Opinion

We concluded last time by analyzing the popular “COEXIST” bumper sticker. According to this bumper sticker, “c” is the symbol of Islam, “o” is the symbol of the peace movement, “e” is the symbol of transgenderism, “x” is the Jewish star of David, the dot on the “i” is the witch worshiping Wiccan symbol, the “s” is the Taoist yin/yang symbol, and the “t” is the Christian Cross of Christ. One big happy family, they say. But that cannot be true because each one makes an exclusionary truth claim and claims to be the ultimate and exclusive moral truth.

Recent pauses in government grant funding — which helps food banks buy food from local farmers — have left many growers facing tough challenges. Growers had purchased machinery and planted crops in anticipation of a profitable harvest; they had purchased equipment to help them process the crops such as freezers and cool storage; some had taken out loans on buildings and vehicles to distribute their products.

The German philosopher Karl Marx once stated that Christianity was “the opium of the masses.” Sure enough, religion in general, and Christianity in particular, has often been portrayed by nonbelievers as “a way to control society.” Fredrich Nietzsche concurred. Nietzsche considers that because society is composed of two classes of people: good and bad, or good and evil, there are two types of morality. The good class (of high value) is known as the master and is composed of noble, intelligent aristocrats. The bad or evil class (of low value) is known as the slave and is composed of the common or the lower class, which is directly antithetical to the master. For Nietzsche, this master/slave structure touches all aspects of society but is most evident in what might be called the moral compass of a society. In the master-ruled society, moral boundaries and values are established in accordance with the master’s preference and then forced upon the slave. You see, master morality is the morality of the strong-willed who defines good as “whatever is useful.” After all, Nietzsche said that the purpose of life itself was nothing more than “will to power.” Considering that the aristocrats are more often than not the rulers of power, it stands to reason (or so they say) that something needs to be put in place to “subdue the masses” in the slave class. In that way, Nietzsche not only agrees with Marx but also argues that Christian slave morality is actually destructive to all that is noble because it is against the powerful master by extolling weakness, suffering, kindness, and peacefulness, all the weak qualities of a society. In short, according to Nietzsche, slave morality (Christian morality) is hard against master morality because it “is a sort of tyranny against [human] nature” and is a “magnificent stupidity” because it represents a “narrowing of perspectives,” or so he believed. This narrowing, he argued, results in a belief that there is only one true morality rather than whatever the aristocrat wants. It is simply a herd morality that the slave clings to, and it hinders the aristocrats “will to power.”

Since we began our journey several months ago, it seems to me a good time to take stock of where we are. Friedrich Nietzsche, the nineteenth-century German philosopher, first coined the bold phrase, “God is Dead” in 1883. In 1966, Time magazine, in startling fashion, asked the question directly: “Is God Dead?” After all, it’s an important question! And it is an important question because everyone who is alive, or who has ever lived has given an answer to the question in the way they choose to live their lives. Our Bible skeptic Michael, it seems, has also made a decision. If you recall, we began our conversation concerning the question, is God dead? with the Bible skeptic, Michael. Remember, Michael thinks the Bible is not the inspired work and Word of God, but rather a creation solely of man’s imagination. Michael said of the biblical writer’s inspiration that inspiration comes in many forms, like artists who write songs because of inspiration. I think the Bible could be written in the same way just like any book, song, or other art. But I think it is in some ways art because it is a creation of man but it is also handpicked in certain ways because it has gone through different interpretations. Consequently, Michael does not believe in Christianity, nor is he sure if God is dead or, if He ever existed in the first place. Michael says he does not know, but it turns out Michael, like everyone else in the world, has made a decision that reflects his indecisiveness, and that, we said, is Michael’s dilemma. And so began our journey: a journey to present a cumulative case argument to the Michaels of the world. Not unlike a legal case presented in a court of law, each week we have been presenting and uncovering evidence that seems to indicate a Supreme Being who created all that exists. Our case started from the kalam cosmological Argument from which we determined there to be compelling evidence from cosmology and physics that there exists an uncaused, personal Creator of the universe, who in relation to the universe is beginningless, changeless, immaterial, timeless, spaceless, and enormously powerful.

So, what is the point? That is the ultimate question, right? The ultimate worldview question: what is the point? Ultimately, there must be a point to it all rather than not. We humans possess the attributes that we do for some reason. Consider the human qualities that have nothing to do with “survival of the fittest,” like the human soul and all it entails. For example, the exclusively human capacity to think abstract thoughts, especially abstract thoughts about a God that no one can directly see or hear. Even so, there is a strong argument to be made that a great Being of which one greater cannot be conceived exists necessarily. Let me explain.