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For years, decades really, something has seemed off. It started back in high-school as I began to realize that the shifting landscape of male / female relations was very, very lopsided… that somehow, as a male, I was gradually being marginalized. By the time I got to college in the early 90’s, there was absolutely no mistaking it – I was a villain simply for possessing the wrong genitalia and moreover, my awareness of the issue and protestations marked me further a fringe, if not misogynistic in the eyes of others. To be honest, it was like waking up and finding myself in the middle of a Frank Peretti novel.
For years I puzzled over the issue, but eventually came to realize the Jezebelic influence being exerted over modern culture for what it is – an all out assault on the foundational building block of human society… but we’ve covered that before. This isn’t a discussion on the proverbial “battle of the sexes” though. How this all relates to the topic at hand is really a function of how we as a society got to this point in the first place – like the saying goes; “how do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time”.
Actually, that’s a trick question… elephants aren’t kosher.
The root question in my mind is what marks (marked) that “first bite” – what is the underlying foundation that drives the anti-male, anti-family and ultimately anti-human agendas I’m seeing at work within modern society? Basically, what is the bedrock of it all?
Paradigm.
You see, after decades of careful thought and consideration, I’ve come to the conclusion that there are really only two paradigms from which we can choose. There may be a multitude of variation on each theme, but ultimately they all boil down to the same basic issue: God … or not God. It really is that simple.
Like the Native American parable I cited in the previous article on this topic, the basic paradigm to which we subscribe will color and affect every facet of our being in varied, sometimes imperceptible ways. The impact may sometimes seem insignificant or imperceptible, but the influence of this base paradigm remains none-the-less.
Unfortunately, the issue has furthermore been conflated over the years and this has made it much more difficult to extract fact from fiction, or to extricate data from opinion and evidence from agenda. I’ve discussed this before, but it bears repeating that Ben Stein’s excellent documentary does a fantastic job of addressing this. This issue, which has a far greater impact on our world-view than we tend to realize, is generally presented as Creation versus Evolution, but I contend that this is not a completely accurate summation of the debate; underlying it all is God – not God. It’s inescapable.
On one hand, we have the Biblical account of creation and, on the other, we have the school of thought commonly known as “Darwinian Evolution” or just “Evolution”. Understand that Charles Darwin didn’t originate the underlying idea of evolution… nor did the account of creation begin with Moses. Let me explain…
The ideas and principles underlying the theory of evolution are not new and, moreover they weren’t new in the day of Charles Darwin. While he may have been the firs to write out specific theories and ideas regarding his perception of the mechanisms of evolution, the idea itself finds its roots multiple millennia prior to the birth of this, now (in)famous Englishman. Conversely, while Moshe (Moses) bore the hand that put pen to paper, he is not the originator of the creation account and, furthermore, this was not something passed down to him throughout the generations by word of mouth. For starters, Moses was raised as an Egyptian – by Egyptians in the house of the reigning Pharaoh.
Let that sink in for a moment.
Beyond this, we need to get to grips with a fundamental truth regarding the scriptures that has a much more powerful impact on our understanding of scripture than we can possibly imagine or understand; not everything in your bible is the product of inspiration… though all of it is “God breathed”.
All Scripture is God-breathed and is valuable for teaching the truth, convicting of sin, correcting faults and training in right living;
2 Timothy 3:16 CJB
My point is this, the reason the first five books of your bible, ‘the Torah‘ or ‘Pentateuch‘ are treated with such deference, particularly in Judaism is because there exists a fundamental understanding that these are a product, not so much of inspiration, but of dictation. Starting with the very first sentence in Genesis, Moshe, in and of himself has no authority by which to pen “bereshit” (bare-eh-sheet), or “at first” (in the beginning) because he wasn’t there. The one speaking to him, the actual author of the text, the one audibly instructing him as to what to write on the other hand, was – and that makes all the difference.
Throughout the years, there have been a number of attempts within theological circles, to reconcile the biblical creation account with that of evolutionary theory. This has mainly occurred as a response to “evidence” proffered by evolutionary academia which seemed to contradict the Genesis account. I draw the distinction because what things seem t be and what they actually are can often differ and, in this case, this difference is radical.
If we look at the basic fundamentals of both these views, we’re undoubtedly going to see several contradictory themes running throughout them. I don’t want to belabor the point, but there a few of the issues which make these viewpoints irreconcilable with one another. They are, in fact, diametrically opposed to one another and, shy of arguing from a complete absence of textual evidence, one cannot bring them into agreement on virtually any point.
if you are interested in pursuing this further – and I highly recommend doing so if you haven’t before – there area number of resources which my be useful to get you started. Here are but a few:
Please know that these only mark a few popular (e.g. high visibility) examples of resources available on the issue of creation versus evolution – a fractional representation to get you started. Know up front that this issue can become quite the proverbial “rabbit hole” and one can spend years and eve decades studying it.
Now, you may rightfully be asking yourself how this bears any impact on our world view, and it’s a fair question, but in reality the impact is far reaching. I am reminded of the lyrics of a song that was very popular several years ago:
You and me baby ain’t nothing bu mammals, so let’s do it like they do on the Discovery channel
The Bloodhound Gang – Bad Touch (2000)
I do not agree. I do not consent. We are not merely animals running on primal instincts. Scripture tells us that God breathed into the nostrils of Adam, giving him life – an act recorded for no other being within the whole of creation. This single act, at a minimum, distinguishes man from every other known being – including but not limited to – the animal kingdom.
We are endowed with the potential for higher reasoning, for ethics and morality on a level that no creature in our physical reality can even approach, let alone rival. We are called to more ad held to a higher standard because we are so endowed by our creator. The separation of man from the animal kingdom is intrinsic to our nature – it is obvious and I contend that anyone who argues otherwise is selling something.
As I stated in the previous article in this series;
I would rather stand alone on an island of truth, than link arms with all humanity upon a mountain of lies…
Until next time,
שלום עליכם – Shalom Aleichem – Peace Be Upon You