The National Intelligence Estimate and the Biblical Worldview, Part II
The thesis of Part I of this article was that the reality of the world as it is (demonstrated by the recently declassified portion of the NIE) gives credence to the fact that pacifism is naive and dangerous in this world. Leaving aside specific questions about criteria for just war or the differences (or potential differences) between governments protecting citizens and Christians peacefully enduring persecution, the bottom line was this: There are wicked people who seek to harm others.
However, deeper issues remain to be discussed. Does the biblical worldview account for such a dangerous world? Does the biblical worldview give answers for people who live in an uncertain and often dangerous world? And does any of this ultimately point us to the gospel of Jesus Christ? The answer on all three counts is yes.
The biblical worldview accounts for the evil in the hearts of men, which in turn is what accounts for all violence and hatred. From the first rebellion of Adam and Eve in the garden, mankind has been plagued by rebellion and wickedness. It reached such proportions by the time of Noah that God determined to destroy his entire creation, except for the remnant on the ark, and start over with Noah's family and the animals preserved with them. In the millenia since then, we have seen no let-up in man's sinfulness. If the history of the world has proven one biblical doctrine true, it is this: men are by nature wicked and sinful. We can see this clearly in the hearts of the terrorists - they have no regard for life which is created in the image of God, they are idolaters in that they worship a false god, they are proud and arrogant, they are full of bitterness and hatred. They are this way (primarily) not because of their culture, the way they were raised, or their ethnic descent. No, they are this way for the same reason we are this way - they are human. Yes, you share their condition. You may come from a culture that restrains what they celebrate or which punishes what they encourage, but remove the external constraints and see what abounds in your heart. Do you not harbor hatred toward others? Do you not fill yourself with pride and find your heart embittered toward others? Only the biblical worldview adequately explains why this is so.
The biblical worldview also accounts for the uncertainty that we deal with in such a dangerous world. The reason why we live in uncertainty is because there are so many things we have little or no control over. Not only is our power limited, but our knowledge is also limited. Not only are we frequently powerless to affect circumstances bigger than us, but we are also frequently unaware of what will soon happen, or sometimes even of what has just happened or is currently happening. The convergence of our limited control/power and our limited knowledge make the world very uncertain. What will happen tomorrow? Will we stop terrorists, or will they kill innocent life? Only a handful of people will actually affect the outcome of that question at any given time, and even they are limited in what they can do. We do not know if we will live or die tomorrow, or whether we or our children will face great peril and hardship. The biblical worldview portrays humans in such a way that such uncertainty not only makes sense, but is expected. Uncertainty in specific instances may or may not be the result of poor political decisions, but uncertainty in general is part of human existence and cannot be avoided.
In the biblical worldview we also have an answer for such uncertainty, however. We are not simply given an explanation of why things are the way they are, and then left to despair over the hopelessness of the situation. Our limited power finds its hope in God's omnipotence, and our limited knowledge finds solace in God's omniscience. After all, God is good, and so we trust his power when we are powerless and trust his knowledge and wisdom when we do not know what is happening or what will happen. In the biblical worldview, one of the prime distinctions between God and man is in this dimension of certainty/uncertainty. For God, all things are certain. For man, all things are uncertain. The answer to our uncertainty, therefore, must be true faith in a strong and good God.
How does all of this point us toward Jesus Christ in the end? Our uncertainty is not universal. That is to say, there are some things we can be certain about - namely, those things that God has revealed to us (for he knows all things). One of the greatest things we can be certain of is that Jesus Christ reigns - and that He is coming again to overthrow all other kings and kingdoms and establish His eternal kingdom! But who will participate in this kingdom? After all, we are all wicked and evil - if not terrorists outside than we have the seed of terrorism inside. By faith we embrace Jesus as our King and Savior, and we trust that on the cross He paid the required price for wickedness. We not only receive forgiveness through Christ, but we become part of His kingdom, and will live with Him and worship forever - a promise that no terrorist, no dirty bomb, no IED, and no nuclear weapon can prevent from being fulfilled.
However, deeper issues remain to be discussed. Does the biblical worldview account for such a dangerous world? Does the biblical worldview give answers for people who live in an uncertain and often dangerous world? And does any of this ultimately point us to the gospel of Jesus Christ? The answer on all three counts is yes.
The biblical worldview accounts for the evil in the hearts of men, which in turn is what accounts for all violence and hatred. From the first rebellion of Adam and Eve in the garden, mankind has been plagued by rebellion and wickedness. It reached such proportions by the time of Noah that God determined to destroy his entire creation, except for the remnant on the ark, and start over with Noah's family and the animals preserved with them. In the millenia since then, we have seen no let-up in man's sinfulness. If the history of the world has proven one biblical doctrine true, it is this: men are by nature wicked and sinful. We can see this clearly in the hearts of the terrorists - they have no regard for life which is created in the image of God, they are idolaters in that they worship a false god, they are proud and arrogant, they are full of bitterness and hatred. They are this way (primarily) not because of their culture, the way they were raised, or their ethnic descent. No, they are this way for the same reason we are this way - they are human. Yes, you share their condition. You may come from a culture that restrains what they celebrate or which punishes what they encourage, but remove the external constraints and see what abounds in your heart. Do you not harbor hatred toward others? Do you not fill yourself with pride and find your heart embittered toward others? Only the biblical worldview adequately explains why this is so.
The biblical worldview also accounts for the uncertainty that we deal with in such a dangerous world. The reason why we live in uncertainty is because there are so many things we have little or no control over. Not only is our power limited, but our knowledge is also limited. Not only are we frequently powerless to affect circumstances bigger than us, but we are also frequently unaware of what will soon happen, or sometimes even of what has just happened or is currently happening. The convergence of our limited control/power and our limited knowledge make the world very uncertain. What will happen tomorrow? Will we stop terrorists, or will they kill innocent life? Only a handful of people will actually affect the outcome of that question at any given time, and even they are limited in what they can do. We do not know if we will live or die tomorrow, or whether we or our children will face great peril and hardship. The biblical worldview portrays humans in such a way that such uncertainty not only makes sense, but is expected. Uncertainty in specific instances may or may not be the result of poor political decisions, but uncertainty in general is part of human existence and cannot be avoided.
In the biblical worldview we also have an answer for such uncertainty, however. We are not simply given an explanation of why things are the way they are, and then left to despair over the hopelessness of the situation. Our limited power finds its hope in God's omnipotence, and our limited knowledge finds solace in God's omniscience. After all, God is good, and so we trust his power when we are powerless and trust his knowledge and wisdom when we do not know what is happening or what will happen. In the biblical worldview, one of the prime distinctions between God and man is in this dimension of certainty/uncertainty. For God, all things are certain. For man, all things are uncertain. The answer to our uncertainty, therefore, must be true faith in a strong and good God.
How does all of this point us toward Jesus Christ in the end? Our uncertainty is not universal. That is to say, there are some things we can be certain about - namely, those things that God has revealed to us (for he knows all things). One of the greatest things we can be certain of is that Jesus Christ reigns - and that He is coming again to overthrow all other kings and kingdoms and establish His eternal kingdom! But who will participate in this kingdom? After all, we are all wicked and evil - if not terrorists outside than we have the seed of terrorism inside. By faith we embrace Jesus as our King and Savior, and we trust that on the cross He paid the required price for wickedness. We not only receive forgiveness through Christ, but we become part of His kingdom, and will live with Him and worship forever - a promise that no terrorist, no dirty bomb, no IED, and no nuclear weapon can prevent from being fulfilled.
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