When Man Tries to be God

When Man Tries to be God Philip G. Ney, MD © 1992 God created man for his own purposes; particularly that man should mature and become a friend of God. In order to achieve this he gave man considerable intelligence, a reasonable freedom of choices, many opportunities to explore and learn, but most importantly the opportunity to become the sons of God through salvation in Jesus Christ. Then, as a child of God, people have the privilege of maturing into adults that are friends of God. The good result is that men, women, and children gradually learn to know and enjoy God. The bad result is that man can acquire a technological competence that makes him feel that he does not need God, in fact, that he is able to God what God does. Without God, man is subject to the evil inspired tendency to try to be equal with God. The original sin occurred when the devil wanted to become equal with God. The second original sin was when man and woman chose the knowledge of God. Ever since that time man has never been content to know God in all the rich fullness of that wisdom. He had to know through his own efforts. Because of this he did acquire some understanding, but he attributed this knowledge to himself. His mind became darkened and he believed he could do what only God could do. Making humans God said "I will make man in My image". The arrogant human race believes that they can take this prerogative of God and not only make but design men and women to be the image of what they think man should be. With that facility they think they can create people, and therefore they think that they can destroy them. However, humans soon realize they have very limited ability to create human life. They only have a limited ability to provide the circumstances under which that life will be created by God, but still they take credit for him. They believe they can destroy human bodies and cripple their souls, but the destruction of the human spirit is God's prerogative alone. In fact, the best humans can do is to use God's immutable laws of creation by putting together egg and sperm or by cutting the cord that maintains physical life with its creator. The evil manifestations of man's desire to create and destroy life are abortion, eugenics, euthanasia, in-vitro fertilization, infanticide, genocide, and genetic engineering. Making marriage From the beginning, man and woman were made one flesh and what God thus joined together no man could take apart. Only by God is marriage made, and only by God or by death is that bond broken. Men see great power in making and breaking marriages, and have tried to be marriage creators by becoming officiator pronouncing a couple man and wife and by annulling marriages when they think that should occur. They arrange marriages and divorces, thereby giving themselves prerogatives that are God-like. The net effect is that men and women have denigrated the sacredness of sex. The end result has been extensive promiscuity, infertility, separation, divorce, broken families, and parent-less children. There are increasing numbers of abandoned mates and children resulting in unresolved grief which produce difficulties attaching between parent and child, and, therefore, an increasing amount of child abuse and neglect. There is inadequate partner support resulting in more miscarriages and abortions. There are many separated, polygamous, and polyandrous relationships resulting in confusion about an individual's identity and their relationships. There are tenuous spousal bonds. There are more women working resulting in more effeminate males and an inclination to homosexuality. Mediating between man and God God said "there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus (ref)". From the very beginning, God wanted to talk directly with humans, but after sinning they hid from him. Eventually they had to have a number of intermediaries in their attempts to communicate with God, but that was not God's choice. Long after God set up the Mosaic Law in which only the high priest, and that only once a year, could enter the Holy of Holies to communicate with God on behalf of the people. Later, through Jesus Christ, he tore the temple curtain separating the people from a direct encounter with God. As the body of Jesus was torn, so was the separation, so that now man has a holy mediator, God's only Son. Now man can speak directly to God through Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, pride has again asserted itself. Hearing confession and making the host into the body of Christ has made some people priests, but God has said "You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood of every believing Christian". Man has wanted power and has produced dogma and a hierarchy laden church. This has obscured God and obscured Truth. God's Witness God makes Himself known first through His Son, the Word, and His life and teaching and, secondly, through His Spirit, which now is resident in people living in the world and who always will be till the end of time. Thirdly, God makes Himself known in scripture. That scripture has been debatable in some circles. It contains the faults and failings of God's people and therefore cannot be perfect. God's Word (Christ) was perfect; the final utterance of a holy God. Fourthly, God makes Himself known through nature. God did not trust man's mind or his imagination, so He encoded in man's genetic makeup a very powerful drive to maintain the species, for mankind was the apex of God's creation. Man can thus trust his genetically driven impulses much better than he can the fascinations of his mind. When evil came into the world it created a split in man's nature. A part of man still tries to be God and exalts himself in his achievements. The other part tends to debase himself, knowing how evil he is. Christ came to enable and to demonstrate integration. Man must let go of both the God-like and the debasing parts of his nature and accept Christ's way of integration. Man's core nature splits because of the evil in the world, his own selfishness, and the abuse and neglect he receives as a child. Because of these, God's blueprints cannot firmly cement, and women cannot properly enfold, but the blueprint stays with them, even if the structure of themselves is a poor expression of what God intended. God sent His Son to give an example of what we could be. With that image we have a much better appreciation of what we are and what we could be. God the Creator Only God is Creator. Only through inter-sexual intercourse of a man and a woman is that creativity properly expressed. God creates man in His own image through intercourse, and through the bond of man and wife He creates the family into which the child can be properly formed. Thus, sexual intercourse is both the means by which God produces a family for the ongoing creation of the child, and the infant which is an expression of Himself. Through sexual intercourse the ultimate bonds are created and thus there is an expression of how God relates to humans in a determined, faithful manner. Man, through the church, tries to control what God is doing. He does this partly by insisting that only in the church can he be cleansed of his sexual sin and only under the church regulations can he express his sexuality. Through sexual intercourse God first creates the bond of marriage, then the children, and then the bond of child-parent relationships. Only God can make these bonds, and only through heterosexual intercourse. Therefore, sexual intercourse is sacred. Humans trying to create marriage and families insult God and confuse the process. To preserve His creation, God made procreation the most powerful drive. He knew that if He did not, man would pursue fame and fortune, land or knowledge in preference to procreating children. It is the right motive, if not the right behaviour to give up everything but God to find a good mate. Because sex is sacred and used by God to maintain a reflection of Himself, the evil one will use his greatest guile to distort sexual drives and directions. In particular, he uses man's intellect and reason to create confusion and lies. The most effective lies are the most plausible. eg. "Sex is sinful" -It is better to stay celibate. "Do not engage in premarital intercourse". ie. Do not have sex until I, "the priest", marry you. "If you are not married, the sex does not count and can be safely ignored". "If a fetus results from intercourse outside marriage it does not really have parents and should be destroyed". "It is alright to divorce and separate from someone who has sex with another because that nullifies the marriage". All of these statements are contrary to what God has implanted in man's basic biology and are an expression of the original sin of man trying to be God. Only God chooses His ministers. The first three Israeli kings were chosen specifically by God. When people forgot to listen to God's choice of who are the ministers, man made many mistakes. From the beginning, God wanted to talk directly with man, but after sinning, humans hid from God. Eventually they had to have a number of intermediaries in their attempts to communicate with God. In having His body torn, Jesus in His death tore the only separation between man and God. Now, with Jesus standing beside him, man can speak directly with God. When we name the name of Christ in talking with God we are able to stand in His presence and communicate our hopes and confess our sins. Unfortunately, once again, pride has asserted itself in Hearing confessions and designating a wafer as a piece of the body of Christ. That, in effect, has created a professional clergy and lay Christians in a hierarchy laden church. All man's earliest sin of wanting to know has made it possible for him to understand certain things and take pride in them. He then believes he can be like God. He hopes for the supreme power over life and death. Man has now so badly trampled the natural relations with God and His creation that we may have come to a point in time where there are irreversible changes.