Participants:
Series Code: AU
Program Code: AU000111S
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00:01 - Today, we're gonna think outside the box
00:02 just a little to see what we can discover 00:05 when we step away from some of our everyday assumptions. 00:09 [slow light music] 00:30 I am sure you've seen one of those puzzles 00:31 where you're presented with a series of dots on a page, 00:34 three rows of three dots in a perfect square. 00:38 It's called the nine-dot problem. 00:41 And the challenge is to connect all nine dots 00:42 by using just four connected lines. 00:45 And of course, it looks like 00:47 there's absolutely no way to do it 00:49 until you realize that nobody actually said 00:52 you had to stay inside any kind of boundary. 00:55 The way we naturally organize our thoughts, 00:57 we assume that the square form by those nine dots 01:00 is the entire field of play, 01:02 and subconsciously we draw a boundary around it. 01:05 But when you dispense with the boundary 01:07 and assume that the plane you're drawing on extends 01:10 in every direction forever, 01:12 suddenly it's possible you can connect all nine dots 01:14 with just four lines. 01:17 It's an exercise we used to teach creative thinking 01:19 to encourage people to look at problems 01:22 from a lot of different perspectives. 01:25 And what we hope will happen 01:27 is that we become very creative problem solvers. 01:30 And then we can hope that we can apply 01:32 those out-of-the-box thinking skills 01:34 to the very worst difficulties we face as a human race. 01:38 If we could just break out of the unspoken rules, 01:40 then maybe we could finally find a way 01:43 to defeat some of the horrible problems 01:45 that have haunted us 01:47 almost as long as we've been here. 01:49 We barely realize 01:51 that we are prisoners of our assumptions, 01:54 and some of those assumptions may be preventing us 01:57 from solving a bunch of very serious issues. 02:01 Take for example, the dead crow 02:03 I found on my walk home from school one day 02:05 way back in ancient history 02:07 when kids actually had to walk to school. 02:10 The bird was out in the warm sun 02:12 and it was in pretty bad shape. 02:14 I poked it with a stick, 02:15 which suddenly caused hundreds of little maggots 02:18 to spill out on the ground. 02:20 Now, that was quite a find. 02:22 Because in the world I grew up in, 02:24 those little larvae were incredibly useful 02:27 because rainbow trout 02:28 and arctic grayling really, really like them. 02:31 But aside from that, 02:33 those larvae also piqued my curiosity. 02:36 How in the world did they get inside that crow? 02:39 Now you and I know the answer, 02:41 and it's really pretty simple. 02:42 Flies like to lay their eggs in meat 02:45 so that the larvae will have something to eat 02:47 when they hatch. 02:48 But here's the thing. 02:51 For thousands of years, 02:52 we didn't understand that. 02:54 It's hard to believe this, 02:55 but there was a time 02:57 in the not too distant past 02:58 when we actually believe 03:00 that life can spontaneously emerge from non-life. 03:04 So for example, 03:05 consider this rather stunning assertion 03:08 from the great philosopher Aristotle 03:10 who said, "So also some animals 03:12 are produced from animals of a similar form." 03:15 In other words, 03:17 Aristotle's talking about natural reproduction. 03:19 But then he says this, 03:22 "the origin of others is spontaneous, 03:24 and not from similar forms; 03:26 from these and from plants 03:28 are divided those which spring from putrid matter, 03:32 this is the case with many insects." 03:34 So in other words, 03:35 Aristotle taught that maggots come from meat. 03:38 And for many long centuries 03:39 after he made that erroneous observation, 03:42 most of us believed in something known 03:44 as spontaneous generation. 03:46 We actually thought that life 03:48 can just emerge from non-life. 03:51 And it's easy to scoff at our stupidity back then 03:54 because today we know better. 03:56 But never forget that somewhere down the line, 03:59 somebody's gonna be making fun 04:01 of some of our very best ideas, 04:04 and they're gonna think that we weren't very bright. 04:07 But that's kind of the nature of assumptions. 04:09 And if you and I didn't make assumptions, 04:11 the act of living would become kind of tricky. 04:14 If you and I had to analyze every single decision 04:16 we ever made before we made it, 04:18 it would lead to paralysis 04:20 because there's not enough time in the day 04:22 to analyze absolutely everything. 04:25 And for a man who lives some 2300 years ago, 04:28 it didn't really matter how the maggots got there. 04:31 All he needed to know 04:33 was that a dead animal could provide him 04:34 with bait and he could go fishing. 04:36 In other words, the assumption worked. 04:39 He didn't have to observe the flies laying their eggs 04:42 in order to take advantage of his discovery. 04:44 So all day long, 04:46 you and I make all kinds of completely 04:48 unfounded assumptions about all kinds of things. 04:51 I mean, just because the sun came up 04:53 every single morning over the last 20,000 days of my life, 04:57 except maybe the times I've been above the Arctic Circle, 05:00 well, just because it came up faithfully every single day, 05:04 there is no guarantee 100% 05:07 then it's gonna come up tomorrow. 05:10 Based on my past experience, I just assume that it will, 05:13 and it's a useful assumption 05:15 because it helps me plan the day, 05:17 and it gives me some level of assurance that life is stable 05:20 and will continue. 05:22 But at the end of the day, 05:25 it's still just an assumption. 05:27 You have no way of intellectually proving that. 05:30 Just ask the Scottish philosopher David Hume, 05:33 who exerted an unbelievable amount of energy 05:35 trying to demonstrate how little we actually know for sure. 05:39 And actually, he gave up on the notion 05:41 of really understanding something 05:42 we all take for granted, 05:44 cause and effect. 05:46 Hume denied that such a thing exists. 05:50 But we can talk about David Hume some other day. 05:53 You and I assume all kinds of things 05:56 all the time. 05:57 Assumptions that help us navigate 05:59 our brief human lifespan. 06:01 And those assumptions are a good thing 06:04 until they're not. 06:05 In the case of spontaneous generation, 06:07 our assumptions probably kept us from conquering 06:10 a lot of simple diseases. 06:12 Back in 1668, Francesco Redi 06:15 proved that spontaneous generation is impossible. 06:19 And by 1859, about 2000 years after Aristotle, 06:25 Louis Pasteur took advantage of his discovery 06:28 to give us pasteurization. 06:30 It turns out it you sterilize a medium, 06:33 like milk or meat 06:35 and then seal it off from the outside world, 06:37 you can stop the growth of undesirable forms like bacteria. 06:42 And of course, that helped us develop 06:44 the clean food sources and sterile operating theaters 06:47 that you and I enjoy to this day. 06:50 So sometimes assumptions 06:52 as useful as they are in everyday life 06:54 are not a good thing. 06:56 Like back in 1899 when Charles Duell, 06:59 the commissioner of the American Patent Office declared, 07:02 "Everything that can be invented has been invented." 07:06 Now, there were no devastating consequences 07:08 because of his attitude, 07:11 and he didn't really hurt anybody. 07:13 But stop and think about everything 07:15 that's been invented in the last 120 years. 07:17 And I think you'll notice 07:18 what a stupid thing that was to say. 07:21 Or maybe consider the far more consequential assumption 07:24 the Japanese made when Admiral Yamamoto and others 07:28 decided that bombing Pearl Harbor 07:30 would discourage the Americans from fighting them 07:32 as they expanded further and further into the South Pacific. 07:36 Yamamoto actually said that he wanted to, quote, 07:38 "fiercely attack and destroy the United States main fleet 07:42 at the outset of the war 07:43 so that the morale of the United States Navy 07:46 and her people would sink to an extent 07:48 that it could not be recovered." 07:50 Man, oops. 07:52 As you and I both know, the raid on Pearl Harbor 07:54 had the opposite effect, 07:56 and it led to a lot more catastrophic decisions, 07:59 not the least of which was the world premier 08:02 of a devastating new technology, the A bomb. 08:06 So sometimes you've got to wonder 08:08 just how much of world history 08:11 has been driven by human assumptions. 08:13 I know we like to deceive ourselves into thinking 08:16 that we are perfectly rational beings all the time. 08:19 And that ever since the enlightenment, 08:21 we've been operating from a platform of pure reason. 08:25 But you and I both know that's not entirely true, 08:28 and I'll be right back after this short message 08:30 to pick up where we just left off. 08:33 [slow light music] 08:36 - [Presenter 1] Here at the "Voice of Prophecy," 08:38 we're committed to creating top quality programming 08:40 for the whole family, 08:42 like our audio adventure series, "Discovery Mountain." 08:45 "Discovery Mountain" is a Bible-based program 08:47 for kids of all ages and backgrounds. 08:50 Your family will enjoy the faith building stories 08:52 from this small mountain summer camp and down. 08:55 With 24 seasonal episodes every year 08:57 and fresh content every week, 09:00 there's always a new adventure just on the horizon. 09:06 - You know, I don't know why I didn't pay more attention 09:08 to the works of Alexander Pope when I was a kid, 09:11 but the youthful brain 09:12 doesn't always appreciate the good things 09:14 that our teachers are trying to share with us. 09:16 So it really wasn't until I was an adult 09:18 that I began to appreciate what a treasure Mr. Pope left 09:21 to the English speaking world. 09:23 And just the other day, 09:24 I was reading his essay on criticism 09:27 when I came across something pretty amazing. 09:29 Here's what it says, 09:31 "Music resembles poetry, in each 09:33 Are nameless graces which no methods teach, 09:36 And which a master-hand alone can reach. 09:39 If, where the rules not far enough extend, 09:42 Since rules were made but promote their end 09:45 Some lucky license answers to the full 09:47 Th'intent proposed that license is a rule." 09:52 As you might have guessed from the title of the poem, 09:54 he's talking about criticism. 09:56 He's dividing the public up into creators and critics, 09:59 and then he spends thousands 10:01 of words talking about the behavior 10:03 of those two different camps. 10:05 And I guess I get a kick out of reading that, 10:07 because as a minister, 10:08 I've been dealing with criticism most of my life. 10:11 It really doesn't matter 10:12 how careful I am when I talk about ideas, 10:14 and I'm not always as careful as I could be. 10:17 But invariably, I'll get an angry letter or two 10:20 from somebody who's utterly outraged 10:22 by something I said. 10:24 And the advent of social media 10:26 has only made this problem worse, 10:27 because we now seem to think 10:29 that every opinion out there deserves an angry rebuttal. 10:32 And if we're really mad, 10:34 we'll try to get somebody canceled. 10:37 But here in in this poem, at this point, 10:40 Alexander Pope touches on something really important. 10:43 It's out-of-the-box thinking. 10:46 There's no question that a successful civilization 10:48 has to have rules, guidelines 10:50 for how things should be done. 10:52 So for example, 10:53 if we didn't have rules about driving on the left, 10:55 the freeways would end up being a bigger mess 10:58 than they already are. 11:00 If we didn't have unspoken rules for standing in line, 11:03 then going shopping would be a social nightmare 11:05 like it is on Black Friday 11:06 when people stand outside all night 11:08 and then trample each other the moment the doors open. 11:11 So yes, rules are very important. 11:14 And in this poem, 11:15 Mr. Pope is discussing the art of writing. 11:18 When you and I took English classes back in school, 11:20 we were taught the rules of English grammar. 11:22 And those were very important, 11:24 because without the rules, 11:26 there would be a breakdown in communication. 11:28 We need those rules 11:30 in order to understand each other. 11:32 But then of course, as it is with English itself, 11:35 there are exceptions to the rule 11:36 that can prove to be beneficial, 11:38 like you see with the poetry of E. E. Cummings, 11:41 which if you've ever seen it, 11:43 is an absolute grammatical nightmare, 11:45 but somehow it works. 11:47 It's kind of beautiful. 11:48 In fact, it demonstrates an amazing level 11:50 of linguistic genius. 11:53 Or maybe consider the music of Dizzy Gillespie 11:55 who always puffed out his cheeks 11:56 when he played the trumpet. 11:58 Ask any first year trumpet student 12:00 and they'll tell you you're not supposed to do that. 12:02 It's horrible form 12:03 and it'll keep you from developing a healthy embouchure. 12:07 But there's no denying that an outlier 12:09 like Dizzy Gillespie 12:10 is better than all the rest of us combined, 12:12 even though he tossed out some of the rules. 12:15 Now that's kind of what Alexander Pope was driving at. 12:18 He's telling us that rules are very important, 12:20 but you can miss a lot of opportunities 12:22 if you decide to be legalistic about it. 12:25 As somebody once said, 12:26 rules are meant to be broken, 12:29 but breaking the rules does not become an advantage 12:31 until after you've mastered the rules, 12:34 until you understand 12:36 why they were established in the first place. 12:39 Which brings me to the uncomfortable subject 12:42 of spiritual deconstruction. 12:44 Right now in the west, 12:45 we appear to be going through a time 12:47 when absolutely everything is being questioned. 12:49 And there seems to be this desire to smash 12:52 a lot of social conventions 12:54 without trying to understand 12:56 why those social conventions 12:57 were established in the first place. 12:59 Of course, sometimes questioning everything can be good 13:02 because there are some unspoken rules 13:04 that used to make sense once upon a time, 13:07 but now they don't. 13:09 I'm reminded of an old story. 13:10 You may have heard about the Czar of Russia 13:12 taking a walk through the imperial garden 13:14 only to discover a century standing guard 13:17 in a remote corner 13:18 where there was nothing to guard. 13:20 When he asked the soldier why he was standing there, 13:22 the guard replied, "I have no idea why. 13:24 I'm just following orders." 13:26 So the Czar went home 13:28 to search through the official records, 13:29 and it turns out if the story is true. 13:32 That once upon a time, Catherine the Great 13:34 had a very rare and expensive rose bush 13:36 growing in that location. 13:38 So she posted a guard there to keep it safe, 13:42 but then Catherine died 13:43 and eventually so did the rose bush. 13:45 And the guard that was supposed to guard it, 13:48 well, that order was still in effect. 13:50 And sometimes there are conventions 13:54 we could do away with because they don't make sense, 13:56 like some of those obsolete laws 13:58 that are still officially on the books to this day. 14:02 But they actually stopped being useful a long time ago. 14:05 In fact, I just discovered there was an old law on the books 14:08 in a little town called Severance 14:10 here in Colorado just up the road. 14:12 And that law made it illegal to throw snowballs 14:15 all the way up until the year 2019 14:17 when a third grade boy successfully challenged it in court. 14:22 Obviously, there had to be a reason the law 14:24 was created in the first place 14:25 because it's hard to imagine 14:27 that the mayor of Severance 14:28 just arbitrarily decided, I don't like snowballs. 14:31 So yeah, there are rules 14:33 we could probably safely get rid of. 14:35 But in recent history, 14:36 it seems like there's a growing movement 14:38 to do away with everything, 14:39 just deconstruct western civilization. 14:42 And that might be okay, 14:44 but not if we don't understand 14:46 why the boundaries were established in the first place. 14:49 Let me give you a bit of a touchy example, 14:52 and I know some of you'll write me off 14:53 as a social Luddite for this, 14:55 but I'm okay with that. 14:56 For a very long time, western society 14:58 operated by a basic set of moral principles 15:01 governing human sexuality. 15:04 Now, I'm well aware that no generation 15:06 has ever faithfully lived 15:07 by all those principles, 15:08 but there was a time when we said, 15:10 hey, it's a good idea to wait for marriage. 15:13 And that was rooted not just in Judeo-Christian principles. 15:16 I mean it was, 15:17 but it was also rooted in good common sense. 15:19 It just made sense 15:21 that it's easier to raise children in this world 15:23 with a family than without. 15:26 But then came the sexual revolution of the '60s 15:28 and the landscape started to shift. 15:31 Now, not everything that happened in the '60s was bad 15:33 because there was some room for improvement 15:36 when it came to our attitudes. 15:37 But we also started to deconstruct sexual mores 15:40 without asking ourselves 15:42 why they were put there in the first place. 15:45 And just to be clear, 15:46 what you do in your bedroom, 15:47 that's your business. 15:48 I don't want the church 15:50 to start writing laws about your private conduct. 15:53 But I do find myself questioning 15:54 whether or not our deconstruction 15:56 of the traditional nuclear family has been a good thing. 16:00 Which brings me to a somewhat amusing post 16:02 I read the other day 16:03 while scrolling through that vast treasure 16:05 of half-baked ideas that is Twitter. 16:08 It was posted after the Supreme Court 16:10 overturned Roe v. Wade, 16:12 a decision that caused a predictable firestorm. 16:15 And I'm not about to tackle the subject of abortion 16:18 because we don't have that kind of time today. 16:19 But imagine my amusement 16:22 when I stumbled across a post that inadvertently, 16:24 almost accidentally spelled out the reasons 16:27 for holding to a traditional view of marriage. 16:30 What did it say? 16:32 Well, you're gonna have to wait to find out 16:33 because it's time for another quick break. 16:36 But when I come back, 16:37 I'll show you what I found on Twitter, 16:39 which is now called X. 16:41 [slow light music] 16:45 - [Presenter 2] Life can throw a lot at us. 16:48 Sometimes we don't have all the answers, 16:51 but that's where the Bible comes in. 16:53 It's our guide to a more fulfilling life. 16:56 Here at the "Voice of Prophecy", 16:58 we've created the discover Bible guides 17:00 to be your guide to the Bible. 17:02 They're designed to be simple, easy to use, 17:04 and provide answers to many of life's toughest questions, 17:07 and they're absolutely free. 17:09 So jump online now or give us a call 17:12 and start your journey of discovery. 17:14 - When the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade 17:17 in the first part of 2022, 17:18 it caused no end of debate 17:20 in the bombastic halls of social media. 17:23 I mean, abortion has always been a contentious issue 17:26 here in the west. 17:27 And so I fully expected 17:29 to find name calling an angry tweets. 17:31 But then I saw this post 17:33 and I think it was actually on Reddit maybe 17:36 instead of Twitter, 17:37 and it was written by a gal who was upset 17:39 by the new restrictions in her state. 17:41 So she started talking to her female friends. 17:44 Here's what she said. 17:45 "We all agreed to a pact: 17:47 no having sex with any men, 17:49 until he had proven himself a capable provider, 17:52 and until that man has signed a contract, 17:54 written on paper, 17:55 agreeing to stay with us 17:57 and support us if we get pregnant. 17:59 We started drafting an actual contract, 18:01 and we're planning on sending it to a lawyer 18:03 to make sure it's legit. 18:05 At this point, I am completely done with men 18:07 who wanna hook up and leave." 18:10 Well, you know what that sounds like? 18:12 That sounds an awful lot like the contract 18:14 I signed with my wife more than three decades ago, 18:16 a contract known as marriage. 18:19 In at least one person's mind, 18:20 the social conventions of yesterday 18:22 are starting to make an awful lot of good sense, 18:25 which brings me back to the subject of rules. 18:28 Sometimes, as Alexander Pope pointed out, 18:30 we all benefit when somebody 18:31 starts to think outside of the box. 18:33 I mean, if Wilbur and Orville Wright 18:35 hadn't been thinking outside the box, 18:37 it's entirely possible 18:39 it would still take me several weeks 18:40 to travel from the west coast to the east coast. 18:43 If Mozart hadn't defied the conventions of his day, 18:46 we wouldn't have the incredible treasury of music 18:48 that he left to us. 18:50 If Rosa Parks had not defied an unjust law, 18:53 civil rights in this country might not be where they are. 18:56 So yeah, there are moments of human genius 18:59 when somebody realizes the rules don't make sense. 19:03 But not always. 19:05 Sometimes we dilute ourselves 19:07 into thinking that we're having a moment of genius 19:09 when all that's really happening 19:10 is a moment of selfish ambition, 19:12 a moment of self-indulgence. 19:14 We decide that we don't like the rules 19:16 because we personally find them to be inconvenient. 19:19 And that seems to be all the rage now in the 21st century. 19:23 Here in the United States, 19:24 we place a very high value on individualism. 19:28 And rightfully so, 19:29 because most of us are not in favor 19:31 of morally regulating our neighbors. 19:34 But I do want to question 19:35 why we seem to praise everybody 19:37 who deconstructs our social conventions, 19:40 even when they're so-called achievements 19:43 prove to be questionable. 19:44 So for example, when it comes to art, 19:47 it seems that shock value 19:49 now outweighs any actual intellectual or aesthetic value. 19:53 You might remember the accolades 19:55 that one so-called performance artist got 19:58 when he crushed a live rat in front of an audience 20:00 to produce a visceral reaction. 20:03 And there were our critics calling that magnificent. 20:07 And we're finding the same thing happening now 20:09 in the entertainment industry. 20:10 And from where I sit, 20:11 it almost feels like 20:12 there's not much difference anymore 20:14 between the circus of Rome with its insatiable appetite 20:18 for violence and bloodshed, 20:19 and the ever increasing savagery 20:21 and decadence we find streaming into our homes. 20:25 We find ourselves celebrating things 20:27 that would've shocked our ancestors 20:29 and abandoning the principles and hard work 20:31 that enabled them to provide you and me 20:33 with a really exceptional place to live. 20:37 I'm reminded of a famous passage written by Paul 20:40 back in the first century where he said this, 20:43 "But know this, 20:45 that in the last days perilous times will come: 20:48 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, 20:51 boasters, proud, blasphemers, 20:53 disobedient to parents, unthankful, 20:56 unholy, unloving, unforgiving, 20:58 slanderers without self-control, 21:01 brutal, despisers of good, 21:03 traitors, headstrong, haughty, 21:05 lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 21:07 having a form of godliness but denying its power. 21:11 And from such people turn away!" 21:15 I guess what I wanna say is this, 21:17 not every act of independence is genius. 21:19 Not every act of social deconstruction 21:22 is brave or progressive. 21:24 Sometimes it's just attention seeking. 21:26 It's our selfish human nature on display. 21:28 And it might be time to remind ourselves 21:30 why the rules were put there in the first place 21:33 before it's too late. 21:35 There's a verse in the Book of Proverbs. 21:38 The book renowned for its wisdom 21:39 that really sums up what I'm trying to get across. 21:42 It goes like this. 21:43 "Do not remove the ancient landmark 21:45 which your fathers have set." 21:48 In the ancient land of Israel, 21:49 property markers were unbelievably important. 21:51 They delineated your family's inheritance. 21:54 They marked the place that was set aside for you 21:57 in the land of promise. 21:59 And you'll find the original regulations 22:01 regarding these property markers 22:02 over in the Book of Deuteronomy where it says this, 22:06 "You shall not remove your neighbor's landmark, 22:09 which the men of old have set, 22:11 in your inheritance which you will inherit 22:13 in the land that the Lord your God 22:15 is giving you to possess." 22:17 In the world where that regulation was written, 22:21 this was a really big deal. 22:24 Your very livelihood depended 22:25 on the reliability of those markers, 22:28 and it was strictly forbidden to mess with them. 22:31 In essence, the wise man is reminding us 22:33 there's a reason our ancestors put those boundaries 22:36 where they did, 22:37 and we'd be fools to mess with them 22:40 until we understand exactly what they are 22:42 and why they were put there. 22:44 Okay, time for one last break 22:46 and then I'll be right back to wrap things up. 22:49 [slow light music] 22:53 - [Presenter 3] Dragons, beasts, cryptic statues. 22:57 Bible prophecy can be incredibly vivid and confusing. 23:02 If you've ever read Daniel a Revelation 23:04 and come away scratching your head, 23:06 you are not alone. 23:07 Our free focus on prophecy guides 23:09 are designed to help you unlock the mysteries 23:11 of the Bible and deepen your understanding of God's plan 23:15 for you and our world. 23:16 Study online or request them by mail 23:18 and start bringing prophecy into focus today. 23:22 - Okay, up to now, I've been talking about 23:25 the boundaries and markers 23:26 that our ancestors established 23:28 in order to safeguard civilization. 23:31 The unspoken rules 23:33 that are still there underneath 23:34 our rather successful culture, 23:37 or at least it's been successful up till now. 23:40 And maybe I should close today 23:42 with an appeal to some of God's boundaries. 23:45 You know, things like the 10 Commandments. 23:48 I know a lot of people view these things 23:50 as religious fables, 23:51 unnecessary restrictions on our liberty, 23:54 but I'd encourage you to maybe give them one more read 23:58 because you might just discover 23:59 these rules make really good sense. 24:02 I mean, you shall not murder him, 24:04 you shall not steal. 24:06 Those seem obvious to us, 24:08 even though we appear to be living in a time 24:10 when life is cheap and personal property 24:12 doesn't seem to mean very much anymore. 24:15 Honestly, I believe that right now, 24:17 we're reaping the consequences 24:20 of out-of-the-box thinking but the wrong kind. 24:23 The problem is that we no longer seem to know exactly 24:26 where the box is or was. 24:29 You're not coloring outside the lines 24:31 if there are no lines in the first place. 24:34 That's not creativity. 24:37 And unless you understand where the boundaries are, 24:39 where the box is, 24:41 you cannot possibly think outside of it. 24:44 And maybe that's the best summary 24:45 I can give for what I think is going on right now. 24:49 And you know, maybe it's too late. 24:51 As one philosopher told me a few years ago 24:53 as he packed up and left this country 24:55 and moved somewhere else forever 24:58 because he said there is no coming back, 25:00 maybe he's onto something. 25:03 Or maybe there is a coming back. 25:05 And again, I know that some of you 25:06 don't really believe the Bible is divinely inspired. 25:09 But before you assume that it's not, 25:12 maybe give it another look. 25:14 Try reading it 25:15 to examine what it says about human beings 25:18 and their penchant 25:19 for incredibly self-destructive behavior. 25:23 Maybe take a look at what it says about the condition, 25:25 the nature of the human heart, 25:27 and then look at what it says 25:29 about the God who made us in the first place. 25:33 "For as the heavens are higher than the earth," 25:35 God says in Isaiah chapter 55, 25:38 "so My ways are higher than your ways 25:41 and my thoughts than your thoughts." 25:44 Now if I'm perfectly honest, 25:45 there have been times 25:46 when I've read what the Bible says 25:48 and I've told myself, 25:49 I don't know if that makes a lot of sense. 25:52 But you know, the older I get 25:53 and the longer time goes, 25:55 the more I'm starting to see 25:56 that a world untethered from God 25:58 is exactly what God said it was going to be. 26:01 It's suffering, pain, and death. 26:04 So now I've come to the point 26:06 where most of what I read in the scriptures 26:08 actually makes absolute perfect sense to me. 26:12 I'm starting to see 26:13 that the one who made me 26:15 understands how my mind works 26:17 far better than I do. 26:19 I'm starting to see 26:20 that God didn't write a bunch of rules 26:22 to make my life harder. 26:23 He did it for my good. 26:26 I mean, look at the mess we're making out of this world. 26:30 And then you tell me just how well 26:32 have human beings managed this place. 26:34 Why is it that all of our best ideas 26:37 have all these horrible, unintended consequences? 26:39 And can we ever, ever trust 26:41 that somebody's gonna come along, 26:43 somebody who is perfectly selfless, 26:45 somebody who can't be corrupted and fix this place? 26:50 Well, actually that's already happened 26:53 and you find that rather amazing story in this book. 26:57 Now, the things I don't understand, 26:59 I've come to believe 27:01 that God knows what he's talking about 27:02 when it comes to that stuff too. 27:05 So before you join the crowd 27:06 that seems eager to rip everything down 27:09 for the sake of ripping it down, 27:11 maybe, maybe take a deep breath. 27:15 Stop and think. 27:19 Ask yourself, how did we get here? 27:22 Why? 27:23 What's really going on? 27:25 Well, did we really fail in the past 27:27 when we had moral boundaries? 27:29 Or are we failing right now? 27:32 Thanks for joining me. 27:33 I'm Shawn Boonstra, 27:34 and this has been another episode of "Authentic". 27:38 [slow light music] |
Revised 2024-10-01