The hidden trap of "reason"

Submitted by Michael S, Dec 3, 2018 at 17:27

Jim,

You seem to be trying to apply your sense of reason, to understand the mess that has resulted from the "Enlightenment", or "Age of Reason". Therein seems to lie a hidden trap. When I look back at the actual results of applying the results of "enlightened" thinking, namely, the slavery, cruelty and oppression that was carried out in the name of "enlightening" the world, I see anything but the workings of "reason". Much less, do I see these things arising out of the "religion" that you say conservatives have reflexively retreated into. Instead, I see that human reason itself is perverse, self-centered and immoral.

Here is a biblical example of the outworkings of human reason:

Genesis 4:
[13] And Cain said unto the LORD, My punishment is greater than I can bear.
[14] Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me.
[15] And the LORD said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the LORD set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him....

(Later in that chapter)

[23] And Lamech said unto his wives, Adah and Zillah, Hear my voice; ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech: for I have slain a man to my wounding, and a young man to my hurt.
[24] If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold.

If you missed the gist of it, it is this: Whenever man is given something, he considers himself entitle to it, and wants more. The Bible calls this "lust"; and it doesn't just inhabit our senses: it infects our REASON and takes over our whole life. This is the downfall of the "Enlightenment".

As the late Dr. J. Vernon McGee once said, "The 'New Morality' is nothing more than the 'Old Immorality'".

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