Captive Thinkers
28-Sept-09
There are some who like to think of themselves as “free thinkers”. However, I would contend that the only true free thinkers are infants. Once an infant grows & begins to possess comprehension, he starts putting things together (I will forsake all political correctness & just use a masculine subject). First, various sounds are heard & repeated in patterns to form words. Then, words are associated & bonded to meanings. At this point, the child is at the mercy of his parents. He inadvertently trusts them to provide the correct meanings to things. However, it is entirely possible for the parent to mislead him.
This learning pattern continues in the building of values & the understanding of life. As the child continues to grow up, he is exposed to more people & environments that dictate their own understanding regardless of if it is true or false. Eventually, he will have to start assessing the information he is receiving, deciding what is right, wrong, beneficial, detrimental, etc. His assessment is influenced by parents, peers, teachers & role models.
Now, hopefully the parents are astute Christians that can guide the child along the right paths by modeling wisdom & discernment (Pr 1.8, 2.1, 3.1, 21-26, 4.1, 20, 5.1, 7, 6.20, 7.1, etc.). If not, then the child will be subject to every outside influence. As he continues through high school & perhaps college, he spends more time being exposed to external influences rather than his parents.
Anywhere along the line, he has the opportunity to enter into a relationship with God from whom all wisdom, knowledge & understanding flow (Ps 111.10, Pr 9.10, 15.33, Jer 9.23-24, Jn 17.3). If he never knows God, he will never have a proper truth-based holistic view of life, i.e. worldview. He will be left to himself & everyone else’s best guesses – the good, the bad & the ugly (See question: Is God needed for morality?). It will be contradictory & confusing at different levels. The worst part is that he may not readily realize it nor may he even want to.
He will likely find himself associating with peers or groups that share similar views in an effort to establish some sort of comfort or acceptance. Individually or collectively, they will carry themselves down a restrictive path that will be ultimately inconsistent. It will also be increasingly rigid such that other ideas that challenge long-held accepted ones will not even be honestly investigated or contemplated. Ideas, information & statistics will be forced to conform to overriding philosophies at the neglect of truth & reality. (Col 1.21, 2.8, 18-19, 22)
Not for the born-again follower of Christ! The Christian worldview is the most consistent, comprehensive & conclusive of them all. Why? Because God, who created & knows all things, has planted Himself in every Christian in the form of the Holy Spirit – the Great Truth Teacher (Jn 14.16-17, Jn 16.13). God Almighty has also given us His ever-true written Word, the Bible, to tell us what we would have no way of knowing (unbelievers like to scoff at such things as being “improvable”). Combined, the believer has everything they need for life (2 Pet 1.3).
Therefore, Christians have the capacity to make right judgment about all things (1 Cor 2.14-15). Unfortunately, they (I) don’t always make the right choice, but the potential is there (See question: Why do some Christians act ungodly?). Not for the unbeliever. Since the Holy Spirit is not occupying him, he cannot understand all things, namely spiritual things (1 Cor 1.18, 2.14). Furthermore, Satan has him blindfolded so that he cannot understand the things of God (2 Cor 4.3-4, 2 Tim 2.25-26) – If you find yourself in this category, please cry out to God to grant you repentance & knowledge of the truth (Good enough for heaven?)!
This learning pattern continues in the building of values & the understanding of life. As the child continues to grow up, he is exposed to more people & environments that dictate their own understanding regardless of if it is true or false. Eventually, he will have to start assessing the information he is receiving, deciding what is right, wrong, beneficial, detrimental, etc. His assessment is influenced by parents, peers, teachers & role models.
Now, hopefully the parents are astute Christians that can guide the child along the right paths by modeling wisdom & discernment (Pr 1.8, 2.1, 3.1, 21-26, 4.1, 20, 5.1, 7, 6.20, 7.1, etc.). If not, then the child will be subject to every outside influence. As he continues through high school & perhaps college, he spends more time being exposed to external influences rather than his parents.
Anywhere along the line, he has the opportunity to enter into a relationship with God from whom all wisdom, knowledge & understanding flow (Ps 111.10, Pr 9.10, 15.33, Jer 9.23-24, Jn 17.3). If he never knows God, he will never have a proper truth-based holistic view of life, i.e. worldview. He will be left to himself & everyone else’s best guesses – the good, the bad & the ugly (See question: Is God needed for morality?). It will be contradictory & confusing at different levels. The worst part is that he may not readily realize it nor may he even want to.
He will likely find himself associating with peers or groups that share similar views in an effort to establish some sort of comfort or acceptance. Individually or collectively, they will carry themselves down a restrictive path that will be ultimately inconsistent. It will also be increasingly rigid such that other ideas that challenge long-held accepted ones will not even be honestly investigated or contemplated. Ideas, information & statistics will be forced to conform to overriding philosophies at the neglect of truth & reality. (Col 1.21, 2.8, 18-19, 22)
Not for the born-again follower of Christ! The Christian worldview is the most consistent, comprehensive & conclusive of them all. Why? Because God, who created & knows all things, has planted Himself in every Christian in the form of the Holy Spirit – the Great Truth Teacher (Jn 14.16-17, Jn 16.13). God Almighty has also given us His ever-true written Word, the Bible, to tell us what we would have no way of knowing (unbelievers like to scoff at such things as being “improvable”). Combined, the believer has everything they need for life (2 Pet 1.3).
Therefore, Christians have the capacity to make right judgment about all things (1 Cor 2.14-15). Unfortunately, they (I) don’t always make the right choice, but the potential is there (See question: Why do some Christians act ungodly?). Not for the unbeliever. Since the Holy Spirit is not occupying him, he cannot understand all things, namely spiritual things (1 Cor 1.18, 2.14). Furthermore, Satan has him blindfolded so that he cannot understand the things of God (2 Cor 4.3-4, 2 Tim 2.25-26) – If you find yourself in this category, please cry out to God to grant you repentance & knowledge of the truth (Good enough for heaven?)!
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We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. – 2 Cor 10.5
My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments. – Col 2.2-4
The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man's judgment: "For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?" But we have the mind of Christ. – 1 Cor 2.10-16
My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments. – Col 2.2-4
The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man's judgment: "For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?" But we have the mind of Christ. – 1 Cor 2.10-16