In an Edmonton church whose altar had a transgender flag, I heard a most disturbing song.A visiting choir had rented the facility for an afternoon event. Behind them, a large window with a wooden cross built in was half-covered by a blind, lest the offensive symbol be visible. One of their musical offerings was "Let the mystery be” by Iris Dement. As her name suggests, the lyrics are demented.Everybody is wondering what and where they all came fromEverybody is worrying 'bout where they're gonna go when the whole thing's doneBut no one knows for certain and so it's all the same to meI think I'll just let the mystery beNot only is that untrue, it’s also bad advice. Frankly, people don’t worry enough about where they’re going and where they came from. Most are consumed with day-to-day life and the pursuit of pleasure and leisure. As for origins, most blithely assume we randomly evolved. After all, just like man-made climate change, every credible scientist believes it, right?Well, not quite. As Ben Stein explained in his 2008 movie Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed (watch here), any researcher whose findings implied creation over evolution found their work denounced and their academic position turfed.That's wrong. After all, Charles Darwin wrote, “If it could be demonstrated that any complex organ existed which could not possibly have been formed by numerous successive slight modifications, my theory would absolutely break down.” Biochemist Michael Behe, author of Darwin’s Black Box: The Biochemical Challenge to Evolution, is one of many scientists to conclude that time has proven Darwin wrong by his own criteria..If there is an intelligent designer, it seems reasonable to assume he would want a relationship with his creation. That should give us hope knowing the Creator is within reach. We also know we will die, so then what?Billions of monotheistic believers say a reward or punishment follows death, while eastern faiths await a better or worse reincarnation. Of course, the fact many people believe something does not make it true. However, the fact so many believe in such claims of supreme importance begs every individual to at least thoroughly and impartially find out for themselves whether such claims are true.The other option is to model some more demented lyrics.Some say they're going to a place called gloryAnd I ain't saying it ain't a factBut I've heard that I'm on the road to purgatoryAnd I don't like the sound of thatI believe in love and I live my life accordinglyBut I choose to let the mystery beThat’s right. She’s choosing to “let the mystery be.” Inquiry and discovery is a choice. You can assume you’re right or the truth is unknowable (two contradictory claims, by the way), but how is that wise? Why would someone told they are on the path to destruction just say, “I don’t like the sound of that” and then keep right on going?!Yes, people do say, “they’re going to a place called glory.” They assume they're headed to a Christian heaven or some other happy afterlife without considering on what basis that is so or why they would be going there. It has become increasingly common to treat spiritual matters like an hors d'oeuvres plate of personal preferences to accept or reject "for you" instead of involving universal claims to reconcile oneself with.Is being relatively good, good enough to be with God? Or, next to Him, would we only discover we are not? And if that is the case, what do we do about it? An entire evangelistic method has been built on addressing these questions.The Way of The Master, developed by Ray Comfort and actor Kirk Cameron, has featured 11 seasons of street conversations. Asked if they broke any of the Ten Commandments, they respond, yes, and are asked why a sinless God would take them then. An example follows..The answer, according to the Bible, is that Jesus Christ's death and resurrection atones for the sins of those who confess faith in him and bow to his lordship. Of course, unlike the woman in the video above, not everyone takes the Bible at face value. And, despite, the Bible's unrivalled influence on human history and western law and its weighty claims.Again, ignorance is a choice, and the Bible can be scrutinized. Does archaeology confirm the biblical record? Do the old biblical scrolls match those those that came later, or were they changed? Were the early ones written shortly after the events they describe? Skeptics such as Josh McDowell and Lee Strobel explored such questions, only to become believers, and their books are available.“Man wrote the Bible, not God," some say. Oh? People wrote everything else they ever read, and some of that was worth their time. Replace ignorance with knowledge and read the Bible.Besides, anyone looking for the signature of God can find it all over creation. Ironically, I have heard some people marvel at how amazing evolution is when they see the wonders of creation and even call themselves a “big believer in evolution.” They don’t realize they just made a confession of belief, of faith--based on faulty evidence and logic too.Clearly, people are religious by nature. It is common to believe in a moral or philosophical framework or to thirst for metaphysical answers. Some agnostics and athiests are as zealous in their libertarian, communist, or woke beliefs, and desire for everyone to embrace them, as any evangelist is with the Christian gospel.Our desire for spiritual things, though atrophied in many people, beg for fulfillment much as our stomach pains call us to food. We are meant to worship just like we are meant to eat, yet too many let the mystery be.I have an unfortunate personal example of this. A high school classmate of mine once told me on the school bus that religions were just people’s theories and that no one really knew what the truth was. When she was about 20, she lost control of her vehicle on a freshly gravelled road. She was thrown into the ditch where she lay unconscious, face-down. There, in six inches of rainwater, my friend drowned. She didn't prepare for where she was going, so where did she end up?Jesus said, "He who seeks finds," a phrase that should give us both encouragement on a spiritual quest and sobriety regarding its importance. The grim reaper is seeking each of us too--and will surely find us. We owe it to ourselves to not smugly assume we will be okay. We need to find the Truth.
In an Edmonton church whose altar had a transgender flag, I heard a most disturbing song.A visiting choir had rented the facility for an afternoon event. Behind them, a large window with a wooden cross built in was half-covered by a blind, lest the offensive symbol be visible. One of their musical offerings was "Let the mystery be” by Iris Dement. As her name suggests, the lyrics are demented.Everybody is wondering what and where they all came fromEverybody is worrying 'bout where they're gonna go when the whole thing's doneBut no one knows for certain and so it's all the same to meI think I'll just let the mystery beNot only is that untrue, it’s also bad advice. Frankly, people don’t worry enough about where they’re going and where they came from. Most are consumed with day-to-day life and the pursuit of pleasure and leisure. As for origins, most blithely assume we randomly evolved. After all, just like man-made climate change, every credible scientist believes it, right?Well, not quite. As Ben Stein explained in his 2008 movie Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed (watch here), any researcher whose findings implied creation over evolution found their work denounced and their academic position turfed.That's wrong. After all, Charles Darwin wrote, “If it could be demonstrated that any complex organ existed which could not possibly have been formed by numerous successive slight modifications, my theory would absolutely break down.” Biochemist Michael Behe, author of Darwin’s Black Box: The Biochemical Challenge to Evolution, is one of many scientists to conclude that time has proven Darwin wrong by his own criteria..If there is an intelligent designer, it seems reasonable to assume he would want a relationship with his creation. That should give us hope knowing the Creator is within reach. We also know we will die, so then what?Billions of monotheistic believers say a reward or punishment follows death, while eastern faiths await a better or worse reincarnation. Of course, the fact many people believe something does not make it true. However, the fact so many believe in such claims of supreme importance begs every individual to at least thoroughly and impartially find out for themselves whether such claims are true.The other option is to model some more demented lyrics.Some say they're going to a place called gloryAnd I ain't saying it ain't a factBut I've heard that I'm on the road to purgatoryAnd I don't like the sound of thatI believe in love and I live my life accordinglyBut I choose to let the mystery beThat’s right. She’s choosing to “let the mystery be.” Inquiry and discovery is a choice. You can assume you’re right or the truth is unknowable (two contradictory claims, by the way), but how is that wise? Why would someone told they are on the path to destruction just say, “I don’t like the sound of that” and then keep right on going?!Yes, people do say, “they’re going to a place called glory.” They assume they're headed to a Christian heaven or some other happy afterlife without considering on what basis that is so or why they would be going there. It has become increasingly common to treat spiritual matters like an hors d'oeuvres plate of personal preferences to accept or reject "for you" instead of involving universal claims to reconcile oneself with.Is being relatively good, good enough to be with God? Or, next to Him, would we only discover we are not? And if that is the case, what do we do about it? An entire evangelistic method has been built on addressing these questions.The Way of The Master, developed by Ray Comfort and actor Kirk Cameron, has featured 11 seasons of street conversations. Asked if they broke any of the Ten Commandments, they respond, yes, and are asked why a sinless God would take them then. An example follows..The answer, according to the Bible, is that Jesus Christ's death and resurrection atones for the sins of those who confess faith in him and bow to his lordship. Of course, unlike the woman in the video above, not everyone takes the Bible at face value. And, despite, the Bible's unrivalled influence on human history and western law and its weighty claims.Again, ignorance is a choice, and the Bible can be scrutinized. Does archaeology confirm the biblical record? Do the old biblical scrolls match those those that came later, or were they changed? Were the early ones written shortly after the events they describe? Skeptics such as Josh McDowell and Lee Strobel explored such questions, only to become believers, and their books are available.“Man wrote the Bible, not God," some say. Oh? People wrote everything else they ever read, and some of that was worth their time. Replace ignorance with knowledge and read the Bible.Besides, anyone looking for the signature of God can find it all over creation. Ironically, I have heard some people marvel at how amazing evolution is when they see the wonders of creation and even call themselves a “big believer in evolution.” They don’t realize they just made a confession of belief, of faith--based on faulty evidence and logic too.Clearly, people are religious by nature. It is common to believe in a moral or philosophical framework or to thirst for metaphysical answers. Some agnostics and athiests are as zealous in their libertarian, communist, or woke beliefs, and desire for everyone to embrace them, as any evangelist is with the Christian gospel.Our desire for spiritual things, though atrophied in many people, beg for fulfillment much as our stomach pains call us to food. We are meant to worship just like we are meant to eat, yet too many let the mystery be.I have an unfortunate personal example of this. A high school classmate of mine once told me on the school bus that religions were just people’s theories and that no one really knew what the truth was. When she was about 20, she lost control of her vehicle on a freshly gravelled road. She was thrown into the ditch where she lay unconscious, face-down. There, in six inches of rainwater, my friend drowned. She didn't prepare for where she was going, so where did she end up?Jesus said, "He who seeks finds," a phrase that should give us both encouragement on a spiritual quest and sobriety regarding its importance. The grim reaper is seeking each of us too--and will surely find us. We owe it to ourselves to not smugly assume we will be okay. We need to find the Truth.
