Law is Beautiful. Philosophy arises from the Greek word philosophia or the “love of knowledge and wisdom.” Cicero commenting on this word described it as: “A system a person forms for conduct of life.” Harvard University Press’ definition of philosophy is “how one ought to live.” You may not like the word philosophy, but everyone has a philosophy for life.
The Decalogue, if embraced, is a way of life to enlarge societies’ happiness. Proverbs 16:20 “And whoever trusts in the Lord, happy is he.” My philosophy for life is founded in the Creator. Of course, some will disagree with me, and that is ok. If heaven were not to gain nor hell to shun it would still be right to obey God’s laws. The alternative of obeying God creates a weakened state of society which raises its fists for equality based on nothing other than their appetite. The late renown philosopher Francis Shaffer said, “Overwhelming pressures are being brought to bear on people who have no absolutes, but only have the impoverished values of personal peace and prosperity. The pressures are progressively preparing modern people to accept a manipulative, authoritarian government. Unhappily, many of these pressures are upon us now.”
People who disregard absolutes, such as the Decalogue, are doomed to be led by their stomachs; the perfect storm for a dictatorial regime. C.S. Lewis quoted, “Sand has many valuable properties that can be used, but I wouldn’t build my house on it.” Likewise, you cannot build your house with splinters, but with solid materials and a blueprint. God’s law is the only sure blueprint for society.
When revisionists reshape American history with existentialism, splinters are the stuff that is left to make sense out of life. The existentialist Jean-Paul Sartre’s philosophy for meaning is that in the area of reason everything is absurd, but nonetheless, a person can authenticate himself by an act of the will; everyone should abandon the pose of spectator and act in a purposeless world. But because, as Sartre saw it, reason is separated from this authenticating, the will can act in any direction. On the basis of his teaching, you could authenticate yourself either by helping a poor old lady along the road at night or by speeding up your auto and running her down. Reason is not involved, and nothing can show you the direction which your will should take.
The town where I live and serve as a city councilman passes city ordinances for the common good of all. We just adopted a law lowering our speed limit due to an increase in automobile accidents; along with our city being a hands-free cell phone zone. Most sensible people see the value of these laws and consciously obey them. However, there are those rebels that speed through our town and have caused great harm to others by their recklessness. Some of these anarchist today are serving a jail sentence for their actions. According to Sartre life has no meaning. Therefore, both classes of citizens are right, the obedient and the reckless – they are only authenticating themselves in a meaningless world.
As soon as some writer proclaims absolutes by a Creator to give us purpose and meaningfulness as a way of life, the anarchists come out of the woodwork with anger shouting there is no God – only our appetites rule us. “We are animals” is their slogan. And a shrewd politician comes along calculating the mood of the herd and gives them all that they want. Then, the puppeteer pulls the strings of the herd creating an illusion of freedom, while tightening their noose. Now, the puppeteer is overjoyed as absolutes have been replaced by the swinging rope of anything goes, that is, anything goes except absolutes. Sadly, many Christians have fallen prey to this nonsense. I don’t need anyone teaching me about what is right or wrong; the Holy Spirit is my only and sole source of what I am to do. They profess, “I am not bound by God’s laws as I am a child of grace.” Grace is linked to the rule and reign of God. With this redefining of cheap grace, they join hands with the herd unknowingly. I wonder if these same individuals have laws in their homes to bring order? And, I wonder how they would react to their children or a guest who violated their rules in their home. (Are not rules for your home to bring an organized atmosphere for peace and harmony? When someone claims they’re against organized religion, then, they are a rule unto themselves while professing to be spiritual. In reality, they are blind guides. People tend to attack God from the premise that He approved all the wicked acts of people recorded in the Bible, or the unchristian actions by the church in history, which is childish.) So you don’t believe in order, what if your children defy your rules by claiming, “Father I only get instructions from the Holy Spirit, like you, and when the Holy Spirit tells me to pick up my room, then, I will. The Holy Spirit will teach me responsibility, not you, I have no need for teachers.” These adults are trying to create a worldview out of splinters. They forget God is a God of order, that’s why He appointed teachers in the church. Continuing in this hypothetical vein, imagine Carl Marx paying you a visit. After some small talk, you serve him some goodies and coffee. As it was known, a bad habit by him, Mr. Marx drops food stuff and spills coffee all over your wife’s prized couch. He neither apologizes nor cares about the damage as materialism is evil to him. His worldview is without a Creator, so he crowns himself to create a worldview for the masses. The wicked philosophy of communism is birthed. Everybody is going to serve someone; the choice is yours, you can genuflect to the animal handlers or a benevolent Creator.
Without absolutes, deontology is put in the hands of the puppeteers. They decide what is right and wrong for the herd. The herd is happy as all constraints have been cast off them and now they have the whole pigpen to themselves. As they roll around in their mud and their feces and are fed by their handlers, they are absolutely in bondage. Their search for significance is found in these words, “Let us try to find an answer in something totally separated from reason.” Only the designer of the universe can give us real meaning. Galatians 6:7 “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.”
