Articles
Ideas Have Consequences
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Hear, O earth!
Behold, I will certainly bring calamity on this people—
The fruit of their thoughts,
Because they have not heeded My words
Nor My law, but rejected it.
(Jer. 6:19)
Although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. (Rom. 1:21)
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When we reckon people as "good" or "bad," we usually base that judgment on how they act, what they do. But how people behave is merely a fruit of how they think. Which is to say: the real genesis of good and evil in this world is the mental model of the world that people construct in their minds and by which they order their lives.
Ideas have consequences. It makes a huge difference how we think about life.
What we think about God determines whether we feel accountable for our behavior. The fear of judgment may be a crude incentive; but it IS an incentive and has played a major role in keeping millions of people at least marginally civilized. On the other hand, if we convince ourselves there is no God, then there is nothing preventing us from acting like animals. Oh, we might use lofty language to convince ourselves of the importance of human rights, but deep inside we know we're fooling ourselves. "If there is no God, everything is permitted" (Fyodor Dostoyevsky).
What we think about the concept of truth influences how we make decisions. If we believe this world is constructed around a framework of physical and ontological laws, we will make an effort to understand those laws, and make choices that align with those laws. To do otherwise is self-destructive. Conversely, if we see the universe as one grand exercise in chaos, then we are less likely to recognize any rules by which we should regulate our lives. The result is the kind of psychological disorders we see today, where people struggle even to figure out what gender they are. No truth, no rules, no order.
What we think about ourselves shapes how we use our time. If we see ourselves as nothing more than biological blobs that arose out of some ancient primordial ooze, having no purpose and no destiny, then we will struggle to see any purpose in our lives. Why bother, if it doesn't matter? My only "purpose" is to compete with other meaningless biological blobs for whatever crumbs I can grab for myself. Survival of the fittest. However, if we see ourselves as creatures made in the image of God, objects of God's love possessing inherent worth, we have reason to face life with courage and optimism. This life is not all there is, and we're looking forward to something better beyond.
When people become futile in their thoughts, their outward lives become futile. "The fruit of their thoughts" will destroy them. When a whole culture becomes futile in their thinking, social collapse is the inevitable outcome.
Ideas have consequences. Think about it.
--David
