Mga Pahina

Sabado, Hunyo 14, 2014

Living In a Personal World

Article # 3

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1:1).

According to Gary North, the opening verse of the book of Genesis is the most important sentence in the field of human learning for it starts with the presentation of God as the Creator of all things.[1] This truth is sufficient enough to distinguish between the Creator and the creature and the Creator and the creation. The distinction between the Creator and man as the creature is necessary in terms of being and knowing. Without this distinction, human learning enters the realm of confusion. On the other hand, the distinction between the Creator and the creation shows that it is erroneous to think of God as part of created reality. It further shows that creation does not exist on its own as current humanistic education claims. The ultimate origin of everything that we see including man is God.

The doctrine of creation is connected with the doctrine of providence. God did not abandon his work to move independently from him. Our world is regularly sustained by God. It is proper therefore to speak of this world as inescapably personal and theocentric[2](Job 38-41; Ps.19:1;33:6; Rom 1:20; Col. 1:15-17; Heb.11:3).

If the universe is indeed personal and theocentric, it follows that nothing in this world can be interpreted correctly apart from God. God therefore is an inescapable premise for man to interpret correctly anything in this world. To set aside God in the task of interpretation is to deny the most important part to obtain true interpretation. To do this would result in chaos, confusion, and contradiction.

Biblical Personalism is Contrary to Modern Day Impersonalism

The biblical concept of the personalism and theocentricism of creation is in sharp antithesis against the popular notion in current education, which is cosmic impersonalism.[3] This belief asserts that all of life is the product of impersonal, self-generated, random forces of nature.[4] It is the heart and soul of the modern doctrine of evolution.[5] And the root of the idea of evolution could be traced in ancient paganism[6] with scientific clothing.

The charge of determinism against faith in the personal God and his unified plan for his creation can also be charged against modern science. The question is not between determinism and the absence of determinism but which kind of determinism: biblical determinism or the determinism of humanistic science. Biblical determinism originates in Gods decrees whereas the determinism of science originates in the certainty of the law of randomness.

North mentions two popular biological scientists in the persons of Peter and Jean Medawar, who affirm the validity of randomness in science. In this perspective, purpose and design coming from Christian theology are considered intolerable evils.[7]  

Cosmic impersonalism is mans way to escape from his accountability to God. By doing this, man is heading towards confusion, meaninglessness of life, and finally, destruction. Bertrand Russell describes accurately the situation of current science as purposeless and void of meaning.[8] He continues that the laws of science which produce growth also produce decay.[9] He states his pessimistic outlook about science by saying that some day, the sun will grow cold, and the life on the earth will cease.There is no law of cosmic progress, but only an oscillation upward and downward, with a slow trend downward on the balance owing to the diffusion of energy.[10] He affirms that this is what science believes and what science regards as most probable, and in our disillusioned generation it is easy to believe.[11]

Biblical Personalism

Against this cosmic impersonalism, we have the biblical doctrine of cosmic personalism.[12] North owes this idea from Cornelius Van Til. The sum of this idea is that nothing in this world can be interpreted correctly apart from God. This is so, in view of the fact that everything derives their existence in God. And God alone possesses complete knowledge of his creation. Mans task in this connection is not to possess complete knowledge but true knowledge of every fact. This can happen only if man recognizes the relation of every fact to God by way of the Holy Scriptures.

Mans ambition for complete knowledge is satanic. It is an attempt to exceed his boundary as a creature of God. This is the essence of the serpents temptation in the Garden of Eden.

What man needs to safeguard himself from the deception of his heart is the written word of God. Through the written word, man can have a true knowledge of himself and of nature. In the Bible, man is able to know both his potentialities and his limitations. Without this knowledge, man would transgress the boundary of his creatureliness that would result into disillusionment.

Cosmic impersonalism is a myth.[13] We cannot avoid cosmic personalism. There is no such thing as a choice between cosmic personalism and cosmic impersonalism. The choice is between two types of cosmic personalism: Gods or mans, which is satanic. Cosmic impersonalism is a satanic delusion, a convenient way to mystify men.[14]

This satanic deception could be illustrated vividly in C.S. Lewis The Screwtape Letters. In Chapter 7, we find that Screwtape, an experienced demon gives an advice to a junior demon. Screwtape states: Our policy, for the moment, is to conceal ourselves. Of course this has not always been so. We are really faced with a cruel dilemma. When the humans disbelieve in our existence we lose all the pleasing results of direct terrorism, and we make no magicians. On the other hand, when they believe in us, we cannot make them materialists and skeptics. At least, not yet. I have great hopes that we shall learn in due time how to emotionalize and mythologize their science to such an extent that what is, in effect, a belief in us (though not under the name) will creep in while the human mind remains closed to belief in the Enemy. The Life Force, the worship of sex, and some aspects of Psychoanalysis may here prove useful. If once we can produce our perfect work the Materialist Magician, the man, not using, but veritably worshipping, what he vaguely calls Forces while denying the existence of spirit then the end of the war will be in sight.[15]

The Impersonalism of the Free Market

Nothing in created reality can escape cosmic personalism either in its theocentric form or in its humanistic-demonic form. Howver, among many economists, it is ordinary for them to speak about the impersonalism of the market process.[16] What they mean by this is that the free market processes are virtually independent of the will or plans of any single market participant.The market is understood as an impersonal mechanism in the sense that it is the product of millions of human decisions and actions at any point in time.[17]

Biblical personalism acknowledges that from the perspective of an individual observer the free markets processes may appear to be impersonal but not from the perspective of God. In fact, the impersonalism of the market procedures restricts the selfish intention of power grabbers to play God due to the nature of the free market to decentralize economic power.[18] However, this seemingly impersonalism of market procedures does not mean that it operates apart from God. The absence of purpose coming from any dominant economic force does not mean that the market operations have no purpose. North affirms that the market has a whole series of purposes for man because it is a direct outgrowth of the application of fundamental moral and economic principles that were established by God to meet the needs of responsible human agents. It is a part of Gods comprehensive social law-order.[19]

Conclusion

The recognition of the distinction between the Creator and his creature is the entry point towards a correct understanding of all fields of human learning including the science of economics. God is the Source and Fountain of all creation. The personalism of God is therefore inescapable even in the seeming impersonal processes of the free market. Even in this, God is still in control.



[1] P.1

[2] P. 2

[3] Ibid.

[4] Ibid.

[5] Ibid.

[6] Ibid.

[7] P. 4.

[8] Ibid.

[9] P. 5.

[10] Ibid.

[11] Ibid.

[12] P. 6.

[13] P. 8.

[14] Ibid.

[15] Ibid.

[16] P. 9

[17] Ibid.

[18] P. 10.

[19] P. 11

Huwebes, Hunyo 12, 2014

The Bible and the Study of Economics

Article # 2


"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1:1).


Biblical creation is the most important basic assumption in Christian theory of knowledge. Only faith in God and His word will cause someone to accept this basic assumption. 

The God of the Bible is incomparable for in it we read that He created everything out of nothing by His word. And since He created everything, He is the Ultimate Owner of all things. 

The being and the character of the God of the Bible is different from the being and character of His creatures. Only an all-powerful God can perform such act of creation. 

Moreover, the Bible does not only tell us that God is the Creator and Owner of all things, it also tells us that He governs His creation. If this is true, then the idea that the world and the human mind operate on the basis of some notion of independent "natural law" is wrong. 

Studying the Bible is so important to know about this God who created all things. Besides knowing God, studying the Bible helps us obtain true knowledge of the world and of ourselves. If this is true, then any notion of God, of the world, and of ourselves that is contrary to the Bible is false. 

In the study of economics, we are studying both the world and man. And since a true understanding of the world and of man can only be obtained through the study of the Bible, it therefore follows that the study of the Bible cannot be separated from a true understanding of economics.

The Bible shows us both the potential and the limitation of the human mind in the study of economics. Man has great potential simply because he is made in the image of God. At the same time, man has limitation simply because he is both a creature and under the power of sin since the Fall. 

The mind of man before and after the Fall is no longer the same. Nevertheless, since man does not cease to be an image of God metaphysically, though his knowledge is not exhaustive, he still thinks and discovers many things that are true. On the other hand, since man is no longer an image of God ethically, much of his thinking and discovery are corrupted by sin. Instead of giving God all the glory for his works, he claims them for himself. 

This is why we need the Bible in our study of economics. The Bible through the Law exposes our sin and leads us to Christ for us to obtain grace. Such grace, though not perfectly, restores our mind to its ethical purpose. We accept our limitation and we are grateful for our discoveries. 

Evolution is a popular example of man's refusal to accept the ethical limitation of his mind. Since you cannot find this idea in the Bible, to believe in it in interpreting the world, man, and his economic activity is therefore false. And any false interpretation, ultimately will end in confusion, chaos, and disillusionment. 

The free market since it is part of God's created order, understanding it properly requires the study of nature, of man, and of the Bible. However, by doing this, it does not mean that man will know everything about the operation of the market. Instead, it does mean that this endeavor will lead into harmony, meaning, productivity, and wealth.


Note: This is the devotional summary of my lecture in Genesis delivered at the Presbyterian Theological Seminary, Philippines. The lecture is based on Chapter 1 of Gary North's economic commentary on Genesis, pages 8-20. You can read the original content of the lecture here. 

Follow What the Bible Says, Not the Voices of the Skeptics

Article # 1

I want to be successful. I want to be prosperous. I want God to bless the works of my hands. I want God to give me long life to be of service to my family and to humanity. These are my prayers. 

In order to receive answer from God, I should not do it my way, but His way. The question is how will I know His way? That's why God gave to us the Bible. Our duty is to know so we can obey.

But I have been hearing a lot of voices, mostly from experts, theologians and pastors (never mind about atheists for the Bible clearly says that fools deny that there is God) who claim to teach the word of God. All they preach and teach are doubts, and they say it's healthy to your faith. As a result, I almost found nothing to believe any more, and waste my time defending what I believe. 

How about ignore their voices? How about follow what the Bible tells you? They say its difficult to be certain about the real meaning of the Bible. However, do you still believe in the perspicuity of the Bible that even a child can understand it? If you still do, ignore them. Life is too short, and you are not getting any younger wasting your time refuting them. Unbelief has an infinite source of arguments. They will never run out.

I believe that I have been blessed already in Jesus. In Christ, I already received the greatest wealth that man can ever received in life (Ephesians 1:3-14). But I also believe that this spiritual wealth is not only something internal or intellectual. It should have an external manifestation in my life. Others must see it. This is my witness. If I fail to do this because I insist doing my own way, I am a poor witness to the power of grace. 

And so I decided to study the Bible beginning from Genesis. I have been spending my time to always prepare myself to read the Bible by reading first economic books. But there is no end to economic books. The more I read, the more I discover that I know so little. And the bad news, my greatest asset, which is my time is running out. So when are you going to start restudying your Bible? There is no suitable time than now!

In studying the Bible, I need a guide, and I already made up my mind that I will use an economic commentary of the Bible, which is taken for granted by many.

And so I will start in the book of Genesis. I will read this commentary, and whatever insights that speak to me, I will take note of them, and rewrite them as my way of clarifying the ideas that are presented.

Just one reminder: skip the things that you do not understand, and just focus on the things that you understand.