“When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? Yet you have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet” (Psalm 8:3-6)
In a Posthumanist Age, the value of being human decreases with each passing day. To be Posthumanist means, to some extent, to be posthumous, to be dead. It means the end of hope and reason, and thus the triumph of darkness. It is the natural outcome of turning away from God (Romans 1). God has always worked on behalf of humanity, and yet humanity disregards His grace and love, and prefers instead to dwell in darkness and mourning, because men and women cannot admit that they are lost and need a Savior (John 3:16-21). Many who claim to profess reason, liberal thought and a progressive worldview are those who are the farthest from reason and most chained in stagnation and loss of freedom. In and age when philosophy and science teach us that we are no different from animals and machines, it is only reasonable that mankind should be disoriented, lost and grievously frustrated. In an age when theology seeks to appease unsound philosophy and science, then it is only natural that even believers are losing heart, “like sheep without a shepherd” (Mark 6:34). Only when theology, science, and philosophy once again unite themselves to the truth about God will there be reason, morality and hope for humanity to finds its way again. For Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life for humanity (John 14:6). The world has always needed the Savior, and in many respects, our age is no different than many that have come before it. The good news is still the same; it is up to men and women whether they want to save themselves from this corrupt generation or continue sinking into despair. And the only way to save yourself is to let God save you, for He alone has the ability to save.
The good news is that human beings matter. Everything we do is significant. It is important to God. God made us to be fruitful (Genesis 1:28), to work and build (Genesis 2:15), and God made us in His image (Genesis 1:27). No other creature and no other element in existence has this blessing. Because our being derives from God, without Him our being is meaningless and frustrated. Through Him, we come to understand our own being, and we find hope and truth. As Karl Barth wrote: “The Christian proclamation...is the proclamation of God’s humanism. The content of the Christian proclamation could also be put in other words, for it has many facets and can be spoken in many languages. But it can also be said with these two words: the Christian proclamation deals with God’s humanism. These two words alone express the idea which is decisive for the Christian understanding of man: the idea of Incarnation. ‘The Word became flesh and dwelt among us’ (John 1:14). According to the Christian perspective, that is the work of and revelation of God—the ontological and noological premise—in the light of which man is to be seen. For the Christian proclamation is the proclamation of Jesus Christ. He is the Word which became flesh, and therefore He is also the Word about man. From the Christian perspective, man is no higher, no lower, no other than what this Word declares him to be. He is the being which is made visible in the mirror of Jesus Christ” (God Here and Now trans. Paul M. van Buren. London and New York: Routledge Classics, 2004. 3-4). The good news thus begins with one simple, mundane act in history: the virgin Mary gave birth to a son, and this son was Immanuel, “God with Us”—the fully human, fully divine Son of Man. God did not save the world through trees, mountains, chemicals, or electricity. God came to earth as a helpless baby in a poor and humble barn, sleeping in a manger full of hay. The Incarnation alone is a tremendous miracle, a wonderful statement of God’s love for humanity, because through the Incarnation, God chose to use our corrupt and limited, mortal flesh to reveal His Glory and His immense love for the whole universe: “ ‘Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: ‘Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel’ (which means, God with us).” (Matthew 1:20-23); “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder; and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6).
May the Lord bless you and remind you of your value as a human being. Happy Holidays!
