This world is obviously made up of stuff that you can touch, see, smell, taste, or hear. Materialists think the world in which we live is limited to this realm of the knowable, the observable, or the provable. Beyond that, they think there's nothing else real. If it can't be measured or duplicated in a laboratory experiment, it must not be true. So humanity has evolved by chance, creation was an accident, and without God, there are no moral absolutes. This is called scientific rationalism. It is the pervasive belief system that rules America's culture.
This rational way of thinking has enabled us to put men on the moon, invent amazing technology, feed millions, and halt the spread of terrible diseases.
For this reason, university professors, the media, public school systems, and non-religious "paid-off politicians" have lined up against anything supernatural or spiritual. They are inherently anti-religious. Science is their religion or the media would mock them. Few are as articulate about their faith as is Dr. Ben Carson.
This secular bias leaves out the rest of us -- the silent but huge majority of ordinary Americans who happen to read the Bible, follow Christ, try to raise kids in the context of two-parent families, believe prayer works, and think angels are real.
There is a great divide in our American culture. On one side are those who disbelieve anything that is religious or spiritual. They may make God into their image, if they believe at all. On the other, we see people who make room for the mystery of faith, who know that an unseen spiritual realm affects the way people think or behave. What has been your personal experience?
Because I'm a Christian, I experience fellowship with an invisible Person called Holy Spirit, heaven's agent on earth. This delightful Comforter has been my constant companion. For fifty years, I've never been lonely. While most of my life is lived very naturally, some aspects of God's intervention have boggled my mind. My testimony is that God is real; he rewards those who seek him; and he speaks to those who listen. Amazing! All this and heaven too!
So I'm a rational super-naturalist. I simply trust God, listen, and believe him. Years ago I saw my mother healed of an incurable disease. She told us that Jesus appeared and spoke reassuring words to her and then she was well. For those Christians who say this can't happen today, I say "Too late... I've seen it!"
I know science has some truth and some power. But God is not restricted to this space-time dimension. He is above it but can still affect it. He, as a spirit, lives in a realm that's beyond space-time or its quantum properties. Jesus demonstrated this power when he rose from the grave and materialized in a locked room to speak to his disciples. That's why God can hear all of us simultaneously.
Is this irrational? No. It makes perfect sense when you realize how the latest discoveries confirm the Bible's accounts of miracles and creation. My experience of following Jesus shows me that the most satisfying life as a human being is to be a Christian and be in his church. If there were no heaven or no hell, following Christ is rational, ethical, moral, and fulfilling. History says Jesus died for my sins on the cross. The Bible, God's true word, has proven its accuracy. And finally... Jesus gave me his new life and replaced my fear with his love.
RON WOOD IS A WRITER AND MINISTER. HE AND HIS WIFE LIVE IN N.W. ARKANSAS CLOSE TO THEIR SIX GRANDCHILDREN. HE WORKS WITH EMT IN PRAIRIE GROVE AND PASTORS CENTERPOINT BAPTIST CHURCH IN COLCORD, OKLA., JUST WEST OF GENTRY. EMAIL: [email protected]
Editorial on 10/21/2015