The secular idyll

That idyllic vision of life which Dawkins described on the 'Q and A' programme last Monday, in which everyone should have an opportunity to live their lives to the best of their ability and to make the world a better place, sounds absolutely delightful. Yet it is a vision of life which tends to exalt any kind of human culture, with the exception, of course, of Christian orthodoxy. But are all potential forms of human activity and culture good and desirable? The secular vision seems to say yes, and how dangerous this is.

Another hidden dimension of this idyll is that although the secular vision appears to embrace all forms of culture, except Christian orthodoxy. In fact the secular vision cannot at all tolerate the presence of Christian orthodoxy because it is a reminder of God's order, God's plan for humanity. This is especially true of Christian marriage and the Christian family which, institutionally, represent everything that the secular vision despises. What is now proposed as "same-sex marriage" at the level of equality with marriage, will not end there because the secular vision wants to remove all remnants of God's order in the world.

Nevertheless, God's Fatherhood which He has revealed to us is a real Fatherhood, by which He allows rebellious sons and daughters to experience the whole weight of their abandonment and wretchedness so that they can see the full effects of their sin, and so come to desire salvation. God's Fatherhood is given to us in a radical way in the parable of the Prodigal son. God desires that all men and women will come to Him, but we know that He will leave the rebellious to go on to experience the very worst that their rebelliousnous brings upon them. And then, when they cry out to Him, He is there with the fullness of a Father's love.