One important concept regarding the economic principles applied globally today was that it sprang from “hedonistic relativism” which is defined as “do what feels good now, for there is no God but ourselves, and tomorrow we die.” As ludicrous as this may sound, this is the prevailing attitude of the world today.
Hedonistic relativism is a mixture of hedonism and relativism. They both end in the suffix “ism”. That suffix is derived from both Ancient Greek and Latin meaning “taking side with” or “imitation of”. In other words, isms convey the general leaning of an individual’s behavior, the general direction that they tend to go. The word ‘Isms’ in the English Language refers to different ideologies, beliefs, or systems that define the underlying principles that shape the way people think, the way they behave, and the way they interact.
Society categorizes Isms as either positive or negative. Some positive ‘Isms’ defined by society include humanism, feminism, and environmentalism, which according to society advocate the betterment of society, equality, and environmental protection. Some societies define negative Isms as racism, sexism, and nationalism. At one time nationalism was not considered to be negative but now, according to society, it leads to discrimination, inequality, and social division. From God’s perspective all Isms are negative. Isms are of man’s making and they define man’s thoughts, and man’s leanings.
Today Rationalism is the philosophical backbone or bedrock of modern society which was documented and purposed in about the sixteenth century and continues to this day. Rationalism regards human reason as the chief source and measurement of knowledge. It teaches that any view appealing to human reason (cognitive thought) is a source of knowledge and justification. In simple terms, rationalism regards any thought or approach that seems reasonable or logical to any man as a source of truth and it justifies one’s actions. Each man is the judge of what is right and wrong, good and evil.
“I am a freethinker”, or “I have an open mind”, or “I need to follow my heart”, are foundational expressions of human rationalism. These thoughts essentially say, “Everyone has their opinion and they are all equal and valid.” It’s just your opinion. The advent of the internet has magnified this belief because it is easy for anyone to stand on a virtual soapbox and expound their opinions through any blogging site.
While man has defined rationalism and given it a name, mankind did not create rationalism or the thought patterns. Its roots precede man and greatly affects each of us.
”Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made…” (Genesis 3:1; Revelation 12:9; Isaiah 14:12-14; Ezekiel 28:11-17). These verses reveal who Satan is and the why and the how that he became God’s adversary.
The phrase in Isaiah 14:13, “said in your heart” is an interesting phrase. It is used in two other places (Deuteronomy 8:11,16-17; Psalms 14:1). The Hebrew for the word “said” or “say” in the above verse are all the same word. The Theological Workbook of the Old Testament clearly defines this verb meaning as “to say” or “to speak”. However, it is interesting when you put “in your heart” in front of them. It has a totally different meaning. The Wordbook of the Old Testament states:
“A usage often confused and incorrectly interpreted based on a study of the English versions alone is ‘say in the heart’…The meaning is ‘[to] think’, a subvocal speaking.” Think about this. If I’m saying something in my heart, I’m really talking to myself in my head. I’m thinking.
So, Satan had a thought pattern when it says in Isaiah 14.13 that you “say in your heart”. Satan reasoned in his mind that his thoughts and conclusions were equal or better than God’s. That is Rationalism. Satan’s rationale began the separation of the creation from its Creator. This entire idea of rationalism is that your thoughts are equal to or better than someone else’s. Satan thought himself, rationalized himself, as equal or better than God. Hence, Satan never directly said to God, but he thought, “I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.”
When anyone reasons that they are right in a conflict, they defend themselves by spreading their ideas to friends and acquaintances. That is exactly what Satan did (Genesis 3:1-3). The reason Satan asked a question of Eve in Genesis 3 was to instill in her self-thought, rational thought, and reasoning skepticism about what God had said. Up until this time we can assume Eve accepted without question God’s words and thoughts, because her answer to Satan is exactly the way God’s thoughts were expressed to her.
Eve was still aligned with God’s thoughts. His thoughts were the basis of what she believed. Eve was living according to the words and the thoughts of God until verse four: “Then the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil'” (Genesis 3:4-5).
At this moment Satan indoctrinated rationalism into the present evil world in which we live. “Your thoughts will count. Your thoughts will be on the same level as God’s.” So Eve rationalized that she was just as capable of intelligent rational thought as God (Genesis 3:6-7).
Adam and Eve determined for themselves that they knew what was good and evil. Their thoughts were rational. Thus, rationalistic thinking was initiated by Satan, was reinforced by Adam and Eve, and later defined as Rationalism which was accepted by western philosophers and became the cornerstone of human society and the face of almost everything we witness in society today. They replaced the thoughts of their Creator with their own and valued their ideas and opinions higher than God’s. They did not like to retain God in their knowledge (Romans 1:28).
So, we must personally and individually ask ourselves this question. “Do I value my thinking, my reasoning, and my rationale equal to or more than I value God’s thinking, reasoning and rationale?” In all honesty, we all have to say that to a greater or lesser degree that we don’t always seek God’s input.
“Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit’; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that’ ’’ (James 4:13-15).
James is saying in everything we do in life we need to seek God’s thoughts, His guidance, His direction. God desires us to live every moment of our lives trusting Him and understanding His desire for us to see Him as the Provider and the Source of our entire lives, and not ourselves (Isaiah 55:1-3,5-9).
Isaiah 55: 8-9 do not merely refer to God’s capacity to think and reason nor to just His character. They refer to His thoughts being governed by righteousness which is His purpose and the definition of truth which rationalism rejects, my thoughts are truth to me. What we must realize is God defines right, He defines wrong. He defines the way we need to walk in this life.
Isaiah 55:7 emphasizes that if man forsakes his thinking and seeks God’s way of thinking and acting and being, God will openly pardon the man – grant forgiveness. The inverse is true. If a man continually follows his own thoughts as opposed to God’s, God will not pardon.
This concept of valuing and pursuing God’s thinking about life is critical. It literally defines the way God views our transgressions and our sins. How we value God’s thoughts, His direction, and His guidance steers how God views us when we commit sin (Leviticus 4:1-35; Numbers 15:22-24,27).
If sin was judged to be unintentional, there were offerings that granted forgiveness. Each was different depending on who did it. If it was the whole nation, it was a bull. If it was individual sin, it was a female goat, a yearling. If the sin is presumptuous, then no sacrifice is defined to cover the sin to make it right. The person is cut off from the congregation (Numbers 15:30).
It is important to understand the difference between unintentional and presumptuous sin. The Hebrew for unintentional means “to go astray” or “to err”. According to The Wordbook of the Old Testament, the primary meaning is sin perpetrated in ignorance and not willfully. It infers that someone is striving to follow a path but strays from it only to return.
Since we are discussing sin, that path would be the path defined by God and His laws, His commands, His precepts, His thoughts. For followers of Christ, it would mean we strive to follow Him, but when we stray, we repent, and return to the path. In other words, we realize it’s wrong. When our sin becomes knowledge to us, we see we are off the path and we move back to it, we change, we repent.
The Hebrew for presumptuous is two words. The first word means “hand” while the second means “high” as in elevation. Together they mean “with a high hand” or “highhanded”. A modern dictionary defines high-handed as ”arrogant, haughty, pompous, pretentious, stiff-necked”. The New Living Translation translates these two words as defiantly. But what are they defiant against? (Numbers 15:31). This presumptuousness is the same approach Satan has as an adversary of God, forever trying to hinder God’s plans, His God’s thoughts, and His way of life.
So, we know that Rationalism’s true origins come from Satan, and that God refuses forgiveness to those who continually practice rationalism where “our thoughts are equal to God, or better. We are constantly bombarded every moment of our lives with this train of thought, and we need to actively combat man’s rational thought patterns. Paul clearly defined the battle that we must fight (2 Corinthians 10:3-6).
We need to understand the depth of which we are currently battling. That it’s a fight to the death. God told Eve and Adam, if you eat of that fruit, if you eat of your own thoughts and you push them above Mine, death will follow. We need to bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ and not to presume that we know them. Our battle includes the rejection of the Satan’s instilled rationalism of this world. Man was to live by every word of God (Deuteronomy 8:2-3).
Every word because the words of scripture are the thoughts of God. We must change from being willful to becoming willing participants with God. Willing to live by every word of God rather than willfully living our own thoughts.
“My son, if you receive my words, And treasure my commands within you, So that you incline your ear to wisdom, And apply your heart to understanding; Yes, if you cry out for discernment, And lift up your voice for understanding, If you seek her as silver, And search for her as for hidden treasures; Then you will understand the fear of the Lord, And find the knowledge of God” (Proverbs 2:1-5).
Though the battle involves our personal spiritual survival, the measure of our willfulness versus willingness does not end there. It also involves our willingness to serve the cause of God, to not hinder His Work.
“The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool. The Lord shall send the rod of Your strength out of Zion. Rule in the midst of Your enemies! Your people shall be volunteers In the day of Your power…” (Psalms 110:1-3).
The Wordbook of the Old Testament states this about the Hebrew word for volunteers:
“The root…connotes an uncompelled and free movement of the will unto divine service or sacrifice…this noun represents sacrifice made out of devotion, not out of precept or promise.” In other words, we’re doing it out of total devotion because our thoughts and our motives are like God’s. As our thoughts go, so is our heart. Out of the heart the mouth speaks. This same willing commitment to serve God’s cause is emphasized by Paul in Romans 12:1-2.
We need to closely align our thoughts with God so that we are emulating Jesus Christ’s life. There was not a rationalism thought in Christ’s body, heart, and mind. Peter cut off an ear. Christ put it back on. Our first impulse should be motivated by God’s way of thinking, not based on our first impulsive response to a situation.
Rationalism questions everything and undermines absolutes and truths. Rationalism rejects the Creator and His Word, the basis of truth and knowledge, and replaces it with man’s reason and knowledge. Rationalism makes each man a god. Rationalism separates the Creator from His creation. Rationalism has and will continue to destroy nations, communities, families, and individuals. Empires have risen and fallen due to the pursuit of rationalism and its justifications.
Followers of Christ should disentangle themselves from this world. Our transformation involves replacing our thoughts, killing the old man to become a new creation. We must realize it is a life and death struggle and a commitment to follow God’s thoughts. The degree to which we are engaged in both determines how willing or how willful we are. James shows us how to pursue God’s thoughts and not our own:
“Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up” (James 4:7-10.)
We must commit to not being double-minded. We need to make a daily effort to choose God’s thoughts.
Bill Hutchison