Is Theology Dead
 
 

For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance, as you know what kind of men we were among you for your sake. 1 st Thessalonians 1:5

Is there a place in this modern world for theology, well if you were to ask the vast majority of people living in the west they would probably argue for the no? However if you were to ask the same people for the existence of God, then you would most probably get a majority saying yes. This would of course be a private matter to them and not to be openly discussed? It has never ceased to amaze me how people want to live a life without God, but when they die, they would want to spend an eternity with Him? I have had countless or should I say I have tried to have countless discussions with people regarding the existence of God, most would just say I don't believe, or there's no proof, and when trying to respond they shut down and will just not listen. Many people say that believing in God is personal to them and do not want to talk regarding their faith. Of course this is just a cop out, as they do not want their lifestyles to be challenged. They know that the life they are living is in total contradiction to what the Bible teaches. They also argue by stating or should I say trying to state that men wrote the Bible and that the interpretation might be wrong, who is to know? There are too many different interpretations of the Bible so why should I listen to you? The excuses just go on and on and round and round. Now the world in essence as a number of religions, they range from the many religions in the world, and their basic beliefs would range from monotheism, to henotheism, to polytheism, animism, to the pluralism, and ecumenicalism of today (1) . Then we have the evolutionists and of course the great philosophers of the world, many have come and gone and where are they now? For example as we look very briefly at the teachings of Friedrich Nietzsche (1844 – 1900), who stated or held the view that God was created by man and not man by God. Nietzsche believed in “biology instead of theology,” he taught in essence the herd mentality or morality of mankind, basically stating that men huddled themselves together to find strength and support, instead they should have branched out individually and found their own way in life. Therefore looking to God to help and guidance robbed man of his own existence and identity. He coined a new word to explain his theory “supernature” and here we have the makings for the “only the strong will survive mentality.” Nietzsche stated that there needed to arise a supernature (superman – or more accurately overman), which would refuse to submit to political or religious authority or tradition. He would break out of the herd mentality, and go beyond what is called good and evil and thus establish his own moral system. Here then we can easily see why Adolph Hitler caught on to the teaching of Nietzsche and used it in his own philosophy and worldview in creating the third Reich (2) . However this was a wrong view of what actually Nietzsche was trying to teach, he was not advocating the physical strength of men but rather the psychical strength of man. Thus the strong are those who are more complete, as human beings those who have learnt to control their passions, and to channel this will power into a more creative force (3) . There are many people who have tried to live an educated and intellectual life, they have tried to pass this knowledge on and what do we see.

The Last Days According to Jesus. RC Sproul P.18.

Does God believe in Atheists? John Blanchard. P.75

Philosophy 100 Essential Thinkers. Philip Stokes. P.147.

 
 
   
 
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