Confound it!

In keeping with the presumed folly of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, God has chosen the so-called foolish ones of the world to confound the wisdom of the wise, the weak to confound the strong, the trivial and contemptible, the things that are not to bring to nothing those that are, in order that it may be manifest that no flesh can glory in His presence (1 Corinthians 1.18, 26–29).

1 CORINTHIANS 1:26–31

It is not a bad sign for the Church, but an indication of the genuineness of its calling, that not many wise after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are in it. In keeping with the presumed folly of this Gospel (v. 18: that of the death of Jesus Christ with or without His resurrection), God has chosen the so-called foolish ones of the world to confound the wisdom of the wise, the weak to confound the strong, the trivial and contemptible, the things that are not to bring to nothing those that are, in order that it may be manifest that no flesh can glory in His presence (vv. 26–29). From this God, in whose presence no flesh can glory, Christians have their life in Jesus Christ. They have it by the power of His resurrection from the dead.

For them, Jesus Christ … has been made by God Himself by His resurrection, not only justification, sanctification and redemption, but also and above all wisdom (v. 30) …

If a man boasts in the Lord, there are three reasons why he cannot at the same time boast also in his own wisdom, the human wisdom of the world,

1. Since he boasts in this other, the real wisdom of God, he has no more room for his own, human wisdom.
2. By this wisdom in which he may now glory human wisdom is for him unmasked as unwisdom, as utter and contemptible folly in his eyes.
3. He cannot wish to withdraw from his solidarity with divine wisdom even in regard to its supposed folly and the judgment to which it must be content to submit in this world.

Barth, K., Bromiley, G. W., & Torrance, T. F. (2004). Church dogmatics, Volume V: Index, with Aids for the Preacher (480–481). London; New York: T&T Clark.

Confound it!

The Dawkins Delusion

The God Delusion is an anti-theistic book by British ethologist Richard Dawkins, Professor for the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford University.

In the book, Dawkins contends that belief in a supernatural creator qualifies as a delusion, which he defines as a persistent false belief held in the face of strong contradictory evidence.

Dawkins writes that The God Delusion contains four “consciousness-raising” messages:

1. Atheists can be happy, balanced, moral, and intellectually fulfilled.
2. Natural selection and similar scientific theories are superior to a “God hypothesis” — the illusion of intelligent design – in explaining the living world and the cosmos.
3. Children should not be labeled by their parents’ religion. Terms like “Catholic child” or “Muslim child” should make people flinch.
4. Atheists should be proud, not apologetic, because atheism is evidence of a healthy, independent mind.

“The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds, there is none who does good” (Psalm 14.1).

enjoy, ron

The Dawkins Delusion

The God Delusion is an anti-theistic book by British ethologist Richard Dawkins, Professor for the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford University.

In the book, Dawkins contends that belief in a supernatural creator qualifies as a delusion, which he defines as a persistent false belief held in the face of strong contradictory evidence.

Dawkins writes that The God Delusion contains four “consciousness-raising” messages:

1. Atheists can be happy, balanced, moral, and intellectually fulfilled.
2. Natural selection and similar scientific theories are superior to a “God hypothesis” — the illusion of intelligent design – in explaining the living world and the cosmos.
3. Children should not be labeled by their parents’ religion. Terms like “Catholic child” or “Muslim child” should make people flinch.
4. Atheists should be proud, not apologetic, because atheism is evidence of a healthy, independent mind.

“The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds, there is none who does good” (Psalm 14.1).

enjoy, ron