities and the legal institutions of America
and elsewhere, but the full implication of that control had not yet been felt.
In the generation following the 60's that impact would be felt with a
vengeance.
Materialism
not only gives us evolution (Man is formed by impersonal forces acting on material
over long periods of time without any design or purpose, but only by chance),
destruction of morals (Material knows no right or wrong. Where there is no
purpose there can be no morality); relativism in law (People are genetically
disposed to behave in a certain way); and irrationalism and subjectivity in
religion (Rationality disappears when purpose is denied, but you can believe in
God if you want to, if it makes you feel good and causes you to be subservient
to all-wise government).
Thus are
fulfilled the words of our Lord Jesus quoted above. Although there have been tremendous
material benefits reaped by some because of materialistic philosophy, the
result has been devastating to the souls of men.
Man is not
just a hunk of matter, a machine operating according to physical processes
determined by chance. People know this instinctively. This is the reason that
91% of the American people reject true evolutionary premises. There are some
things about man that just cannot be explained by physical processes.
Materialism
cannot explain the difference between Shakespeare and pornography. We have
wrestled with the problem since censorship laws were repealed in the 60's and
70's, and filth flooded our cities.
If matter is
all there is, then a book is something made out of paper and ink, and all books
are the same. All movies are thus the same, and all messages on the internet
are the same. You as an individual may choose to follow your religious
delusions in terms of values, but your values cannot be imposed on anyone else,
because values cannot be determined by materialistic presuppositions. If the
Cosmos is all there is, values are simply individual choices, and at the most
give private pleasure. What pleasures you might be something quite different
from what pleasures someone else. Only the individual can decide.
Do Genetics
Determine Morals?
The same is
true of morals, for materialism knows no difference between lifestyles. If a
man is simply the product of his genes, then he is programmed by them to behave
a certain way. The sodomite is so programmed, as in the drunkard, the thief,
and the saint. Who is to say that one lifestyle is superior to another?
This writer is
the father of identical twin sons. They are genetically the same. When they
were babies, only the most experienced could tell them apart. But how different
they are! I dearly love them both, but anyone who knows them realizes that the
person who lives in one body is not the same as the person who lives in the other
body. Yet they grew up in the same home, ate the same food, were disciplined
alike, and read the same books, listened to the same music, and had the same
friends. How do you explain their differences on materialistic ground? I would
not want them to be the same, even though they are genetic equals.
What is it in
a man that enables him to discern between the beautiful and the ugly? Since the
materialist revolution, the ugly prevails.
The grotesque, the weird, the ugly gets equal time with the beautiful.
Who are you to say that your preferences are better than someone else? There is
no soul in the world of materialism.
Materialism
gave us the sexual revolution, for materialism knows nothing of love, commitment,
faithfulness, and honor. “Laugh In” and other comedy shows routinely made fun
of such things, of culture, of decency. Love was defined downward in terms of
momentary physical contact.
In the
materialistic jungle, there is no difference between the mating of humans and
the mating of fruit flies.
Materialism
destroyed patriotism and love of country. In a materialistic world there is no
difference between freedom and slavery, and wars for freedom become the equal
of wars of totalitarianism. Hitler and Churchill become equal.
Wars to
maintain liberty were re-defined as efforts to impose our culture on others. In
a materialistic world, such things as liberty and freedom cannot be defined,
and therefore do not exist. Freedom became redefined in terms of materialistic
pre-suppositions: the right to do as you please, certainly not the right to
think, to worship, to love beauty and truth. It became the right to utter
vulgarities, defy convention, to mock and honor and decency. Television programs
such as “Mash” carried forward the revolution. All men were equal, for to fight
for one cause is as meaningless in a materialistic world as to fight for another.
Materialism changes the concept
of law.
Instead of holding men
responsible for their actions (for who can be responsible for materialist
phenomenon?), law become incessant tinkering with the environment, a
materialistic meddling in people's affairs in an attempt to program them to
behavior that is desired by a self-appointed elite. Men become obsessed with
food, water, air, medical care for the body, or economic equality. Why not, if
we are the product of what we eat and drink? The brave new world comes with
government regulation of material. But the regulations themselves are the
product of programmed responses in terms of evolution and must be constantly
changed and adapted and repealed, for the regulations themselves are the result
of impersonal causes. No one is responsible for anything. The buck never stops
anywhere.
There is no
sin in a materialistic world. Adultery is not a sin, because human mating is
the equivalent of the mating of any other animals, and is reduced to biology.
Blasphemy is not sin, for who can define God in a material world? Murder and
rape are not sins, but are simply the result of male aggression, and natural
tendency that is seen in all the beasts. It is politic to try to restrain such
things, but we understand and are sympathetic.
Sodomy is no
sin, for the body rules all in a materialistic world. The morality of the
apostle Paul, `I keep under my body, lest when I have preached to others, I
myself should be come a castaway,” has no meaning in materialism: the body is
all, there is no soul to rule it and restrain it. Sodomy and other perversions
are the natural result, for where there is no soul, there is no restraint of
bodily sins.
Drunkenness,
sexual perversions, drug abuse, murder, violence, hatred, are the end result of
the soul being lost.
If man is
defined as the product of chance materialistic processes, then the control of
the processes becomes a matter of great concern to him. His mind becomes occupied
with what he shall eat, what he shall drink, what he shall put on. He knows
nothing of the kingdom of God and the righteousness of God, because these concepts
have no value to him. This leads him to conflict after conflict.
The twentieth
century has seen some of the most devastating wars in history--as materialist
denominations (fascism, Naziism, communism, socialism) threatened the very
fabric of the world's order.
It is a source
of immense satisfaction to this writer to belong to a great nation that contended
with these evil powers in terms of the values of the soul of man: liberty, freedom,
and faith. God bless America! and may God preserve her from those very evils
she so valiantly opposed in arms and wealth during the 20th century! By God's
grace, America was the bulwark against the utter darkness of consistent
materialism. All is not well in America, but her record in the 20th century has
been glorious.
A well-known story
is told about Chief Justice Earl Warren when the segregation of blacks in our
school system was under debate in the Supreme Court. After hearing the legal
arguments about precedent and custom, he is said to have asked, “But is it
fair?”
It was on this
basis that ultimately the degrading laws of school segregation were overturned.
It was the most famous decision in equity in the history of the United
States. It was decided on the basis of
fairness--the sense of justice that every man feels in his soul. I do not know
what other motives Justice Warren may have had, but I do know that a great deal
of abuse was heaped upon him for his part in that famous decision.
Those who said
the segregation battle was for the soul of America were right. Only by materialist
presuppositions can a man be treated as chattel, bought and sold, and relegated
to servitude because of the color of his skin. Where is the soul of a church or
a nation that relegates human beings to second-class citizenship and holds them
in perpetual servitude, without regard to their choices, but only on the basis
of the flesh?
What Remains
of Quality and Beauty?
Beauty, truth,
love, justice, freedom, morality, worship, and kindness: such things are lost
in the world fabricated by true evolutionists, based upon materialistic ideas.
If any of these remain, it is because they have been “borrowed” from somewhere
else, not from the ideas of materialism.
How profound
are the words of Jesus, the Son of God! How very profound was His very presence
in this world of ours! His very presence among us underscored what Moses told
Israel in the wilderness, explaining why God had given them manna for all those
years: “Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from
the mouth of God.”
Truth from the
mouth of God has no meaning in a materialistic world. Words are just a vibration
in the air and mean only what I think they mean. Gibberish and nonsense, or the
beat of drums and the whine of the electric guitar, are as meaningful, and perhaps
even more meaningful if they make me feel good.
So the church
dies in irrationalism and lawlessness, for it has lost its soul also. “Is not the life more than meat, and the
body more than raiment?” the Son of God asked (Matt. 6:25). Not in a materialistic
world. If the life of man is only animal life, then all he needs is food. If
the body is not the temple of the soul, then perhaps its most useful purpose is
its adornment with gold, silver, and fine raiment.
“Seek ye first the kingdom of
God and his righteousness,” Jesus said (Matt. 6:35), a most non-materialistic
statement. It is the kingdom of God in Jesus Christ through the righteousness
of God revealed in the Gospel, which is the power of God unto the salvation of
the soul (Romans 1:16,17). Wise men still seek Him.
-----------------------------
Write
to:
Pastor
C. W. Powell
Trinity
Covenant Church RCUS
6050
Del Paz Drive
Colorado
Springs, CO 80918
Phone: 719-590-1477
Email
mailto:budpow@ureach.com