And It’s Why the Father’s Cross

British literary theorist and critic Terry Eagleton once observed that, “An enlightened trust in the sovereignty of human reason can be every bit as magical as the exploits of Merlin, and a faith in our capacity for limitless self-improvement just as much a wide-eyed superstition as a faith in leprechauns.” (“Reason, Faith, and Revolution”)

Recently, at what was billed as the “Starmus Festival” in Tenerife, Canary Islands (Spain), world famous theoretical physicist, Stephen Hawking had this to say:

Physicist, Stephen Hawking"In the past, before we could understand science, it was logical that we could think of God creating the universe. But now science offers a more convincing explanation. There is no God. I am an atheist. Religion is about miracles, but miracles are not compatible with science."

Dr. Hawking shared top billing at the Starmus Festival with a number of enlightened others, including astronauts, cosmonauts, moon-walkers, rock stars and the “New Atheists’” chief spokesperson, Richard Dawkins.

It was an elite, IQ spill-over, star-studded cast.

The on-line, pre-festival, promotional “brochure” for the gathering included this interesting enticement:

“Activities at Starmus are not just limited to the talks. There will also be a Teide star party, gala dinner, cocktail reception, space legends tribute, a roundtable discussion in the GTC telescope, sonic universe contest and tours to visit the observatories in Tenerife and La Palma. Attendees will have plenty of opportunity to mingle freely with the scientists, artists and rock stars, and casually talk about the universe and what it all means.”

The “space legends”, rock stars, and elite geniuses of science who gathered at Tenerife may sincerely believe that miracles and/or a miracle-working Deity is not “compatible with science”, but they might do well to remember that the Creator of the universe whom they so blithely reject has warned that fools (ie. the strident, committed atheist) will one day be found to be quite ”incompatible” with God¹.

Nevertheless, the grinning leprechauns of religious Scientism continue their mirthful jig.

“The closer we are to God, to divine attributes — such as absolute truth, goodness, and beauty — the more we wonder. When we separate ourselves from truth, goodness, and beauty, we lose wonder and become cynical. The Enlightenment was basically the narrowing of our vision to a purely scientific, empirical, rationalistic worldview, screwing down the manhole covers on us so we became squinting underground creatures.”
—Peter Kreeft

And It’s Why the Father’s Cross

We “Enlightened” have discovered
Talk of “god” was just a sham,
Now, at last, we’ve solved the puzzle,
Ha!....There never was I AM²!

Wide-eyed, Proud Sophisticated,
We, at last may now begin
Superseding superstition,
And then superseding “sin”⁴!

Yes, behold!...Our go-to idol:
Science!...Mankind’s Amulet!
She’s our Magic Wand and Savior
(Though She hasn’t saved us yet.)

We’ve evolved beyond the scriptures
Beyond wonder, the Divine…
Rest assured…we ARE determined,
And at “god” we’ve drawn the line⁴.

Yes, at last we’re seeing clearly.
We’ve advanced beyond the curve!
We’re Headliners you can count on…
Trust us…We’ve got all the nerve⁵!

Now we’ve got “The Explanation”,
We’ve evolved!...We understand⁶!
Trust our new-found Revelation…
Yes! Our god’s The Mind of Man!

We’ve screwed down the manhole cover,
Squint with us…You, too, may see!
Yep, we’ve narrowed up our vision,
Keep the Faith, Man…WE’re the Key⁷.

It’s the same Adamic “come on”,
It’s the same ol’ Garden Tale…
Nothing new here,… same old story⁸,
And it never seems to fail.

Temptation of Adam and Eve, Hugo Van der Goes, 1470

It’s The Lie⁹ the Devil’s hawking….
Quite the snow job to behold,
It’s the same recycled vision,
It’s the fool’s gold we’ve been sold¹⁰.

It’s the picture perfect fiction,
It’s the rebel-rousing feint,
The beguiling Lie we fell for,
It’s the counterfeit he paints.

It’s the guilt we all are sharing…
Sons of Adam, sheep now lost.
Yes, it’s why the Shepherd’s calling,
And it’s why the Father’s Cross.

“To say that science is the measure of all true knowledge is not a scientific truth but a philosophic claim about science. It's scientism posing as science.”
—Scott Klusendorf

¹ Psalm 14: 1
² Exodus 3: 14
³ 1John 1:8
⁴ Romans 1: 18-20
⁵ Proverbs 16:18
⁶ Proverbs 3:5
⁷ Matthew 16: 16-19
⁸ Ecclesiastes 1:9
⁹ Genesis 3:4-5
¹⁰ Romans 1:21-25