DGC06: Sesson 2 - Voddie Bauchman

Session 2 || Saturday Morning || Voddie Bauchman – The Supremacy of Christ and Truth in a Postmodern World

“Truth is under attack in modern American culture. Rare is the person who believes that there are facts that correspond with reality (truths) and that those facts are true for all people in all places and at all times. Common, however, is the man or woman who believes that all religions are the same (religious relativism), that tolerance is the ultimate virtue, and that there is a no absolute truth (philosophical pluralism).

Innocuous as these beliefs may seem, they are dangerous. They lead down a path filled with peril. If all religions are the same, then no religion is true. Moreover, if we believe there are no absolute truths, and all truths are equally valid, this will ultimately lead us to nihilism wherein all ideas lose their value. Ultimately the only thing that will matter is who has sufficient power to exercise his or her will.

Much of this capitulation to secular culture’s demands stems from the fact that over the years Christianity in America has been more American than Christian. …The fact is that what we believe determines how we behave. My goal is not to tell Christians what to do but to challenge what we believe. Currently much of what we believe is shaped by our culture and unfortunately much of what our culture believes on a fundamental level is diametrically opposed to biblical truth.“

NOTES (stuff that grabbed me):
Dr. Bauchman gave a superb apologetic contrast between Christian Theism (distilled, the worldview that Christ is supreme and over all) and postmodern Secular Humanism (belief in man, even and especially to the point of atheism). Below are the four questions of every human experience and the answers from the postmodern Secular Humanist (S.H.) and the Christian Theist (C.T.)

“Who am I?”
S.H.: You are nothing. You are an evolutionary accident, a single-celled organism gone wild - an ape that lost its hair and grew an opposable thumb.
C.T.: Who you are begins with who Christ is – Col. 1:5, 16. You are the crown jewel of God’s creation.

“Why am I here?”
S.H.: To make the best of it. To consume and enjoy.
C.T.: To recognize and reflect the supremacy of Christ. Nothing short of honoring and glorifying Him – Col. 1:17,18.

“What is wrong with the world?”
S.H.: There is insufficient education (people just don’t know any better than to act the way they do) or there is insufficient governing by those with greater education.
C.T.: We are what is wrong with the world. We are hostile toward the One who created us – Col. 1:19, 21

“How can what is wrong with the world be fixed?”
S.H.: We need more education, and more government.
C.T.: Only Christ can make things right. There is no other way; He is exclusive – Col. 1:22, 23

This is one of the best teachings I've heard in a while. Check out a more extensive rundown here, and make sure to grab the audio of the Desiring God site when they post it.