02 May 2023
I've been running up against New Age stuff this week. Last week it was transhumanists. The distance between New Age religion and transhumanism is very short. Often the same person is a little of both. The two overlap in rejecting the doctrine of the Fall, and insist on seeking to make humans greater than they are, elevating them to the status of deities.
Both believe we already have the basic necessities for rising to a higher level. For the New Agers, it's a matter of getting a spiritual tune-up. For transhumanists, it's using technology to tweak DNA and even melding man and machine.
The Bible says that alleviating human suffering is a work of compassion. Both New Age religion and transhumanism are not that interested in compassion in that regard; they are seeking to change the fundamental nature of our fallen condition by trying to bypass God. They both call for seeking to make humans evolve in one way or another.
When someone questions or contradicts Scripture, it's time to stop paying attention.
People have been asking me about predestination. From what I can see, the real issue is the big shift in logic. You see, American evangelicals are all about going to Heaven. The Bible says precious little about that subject, but they play semantic games, squeezing out a "plan of salvation" by skipping around and cherry picking. In the Bible, the emphasis is on communion with God. Whatever you think you need, it's answered in trying to spend time with Daddy. (No, it isn't blasphemous to call God "Daddy".)
I perceived this a long time ago, back in college. My professors didn't know it, but the convergence of their teaching helped me to realize their beliefs weren't consistent with their knowledge of the Bible. There is no path to Heaven laid out in the Bible. Instead, Paul writes in Romans 8 & 9 about predestination and how the fleshly nature is incapable of grasping the whole issue in the first place.
You aren't supposed to focus on Heaven. There's nothing you can do. Instead, there is a strong correlation between those who love the Lord and those who end up going Home with Him. The focus is on loving and obeying Him. You were predestined to His works, it says. It's all about His glory.
What about all those folks who aren't Elect? That's not our problem and there's nothing we can do about them. Our only concern is making sure we do what keeps us in His favor here and now. So the Great Commission comes in that context; it's part of how we please Him. Don't get wrapped up in the outcomes; that's His problem. You just be faithful.
Most people assume a logic that is quite different from what the Bible promotes. Our approach is to demonstrate peace with God until someone starts asking about it. Keep the focus on that feudal submission; He's Father and Lord. It's all about that relationship; it's personal. The issue with boundaries is simply a matter of striving to make Him smile. If you want the divine inheritance, stand where it rains down from the sky.
Comments
DarkMirror
"Don't get wrapped up in the outcomes; that's His problem. You just be faithful."
True. It's really not all that complicated. There's no need to account for anything, and it's a lot more freeing to know that anything that matters is matter plainly in our hands.
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