Sawing off the branch you're sitting on

The anatomy of a God-hater

Richard Dawkins, prominent God-hater, author of “The God Delusion,” and member of the unofficial “Four Horsemen of the New Atheism,” made a bit of a splash recently. Dawkins is a key figure in the Evolutionary movement of the past 30 years, and his brand of atheism has been more militant, inflammatory, and confrontational than atheists in the 60’s and 70’s.

Some history first. Dawkins has openly declared his disdain for all organized religions. He has made countless disparaging remarks towards Christians and their beliefs, even going as far as creating the strawman god he calls the “flying spaghetti monster” to make his point. Once, during a public event, Dawkins said the following regarding how we are to treat and engage with religious people, but primarily Christians.

“Mock them. Ridicule them. In public. Don’t fall for the convention that we’re all too polite to talk about religion. Religion is not off the table. Religion makes specific claims about the Universe which need to be substantiated, and need to be challenged, and if necessary, need to be ridiculed with contempt.”

In all my life as a believer, in all of my interest in scientific studies and apologetics, in all of the debates I’ve seen and YouTube videos I’ve watched, I have never once heard Richard Dawkins say anything positive or kind about either Christians or their beliefs. You see, Dawkins, like his atheist ilk, agree with Nietzsche that God is dead, and that the Enlightenment has rendered religion obsolete. He believes that Secular Humanism has created the glorious Western Civilization we all enjoy, and our peace and prosperity have nothing to do with God or His followers.

Inconsistent is an understatement

It is therefore shocking and unexpected to have such a man make the claims that he did recently in an interview with another God-hater. This man, who has only ever derided Christians and their beliefs, said this:

“I was slightly horrified to hear that Ramadan is being promoted instead (of Easter). I do think that we are culturally a Christian country, and I do call myself a cultural Christian. I’m not a believer, but there’s a difference between being a believing Christian and being a cultural Christian. I feel at home in the Christian ethos, I feel that we are a Christian country in that sense. It’s true that statistically the number of people who actually believe in Christianity is going down, and I’m happy with that, but I would not be happy, if, for example, we lost all of our cathedrals and all of our parish churches. So, I count myself a cultural Christian. I think it would matter if we substituted any alternative religion, that would be truly dreadful. If I had to choose between Christianity and Islam, I’d choose Christianity every single time. It seems to me to be a fundamentally decent religion in a way that I think Islam is not.”

I don’t want to spend too much time refuting this oxymoronic, self-defeating, historically laughable, philosophically juvenile, logically incoherent, and massively inconsistent drivel spewed from the mouth of this fool. Afterall, the fool does say in his heart that there is no God (Psalm 14:1). That might be a future endeavour (which I would thoroughly enjoy).

His comments are a masterclass on Romans 1 happening in real time. Dawkins’ comments were akin to someone saying, “I love the baked goods, but I deny the existence of the baker, and I reject the recipe used to make delicious cookies I quite enjoy.” It’s as if he were sitting on a tree limb for safety, and then, while mocking the tree itself, proceeds to cut off the limb upon which he rests in order to free himself from oppressive oak. David Berlinski, a Jewish mathematician, once said that, “Dawkins’ prose resembles a series of sponges strung together.” Berlinski gives Dawkins too much credit.

Societal Secret Santa

What I want to focus on are the implications of Dawkins’ comments in our culture today, and why he is actually touching on something that, sad to say, many professing Christians completely fumble. Now, I am going to say a few naughty words, and I hope you can bear to hear them. Theonomy and Christian Nationalism. Oooohhh. I know, you probably had visions of The Gospel Coalition and Christianity Today shrieking in horror. Now that you have recovered, what Dawkins is REALLY saying is that what he wants is to live in a country that is a Christian Nation where God’s Law is both taken seriously and applied in all spheres of life.

Dawkins thinks that the benefits of Western Culture are like an office Christmas party. We are sitting around, opening up wonderful gifts. We are thankful for them. They are a blessing to us. However, no one seems to know where the gifts came from. Was it that office administrator with a bit of moxie? Or maybe that awkward IT guy who always stares uncomfortably so at you? For many, it doesn’t matter who gave them the gift, as long as they have it and no one steals it from them.

This is why I think David Berlinski was far too generous with his comments on Dawkins’ lack of logical and philosophical acumen. Every single gift we have enjoyed and continue to enjoy in Western Culture was not delivered by surprise with the identity of the giver unknown. No, every single blessing in Western Culture is sourced from one place and one place alone – Biblical Christianity.

Here are just a few examples: democratic governance; the protection of rights and freedoms; the elevation and care for women and children and the vulnerable; hospitals, orphanages, schools; humanitarian efforts worldwide; initial advancements in medicine and technology; abolishing slavery; art, music, architecture – you get the idea. Dawkins loves the gifts, and he even admits that they come from Biblical Christianity, and he even says that he would rather live in a Christian nation, and yet he rejects Christ.

It's God’s Law or man’s law

Without realizing it, Dawkins has admitted that he appreciates theonomy, that first dirty word. Theonomy means, “God’s Law.” I am obviously a Theonomist, and a Canadian one at that. The Theonomist says, at the very minimum, that God’s eternal and moral Law should be the foundation for every aspect in a culture – governance, laws, morals, regulations – everything! The Theonomist says that there will always be a moral rule for a culture, and there will always be laws that govern people, so why not have them be God’s Laws? Afterall, “the Law of the Lord is perfect” (Psalm 19:7).

The alternative to God’s Law ruling is not secularism, atheism, and neutrality. We tried that in the West, and it got us Drag Queen Story Hours, child genital mutilation, and the slaughter of innocent pre-born babies. No, at the end of the day, the alternative to God’s Law is man’s law, or self law, also known as autonomy. If God will not rule, then man will rule himself, and when man rules himself, man inevitably becomes a tyrant, crushing others and amassing as much power as he can. Don’t believe me, look at what happened in Nazi Germany, or Stalinist Russia, or Maoist China, or Pol Pot’s Cambodia. When you push God’s Law aside, man will attempt to take His place upon the throne, and men are always terrible gods.

Only Theonomy produces the Western Civilization we have enjoyed. The earliest scientific discoveries and advancements in the West grew out of the soil of men who believed that God governs the Universe to function in a predictable and ordered way. The same can be said about medicine, art, music, and architecture. Slavery was abolished because all humans have dignity and value, because they are made in the image of God. Caring for the poor and oppressed was scorned for the entirety of human history apart from the Law of God, and seen as weakness, and it was those who believed God’s Law was to be applied in our world that fought for the rights and protections of the weakest and most vulnerable among us.

Apple trees will produce apples, not oranges

Now, what did all of these men who took God’s Law seriously and applied it to every facet of culture produce? Well, let me tell you what it didn’t produce. It didn’t produce Sharia Law, which has regressed every single country that has embraced it. It didn’t produce governments and judicial systems driven by agnosticism or a hatred of God. It produces – and please make sure you’re sitting down for this – Christian nations.

I would call myself a Christian Nationalist. There, I said it. I’m sure they already have a jail cell waiting for me. Lest you accuse me of some sort of violent theocratic Fascism, let me define Christian Nationalism for myself, or more accurately, how the Scriptures define it. My brand of Christian Nationalism goes something like this, “In order for a nation to experience the greatest blessing, freedom, and prosperity, it must ground every aspect of its existence upon the Word of God and Christian values.”

Canada would be a much better place if we did this. How so? Well, the State wouldn’t steal our money in order to fund godless initiatives. Baby-murderers and child-mutilators would be put to death by the State, which believe me, would act as a serious deterrent to crime and a permanent end to the evil of the offender. Children would not be indoctrinated in Marxist re-education camps, commonly called public schools.

Maybe these statements have caused you to clutch your pearls. If so, you have not only been inoculated to the Word of God; you have also been infected with an antichrist ideology, and your Christian worldview lenses are seriously damaged. Stealing is always wrong, even when the State does it to fund Sodomite sports leagues. Those who commit murder should be executed, first of all because God requires it in both the Old and New Testaments, but also because it is the explicit job of the State to wield the sword and punish those who break God’s Law. Education is primarily the responsibility of parents, and to those like-minded people to whom they choose to delegate responsibility (if you’re still gasping in pagan-esque unbelief, see Genesis 9:5-6; Exodus 20:13-17; Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Romans 13:1-5; Ephesians 6:1-4).

The point is simply this: when you take God’s Law seriously, and when you realize that the best way to govern and structure a nation is on the foundation of God’s Law, what you end up with is a Christian nation. Such a nation will produce the greatest freedoms, the greatest prosperity, and the greatest blessings. If you still need proof, compare every nation that Christianity took root in to those nations where Islam or Atheism took root in over the last 2,000 years. The formula is always the same: God’s Law produces Christian nations, which in turn produces immense blessing for both its people and surrounding nations as well.

Time to get to work friends

What’s immeasurably ironic in all of this is that Richard Dawkins understands something that many well-meaning Christians and Big Eva can’t get through their impenetrably thick skulls, and that is the reality that Theonomy and Christian Nationalism – as I have defined them – is not only to be preferred to any and all other systems and beliefs, but it is infinitely superior to all of them as well. Dawkins understands that England is better when it is governed by Christian laws. He understands that England is more prosperous when it is driven by Christian principles. He understands that England experiences more flourishing when it is watered with Christian values.

And yet, squishy Evangellifish organizations like The Gospel Coalition, Christianity Today, and almost every denomination, either deny the reality that Dawkins accepts or they prefer a kind of secular neutrality to rule their countries. How’s that going for you, lads? In Canada we murder 100,000 pre-born babies each year. We have legalized doctor-assisted murder for many groups of people, and eventually it will be available for everyone. We protect pedophiles and child-abusers, and we celebrate child-grooming and all manner of sexual deviancy. Secular Humanism has failed us. Neutrality is a myth, and we have opted for the will of petty tyrants.

What do we do now? First of all, love the Lord with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength. Second, love your spouse in a selfless and sacrificial kind of way. Third, love your children and raise them to be sharp arrows that you will someday fire into the heart of darkness to advance the Kingdom of God and build His Church. Fourth, stop waiting for some political leader to save us from our calamity, and get to the work of building and fighting for the glory of God. Fifth, do everything you can, in every area you can, to exalt and apply God’s Law in order to work toward seeing our culture (and hopefully, someday our country) governed and guided by Biblical, Christian principles and values.

Our Canadian coat of arms contains the phrase, “A Mari usque Ad Mari,” which is taken from Psalm 72:8, “May He have dominion from sea to sea.” Our Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms begins with these words: “Canada is founded upon principles that recognize the supremacy of God and the rule of law.” It’s time we start acting like we actually believe this stuff!