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We live in strange times when stupid and unreasonable ideas are accepted as normal to the extent that governments hasten to endorse and implement them in legislation. Why do LGBTI’s want to be married when so many in the rest of the community live together and have families without being married? 

Our governments seek to curb the growing rate of suicides yet at the same time introduce Assisted Suicide legislation. Feminists usually claim abortion is a human right but ignore the human rights of the unborn child.

The ultimate in futile thinking is the Gender Fluidity lobby who deny what is a clear biological fact – we are created male or female – to claim our gender is what we feel.

Most amazingly, men can nominate for the Woman of the Year Award in N.S.W. as the Minister for Women confirms: “In line with the Transgender (Anti-Discrimination and Other Acts Amendment) Act and the NSW Anti-Discrimination Act 1977, any person who identifies as a woman can be nominated.” Yet, at the same time, the LGBTI community is seeking to exclude transgenders from their events.

The Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (SDA) doesn’t actually refer to people’s sex. Originally it did, but in 2013 amendments were made to repeal the definitions of “man” and “woman”. The term “sex”, in science and society, always refers to males or females. Yet the SDA prefers to refer to “people” or “persons” as descriptors.

There is a huge programme costing millions of dollars seeking to curb domestic violence – particularly against women, yet no real effort to stop the pornography which is the main contributing cause.

Sporting events, parliament and public gatherings are being opened with Aboriginal “smoking ceremonies” while radicals introduce legislation to abolish opening prayer in parliament. 

Our schools seek to turn out students environmentally aware and frightened to death about a future climate catastrophe yet semi-literate and unfit for employment. Universities claim to be the bastion of “free speech” yet ban those who oppose their woke doctrines. 

It would seem we no longer live in a “clever society” but a world of foolishness.  How did this come about?

We have the answer to this in Romans 1:18-32 – a passage of Scripture of utmost relevance to our current situation. Verse 21 sums it up, For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.   

Paul begins by stating that the wrath of God is being revealed against the godlessness and wickedness of those who suppress the truth by rejecting the knowledge of God which is revealed to all in creation. 

The astounding beauty and amazing complexity of our world and its inhabitants cannot be the product of blind chance. Clearly the evidence is plain of a Divine design and a continuous power that upholds the Laws of Nature which keeps our world going. Such evidence leaves us without excuse.

To deliberately reject the clear evidence of Creation incurs God’s wrath – and that wrath is being revealed continuously in futile thinking. If we commence our thinking from the wrong premise, our conclusions will always be wrong. 

Man in his arrogance thinks he can exclude God from his thinking and still be rational. Instead of glorifying God for such a wonderful world he glorifies himself. As verse 21 says, his thinking becomes vain or futile. This is the ultimate folly of human vanity and a loss of touch with reality.

The result of this is religious perversity. The human mind is never a religious vacuum: if there is an absence of the true there will always be the false. They became vain in their reasonings which leads to evil thoughts and imaginings. The ultimate example is the denial of binary sex.

Paul goes on: their foolish (senseless, uncomprehending) hearts were darkened. In their evil or wicked reasonings, they become destitute of any fruitful thoughts.

A loss of compassion follows corrupted thinking as Jesus makes clear: But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander (Matthew 15:18-19).

Such darkness indicates mental dullness, emotional despair and spiritual depravity. Darkened hearts cause the negativity and gloom of much of current thinking. For example, the Climate Change alarmists spread a  scene of apocalyptic doom which is in stark contrast to the peace and joy of the Christian.

The problem is that the Fall has affected the mind and intellect of man. As  a result, our will ispermanently skewed towards what is wrong. We seek to ‘please ourselves’ rather than pleasing God. Therefore, for true and correct thinking we need the guidance of the Holy Spirit in regeneration. Romans 12:2 tells us: Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Paul’s conclusion is devastating:  Although they claimed (pretended) to be wise, they became fools… (Rom.1:22).   We may be clever but not wise because the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding (Prov. 9:10).

This drives home the contrast between human pretension and actual fact  as 1 Corinthians 1:21 makes clear:  For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.

In the remaining verses of Romans 1 Paul shows how godless thinking is not only foolish but destructive because it opens the door to all kinds of immoral and perverse behaviour including homosexuality.

Such futile thinking results in social problems including violence and family discord. This is the on-going effect of the wrath of God – but because of sinful rebellion we are too blind to see it so our society rushes headlong into all kinds of ungodly legislation that is ultimately destructive.

How true is Psalm 94:11 The Lord knows all human plans; he knows that they are futile and to cite 1 Corinthians 3:20, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.”

Futile thinking leads to wrong decisions and actions which bring harmful results. As a result, we suffer in various ways. That suffering is part of the on-going wrath of God against those who openly rebel against him and refuse to acknowledge his wonderful provision in creation.

For example: rejection of the creation ordinance that man is created in the image of God and therefore his life is precious has led to the futile thinking that abortion is not the destruction of life (murder) but the removal of tissue. The result is psychological problems in this life and eternal punishment for murder as Revelation 21:8 makes clear: But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulphur. This is the second death.”

Of course, we suffer the judgement of God’s wrath while we live in rebellion on earth, but the ultimate judgement is eternal separation from God in Hell. So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed (Eph. 4:17-19).

 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things (Phil. 4:8).

DONALD GEDDES        donaldgeddes5@gmail.com