7/17/19 Britney and Don (See video HERE)
Are you a “naturalist”?
Do you love nature and appreciate it’s design, creativity, artistry, and
attention to detail? I know I do. I had just spent some time earlier in the day
with my wife appreciating and taking a few pictures of interesting plants and
insects at a state park, so I laughed to myself when I saw a young couple at
our local city park doing the same thing.
The couple – Britney and Don, were willing to answer my
questions about their religious beliefs, which turned out to be a rejection of
the beliefs of their Catholic upbringing in favor of ideas about reincarnation
or joining a more general “life force” after death. Britney said that as she became more
educated, these ideas seemed more logical to her. I asked if she was a “naturalist”, and I now
realize that’s not a very fair question, because the word “naturalist” has two
meanings which are very different from each other.
The first meaning of “naturalist” just refers to someone who
is “…well versed in natural history, especially in zoology or botany.” In this sense, I believe all people should be
naturalists because the more we notice and know about nature, the more
impressed we can and should be by its Creator. Nature is truly awesome, and to
me, an obvious sign of how much more awesome is the Creator who made it all.
Paul was aware of this when he wrote: “For since the creation of the world God’s
invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen,
being understood from what has been made.”
Nature, which is visible to us,
can really help us understand the invisible qualities of God, such as His
patience, His explosive power, His attention to detail, and His extravagant excesses,
to name a few.
However, the second meaning of “naturalist” leaves God or a
Creator out of the equation entirely. A “naturalist”
is one who practices “naturalism”, - the idea or belief that only natural laws
and forces operate in the world.
Paul also wrote about this view of creation that denies a
Creator: “…people are without excuse. For
although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to
him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.
Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of
the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds
and animals and reptiles.”
Paul explains that one has to make an effort to deny the
Creator, since He has left evidence of His work all around us in nature. People would rather design or invent their
own god, rather than be accountable to a God that holds them to His own
standard of morality. Although we all
have a moral conscience, many want to believe it is on their own terms rather
than God-given, and so they find they must re-invent their own god as
well. This is what is known and
condemned throughout the Bible as idolatry.
The images of God we create may or may not take physical
form. They may just be an image or set
of ideas about God in our imagination, but they become idols nonetheless. The only way we can escape the sin of
idolatry is to take God at His word and receive His revelation of Himself generally
through creation and specifically through Holy Scripture. This is where nature and the Bible comes in,
and, more specifically, where studying and following Jesus becomes of utmost
importance, who is “the image of the invisible God” (Col.1)
Our role as humans – made in God’s image but corrupted by our
sinful rebellion – is not to define God but to receive God’s revelation of
Himself. Later in Colossians we read
that God’s people have “…taken off your old self with its practices and have
put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its
Creator.” We do this by reading God’s
Word, by following Jesus, and, yes, by observing and delighting in God’s
beautiful creation as I saw Britney and Rob doing there at the park.
Thanks, Britney and Rob, for allowing me to record an
interesting conversation! It can be seen HERE at https://youtu.be/3I2VHo8nSgE
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