Yep...We Definitely Need God

At the meeting of a group called the American Academy for the Advancement of Science, in 1991, Dr. L.D. Rue, proposed an interesting idea to his fellow scientists. Dr. Rue does not believe in God, he believes that the universe is a product of evolution—you could say, a product of lots and lots of time plus random chance.  And Dr. Rue understands the true implications of that belief. He realizes that without God the universe has no real objective value and, therefore, we have no real, lasting, meaningful purpose.

So, what Dr. Rue advised the audience that day is that we tell ourselves the universe really has value even though we all know that it doesn’t. You may need to go back and re-read that sentence—but try to do so without getting a massive headache. He’s saying that we TELL OURSELVES something that we know isn’t true.  Dr. Rue advocates that we TRY to believe what he calls a “Noble Lie”, in order to experience some hope and some sense of meaning. [Are you thinking that it’s a good thing Dr. Rue is a “scientist” and not a personal “counselor”? Yeah, me too.]

Dr. William Lane Craig wrote about this address by Dr. Rue to the American Academy for the Advancement of Science. Here is how he put it, “confronted with the predicament of modern man, [Dr. Rue] boldly advocated that we deceive ourselves by means of some ‘Noble Lie’ into thinking that we and the universe still have value.”  [Reasonable Faith, Craig, Pg. 71]

Think about it; brilliant scientists, confronting their belief that there is no God and therefore the universe really has no objective value offer us this: Deceive yourself into believing that there is some purpose or meaning for living, try to convince yourself of what isn’t true by believing the “Noble Lie”.

It makes you think that these guys need to get out of the lab a little more frequently, doesn’t it?

I wonder: Does the idea of a Noble Lie seem like it would work pretty well for giving you a true sense that your life has meaning and purpose?  Would it be helpful for you to build your ultimate meaning and purpose in life on what you know to be a Noble Lie?

This is why Dr. Craig, who is both a brilliant and respected philosopher AND a Christian uses this phrase: “The Absurdity of Life Without God”.

There is only “something more” to this life if there is an infinite, all-powerful, all-knowing, eternal, loving, personal God.  There is only something lasting, something that goes beyond, if there is a God.  And we will only experience genuine hope and meaning and purpose in this life in connection to that eternal, transcendent God.

And so, Solomon writes this at the end of the book of Ecclesiastes:  “Here now is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his command, for this is everyone’s duty.” Ecclesiastes 12:13. In other words, we need something more than a Noble Lie.  We need to connect to God, and live for Him and His kingdom. We need to do what He says because He is the source of our meaning and He is the foundation of our meaning.