Colson calls Christians to oppose ‘kingdom of imperial self’ By Parker T. Williamson The Presbyterian Layman Nov/Dec, 1997 CHARLOTTE – “A choice must be made,” declared Charles Colson, the fall commencement speaker at Reformed Theological Seminary’s (RTS) Charlotte, N.C., campus. People have a choice between two basic beliefs that are “in absolute conflict,” he said. It is important that Christians understand and articulate the difference, he told his largely Presbyterian audience. Colson said that a chasm divides those who believe that God is ultimate and those who claim that the universe is all there is or ever will be; those who hold that history has meaning and purpose and those who say that only the moment has meaning; those who recognize and honor an objective moral standard and those who do “what works for me”; those who believe that human beings are sinners and those who say that humanity is essentially good. Today, said Colson, we are called to declare our belief in God amidst “the kingdom of the imperial self.” Colson’s subject was “apologetics, declaring a reason for the hope that is within you.” In a culture that has categorized religion as a mere aspect of feeling, Colson called on Christians to engage in apologetics by exercising their minds and articulating a thoughtful witness to biblical faith. When someone says with Carl Sagan that the universe is all that there is, that proposition must be challenged, Colson said, not by waving your Bible at the speaker, but by showing that his or her comment is not a scientific statement. It is a belief statement that, when tested, proves impossible. Colson urged his Christian audience to meet the secular world view on its own grounds, a technique that Francis Schaeffer called “pre-evangelism.” Start where the person is, said Colson, and carry that person to the consequences of his stated position. “Any approach [to existence] other than the one that declares God as Creator can be shown to be utterly irrational,” he said. Colson called on his listeners to help people who spurn the Christian doctrine of creation to think through the logical consequences of their point of view. “The idea that we evolved from primordial soup makes no sense,” he said. “Scientists cannot explain the complexity of human life like that.” Colson suggested that many human endeavors presuppose the sovereignty and purpose of a Creator God. In politics, he pointed out, there is no basis for the rule of law unless the higher law is assumed. And the higher law assumes a lawgiver. Politics devoid of an acknowledged higher law becomes nothing more than coercion. “Ethics is based not on what is (naturalism), but on what ought to be, and that is [anchored] in an objective reality called the higher law.” Speaking of psychological health, Colson pointed out that without God there can be no purpose in life, and purposelessness leads to hopelessness. Referring to the direction taken by Camus and other existential thinkers, Colson observed that life without God is suicide. There is a lot of sloppy thinking going on in modern culture, said Colson. Political correctness “repeals the law of self-contradiction and affirms that those who say black and those who say white are both right.” It is important, he said, that Christians make critical distinctions between what is true and what is false, and that we identify those beliefs and practices that lead to a life of wholeness, purpose, and community. Celebrating its 1997 convocation on a spacious new campus, the Charlotte branch of Reformed Theological Seminary has experienced rapid growth. Three years ago this campus was opened with 20 students. The 1997 Charlotte student body numbers more than 300. Reformed Seminary also operates campuses in Orlando, Fla., and in Jackson, Miss. |
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