Captive Philosophy (Part One)

Colossians 2:8 ^“See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.”

This last week’s mid-week Bible Study lesson in the “Truth Project” was too jam-packed with thought-provoking Theological reality that it is just going to take a couple posts to pack this box-full of teaching from Professor Dr. Del Tackett from “Focus on the Family”, because nobody really wants to be taken captive through empty and deceptive philosophy. What is Philosophy? The Noah Webster’s 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language defines Philosophy as “Literally, the love of wisdom. But in modern acceptation, philosophy is a general term denoting an explanation of the reasons of things; or an investigation of the causes of all phenomena both of mind and of matter. When applied to any particular department of knowledge, it denotes the collection of general laws or principles under which all the subordinate phenomena or facts relating to that subject, are comprehended. Thus, that branch of philosophy which treats of God is called theology; that which treats of nature, is called physics or natural philosophy; that which treats of man is called logic and ethics, or moral philosophy; that which treats of the mind is called intellectual or mental philosophy, or metaphysics. The objects of philosophy are to ascertain facts or truth, and the causes of things or their phenomena; to enlarge our views of God and his works, and to render our knowledge of both practically useful and subservient to human happiness. True religion and true philosophy must ultimately arrive at the same principle.” American Theologian R.C. Sproul adds that Philosophy is the love of wisdom to discover ultimate reality.

Psalm 78:7-8 “That they may set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep His commandments; And may not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation that did not set its heart aright, and whose spirit was not faithful to God.”

Some questions were posed, in which the intent is not to insult, but to get us to ponder and reflect upon for growing and improving. Do we live like God is not there? Do you and I believe in the Omnipresence of God - that God’s presence is with us? When men and women reject God, humans don’t like to live in a vacuum, so add spirits into the “God is not real” cosmic box. Thus we have false religions, spiritual naturalism, idealism, materialism, empiricism, rationalism, determinism, relativism, mentalism, mechanism, solipsism, subjectivism, intuitionism, hedonism, higher powers and forces, et cetera for that which cannot be explained “inside-the-box”. We see now that God is being left outside the definition of life because the sovereign Creator of the Cosmos has been thrown outside the “cosmic cube” of deceptive unbelief, yet we look for reality inside “an empty box”, for answers to the universal questions of life. What is existence? What is thought, reason, and knowledge? What is the meaning and purpose of life? The particulars of creation and life fall into place when the universal truths are known.  

So that this post doesn't get too long, and that we came take a day to absorb these deep thoughts on life, let's stop here and pick this lesson up right here tomorrow.

In Christ, Brian