Syncretic Theosophism – The Counterfeit of Biblical Reason

. . . who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.                               Romans 1:25

My personal understanding of the term “syncretism” leads me to characterize it as the creation of a customized religion by picking and choosing from among those tenets of  selected religions that best accommodate the pre-conceived notions of a group of like-mined individuals.  As such, I would submit that, contrary to what seems to be the predominant hype and popular wishful thinking, America has, over the course of  two or three generations, evolved into a theocracy whose national religion could legitimately be termed “Syncretic Theosophism.”

Fran Tarkenton (former QB for Vikings and Giants) was on Fox and Friends this morning (January 14) responding to “Tebowmania” questions from the hosts.  He had apparently posited in a recently published article that if God gets the credit for our wins, does He also get the blame for our losses?  While the question is neither new nor particularly profound, it is worth revisiting at this time in NFL history as the Tebow persona has uniquely captured the worlds of sports, religion, and media.

An article by Drew Zahn, posted October 28 on WorldNetDaily, carries the headline and subtitle:            Jesus’ name ruled “unconstitutional” – Judge says prayers to Christ “do violence to America’s pluralistic, inclusive values”

Zahn’s article is a well-written, thoroughly researched, insightful commentary (as are most such articles written by persons of genuine faith) on the continuing saga of the ignorant, unenlightened, and hostile secularization of the Judeo-Christian nation that was once the America of our Founders.  I read lots of these kinds of articles, from all perspectives, in the course of my week, not only to prepare for my Sunday messages, but also to keep up with what the “Accuser of the Brethren” is up to through the dupes he is currently using to deceive, derail, and destroy.  For whatever reason, this particular article has inspired me to write this posting, after a very long time away from this forum.

In the iconic 1970's rock opera, "Jesus Christ, Superstar" the conversation between Jesus and Pilate, recorded in John 18:37-38, is rendered in poetry and music as follows:

Pilate:  Then you're a King?

Jeusus:  It's you that say I am.  I look for truth, and find that I get damned!

Pilate:  But what is Truth?  Is truth unchanging Law?  We both have truths.  Are mine the same as yours?

Notwithstanding the inherent theological fallacy that Jesus would need to "look for truth," inasmuch as He is Truth personifed, Pilate's perspective as herein presented speaks volumes about why we are where we are today regarding "truth."

A popular old TV add for a cold remedy suggests that the problem may be "cough due to cold" (made famous again by Forrest Gump's diagnosis of Jenny's illness).  I would submit that we have a disease, developed over 50 plus years of ignorance, error, and vanity, that is far more serious than "cough due to cold."  I would describe this ailment as "perversion due to aversion" - Perversion of the Truth due to Aversion to the Truth.  I believe that ultimately, it boils down to the question of Agenda . . . 

Our local newspaper recently ran a brief article in which a scientist answered a question from a First Grader about "where animals came from."  Predictably, his answer embodied the very latest in the ever-changing "truth" of the" now indisputable science" contained in the theory of evolution.  The paper was kind enough to prominently feature my response on the Editorial page.  The online response to the article, as posted on the <pressconnects> website, has been interesting, reflecting mostly the sad intellectual and spiritual condition of postmodern America.  The unedited version of the article, as I sent it, is reproduced for your edification and comment.