The Narrow Mind

Well, to follow up concretely on the decidedly artistically obtuse little poem I wrote a while ago, I'm finally inspired to sum up what it was about-
That all human philosiphies, religions, and artistic prisuits, while they can be deep, enjoyable, and aesthetically pleasing, ultimately fail at achieving any higher goal that might be lurking in the mind of the philosipher or artist. The reason, simply put, is that our fallen, sinful human nature prevents us from pulling ourselves out of this sinking mudhole that we are in due to our own inadequacy. Basically, the the idea that any philosiphy, religion, or art can truly achieve a kind of spiritual transcendance for us = us fooling ourselves into believing in a dressed-up form of sorcery. Allow me to support my claim by providing reliable evidence- God's Word:

"as it is written,
'there is none righteous, not even one; there is none who understands,
There is none who seeks for God;
All have turned aside, together they have become useless;
There is none who does Good,
There is not even one.
Their throat is an open grave, with their tongues they keep decieving,
The poisin of asps is under their lips;
Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness;
Their feet are swift to shed blood,
Destruction and misery are in their paths,
And the path of peace they have not known.
There is no fear of God before their eyes.'"
Romans 3:10-18

"The heart is more decietful than all else and is desparetly sick; who can understand it?"
Jeremiah 17:10

The conclusion- if philoshiphy and art is to matter, it must be submitted by its creator under a higher purpose that is real. And if it is not, it amounts to the equivelant of being a foolish idol. It is a rotten shame that most people spend their entire lives doing what Solomon did- indulging in vanity and chasing after the wind. They're walking through their lives stumbleing all over the place because they've got their eyes closed to the truth, convinced that somehow, somewhere, their personally derrived, decadently created lifelong gospel of foolishness that truly amounts to nothing but dressed up sorcery is completely true. I know, because I used to be one of those people, hopelessly lost! But don't take my word for it- God's Word also has something to say about this-
"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who supress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or vive thanks, but they became futil in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them."
Romans 1:18-23

In fact, God even goes so far as to say that His Word, specifically, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, is the only thing that has the power to transform human beings and to link him with God-
"But a natural man does nto accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appriased."
1 Corinthians 2:14

And finally, here is the apex of this entire blog:
"For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek."
Romans 1:16

God's Word also says that, therefore, our faith in Him is a gift, given independently to spiritually dead human beings like I was before He saved me, and like billions of people everywhere-
"For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.
Ephesians 2:8-10
Therefore, what can we say about philosiphies, religion and art? What place do they have in determining our ultimate destiny? What on earth can save us?

"For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Romans 6:23

"He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."
2 Cortinthians 5:21

"For it was the Father's good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace throug the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven."
Colossians 1:19-20


Therefore, when I talk about God, I shouldn't try to justify myself on the terms of the world that doesn't know God, by appealing to extra-biblical models of truth or earthly evidences that are, simply put, inadequate, but I should speak on His terms, because it is His gospel that has the power to save, and nothing else. After all, "the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." (1 Corinthians 1:18). Furthermore, I'm happy to live in peace on this earth while I remain here. After all, "blessed are the peacemakers," (Matt 5:9) and "God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28).
And when I write music or do something else creative, I have to do it with the knowledge that, just like everything else, the things I make on this earth are only temporary, and will one day be burned up with the rest of the entire earth (2 Peter 3:10). Because the real point of life is Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. (1 Corinthians 2:2). And finally, I am full of thankfullness and joy that my silly earthly rantings and ravings are not the ultimate purpose of my existence!

For further discourse about the superiority of Jesus Christ and His Word, check out the Jesus Quiz on my page or the radio program available in a free podcast at http://thenarrowmind.com/ - it's real Christianity for the real world.But of course, the best place is directly at the source- the Bible, baby!