OceanSide church of Christ

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MODERNISM:  The Precursor to Today’s Thinking (1)

Victor M. Eskew

 

INTRODUCTION

 

A.    Every person who has lived has been impacted by an ideology that influenced the entirety of one’s culture.

1.      These ideologies slowly take hold, influence lives, then, yields to another ideology, but the results of the ideologies live on.

2.      Most of us lived through Post-Modernism.  It, however, is slowly being replaced by new thoughts.

3.      What we are experiencing began with an ideology called Modernism.

a.      As a system of thought, it is history.

b.      Its consequences, however, still linger today.

 

B.      The title of our lesson is:  “Modernism, The Precursor to Today’s Thinking”

1.      Modernism Expected

2.      Modernism Explained

3.      Modernism Expressed

4.      Modernism Exposed

 

I.                   MODERNISM EXPECTED

 

A.    One of the amazing features of the Bible is how it anticipates error long before the error raises it sordid head.

 

B.      Although the Bible never uses the term “modernism,” its false concepts are mentioned in the Biblical text in many places.

1.      II Timothy 4:1-4

 

I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; preach the word, be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.

 

2.      Romans 1:19-22

 

Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.  For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse; because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.  Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools.

 

3.      I Corinthians 1:18-21

 

For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish, foolishness; but unto which are saved, it is the power of God.  For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.  Where is the wise?  Where is the scribe?  Where is the disputer of the world?  Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?  For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.

 

4.      Proverbs 1:20-33

 

Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets:  she crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates:  in the city she uttereth her words, saying, How long, ye simple ones, will ye love  simplicity?  and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?  Turn you at my reprove:  behold, I pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.  Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; but ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof:  I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; when your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you:  then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but             they shall not find me:  for that they hated knowledge, and did not choose       the fear of the Lord:  they would none of my counsel:  they despised all my reproof.  Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.  For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.  But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.

 

C.     We have only set the passages before you at this time, we will return to their thoughts and concepts in our upcoming segments.

 

II.                MODERNISM EXPLAINED

 

A.    Man likes to use words to encapsulate large bodies of information (Ex., anatomy and denominationalism).  The same is true of modernism.

 

B.      History is divided under several major headings.

1.      These headings involve at least three things:

a.      A period of time

b.      The ideologies of the period

c.       The major contributors of the period

2.      Sometimes, periods of history will overlap with one another.

a.      The Age of Discovery (Exploration)  - 1400 to 1700

b.      The Protestant Reformation – 1500 to 1700

c.       The Renaissance – 1350 to 1650

d.      During the Age of Discovery, reformation was called for within the Catholic Church.  It began with Martin Luther’s nailing his 95 Theses on the door of the church in Wittenburg, Saxony in 1517.  During this same time period, there was a rebirth of culture, the arts, science, and learning which gave way to the Renaissance.

 

C.     By the middle of the Renaissance, the world had been settled in most areas. 

1.      Remember, it was in 1492 that Columbus sailed the ocean blue.

2.      During this time man began to focus on his mind and his creativity. 

3.      The Renaissance gave way to “The Age of Enlightenment” (1650 to 1780).

a.      Man became fixated on intellectual reason.

b.      Reason was applied to everything.

c.       Religion and theology did not escape the scrutiny of man’s reasoning.

 

D.    Man wanted to understand everything.

1.      He thought he could come to an understanding of all through his five senses.

2.      He believed the scientific method was the only valid way of understanding the truth of anything.

3.      Everything had to be able to be tested in the laboratory.

4.      Anything beyond the natural world was viewed as mythical and superstitious.

5.      NOTE:  These concepts were applied to theology.  God, Jesus Christ, the Bible, and all the Bible teaches were researched and scrutinized by the wisdom of man.

a.      If things did not fit into the natural realm, they were labelled as myth.

b.      Things that were supernatural and miraculous had to be explained by natural causes or they would be rejected.

 

E.      All of these things gave rise to what is called “Moderism.”

1.      It was modern in that it opposed the old.

2.      It was “real” as opposed to myth.

3.      It was understandable as opposed to faith.

4.      It was “science” as opposed to fiction.

 

F.      Three definitions of modernism:

1.      Webster:  “a tendency in theology to accommodate traditional religious teaching to contemporary thought and especially to devalue supernatural elements.

2.      Your Dictionary:  “any of several movements variously attempting to redefine Biblical and Christian dogma and traditional teachings in light of modern science, historical research.”

3.      Info Please:  “Modernism, in religion, was a general movement in the late 19th and 20th century that tried to reconcile historical Christianity with findings of modern science and philosophy.  Modernism arose mainly from the application of modern critical methods to the study of the Bible and the history of dogma and resulted in less emphasis on historic dogma and creeds and in greater stress on the humanistic aspect of religion”

 

G.     Two points of emphasis:

1.      Modernism involves a rejection of the old, the traditional (See II Timothy 4:3-4).

 

For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth.

 

2.      Modernism exalts the wisdom of man.  It replaces God’s wisdom with man’s wisdom (See Proverbs 1:29-31).

 

For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord:  they would none of my counsel:  they despised all my reproof.  Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.

 

H.    God knew man would reject his teachings.  Therefore, He set forth exhortations throughout His Word to hold fast to His revelation and to His ways.

1.      Proverbs 22:28

 

Remove not the ancient landmark, which thy fathers have set.

 

2.      Jeremiah 6:16

 

Thus said the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls…

3.      II Timothy 1:13

 

Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.

 

4.      Titus 1:9

 

Holding fast the faithful word, as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers.

 

5.      God did not, and does not want His truth discarded.  The age of the Bible has nothing to do with the veracity and relevance of the message.  It is the wisdom of God for all ages.

 

CONCLUSION

 

A.    Modernism is a scourge in our world.

1.      It attempts to remove God and replace Him with man.

2.      It attempts to do away with divine revelation and replace it with man’s wisdom.

3.      It attempts to do away with religion and replace it with science.

 

B.      Modernism is not really that modern.

1.      Pharaoh did not want to acknowledge the Lord when Moses appeared before him (Exo. 5:2).

2.      Pharaoh believed that he was superior to the God of the Israelites.