The False god of Spinoza, Einstein, and Moore.

Recently, I was reading someone’s Facebook page. He shared a post by a woman named Jillene Moore. I will include the text of Moore’s post at the end of this blog post, so the reader can read what each of us wrote and make up your own mind. If you are at all interested in this subject, I encourage you to scroll down now and read it first. Or you can read it here.

Moore begins her post by saying,

When Einstein gave lectures at U.S. universities, the question students asked him most was: Do you believe in God? And he always answered: I believe in the God of Spinoza.

Baruch de Spinoza was a Dutch philosopher considered one of the great rationalists of 17th century philosophy, along with Descartes.

She then gives a fanciful depiction of Spinoza's god. She paints this god with an optimistic brush. Assuming Spinoza would approve, how does she know what this god would say? It is entirely arbitrary and total conjecture.

This god supposedly reveals itself through sunrises, landscapes, and in the eyes of loved ones. Why didn't she include maggot-infested carcasses, garbage dumps, and train wrecks?

Whether she realizes it or not, Moore borrows her optimism from the Christian worldview. Only in the self-attesting Bible do we have the objective revelation of the self-existing Trinitarian God. Without this, Einstein, Spinoza and Moore cannot account for why sunrises, landscapes, and the eyes of the loved ones are better revelations than carcasses, dumps, and train wrecks.

What does she mean when she writes that Spinoza's god "loves"? And why is "love" better than "hate"? Neither Moore nor Spinoza's god tell us. They assume it. Without an objective revelation of love, how can we even know what it is?

God reveals in 1 John 4:8 that "God is love." We cannot know what love is apart from the God of the Bible. It says in 1 John 3:16,

By this we know love, that Jesus Christ laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers and sisters.

Without this objective revelation, any notions of love are purely speculative. Again, Moore borrows from the Christian worldview when she believes that Spinoza's god "loves" rather than "hates" us.

The god of Spinoza, as revealed by Moore, cares nothing for morality. She opines that Spinoza's god says,

I never told you there was anything wrong with you or that you were a sinner, or that your sexuality was a bad thing. Sex is a gift I have given you and with which you can express your love, your ecstasy, your joy. So don't blame me for everything that others made you believe."

Would she then say that it's okay to rape, cheat on your spouse, or that it's wrong to have sex with animals? Since this god never told you there was anything wrong with you or that you are a sinner, or that your sexuality was a bad thing, why not do as you please to whomever or whatever you want?

If you follow this line of thinking to its logical conclusion, you can't say that any form of sexual expression is wrong. And if you do, you once again have borrowed the objective revelation of the Trinitarian God of the Bible, which limits human sexual behavior and says that the violation of His Law is the very definition of sin. 1 John 3:4,

Whosoever commits sin transgresses also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.

The god of Spinoza knows nothing of law and sin. This god cannot say any form of sexual behavior is wrong. As soon as you try to put limits upon human sexual behavior, you assume once again the morality of the God of the Bible. You can't have it both ways. As Jesus said in Matthew 6:24,

No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.

It's either the self-existing God of the self-attesting Bible or the subjective, amoral, relativistic god of Spinoza.

Moore writes that you cannot know Spinoza's god through any "alleged sacred scripture." While there are many "alleged sacred" scriptures, there are none like the Bible. It is the only self-attesting Book that claims to be the sole and unique revelation of the one and only self-existing Trinitarian God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. No other book claims that it is "infallible" and "God-breathed." (2 Timothy 3:16)

Only the God of the Bible provides the foundation for rationality, science, and morality. Apart from this self-attesting revelation, we cannot prove anything. How does Einstein, Spinoza or Moore know anything about their god? Again, maybe cesspools reveal more about this god rather than fluffy white clouds. Without an objective standard, it's all fairytales and wishes.

Any person that claims that anything can be proven presupposes the Christian worldview as revealed in the Bible. The very idea that something can be proven presuppose the God of the Bible exists; otherwise, we choose meaningless humanistic subjectivism that cannot prove anything. Who needs proof of anything in a God-empty universe?

We can’t have scientific proof apart from the Bible. The atheist Hume clearly demonstrated that we cannot assume the uniformity of nature. Science is impossible without this assumption. Science is only possible when we start with the God in whom

we live and move and have our being. Acts 17:28

Quite frankly, I am terrified of Spinoza's god. Imagine a universe where

"there's nothing to forgive."

This god makes us with

"passions, limitations, pleasures, feelings, needs, inconsistencies, and best of all, free will."

Since this god does not hold us accountable or threaten punishment for "being the way you are," why aren't we "absolutely free" to do whatever the hell we please to anyone we want and not ask forgiveness?

Imagine if humanity believed and acted on this presumption. What's to stop people from carrying out whatever atrocity they want? Even the idea of an "atrocity" must assume the Christian worldview rather than Spinoza's god. To agree with Spinoza's god, you cannot say anything is wrong. You have no moral basis for condemning the holocaust or Stalin's genocide of his people. Moore wants to paint Spinoza's god with a rainbow pallet, but this god paints with the pallet of blood.

Spinoza founded his god by his own subjective idealistic thinking. However, the Bible is the only objective revelation of the one and only God of the universe. Yet, even those who deny God continue to testify to His existence. Moore does so by assuming meaning in what she is saying, by assuming sunsets are better than carcasses, that enjoyment is better than misery, that the god of Spinoza is true, and the God of the Bible is false. She assumes she is saying something meaningful about a meaningless god.

For Spinoza's god, as depicted by Moore, there is no such thing as sin. In the Bible, God revealed that sin is real because He is holy, which means He is wholly set apart from sin. God defines sin, and no one else. The Bible reveals that God punishes sin. The glory and beauty of Biblical Christianity is that the Second Person of the Trinity became fully Human and died as a substitute for all who believe in Him. Believing in Him means that we repent of our sin and look to Jesus Christ for our salvation. The Bible says all who call upon Jesus Christ will be saved.

God then sends the Third Person of the Trinity to fill us and make us as pure and holy as Jesus Christ Himself. The Spirit writes the Law of God on our hearts so that we obey God not only outwardly but inwardly as well. God empowers us to love one another, not according to our subjective whims, but according to His Law given to us in the Bible. This is why it is wrong to rape, cheat on your spouse or have an affair with a goat.

The god of Spinoza speaking to us through Moore hasn't offered anything but meaningless sentimentality and permission to do whatever the hell we please. This god is the ultimate expression of narcissistic humanity.

The god of Einstein and Spinoza is nothing new. You can find it all throughout the Bible. Sometimes it is called Moloch, sometimes Baal, sometimes Astorath, and under many more names. In the end, we learn that this god's name is ultimately Satan.

The choice is always the same, both in Biblical times and in our times:

Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. Joshua 24:14+15

Me? I have made my choice. I answer as Joshua did in the same verse,

But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

I'm happy to dialogue if you want to talk about what I've written.

Jillene Moore’s Facebook Post, November 19, 2020:

When Einstein gave lectures at U.S. universities, the question students asked him most was: Do you believe in God? And he always answered: I believe in the God of Spinoza.

Baruch de Spinoza was a Dutch philosopher considered one of the great rationalists of 17th century philosophy, along with Descartes.

According to Spinoza, God would say: “Stop praying. I want you to go out into the world and enjoy your life. I want you to sing, have fun and enjoy everything I've made for you.

“Stop going into those dark, cold temples that you built yourself and saying they are my house. My house is in the mountains, in the woods, rivers, lakes, beaches. That's where I live and there I express my love for you.

“Stop blaming me for your miserable life; I never told you there was anything wrong with you or that you were a sinner, or that your sexuality was a bad thing. Sex is a gift I have given you and with which you can express your love, your ecstasy, your joy. So don't blame me for everything that others made you believe.

“Stop reading alleged sacred scriptures that have nothing to do with me. If you can't read me in a sunrise, in a landscape, in the look of your friends, in your son's eyes—you will find me in no book!

“Stop asking me, ‘Will you tell me how to do my job?’ Stop being so scared of me. I do not judge you or criticize you, nor get angry or bothered. I am pure love.

“Stop asking for forgiveness, there's nothing to forgive. If I made you, I filled you with passions, limitations, pleasures, feelings, needs, inconsistencies, and best of all, free will. Why would I blame you if you respond to something I put in you? How could I punish you for being the way you are, if I'm the one who made you? Do you think I could create a place to burn all my children who behave badly for the rest of eternity? What kind of god would do that?

“Respect your peers, and don't give what you don't want for yourself. All I ask is that you pay attention in your life—alertness is your guide.

“My beloved, this life is not a test, not a step on the way, not a rehearsal, not a prelude to paradise. This life is the only thing here and now—and it is all you need.

“I have set you absolutely free, no prizes or punishments, no sins or virtues, no one carries a marker, no one keeps a record.
You are absolutely free to create in your life. It’s you who creates heaven or hell.

“Live as if there is nothing beyond this life, as if this is your only chance to enjoy, to love, to exist. Then you will have enjoyed the opportunity I gave you. And if there is an afterlife, rest assured that I won't ask if you behaved right or wrong, I'll ask, ‘Did you like it? Did you have fun? What did you enjoy the most? What did you learn?’

“Stop believing in me; believing is assuming, guessing, imagining. I don't want you to believe in me, I want you to believe in you. I want you to feel me in you when you kiss your beloved, when you tuck in your little girl, when you caress your dog, when you bathe in the sea.

“Stop praising me. What kind of egomaniac God do you think I am? I'm bored with being praised. I'm tired of being thanked. Feeling grateful? Prove it by taking care of yourself, your health, your relationships, the world. Express your joy! That's the way to praise me.

“Stop complicating things and repeating as a parrot what you've been taught about me. Why do you need more miracles? So many explanations?

“The only thing for sure is that you are here, that you are alive, that this world is full of wonders.”

Will The Real God Please Stand Up?

To Tell The Truth

I remember a television show when I was growing up called To Tell the Truth. In the show, celebrity panelists are presented with three contestants who have something about them that is not obvious. The panelists have to question the contestants to determine who is telling the truth and who are lying. Two of the contestants can lie all they want, but the real person must always tell the truth. After questioning the contestants, the panelists have to vote on who they think is telling the truth. At the end of the show, we have the moment of truth. The announcer asks, “Will the real Person, please stand up?” and the real person reveals himself.

As I interact with other Christians through reading their blogs, checking out their social media, or dialoguing with them in one form or another, I am amazed how different their understanding of God is from the God I read about in the pages of Scripture. At times, I get discouraged because I feel like the God many Christians believe in is so different than the one I see revealed in the Bible. I wonder how many Christians would vote for God as He has revealed Himself in Scripture if they were a panelists on To Tell the Truth.

Contrast of Gods

To illustrate my point, first I list just a few common beliefs about God that most American Christians believe. Next, I show that God says the complete opposite in the Bible. I try to make it this stark so people can see the contrast.

The American God

God loves everyone.

The God of the Bible

God hates the wicked.

Though God has a general love for the “world” and He loves His lost sheep (John 3:16; Romans 5:8; 1 John 4:10), He hates those who defy Him in thought, word, and deed.

Example Verse: 

You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness, nor shall evil dwell with You. The boastful shall not stand in Your sight; You hate all workers of iniquity. Psalm 5:4–5

The American God

God changed His mind. Certain behaviors that were once considered sinful are now deemed holy in the eyes of God.

The God of the Bible

God does not change nor do His standards of righteousness. 

Example verses: 

God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it? Numbers 3:19

For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed. Malachi 3:6

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. James 1:17

The American God

Everyone is going to heaven.

The God of the Bible

Jesus Christ was clear in many of His parables that there is coming a day of judgment where there will be “weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 8:12) 

Example verse:

The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Matthew 13:41+42

The American God

If you are sincere, you will go to heaven. 

The God of the Bible

Sincerity will not save you. It is only through faith in Jesus Christ that is manifested through Spirit-empowered obedience that will save us. This is not to say that Christians do not sometimes fall into sin. (1 John 2:1) We do. But when we do, we know that the Father is not pleased and will chastise us until we leave our sinful ways. (Hebrews 13)

Example verse:

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6

There are many more examples, but these will suffice to make my point. You may not like what the Bible says, but you cannot deny that it says what it says. 

Two Views of Scripture

If I had to diagnose the difference, I have to say it comes down to people’s understanding of the Bible. It comes down to two views. The first view is that the Bible is the only self-attesting book that reveals the self-existing triune God; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This view takes what God says of Himself in the Bible. God claims the Bible is infallible; that is it cannot err. God reveals in the Bible that He is the foundation for science, reason, and morals. He claims that His written word is True and is the Standard of Truth. 

The second view is expressed in many different ways but can essentially be traced back to an authority other than Scripture. The authority is ultimately a person, whoever they are, who decides for himself what the Bible means.

The first view assumes God has one intended meaning in the Bible, and He is the one who has the right to determine what it means. This view uses all the literary tools available to us to get at God’s intended meaning. If those who hold to the first view encounter anything in the Bible that contradicts what they think, believe, feel, or experience, they know they must change and not the Bible.

Those who hold to the second view use another standard to determine whether what the Bible says is true or not. This takes many forms. For example, some assume that miracles are impossible, so they either dismiss the miracles in the Scripture or try to explain them away. Another example is those who want to live life according to their own standards. They don’t like that the Bible says their lifestyle is sinful. Hence, they twist the Scripture until they are satisfied that the Bible doesn’t mean what it obviously says and that Christians for thousands of years were mistaken in thinking that behavior is sinful. 

The Final Authority

I can give thousands of examples, but they all boil down to one common difference from the first view. What is that difference? That Man is the final authority of truth over the Scripture. The first view does not deny that people have to use their minds. This view fully engages the mind but also considers that our minds can’t always be trusted. Romans 1:28 talks about how God “gave them up to a debased mind.” Romans 1:21 says people become “futile in their thinking”, and “their foolish hearts” become “darkened.” It is not until people, by the power of the Holy Spirit, submit themselves to God through Jesus Christ that they can be “transformed by the renewing of their minds.” (Romans 12:2) 

And we can’t trust our hearts as Jeremiah says in 17:9

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?

Which God would you vote for if you were one of the panelists on, To Tell the Truth where different “Gods” were the contestants? Would you vote for the god that makes you feel good about yourself, or would you vote for the God who has revealed Himself in the Scripture?

The Lie Detector Test

If you were on such a panel, there is only one way you could know whether the “God” you were questioning was telling the truth or not? You would have to open your Bible and verify his answer. If it did not match up with the whole of Scripture, you would know who is lying and telling the truth.

It is time to read the Bible. Take time to examine everything you think, believe, and feel in light of the Scripture. Familiarize yourself with the entire word and not just the popular parts posted in memes on social media. And if you find anything contrary to what you think, believe, and feel or is contrary to what someone else is saying or doing, you must go with Scripture and not with man.

The real God has stood up! He has revealed Himself in the Bible. If you worship Him, you won’t just win on a tv show; you will have life for all eternity! Follow any other god and you will lose.

Patterson’s 10 Rules of Biblical Interpretation or Why You are Having Trouble Understanding the Bible

Rule #1: You don’t interpret the Bible, the Bible interprets you.

Rule #2: If there is something you read in the Bible that you don’t agree with, you must change, not the Bible.

Rule #3: There is only one meaning to Scripture that matters and that is God’s intended meaning. Our job is to find out what He meant to communicate. Anything else is superfluous and a waste of time.

Rule #4: You cannot truly understand the Bible apart from the Holy Spirit, yet anyone can understand what the Bible says.

Rule #5: While there is only one meaning to Scripture, there are as many applications as there are people.

Rule #6: First obey what you read in Scripture, then you will understand. Obeying the clear parts of Scripture prepares you to understand the difficult passages.

Rule #7: The Bible is the only self-attesting Book that is the self-revelation of the self-existing triune God; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ is the mediator between God and man and many Scriptures speak of Him. Yet, the Bible also reveals the Unity of God, the Fatherhood of God, and that God is the Holy Spirit. It is a mistake to interpret the Bible as only revealing or speaking about the Second Person of the Trinity.

Rule #8: God uses different literary devices and genres. If you don’t understand this, you will remain confused as to what the meaning is.

Rule #9: There is always a structure in writing. Try to understand the skeleton of how a passage is put together and you then will grasp the whole.

Rule #10: The Bible is not made up of two Books, one old and one new, nor is it 66 Books. It is One Book that reveals all that we need for faith and practice. If you read it as two Books or 66 Books, you will not understand it. And just as you can’t understand a book by reading one sentence or one chapter, so you will not understand the Scriptures as you should unless and until you read it in its entirety.

God’s Law or Humanistic Law: Which Do Prefer?

Current estimates on the number of Federal laws in America range anywhere between 15,000 and 50,000. Nobody knows for sure. It is said the average American breaks the law at least 3 times per day.

God's Law has only 10 Laws that are clear, easily understood, and reasonable.

1. Thou shalt have no other gods before me
2. Honor thy father and thy mother
3. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy
4. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image
5. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain
6. Thou shalt not kill
7. Thou shalt not commit adultery
8. Thou shalt not steal
9. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor
10. Thou shalt not covet

In fact, Jesus summarized these 10 Laws into Two:

Matthew 22:36-40

𝐺𝑜𝑑'𝑠 𝐿𝑎𝑤 𝑣𝑠. 𝐻𝑢𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑐 𝐿𝑎𝑤 (𝐿𝑎𝑤𝑠 𝑀𝑎𝑑𝑒 𝑈𝑝 𝐵𝑦 𝐺𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑛𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡): 𝑊ℎ𝑖𝑐ℎ 𝐿𝑎𝑤 “𝑇𝑒𝑎𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑟, 𝑤ℎ𝑖𝑐ℎ 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑔𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑡 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐿𝑎𝑤?” 𝐴𝑛𝑑 ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑎𝑖𝑑 𝑡𝑜 ℎ𝑖𝑚, “𝑌𝑜𝑢 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐿𝑜𝑟𝑑 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝐺𝑜𝑑 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑠𝑜𝑢𝑙 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑑. 𝑇ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑔𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑓𝑖𝑟𝑠𝑡 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡. 𝐴𝑛𝑑 𝑎 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑 𝑖𝑠 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑖𝑡: 𝑌𝑜𝑢 𝑠ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑛𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑏𝑜𝑟 𝑎𝑠 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑓. 𝑂𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑠𝑒 𝑡𝑤𝑜 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠 𝑑𝑒𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑑 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐿𝑎𝑤 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑃𝑟𝑜𝑝ℎ𝑒𝑡𝑠."

Sadly, the USA is transitioning from the rule of law to Public Policy. As this happens, more and more people will become snitches, tattletales, and general pain the asses as they seek to police others on whatever the current Public Policy happens to be.