Hi there. It’s been a long time sense I wrote a TfTD. During that long hiatus I labored over this article in an effort to be clear, correct and effective inventing God. I know that there are historical, biblical instances when Israel attempted to invent God in the form of golden calfs but I didn’t.
The Argument
Someone accused me of inventing God. It got my dander up. I think that I know what the accuser meant. He meant that man invented God, but that still means, “me”, so I took a deep breath and took out my pen to deal with some of the elements of the debate. He accused me when I criticized a woman for posing nude. More importantly, I criticized the double standard of many Americans who want to give her a pass, including the accuser. He said that there is no difference between her and the athlete who uses his body for financial gain. This argument ignores what I call, “universal coding”, which says that no one has to tell us that certain things are right or wrong because it is part of the code that God put in us.
Did God Code Us?
Did God code us? The answer is, “Yes”. Did we invent God? The answer is, “No”. Since the accuser says that society invented the codes, it is time for a Bible lesson on the subject. As I said in another TfTD on how to get to heaven, “Turn right and keep going.”
The Coding
In Genesis 1:26 the Bible says that God made man in His image.
“Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness;…”
Imaging is coding. God coded us in His image, which, according to popular historical theology, consists of His knowledge, holiness and rationale. Therefore, man has the capacity for Godly knowledge, rationale and holiness. Understanding that these things are innate, we go further to Genesis 2 beginning at Verse 21. It says:
“So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep, and while he slept, He took one of the man’s ribs and closed up the area with flesh. And from the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man, He made a woman and brought her to him. And the man said:
This is now bone of my bones,
And flesh of my flesh;
She shall be called Woman,
Because she was taken out of Man.”
For this reason a man will leave his father and his mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked, and they were not ashamed.”
In these verses, God puts Adam to sleep, takes a piece of flesh from him and makes Eve. Waking up from sleep, they find that they are naked and they are unashamed of their nakedness. Innocence is part of their coding and and it is a match made in heaven because they live in the dispensation of innocence. During this event Adam wakes up, he sees Eve and the effects are so stunning that he breaks out in poetic tongues. He says:
“This is now bone of my bones,
And flesh of my flesh;
She shall be called Woman,
Because she was taken out of Man.”
Man’s Response to the Coding
How did man respond to the coding? I could make the cases that, “woman” means, “WOW-man”, but it would be my subjective interpretation. “WOW” and “WOE” seem to have a similar root and both imply, “astonishment”, so take it for what it is worth. I personally appreciate the special beauty that women bring to humanity. Donald Miller said in his book, “Blue Like Jazz”, that it was at a young age that he discovered that women are the reason that makes life worth living. I know that my wife is that reason for me. I do not accuse her of inventing God. God invented her, so to speak. Others have put it differently.
Noted pastor and theologian, John MacArthur says that Adam’s poem focuses on naming the delight of his heart in his newly found companion. The Hebrew word for woman (isha) is soft and the man is joined to her and she to him. You might say that they are coded to cling. They were joined in mind, body and soul. This mysterious force is not so mysterious because it is in the code. They are innocent people who live in an innocent dispensation, joined to God and each other in a state of blessedness but something happens.
The Coding and the Fall
They fall from grace but they do not lose the coding. They still have the capacity for knowledge, holiness and rationale. In innocence, they are unaware of good and evil, but when they fall, they become aware of good and evil. God is aware of good and evil in His holiness and reacts in holy ways. Man is aware of good and evil and, in his fallen state, he typically reacts in fallen ways. How is that for understanding the current political climate in the world? Anyway, Eve’s stunning beauty captures Adam as beauty continually captures us, but because of sin, we react in unholy ways.
Let’s face it. It is a sin to tempt someone to do unholy things, and if we have friends who tempt us deeper into sin, then it is probably time to change friends unless can effect them towards God. Otherwise, man is left to his own devices of inventing God, a doing of his own making. Also, when we pose nude in front of anyone except our own spouses, it is a temptation and, therefore, a sin.
Crossing Temptation’s Line
Realizing that there are many ways to tempt, it becomes relative as to when we cross the lines and the manner in which we deal with this relative issue becomes crucial. In the Old Testament the God-embedded code called, “conscience” helps us deal with it. David said in Psalms 37:23 that God orders the steps of a good man. In the New Testament, “The Holy Spirit” helps us deal with it. His job is to lead us and guide us into all truth. Our job is to seek godliness. As we seek godliness, He orders our steps. Thus, the more, as in, “mo-ray”, that says, “put our clothes on”, including, “pull our pants up”, is universal. It is part of God’s code.
Further Guidance on Temptation
Temptation is very strong, but God is not finished with His guidance on temptation. A television program called, “To catch a Predator”, reveals the strength of this attraction. On the show, men drive 3 and 4 hundred miles in order to see and experience someone in their naked state. Like a fish responding to a lure, there are very few individuals on the planet where this attraction is not there, but God is our strength. We must of renew our minds as encouraged in the link.
“Greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world.”
Athletes are not prostitutes because they use their bodies in order compete in sports and make money. They belong in a different category than the porn star and others who take their clothes off for money. In as much as men misuse and abuse coding, God’s coding represents holy morality.
Coding and Morality
Speaking of morality, my loving brother accused me of imposing my morality on him and thus, on society. The accusation begs for a response, and I have two of them.
First, in as much as Christians are accused, in this way, the world is a bigger culprit than we are. When the law insists that I share restrooms in government buildings with people of the opposite sex, it is an imposition on my christian values. When society tells me that I cannot take a strap to my children, according to Old Testament law, and issue reasonable punishment, it is an imposition on my Judeo-Christian values. I specifically underscore, “reasonable”, because our children do need protection from parents who do not know how to discipline. Those two instances represent a litany of impositions on Christian values.
Secondly, I never intentionally attempt to impose my morality on anyone. I merely declare God’s morality as it is revealed in His Word. In so doing, I, concurrently defend the right of every individual to accept or reject it. Further, I continue to love, embrace and dialogue with those who embrace other beliefs because I view all people as creatures of unfathomable value whom I personally, want to know, and experience. I would not want to miss that opportunity.
Finally, a Final Anecdote
When my niece, Sandi, was about 6 months old, she used the bars of her baby bed to pull up. When she got to her feet, she threw her glass baby bottle to the floor. It shattered into a hundred pieces. She looked at me and tried to duck behind the bars with a guilty grin because she knew that it was a mistake. At 6 months old, no one told her that it was a mistake. How did she know? It was part of the universal coding. I didn’t invent that code. God did.
Ok: so Two Anecdotes
Secondly, in the 50s when my next-door neighbor’s relatives came to visit them, my pal Ronnie and I ran, hid and then peek out at them. Man, they were so pretty that it sparked that kind reaction in us. I was only 8 years old and he was 6, so that was the best response that he and I could give to two really pretty girls. We really wanted to be close to them even though we hid and peeked. No one told us that they were pretty but the attraction was there, even at that young age. It was part of the universal coding that we did not have to invent.
Everything is coded. including the Bible. Men did not create the biblical code. God created the code and He communicated it to men. This was not something that came out of men’s minds, according to 2 Pet. 20-21:
“But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.”
Men saw the coding in the heavens. They he heard it, recognized it and wrote it down. They declared it but did not invent it.
Conclusion
Will this convince my my accuser that neither I nor anyone else invented the God of the Bible? Probably not. Frankly, I am not worried about accusers because it is not my job to convince them. It is the Holy Spirit’s job. It is between him and God. And further, I have seen too many people vehemently deny the authority of God’s Word, who then return years later having given themselves to God Almighty. I love him. He’s great guy and is worth listening to. God bless.
Life Step Ministries 