Focus: Naturalism

Text: Ps.14:1

"The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good."

Naturalism is a term used to refer to the belief system that is diametrically opposed to the belief in the supernatural. Naturalists believe that reality is exhausted by nature. They think that reality is only known empirically. Naturalists think that there is nothing existing that is not verifiable by the five senses. For them, God has no place in the world. He is either excluded completely or greatly trivialized. 

In naturalism God is trivialized, and in humanism man is deified. Man makes himself his own god. He enthrones himself in a universe where he has greatly minimized or trivialized the importance or relevance of the being called God. But the truth of the matter is that you cannot talk about nature without involving nature's creator. It is impossible to exclude God from his creation or universe.

Naturalism is an anti-spiritual orientation. Naturalism is a kind of myopia, narrow-mindedness or narrowness of vision. Naturalism is an unfortunate rationalisation. It is carnal mind at work.

The carnal man's view of God and of life is warped. We have a warped perception of things outside the realm of empirical reality. Man lies to himself. He tells himself, 'I am simply being the natural me. It's my nature. That's the way I'm wired. That's how I am, and there's nothing I or anyone else can do about it. I really can't help it.'

Naturalism finds in nature all explanation to life. It believes in nature as the only principle of life - living by the dictates of the natural man or the man of nature. For the natural man, whatever cannot be explained naturally does not exist. Science is everything and poses to answer all questions of life. It is opposed to divine revelation and the supernatural side of things. Miracles can only be scientifically explained or analysed or they don't exist. Everything in life is subject to the natural law of cause and effect.

The natural man cannot understand the things of the Spirit. We are told by Paul in Rom.8:5-8 that the carnal mind cannot please God.

There's a kind of rationalism that kills wonder. It makes us either forget God unconsciously or makes us avoid or eliminate Him deliberately.

The fool has said in his heart that there is no God, and his character and conduct are exhibitions of his mentality. His behavior is a display his belief. He does not recognize or acknowledge the existence or importance of God in his life. He lives like God does not exist. The Scripture recognizes such a person as a fool. The Hebrew word is 'nâbâl' meaning a godless person, vile, impious, wicked. It is not that he is unintelligent, but that he does not have any room or role for God in his life.

God remains an integral part of His creation. The Scripture says that we live, move, and have our being in Him. A German philosopher once acknowledged that if God did not exist, it would be necessary for us to invent Him. 

God is the foundation of existence, the source and giver of life.

With Him in our lives, the supernatural and the miraculous of God are still very much a part of our reality. God still works wonders and performs miracles. The believer lives in a world of supernatural reality. God cannot be excluded from our daily lives and activities. We need the sixth sense of faith to relate with God and experience His reality. God is more than what the physical senses can grasp, and without faith it is impossible to please God, and he who comes to God must believe first in the existence of God. Faith exposes us to the power and wonders of God, and brings us into His glorious presence.

by Bishop Moses E. Peter