Within our technologically enlightened society, it is often said that there is no limittowhatman can do. Sounds promising, but I don’t think it’s true. There are things that human beings are incapable of doing. One clear example is that people are incapable of not worshipingsomething. In fact, it is a foregone conclusion that all human beings, like it or not, are programmed to worship. Christians explain this phenomenon as a normal part of what it means to be human, understanding that all people are created, as a similitude, in the image and likeness of God. In that way, people are drawn to Him by way of man’s spiritual connection to the Divine, who created everything. In light of this spiritual connection to God and our impulse to worship, human beings who do not worship God have intentionally exchanged God for something else in the created order. Indeed, over the last few articles, we have been comparing theChristianworldviewwiththatof materialism, which holds that there isnosupernaturalorspiritualrealm or beings. For the materialists, the only thing that exists is physical matter. Consequently, there is no room in the materialistic worldview for immaterial things such as the mind or soul, free will, or consciousness.
To aid our worldview comparison, we have been utilizing a model developedbythephilosopherNancy Pearcey. The first principle in Pearcey’s model is to identify the specific idol that has been put in place of God. In the case of materialism, we identified physical matter as its associated idol last time. This was a critical first principle of Pearcey’s model. The second step calls for identifying the idol’s reductionism. To accomplish that, we first turn to the apostle Paul, who explains in Romans 1 that idolatry leads to a debased and immoral view of the world as the inevitable outworking of having exchanged God for something oftheworld.Oneconsequence, however, is that immoral behavior always leads to a lower view of human life. Christians hold that human beings deserve the highest degree of dignity because all people are created in God’s image. When God is given up as Ultimate Reality and the source of all human dignity, andisexchangedforsomethingelse, it is always for something lower in the created order. Inescapably, a lower view of human beings is always the consequence. After all, if there is nothing that exists except matter, then the value of human life is also reduced to that of atoms or molecules. Then, it becomes all too easy to abuse and exploit people. After all, they are just a glob of atoms and molecules. Without exception, a lower view of God always leads to a lower view of human beings.
Frederich Nietzsche, the hardened atheist and committed materialist philosopher, believed in a concept he termed “will to power,” which supplants God as the Ultimate reality and exchanges Him for man’s inherent drive to overcome challenges and self-sufficiency. Nietzsche believed that personal success can be found only in those who will to power, embracing life’s challenges while creating their own values and morality as they see fit, all the while striving for selfmastery. Nietzsche’sideology,when put into practice, establishes social hierarchies and has devastating effects on human dignity and value. We need not look very far to find a horrific example of what happens when Nietzsche’s materialistic worldview is put into action. In the materialist worldview of Nazism, anti-Jewish propaganda often exaggerated the facial features of the Jewish people to the point of depicting Jews with the facial features of common rodents. The Nazis,whoseidolwasrace,intended to reduce the high view and dignity that should be given to all human beings to something lower. Why? Because it is easier to genocide an entire race of people who have been demeaned and devalued to the level of a common rat. But it is not just theNazis.Thesamethinghappened under Stalin, Pol Pot, and Mao Zedong, where devalued human beings were murdered by the millions. Incidentally, all of these men were atheists and materialists who had exchanged God for something lower in the created order, namely, they deified themselves as god over their people.
Any society that exchanges God for anything in the created world will inevitably have a lower view of human life as well. Not only theology and philosophy, but world history bear this out as well. As Pearcey notes, “Those who dishonor God will end up dishonoring themselves and others.” To be sure, the Christianworldviewthatallhuman beings are created in the likeness and image of God effectively levels all people on Earth. Since God is held as Ultimate Reality, and all people are made in His image, there are none greater than others, and there are none lesser. All people, by sharing in the image of God, are of equal dignity and of infinite value. Materialism cannot say the same.
Join us next time as we continue to compare the Christian worldview against materialism, investigating Pearcey’s third principle: “Does the worldview [materialism] contradict what we know about the world?” Until then, I ask again, Is God dead?
Gloria in excelsis Deo! Ty B. Kerley, DMin., is an ordained minister who teaches Christian apologetics, and relief preaches in Southern Oklahoma. Dr. Kerley and his wife Vicki are members of the Waurika church of Christ, and live in Ardmore. You can contact him at: dr.kerley@isGoddead.com.