Apologia

I’m a big fan of the long-form interview. Regardless of whether I agree with the host or guest, there is tremendous value in letting people complete a thought instead of constantly interrupting them with opposing views, off-topic questions, and commercial breaks. The long-form interview allows people to have enough philosophical rope to hang themselves, and it is really hard to stick to a false narrative for hours because people eventually forget that the cameras are still rolling.

One thing that points to the divine inspiration of scripture is that it is really the only text that rightly diagnoses the human condition. Every philosophy and religion on earth outside of Christ depicts mankind as fundamentally good and capable of creating a moral framework and adhering to it. These other philosophies and religions keep people in a constant state of attempting to create their own utopian society or striving to appease their make-shift god.

Scripture describes man as a being who was created in perfection, made steward of the created order, and given agency to accept or reject the word of his Creator. In being given this agency, man desired to be like God and so chose to be in a state of rebellion against Him. The silver lining in this reality is that unlike what is painted in eastern philosophies, good and evil are not opposing forces locked in an eternal battle (think yin and yang). Instead, evil is the corruption of the good and is therefore redeemable. 

Job argued that the injustices of this world reveal the need for a righteous redeemer who could be our advocate before God and restore us to new life in Him. Both Job and King Solomon (in Ecclesiastes) believed that if our existence was limited to our time under the sun, there is no true justice, and we should just learn to enjoy the fleeting moments of pleasure offered in this lifetime. I believe God is just and that this redeemer is revealed in the eternal Son of God who took on flesh and fulfilled the Law of Moses perfectly so that His death could serve as payment for the death that we deserve for our own rebellion against God.

The reason I mentioned the long-form interview in this context is that through them, man’s rebellion against God becomes obvious, and we begin to understand why the writer of Hebrews would state that without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6)

In an interview with a Louisville professor named Dr. Roman Yampolskiy, Joe Rogan expressed a belief that we are living in a computer simulation. Dr. Yampolskiy’s research on potential dangers of advancements in artificial intelligence reinforced Rogan’s idea that some futuristic race of men could be using us as guinea pigs to test out various ideas for civilization. They appealed to Occam’s Razor to suggest that this was a much more plausible idea than that of an eternal Creator. 

What they consider plausible, I would argue, is further evidence that scripture is correct in claiming that we seek knowledge in order to rebel against God and replace Him. We want to both create and destroy ourselves and dictate all of our days in between despite the Biblical record that these things are in the hands of God. We even try to establish our own moral code which we fail to keep and attempt to be our own saviors despite the fact that Christ is the author and perfecter of our faith.

I would argue that we live in a unique time in which every foundation of the created order has been thrown down. Scripture declared that God created us male and female, and we pretend that gender is fluid and much more diverse than this binary. Scripture declared that a family is to be the cornerstone of society and is established in a life-long covenant between a man and a woman. We have tried to establish a modernized family that is loosely tied by emotions and lets our children be raised by society.

We were created for labor, and yet labor is viewed as a curse. Children were established as the greatest blessing, and yet we view them as a burden. Women were given the gift of child bearing and promised to bring forth the seed who would crush the serpent, and yet we continue to invent new ways of destroying the fruit of their wombs. Men were given the responsibility of managing their household and bringing order to society, and yet we have allowed them to become lazy and useless and marginalized in this role.

Covetousness, adultery, theft, lies, and even murder are now considered virtuous and noble depending upon the situation, and of course we set the parameters of those circumstances and are incensed at those who suggest that God should make demands of His creation. 

Even our attempts at charity are tainted, for we do them without consideration of God. We think the highest order of life is to alleviate strife and physical suffering from society without considering how God may be using such things to reconcile the people to Himself. I am not suggesting that we be uncharitable, but if we think we are doing a good thing to remove a physical need while leaving people spiritually destitute, we would be wrong.

If you can think of anything that scripture has called good which is still cherished in modern society, please let me know.