A third error in Carl Sagan’s view of the universe is to suppose that somehow in that kind of a closed, materialistic system which excludes God, moral purpose and moral obligation can come about. If I am the accident of the universe, why do I owe anybody anything? I do not. I am not answerable to anything. How am I answerable to an impersonal universe? And yet, Sagan cannot live with that kind of a universe, so he projects moral values into it, apparently not realizing that the impersonal cosmos is not able to account for morality.
A third error in Carl Sagan’s view of the universe is to suppose that somehow in that kind of a closed, materialistic system which excludes God, moral purpose and moral obligation can come about. If I am the accident of the universe, why do I owe anybody anything? I do not. I am not answerable to anything. How am I answerable to an impersonal universe? And yet, Sagan cannot live with that kind of a universe, so he projects moral values into it, apparently not realizing that the impersonal cosmos is not able to account for morality.
I suppose there is no greater example of the folly of this world in its profession of wisdom than in the great trust that is put in the theory of evolution. What is really foolish about
evolution is the inevitable attempt to make what is essentially a theory into a kind of religion by using it to try to explain how things came to be, when evolution cannot possibly explain it.
With verse 18 of chapter 1 we come to the first major treatment of a theme that Paul considers in the book, the theme of wisdom and foolishness, the wisdom of God contrasted with the foolishness of men. It is a major section because Paul deals with that not only in the remainder of chapter 1 but throughout chapter 2. And it is not until chapter 3 that he gets back to the matter of the divisions among the church at Corinth that he mentioned in the introduction.
Be like Jesus Christ. Draw near to Him. And when you do, these divisions begin to fade away and the sin begins to be conquered. This knowledge gives expression to the glorious reality of the fellowship of the people of God. That is what this letter is to do. As you study it, pray that God will use these texts to speak to you and to lead you increasingly in the way that you should go for Christ’s sake.
When we read that description of the church at Corinth, we think to ourselves how wonderful it would be to be part of a church like that—a church that was separated unto Christ, mature in its knowledge of the doctrines of the faith and their application, a church in which the spiritual gifts were very evident, a church that was eagerly waiting together for the return of Christ. Is not a church like that a marvelous thing? Well, I dare to say I do belong to a church like that. That is a description of the church of Jesus Christ wherever it is truly found.
Paul writes of the first “bright spot” in the Corinthian church in verse 2: “To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” He says that the Corinthians are sanctified, or holy.
Paul visited Corinth on his second missionary journey. He had been in the northern portion of Greece, in Philippi. He had made his way down the coast from Macedonia, spending some time in the city of Berea. He then went further south into Attica and came to Athens, where he spent some time. After he left Athens, he went down to Corinth, leaving for the time his companions behind.
Canadian Committee of The Bible Study Hour
PO Box 24087, RPO Josephine
North Bay, ON, P1B 0C7
