In 1990, a man named David Breese released a book called “7 Men who Rule the World from the Grave.” It is a fascinating book that I have read no less than three times. It is packed full of information about the lives and philosophies of seven men that have influenced and continue to influence society, culture, government, education, and even some churches. Who are these men? Charles Darwin, Karl Marx, Julius Wellhausen, Sigmund Freud, John Dewey, John Maynard Keynes and Soren Kierkegaard. Some of these men you know, others perhaps you would not, but you would recognize their beliefs. Their beliefs, teachings and dogmas have been swallowed hook, line and sinker by the past two generations of people, especially those Western Civilization backgrounds. Darwin (theory of evolution), Marx (socialism/communism), and Freud (psychoanalysis) are the most well-known. After these three, some people know John Dewey. He was the main disseminator of ideas (like Marx & Darwin) into the public-school systems of America. Breese makes the statement concerning Dewey, “The way the world thinks can be laid at the feet of this man who more than all others made education in America what it is today” (p. 155). Wellhausen was a German Rationalist that sought to undermine the very basis of Christianity, the inerrancy of the Bible. Keynes was an economist (not a good one), and Kierkegaard gave the world a philosophy called existentialism. From this we have the term “neo-orthodoxy” which is nothing but heresy denying the major doctrines upon which Christianity is built and founded. Each of these have attacked the foundations of Christianity and Western Civilization.
Why have I spent the first portion of this article dealing with seven secular men and their beliefs instead of jumping right into the Bible? I want you to know the battle for mind is real. Satan is sly. No wonder one of the descriptions the Bible makes concerning him is “deceiver.” Each of us is in a war every single day. These philosophies constantly bombard the Christian and sadly many of our brethren have fallen by the wayside. What can we do? We do not have control of the economy, the political arena and certainly not the educational system. We simply walk with God and live daily in His book. Do you really believe that God is omni-potent? I do! How powerful is our God? Each of these seven men are dead, buried and most likely separated from God for all eternity. Hundreds of others, just as these seven, have sought to deny, criticize and destroy all who follow the Lord Jesus and His beautiful, powerful Word. They too have sought to take down Christianity to no avail. April 4th, the first Sunday in April, is Resurrection Sunday. Yes, Jesus died and was buried, but three days later He rose by His own power from the dead. Not one of these seven, nor any other person can make that claim. The influence of worldly philosophies will one day pass away. We are warned about them. “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ” (Colossians 2:8). Let me close with a poem attributed to a man named John Clifford.
The Anvil of God’s Word
“Last eve I paused beside the blacksmith’s door,
And heard the anvil ring the vesper chime;
Then looking in, I saw upon the floor,
Old hammers, worn with beating years of time.
“‘How many anvils have you had,’ said I,
‘To wear and batter all these hammers so?’
‘Just one,’ said he, and then with twinkling eye,
‘The anvil wears the hammers out, you know.’
“And so, I thought, the Anvil of God’s Word
For ages skeptic blows have beat upon;
Yet, though the noise of falling blows was heard,
The Anvil is unharmed, the hammers gone.”
There are old hammers, godless philosophies, strewn all through history but the Word of God and Christianity still stand. Let me also add, both always will. It is a promise from God.