SOUL VN

Agnosticism is a belief system based on the philosophical view that people cannot know the truth about God. The word agnostic literally means, in Greek, without gnosis (knowledge). Agnosticism is a form of skepticism. There are gradient forms of agnosticism. But they all boil down to a philosophy that says, "I don't know."

However, the Bible teaches that God has "set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end." Ecclesiastes 3:11. The philosopher St. Augustine, described this phenomenon as follows: "you made us for yourself and our hearts find no peace until

they rest in you." Augustine, Confessions. The Apostle Paul put it this way: "From the creation of the world His invisible attributes, that is, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what He has made. As a result, people are without excuse." Romans 1:20.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 and Romans 1:20 indicate that agnostics are not being truthful to themselves when they say, "I don't know" if God exists.

The other day I was listening to Bill O'Reilly's radio program when I drove home from work. O'Reilly was discussing an atheist group's objection to a Christmas display in a town square. The atheists said Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ and it was inappropriate for Government to promote the Christian religion. O'Reilly argued that governmental recognition of Christmas was an acceptable tribute to "the philosopher Jesus."

At first, I was slightly offended that O'Reilly would refer to Jesus as a philosopher. At first, I felt he may have been equating Jesus to philosophers like Socrates, Aristotle, Descartes, or Rand. However, after thinking about it some more, I realized that O'Reilly was right (maybe without even knowing it). Jesus Christ is a philosopher. He teaches and brings us the truth. Jesus Christ is the greatest philosopher and the only philosopher we need. He said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life." John 14:6.

The New Testament of the Bible has several stories about a group of Jewish religious leaders called the Pharisees. The Pharisees lived during the time of Jesus. Although the Pharisees were Jewish religious leaders, they were threatened by Jesus' radical teaching. Even though Jesus healed the sick and performed miracles, the Pharisees actively plotted against Him.

In Matthew Chapter 21, there is a story about a time that these religious chief priests and elders confronted Jesus to ask him where he obtained his miracle-working authority.  When He entered the temple complex, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to Him as He was teaching and said, "By what authority are You doing these things? Who gave You this authority?" Jesus answered them, "I will also ask you one question, and if you answer it for Me, then I will tell you by what authority I do these things. Where did John's baptism come from? From heaven or from men?"

They began to argue among themselves, "If we say, 'From heaven,' He will say to us, 'Then why didn't you believe him? But if we say, 'From men,' we're afraid of the crowd, because everyone thought John was a prophet." So they answered Jesus, "We don't know."

And He said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things."

Him as He was teaching and said, "By what authority are You doing these things? Who gave You this authority?"

Jesus answered them, "I will also ask you one question, and if you answer it for Me, then I will tell you by what authority I do these things. Where did John's baptism come from? From heaven or from men?"

They began to argue among themselves, "If we say, 'From heaven,' He will say to us, 'Then why didn't you believe him? But if we say, 'From men,' we're afraid of the crowd, because everyone thought John was a prophet." So they answered Jesus, "We don't know."

And He said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things."

Matthew 12:23-27. These verses teach us that men cannot fathom the Kingdom of Heaven without taking two essential steps. First, we must recognize that we need God. Second, we must have a real response to that need, i.e., repentance. Finally, after we recognize our need for God and repent, through Jesus, the Kingdom of God is revealed into our hearts.

The prophet John the Baptizer, to whom Jesus refers in these verses, preached about repentance. John the Baptizer's ministry began before Jesus began preaching and teaching. In fact, Jesus' earthly ministry did not begin until after he was baptized by John, who declared Jesus to be the lamb of God. John 1:29.

John the Baptizer's foremost message was for people to recognize their sin, and to turn from it and back to God. He baptized people to show their commitment to change from living selfishly for themselves, to living for God, i.e., to show their repentance. John the Baptizer was a popular preacher and he was recognized by many people and by Jesus as God's' prophet.

                          By asking the Pharisee's their opinion on whether "John's baptism" message was from Heaven or men, Jesus was essentially asking if the chief priests and elders believed John was God's prophet. If they believed his message of repentance was true.

However, Jesus' question "Where did John's baptism come from? From heaven or from men?" does not just apply to the chief priests and elders of his day. It transcends them. Jesus' question applies to all people and generations since, including us.

Notice that the chief priests and elders were concerned about how to answer Jesus' question. They debated conceding that John's message of repentance was true, a word from God, but they were more afraid that Jesus would confront them with their personal need for repentance. The chief priests and elders were unwilling to examine themselves to this degree. Are we?

On the other hand, the chief priests and elders were aware that John the Baptizer's message was generally accepted as true amongst the people. Therefore, they were reluctant to argue that John the Baptizer was not a man sent from Heaven. They figured that they would lose influence and credibility with the Hebrew people if they expressed an opinion that John's message was from men, i.e., not from God. The chief priests and elders took the easy way out of the situation and just told Jesus, "I don't know."

A lot of people in our culture are the same way. It is easy just to say, "I don't know" when we consider eternity and God's Kingdom. In fact, with evolution in the school, moral relativism, secular humanism, and a myriad of competing religious in the media, it is very easy for people to just express the "I don't know" answer when confronted with spiritual questions.

But look how Jesus reacted when they said, "I don't know." He told them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things." Matthew 12:28.

Jesus' response shows that he cannot accept "I don't know." The story tells us that unless a person recognizes the need for God and models true repentance, then he cannot know Jesus or God's Kingdom.

Jesus' message in Matthew Chapter 21 shows that an agnostic philosophical worldview is inconsistent with God's will for our lives. In addition, it suggests that as long as we refuse to recognize the need for the Kingdom of God in our hearts and until we truely repent of sin, we cannot even understand Jesus' authority.

Additional articles by this author can be found at http://photontorpedotube.blogspot.com