Commentary: Humanism Dominates

#1386c
John W. Ritenbaugh (1932-2023)
Given 01-Jul-17; 12 minutes

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There is no doubt in my mind from information gathered from the biblical record that for two basic reasons, the breaking of the First Commandment is the worst sin as evaluated from any angle.

The first reason is because history shows breaking that commandment opens the door to breaking all the others. The second reason is that breaking that commandment is the very epitome of self-centered carnality, thus pushing God completely from consideration regarding one’s conduct.

I believe that idolatry is clearly shown in the biblical record that virtually every time God names a cause for His punishments, regardless of what century it occurs in or who are the personalities involved, God reports that the reason is some form of idolatry.

Idolatry occurs whenever someone or something is given greater influence over the course of one’s determining and carrying out either an individual action, thought, attitude, or the continuous choices of one’s life, than the Creator God.

The term, “before Me,” has the sense in Hebrew as being synonymous with the English, “In preference to Me,” or in “competition with Me.” God demands exclusive attention as God. There is no competition with Him. Is that asking too much of us?

I’ve given these brief commentaries since sometime in 2008. I believe from reviewing my records that, except for one other subject, I have given more on some aspect of humanism than any other. "Humanism" is the title of the modern practice of idolatry.

I use "humanism" because to me the term secularism silently evades the source of the problem. The source is clearly defined by the term, using "human" as its root. Humanism is a way of life lived preferring, and thus dominated by, the dictates of human nature.

Holiness, by way of contrast, requires the exercise of serious, honest thinking and requires a major quantity of restraint on our part. But in America over the past century, humanists have seized control of religion, education, business, government and entertainment.

A culture that began with a solid foundation of God’s holy laws has been so undermined that cultural havoc has been created and very large numbers of American citizen are living as though they have no one to answer to—whether human or divine.

Virtue has been lost. This is very important to the quality of life because virtuous people guarantee freedom and liberty because virtue insures liberty. God tells us the glory of a nation lies in its righteousness, not the density and size of its population, nor its material wealth, nor manufacturing power, nor military equipment.

Just to give you a brief reminder of how far we’ve fallen in regard to liberty, it was in 1972 that the Supreme Court granted permission for Americans to legally murder an innocent child—of course, as long as that child was in the womb. The child couldn't complain; the child couldn't fight back. Such cowards we are to commit murder in that way! "Life, liberty and ... happiness" no longer mattered in such a case for those humans. Today in some American big city cultures, 70% of its babies are murdered through abortion.

Here is another digression from the right behavior that produces liberty and freedom. In 2015, five American Supreme Court justices, including three women—and this is incredible to me—somehow unearthed (from within the bowels of the American Constitution yet) the constitutional right to homosexual marriage. There is not a thing said about marriage at any place in the Constitution.

What the humanist especially and the common American citizen who is still at least mildly religious and believing God are overlooking is the God will not allow America to slide by any more than He allowed Judah and Israel to slide by in their sins.

We must be very close to when the piper must be paid. Unless sins are repented of, the piper will be paid by the blood of America’s and the Western world’s citizens because we should know better, because of our spiritual education which we are ignoring.

Listen carefully to this:

Proverbs 6:16-19 There are six things the Lord hates, no seven things He detests [the Amplified Bible says, "are revolting to Him"]: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that kill the innocent, a heart that plots evil, feet that race to do wrong, a false witness who pours out lies, a person who sows discord in a family.

Psalm 111:10 adds, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." Humanist’s absolutely do not fear the Lord. They hate Him and therefore reject Him, having nothing to do with Him.

Here is an overview of what this hatred’s fruit is. I am going to go through those seven things very quickly.

Haughty eyes: Pride is Satan primary vice and it stands in the sharpest opposition of all against God in man, too. Pride, the haughty eyes of the humanist, rejects all thought of submission to God. That is how he expresses his pride. They’ve persuaded mankind to follow them into the swamp.

Their lying tongues regarding God have flooded the American media. Lies fill our airwaves and press with false news, sustaining the confusion.

Through abortion, the most innocent of all are murdered even before they leave the womb, and murders on the streets are at an alarming rate. Charlotte has always been fairly well known as being a safe town to live in. But we are on track to double the murder total of 2016.

How about a heart that plots evil and feet that race to do wrong? There is hardly a day goes by in America anymore that one does not hear of crowds of people gathering gathering to demand more costly services from a government trying to manage an economy hopelessly in trillions of dollars of debt. We've created a people who have their hands out, who want everything for free. There is no such thing.

Are you absolutely confident that testimonies given before government committees are honest in every way, regardless of who is giving them, so that peace blossoms out?

All seven of those sins that God hates are everyday affairs in the United States of America. How much longer can we last? Several more years, maybe, until His patience runs out? All seven of those sins the Lord hates are being committed with impunity by the humanistic governmental, educational, business, media, religious and entertainment leadership that has seized control of every vital aspect of this nation over the past 75 years, and God is totally missing from their operations even though He may be mentioned in passing on occasion.

This nation is but a shell of its former greatness. As events are clearly showing, its doom is sealed unless a true repentance revolutionizes conditions.

JWR/aws/dcg