Col 2:8 See to it that no one carries you off as spoil or makes you yourselves captive by his so-called philosophy and intellectualism and vain deceit (idle fancies and plain nonsense), following human tradition (men’s ideas of the material rather than the spiritual world), just crude notions following the rudimentary and elemental teachings of the universe and disregarding <the teachings of> Christ (the Messiah).

 

This is the real battle for the souls of all mankind.  It is a clash of two world-views or ideologies. Paul warned that the worlds system of belief can carry you off as spoil by these:

            1.  Philosophy (Intellectualism)

            2.  Vain deceit (idle fancies and plain nonsense)

            3.  Human traditions (men’s ideas of the material rather than the spiritual world)

            4.  Science (Rudimentary and elemental teachings of the universe)

 

This world view can be summed up as Secularism. A brief history: Secularism is an outgrowth of Humanism that started in late 15th and 16th century which aspired to reestablish the human values of classical antiquity (Greek and Roman) by reviving its language, philosophy and literature and replacing what they saw as the debased, medieval scholasticism of their time. In latter years Humanism gave birth to Existentialism: a doctrine derived from Kierkegaard (1813-55)[ by Heidegger: (1889-1976) the father of existentialism]which stated that man is not part of an ordered metaphysical scheme, rather individuals must create their own being, each in his own specific situation and environment. His contemporary Hegel (1770-1831, also a humanist) promoted the concept of a historical development of the human mind from consciousness of mere sensory experience to reflective thought and ultimate awareness of itself as absolute knowledge. He is accredited with the dialectic process of logic “the Hegelian Triad:” thesis, antithesis, synthesis. These thoughts are the basis for what we call today Secular Humanism. Secularism is the belief in rational man as a source of his own salvation and a rejection of the supernatural. It incorporates Science, Human Classical traditions, Philosophy and vain deceit (this is the simplified secular worldview).

 

You can clearly see that the Secular worldview is the very thing that the Apostle Paul was warning the saints at Colossi to avoid. He wanted them to keep themselves from this philosophy by holding to Biblical Truth, which believes that man is dependent on the mercy and forgiveness of the Creator and salvation only comes through His grace as we receive Jesus as Lord. This very definition is the exact opposite of what Secularism teaches.  The battle is for our minds, and the minds of our children. This secular philosophy is the underlying theme of science and the arts in our society today. We are constantly bombarded with it, and must make a conscious effort to hold onto the truth.

 

I believe you can find many of these secular ideas that have crept into the Church and our lives. We must get back to this reality:

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
the Maker of heaven and earth,
and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord:

Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost,
born of the virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, dead, and buried;

He descended into hell.

The third day He arose again from the dead;

He ascended into heaven,
and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty;
from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Ghost;
the holy catholic (all encompassing) church;
the communion of saints;
the forgiveness of sins;
the resurrection of the body;
and the life everlasting.

Amen.

This is known as the Apostles’ Creed which dates back to the earliest days of the Church. Let’s begin to conquer secularism by uniting behind this banner of truth.

Have a Great Day.