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Published: 19 January 2017

The grandchildren like to play Chutes and Ladders, Trouble, Don’t Break the Ice and other games that I haven’t played in a long time.  One thing I have to be aware of is their tendency to change the rules of the game.  I’m generally the learner in these situations and they are teaching me to play.  Their position of power is an occasion to demonstrate their depravity.  They state the rules but when the roll of the dice causes difficulty for them they often try to change the rules.  This is the problem of autonomy.  Francis Schaeffer (explaining Rutherford, 1640) would have said this was the difference between Rex/Lex and Lex/Rex.  In Rex/Lex, the king makes the rules and can therefore change them when they don’t suit him.  In Lex/Rex, the rules govern the king; he is subject to them in spite of his place of power.   Our culture was rooted in Lex/Rex for many years.  We believed there were certain moral absolutes that were not to be changed at the whim of the “prince or the people.”  We have, in recent years, been drifting toward Rex/Lex.  Believing mankind to “be the measure of all things,” we believe we can make the rules.  We have not embraced complete anarchy where we all do what we please but we have embraced (as a culture) the idea that either the elite or the popular vote can adjust the rules to suit our situations.  In 1973, the Supreme Court made the taking of preborn human life legal.  More recently, they changed the definition of marriage and even allow the individual (regardless of science) to pick their gender.  Of course this has no end.  Once we abandon moral absolutes and transcendent values we are on a crash course of self-destruction.  Make no mistake, science is no longer king and law and absolutes were jettisoned years ago; autonomy is king today.  The mantra of this world-view is “my body my choice.”  I still believe this is my Father’s world and though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the Ruler yet.  Humbling ourselves under His mighty hand leads to freedom and life that the proponents of autonomy only dream about.  Peter said it well, “Save yourselves from this wayward generation.”  And, choosing to apprentice with Jesus is still the way, the truth and the life!

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Published: 12 January 2017

No, that is not a foreign swear word or a kind of pastry.  It is the German word for “worldview.”  It refers to the set of presuppositions we have about the basic make-up of the world.  Everyone has a worldview whether they know it or not.  Our worldview is the lens we look through to view the world.  Dr. Mike Wittmer wrote, “This lens is more like contact lenses than eyeglasses, for like the former, we so take it for granted that we often aren’t consciously aware that we are wearing it.”  Our initial worldview is formed by our environment, education and experiences.  Eventually, we begin to think for ourselves and start asking questions about the commonly held beliefs of our sphere of relationships.  This is a frightening time for us and those around us.  To question the worldview of our established culture can mean the loss of friends and in some cultures even abandonment by family.  Our worldview affects our decision making and our lifestyle.  Sometimes our desires alter our worldview.  For example, if someone really wants to live in sexual sin they may say that they no longer believe the credibility of the Bible.  They are being honest in that if they accept the Bible as truthful and authoritative they have to either obey it or disobey.  Denying its credibility gives them permission to act as they want without the affliction of their conscience.  The believers in the early church had a worldview that shaped their life.  They believed they lived in a supernatural universe.  They believed Jesus Christ was the way, the truth and the life.  They believed His teachings led to a better way of life and a better destination.  They believed God was present, active and personal.  These beliefs led to a certain way of life and the overall effect was awe, joy and the favor of even those who did not believe.  It is very important to think about these things.  What does the way we live say about what we believe?  Is it consistent?  What is the logical conclusion of our worldview?  What if our current worldview was embraced by others?  This is the stuff of revolution my friends and even more important…our worldview shapes our eternal destiny…we better get it right.