Creation Station
Bible and History
The Noble Skeptics
One of the ways in which lies are spread is by distorting of the
meaning of words. Tolerance is a word that has been so misused and
distorted that its true meaning has been all but lost. The word
tolerance has come to mean acceptance of almost anything. What the word
tolerance really means is to acknowledge that other people have the
right to be wrong. One of the hallmarks of a totalitarian dictatorship
is that everybody is required to be “right” or face some kind of
coercion as the price of disagreeing with those in authority. The irony
is that those who most loudly proclaim their desire for tolerance
really want a lockstep conformity to their idea of political
correctness and seek to coerce those who will not agree.
The word skeptic is another word that has been so mangled by atheists
that most people don’t know its true meaning. In the evolutionist
magazine Scientific American is a column by a self-described
skeptic named Michael Shermer. Shermer is someone who wants people to
believe that skepticism and atheism are synonymous. Shermer claims to
be a skeptic, but blindly accepts virtually any idea, as long as it
promotes his religion of atheism and evolutionism.
The true meaning of the word skeptic is someone who seeks evidence
before believing in something. One of the best examples of true
skepticism is in the account of the Bereans.
These (the Bereans) were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. Acts 17:11.
It was their readiness to accept the Gospel and their skepticism in examining it that gave them their nobility. True Christian faith is not a blind faith, but a healthy skepticism that looks to the objective reality of God’s Word and the evidence in His Creation. We are told to,
Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. 1Thessalonians 5:21.
Many years ago a book was published called 1984 that highlighted a fundamental truth of life, whoever controls the language, controls the discussion. In the discussions in society over the most basic truths of life, don’t let the opposition define your language.
