God’s Reality vs Sin’s Simulacrum;
Why Purpose Defeats Reason
Since the Enlightenment people love to label themselves as reasonable; yet, time after time history proves that the purpose-driven emotional approach trumps reason everytime. Why? This post will provide a very modern approach to explain a very ancient problem. However, since itself is a reasoned explanation its acceptability will be restricted to those who have already been biblically saved (Ro 10:9-10; 2Th 2:3-12).
Simulacrum simply means a copy of the original which in our discussion means that Sin’s Simulacrum is a distortion of God’s Recalcitrant Reality. Christ, through the Father, is the author of all that is created in Heaven and Earth, this Creation (Col 1:15-20). It is recalcitrant in that it does not change to fit man’s, or Satan’s, requirements. This reality flows from the Father who ex nihilo energy-matter out of nothing. Christ then brought order to the chaos of this newly formed according to the Father’s instructions (Ge 1; Jn 5:19-25). Certain aspects of this Creation are empirical and discoverable via our empirical five senses to arrive at logical inferences (He 11:1-3). However, there are aspects of this Creation which are not empirical and thus directly unknowable to Man. These must be understood from discoverable empirical knowing placed in the biblical context which is simply labeled as wisdom (Pr 1:20-33; 2Pe 3:3-9). Hence, logical inferences guided by faith guides man to the conclusion that God exists (Ps 19:1-2; Ro 1:19-20).
Enlightened Man used Natural Philosophy to explore and discover Truth of empirical Creation, and God, through Reason apart from godly wisdom. This is not possible since The Fall as sin marred Man’s nature; i.e., Man chose knowing apart from God (Ge 2:17; 3:1-11; Ro 1:18). God’s Creation is inherently unstable since Man introduced Sin into this Creation choosing to believe The Lie of Satan over Truth of God (Jn 8:44; Ro 8:20-22; 2Th 2:11).
Thus, elements of Creation are empirically unknowable though their effects may be repeatably measured and imperfectly harnessed. Here is the problem; history has shown Man’s various attempts to build a copy of his understanding of creation in order to Control creation and prevent death which invokes judgment proving God’s Truth (He 9:27; 10:26-27). Each simulacrum iteration became increasingly distorted evidenced by Man’s increasing degradation and violence mirroring Satan whose primary commodity is violence (Ez 28:15-17; Ro 1:21-31). The distortion became so great in our modern era that natural philosophy split into philosophy and science.
Science, by definition, is repeatable measurements of empirical Creation, natural phenomenon. Science compares one’s perception of reality, hypothesis, with Recalcitrant Reality. Science requires faithful application of the Laws of Logic to understand the distortion of one’s perception. Yet, science cannot prove one’s hypothesis because the empirical rests upon the non-empirical; i.e., one can define energy from its effects but cannot define its essence. Science forces the practitioner to recognize there is something beyond himself, herself; hence, God. If God exists then the Bible’s teaching of sin and the need for salvation is also true (Ro 3:23; 6:23). One’s sin nature will not accept such a conclusion (2Ti 3:1-7). Therefore, sinful Man rejects science in favor of scientism which morphs into purpose-driven illogic to maintain the illusion of knowing: Simulacrum. Each person manufactures their own personal simulacrum, worldview, which makes each person the hero of their own story. God says, “Come, let us Reason together…,” for Reason is of God; scientism rejects Reason demanding all believe the illusion (Is 1:18; Mt 5:11-12; 1Pe 4:14-16).
Simulacrum Purpose-Driven
Requiring Emotional Blind Allegiance
Simulacrum, and each individual worldview, grows in fear of judgment (1Jo 4:18). To maintain the illusion of coherence, sinners unite with those of like mindedness to reinforce each other’s delusion. Since Reason is rejected evidenced by reliance on logical fallacies such as false dilemma, ad hominem, equivocation, reification and so forth one must have the appearance of reason. They appeal to emotionalism rather than thought. This was seen in the early Enlightenment cults such as Quakers and Shakers, Mormonism, etc. In the 20th century Pentecostalism and Charismatic movements devolved into the Health-Wealth-Prosperity faiths which quickly fell prey to society’s degeneration into Critical Theory emotionalism masquerading as Racism {simply defined as being different from the mantra}.
Unfortunately for Simulacrumism;
Recalcitrant Reality Measure of Failure
Christ in His mercy and longsuffering continually provides Creation as a witness to Man’s sin condition along with the an inner conscience mirroring the Ten Words (Ex 20:1-17). Guilt is a gift informing you of your danger. Christ calls to unreasonable sinners to come and reason with Him; but, they will not (Ro 3:10-18). Christ lets sinners build a world without Him, at least in some measure, though it resonates and amplifies the degradation and violence of their sin. They embrace their sin in defiance even perverting the very body given them to continue life by both destroying and preventing life; i.e., LGBTQAI+. Globalism is simply enlarging one’s majority embracing the logical fallacy of appeal to numbers, self-authority, etc. But God continues to call out some whom He determined to save from before Creation (Ep 1:3-14). This also testifies to the incoherence of their simulacrum.
Christians are Saved Sinners {Simulacrum}
Hagiazo Process Peels Back their Worldviews
When sinners become biblically saved, they retain their simulacrum worldviews. Christ lovingly uses Scripture and the Spirit via the Hagiazo Process to reveal their error of perception. One’s trials and testings result from one’s sin and interactions with Recalcitrant Reality forcing one to understand how one’s view of reality was terribly incoherent. Over time one loses the sinful worldview, simulacrum, to gain a Christ-like view of Truth and Reality. One will never come to complete understanding while in this fleshly body (1Co 13:12). However, maturing in Christ, growing in grace, allows Christians to appreciate Christ’s power over His Creation strengthening one to eschew evil and do the good (He 5:11-14). The new and immature believers who do not easily let go their past delusions do not have peace and become the targets of False Teachers who entice them back into the muck of sin (Ja 4:104; 2Pe 2:17-22).
This world through its sciences of digitization is building a Control Simulacrum matrix of world-wide proportions. They appear to be strengthening but in fact are simply revealing themselves as proudly sinful until their own works testify against them (Re 20:11-15). Christians must realize that our life is now hid in Christ and we must expect them to hate us and they hate(d) Him (Col 3:2-5). We can only live the Truth of the Gospel like lambs before the butcher as Christ. Even when Recalcitrant Reality reveals the error of their Delusion, they remain implacable to God (Re 6:15-17). Yet, we remain hopeful for them as we look for a city to come in eternity future for which we are not worthy except in Him; we want more to join us in that eternal Day (Ge 1:3-5; He 11:8-10: Re 21:1-4, 22-25).