There are, I believe, five big lies that have brought western civilization almost to the scrapheap of history. Unless they are recognized and refuted sufficiently, the downward spiral will eventually be completed and a return to the dark ages inevitable.
With the rise of naturalism and the resulting secularism came the “God is dead” movement. Atheists jubilantly declared their intellectual fulfillment and headed in droves to the universities to spread their worldview throughout academia. It became their cause celebre, their mission. It mattered not that it was without any real scientific verification. The first big lie – that there is no God, and none is needed – became a part of the fabric of western education.
Secularists were emboldened to take on the whole idea of truth. They declared by their words and their teaching that objective truth is a myth. They assured their minions that people make their own truth at will. The second big lie was hatched and destined to birth a toxic relativism throughout the culture via the schools.
A natural progression from the rejection of truth was the devaluation of language. Words no longer had inherent meaning. People could change the meaning at will. Up could mean down if it served the speaker’s purpose. A few atheist philosophers understood that you cannot get rid of God until you get rid of grammar. Therefore educational emphasis had to change. “Local dialect should be embraced, not corrected,” they said. “If profanity is a part of the culture, it’s no big deal.” Not only were words devalued, so were criteria for excellence in literature and the arts. The third big lie was gaining momentum.
By the dawn of the twenty-first century, secularism was firmly entrenched in the west. Prayer was now excluded from public school activities. Even instrumental Christian music was forbidden. The message was, “See what great things we can do through secularism! Our schools will be just fine without religion.” The lesson being taught was that secularism built this great civilization and can sustain it – the fourth big lie.
The battle cry from the heights of secular humanism now resounds the fifth big lie throughout the culture: “All we need is to totally eliminate religion, homophobia, and capitalism. Utopia is within our grasp!”
Secular humanist “progressives” fell under the seduction of their own lies. They really believe them. They can’t begin to see that if and when they succeed in taking away religious conviction and conscience from society, no police force in the world will be big enough to control the evil that will be unleashed.
Thankfully we are still living in some of the light from Christian values that helped build our society, but once those roots have been destroyed and their light extinguished, how great the darkness will surely be! I pray that a new generation will arise that can see the failure of secular humanism and recognize and reject the lies before it is too late. We need a generation that will embrace truth, righteousness, and justice.
Educating for Truth 