We were created to seek after God (Acts 17:24-27). However, for generations, those in power in the scientific and educational arenas have had a commitment to Naturalism and sought to remove God from our lives like the description in Romans 1:18-32. As Paul noted the implications of the false doctrine which denied the Resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15:12-18, we should also think through the implications of Naturalism. If all that exists is material, then God, who is Spirit (Jn. 4:24), must not exist. All of us, then, must be made entirely of matter, and our conduct must then be a result of physical laws and processes without any mind or spirit above the physical. Free will, then, must not exist for every “decision” would really be the outcome of a physical process which, given our brain states, could not have any other result. People, then, are not morally responsible for their acts any more than a rock is responsible for falling down a hillside.
To be free of God and moral responsibility seems attractive for many, but what results is a lack of purpose in life which leads to despair. Arthur Miller, in his play, “After the Fall” noted this in a statement by his seemingly autobiographical character Quentin, “You know, more and more I think that for many years I looked at life like a case at law, a series of proofs. When you’re young you prove how brave you are, or smart; then, what a good lover; then a good father; finally, how wise, or powerful…I think now that my disaster really began when I looked up one day—and the bench was empty. No judge in sight. And all that remained was this endless argument with oneself—this pointless litigation of existence before an empty bench. Which, of course, is another way of saying—despair.”[1] These are not just misguided conclusions of an artist. Naturalism, with its lack of free will, lack of foundation for right and wrong, and lack of an afterlife leads to Nihilism.
In Ecclesiastes, Solomon considers what is the ultimate meaning in all that is done “under the sun”; thus, limiting his scope to just this life with no final judgment, he concludes, “Then I looked on all the works that my hands had done and on the labor in which I had toiled; and indeed all was vanity and grasping for the wind. There was no profit under the sun” (2:11). His only recourse from this despair was realizing man’s duty to God, the judge of good and evil, “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man’s all. For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil” (Ecc. 12:13-14).
Naturalism is missing something. It wants to limit reality to only material processes, but then it finds itself at odds with free will. Determinism is the only way to remain consistent with naturalism. But when determinism is realized to be devoid of morality and meaning, consistency demands that one conclude that reality is not limited to natural processes. God must exist. Our lives do have meaning. The Judge of all is at the bench (Rev. 20:12). We will live beyond our physical bodies and give an account before the Lord of what we have done in our bodies (2 Cor. 5:10; Heb. 9:27). We must repent and humble ourselves before Him (Acts 17:30, 31).
[1] Arthur Miller. The Portable Arthur Miller. Edited By Christopher Bigsby. New York: Penguin, 1995. P. 262
