Spir Dynamics 185-188 5/2/93; Rev 676; 4/30/79; 12/3/81

DOCTRINE OF HEATHENISM

A. Definition and Description.

1. Heathenism is the apostasy of the unbeliever in three stages of negative volition, described in 2 Pet 2. Heathenism is the story of the unbeliever rejecting the Gospel.

2. The word “heathen” comes from the Gothic word HAITHI, which means open country, people who lived out in the country. The Gothic word is equivalent to the Latin PAGANUS and the Greek ETHNE, which means Gentiles or nations. Heathenism is also synonymous with the Hebrew word GOI meaning Gentiles.

3. While “heathen” has often been used to designate irreligious, rude, unthinking, barbarous, idolatrous, superstitious people, it doesn’t mean these things. But rather it refers to an unbeliever, reversionism, or salvation maladjustment to the justice of God. Heathen frequently worship manifestations of power. Heathenism, then, is defined as anyone of a nation, race, or people who do not acknowledge the God of the Bible. A synonym for heathenism is paganism.

4. The best description of heathenism is found in Rom 1:18-32. Heathenism is rejection of God’s plan of salvation, Rom 1:18. This maladjustment to the justice of God occurs at God consciousness or at Gospel hearing. Heathenism is related to liberalism and reversionism. Salvation maladjustment to the justice of God results in a vacuum in the soul of the unbeliever and results in blackout of the soul, scar tissue of the soul, and reverse process reversionism. The result of reversionism is liberalism. The mechanics of liberalism and evil are found in Rom 1:24-25. Both theological and political liberalism exploit the ignorance of man by catering to his emotional revolt of the soul and lust. They try to play God. Liberalism is another manifestation of heathenism with a veneer of human good civilization.

5. Heathenism rejects the truth. No truth exists in the premise of heathenism. Therefore, no truth exists in it’s conclusion. If you start with evil you end with evil. Truth is designed to free man from both liberalism and heathenism. Jn 8:30-32. Therefore heathenism must find a substitute for the truth it has rejected. The substitute is cosmic involvement. This is how degeneracy and liberalism come into action, Rom 1:24-25. Man cannot survive in his soul without the entrance of truth. When man says “no” to the truth there is heathenism in the mind which results in heathenism in function. Starting without truth, heathenism seeks to establish a society without God. The false premise of this society leads to the false conclusion of this society and its inevitable judgment from God’s justice.

6. Heathen are not heathen because they have not heard; heathen are heathen because they have heard and rejected. The doctrine of heathenism answers a wornout question, “What about the people who have never heard?” There is no such person who has not had the same opportunity as everyone else to believe in Christ.

B. Historical Evangelism of Heathenism.

1. The problem is aggravated by ignorance of history. The principle is that wherever there is positive volition at the point of God consciousness, there is always opportunity for Gospel hearing. Successful missionary function in every generation is based on following the will of God to where there is positive volition, regardless of where it is found.

2. Many doctrines from the Bible solve the problem of heathenism; e.g., divine essence, unlimited atonement, God consciousness, and the justice of God.

3. There is Biblical documentation for the fact the Gospel went throughout the entire world in the first century.

a. Acts 17:6 states the Gospel was proclaimed world-wide.

b. Col 1:6, Paul said it went throughout the world.

c. 1 Tim 3:16, It is “proclaimed among the nations...the object of faith in the world.”

4. Extra-Biblical historical documentation of the world-wide dissemination of the Gospel.

a. Justin Martyr, 103-165 A.D., “There is no people, Greek or barbarian or any other race by whatever appellation or manner they may be distinguished, however ignorant of the art of agriculture, whether they dwell in tents or wander about in covered wagons among whom prayers and thanksgiving are not offered in the name of the crucified Lord to the Father.”

b. Tertullian, 160-240 A.D., “We are of but yesterday and yet we already fill your islands, cities, camps, palaces, Senate, forum. We have left you only your empty temples.”

c. Origen, 185-251 A.D., “In all Greece and among all barbarous races within our world there are tens of thousands who have left their national laws and customary gods for the law of Moses and the words of Jesus Christ. Though to adhere to that law is to incur the hatred of idolaters. And to embrace that word is to incur the risk of death as well. And considering, how in a few years and with no great store of teachers and in spite of the attacks which cost us life and property, the preaching of the Word has found it’s way into every part of the world, so that Greeks and barbarians, wise and unwise adhere to the doctrine of Jesus Christ.”

d. Eusebius, 266-340 A.D., “There flourished at that time many successors to the apostles who reared the edifice on the foundations which were laid, continuing the work of preaching the Gospel and scattering abundantly over the entire earth the wholesome seed of the heavenly kingdom. For a very large number of disciples, carried away by a fervent love of the truth which the divine word had revealed to them, fulfilled the command to the Savior. Leaving their country, they fulfilled the office of evangelist to carry the gospel to those who had not heard the word of faith.”

5. Missionary Documentation.

a. The letter of Pliny the Younger to the emperor Trajan, circa 100 A.D., describes tremendous evangelism everywhere.

b. Thaddius did a great missionary work in Persia, circa 190 A.D.

c. Pantaenus of Alexandria went to India, where he found already many believers and copies of the gospel of Matthew, circa 180 A.D.

d. The Nestorians went all the way to China, where we have discovered the Nestorian tablets which record the evangelism of China. Genghis Khan hired only Chinese Christians to record all of his activities.

e. 311-388, Ulfilas was a missionary to the Goths north of the Danube River. He evangelized the entire Gothic kingdom in one generation and invented the Gothic alphabet. He also translated almost all of the Bible for them.

f. 316-396, Martin, Bishop of Tours was a missionary to Gaul (France).

g. 396-493, Patrick of Scotland was a missionary to Ireland and worked independently of the Catholic church.

h. 521-596, Columba from Ireland established a missionary school and went to Scotland to evangelize them.

i. Columbanus from Ireland went to Germany and evangelized in Burgundy and then Switzerland; finally went to and was rejected in Italy.

j. 657-739, Willibrard of England evangelized in Holland, Hess, Saxony, Germany, and was martyred in Holland.

k. 800-865, Ansgar of France evangelized in Denmark, then Sweden.

l. Ninth century, Cyril and Methodius, two Greek believers evangelized Bulgaria. They translated the Bible into the Slavic language.

m. Tenth century, Hacan evangelized Norway. Eric the Red evangelized Greenland.

n. There has always been a client nation sending out missionaries.

C. How nations become heathenistic.

1. IRA DEUM (wrath of God).

a. This is the Latin phrase to convey divine judgment through historical disaster. This phrase was used by Cicero when he stated that the fall of Corinth and Carthage were the wrath of God. Tacitus linked IRA DEUM to the terror in the time of Nero’s madness. The translation of IRA DEUM is divine anger, which is an anthropopathism for divine judgment from the supreme court of heaven.

b. There is an IRA DEUM passage in Rom 1:18-20, “For the wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of mankind who suppresses the truth by unrighteousness, because what may be known about God is evident in them; because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.”

2. God Consciousness.

a. God consciousness is defined as the status of any normal human being who becomes aware of the existence of God through the function of his own mentality. God has made His existence plain to every human being in their soul.

b. Generally, two categories of mental function are involved in arriving at the point of God consciousness or being aware of the existence of God. The first category is rationalism. Rationalism is reason alone being the source of knowledge and reality, a reality which is independent of experience. The second category is empiricism. Empiricism is knowledge derived from a sense of experience; hence, reality dependence on experience and observation.

c. When a member of the human race reaches God consciousness or awareness of the existence of God, this is classified biblically and theologically as the point of accountability.

d. Those members of the human race, who for one reason or another do not arrive at God consciousness, are automatically saved because volition was not an issue in their case. This would include morons, brain damaged children, premature death in babies and young children. 2 Sam 12:23, “But now that he has died, why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me.”

e. The mechanics of God consciousness. There are five ways in which any normal human being can attain an awareness of God. These five ways are called in theology the theistic arguments for the existence of God. Theism is a science which depends on proven facts based on the assumption that human thought is real and that rational conclusions of the mind are trustworthy. The science of theism demands that the intellect of the finite man move out of the sphere of material things and beyond the range of human experience to contemplate the infinite creator. Therefore, theism is the only reasonable and rational background for morality, government, philosophy, and science. The five theistic arguments for the existence of God form the mechanics for mankind attaining God consciousness.

(1) The Religious Argument. The religious argument contends that God exists because mankind universally believes in His existence. Creatures do not crave what does not exist, and men seek after God. Even religious instincts indicate the reality of a Supreme Being. The concept of man seeking God is found in Jer 29:13, Jn 17:17, and Acts 17:27.

(2) The Moral or Anthropological Argument. This argument says that to a greater or lesser degree man’s soul possesses both volition and conscience with an urge to choose right over wrong. The structure of human society is based on the recognition of virtue and truth. This phenomena has no explanation apart from the existence and influence of a Supreme Being with perfect and eternal holiness or integrity. A material, ungoverned universe can know nothing of moral values apart from the absolute righteousness of a Supreme Being. Acknowledging the existence of virtue and truth eventuates in becoming aware of the source of virtue and truth. Jesus said, “I am the truth...no man comes unto the Father but by Me.”

(3) The Ontological Argument. Ontological reasoning says that since the human mind possesses the idea of a perfect and absolute being, such a being must exist. Apart from the religious and moral tendencies, the existence of God is a necessary idea to the human intellect, and beyond the relative which mankind measures there is the absolute which gives value and character to the relative.

(4) The Teleological Argument. This argument is the fact that the universe, by its telescopic and microscopic wonders, always form arrangement, purpose, and adaptation, which connotes a designer. Structure in the universe demands a designer. The more we discover about the perfect structure of the universe in science, the more we recognize the need for a designer. Rom 1:20. The order of the universe can no more be accidental than the shuffling of twenty-six letters of the alphabet into a beautiful poem. The chemical contents of the human body are never accidentally combined to form man.

(5) The Cosmological Argument. This reasoning states that the intuitive law of cause and effect demands the existence of God as the initial cause. Order in the universe demands both a creator and a preserver. The universe presents an overwhelming demand for belief in the existence of God.

(a) Jn 1:3, speaking of Jesus Christ as eternal God, says, “All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.”

(b) Col 1:16-17 teaches that Jesus Christ is not only the creator of the universe, but that He also holds it together for the perpetuation of human history until the end of the Millennium, “For by Him were all things created both in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or empires or rulers or authorities. All things have been created through Him and for Him. He has existed prior to all things and by Him all things hold together.”

(d) Heb 1:3, “He upholds all things by the word of His power.”

f. The Negative Principle of God Consciousness. If any member of the human race, regardless of geographical isolation or linguistic barrier, desires relationship with God after reaching God consciousness, then God will provide the necessary information, i.e., the gospel message, through which that person can believe in Christ for eternal life.

(1) Jer 29:13, “Then you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.”

(2) Jn 7:17, “If any person is willing to do His will, he shall know about the doctrine, whether it is from God, or whether I speak from Myself.”

(3) Acts 17:27, “that they should seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us.”

g. Negative volition at God consciousness is the source of heathenism. Heathenism is created out of negative volition. Heathenism never exists until there has first been at least three generations of positive volition and the formation of a pivot, and then negative volition follows. Heathens are heathens, not because they have never heard the truth of the gospel, but because they have heard and rejected it at some point in their history. Rom 1:18-32, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth by unrighteousness, because what may be known about God is evident in them; because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not glorify God, or give thanks; but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and reptiles. Therefore God gave them over to the lusts of their heart to sexual impurity, that their bodies might be degraded by means of themselves. For they exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and they worshiped and served the creature [Satan] rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. Because of this God delivered them over to degenerate passions; even their women exchanged the natural function of sex for unnatural ones, and in the same way men also abandoned natural sex with the woman and were inflamed with their lust for one another, men with men committing the shameless deeds and receiving in themselves the due penalty of their perversion. And just as they did not think it worthwhile to have God in their knowledge, He turned them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, being filled with every category of unrighteousness, evil, greed, depravity; they are full of jealousy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, senseless, faithless, unloving, unmerciful, and although they know the righteous decrees of God, that those who practice such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things, but they even approve of those who practice them.”

h. Application of the Doctrine of the Justice of God. God’s perfect righteousness and justice prohibit God from being unfair to any member of the human race. There is no member of the human race who does not have a chance to be saved. Therefore positive volition at God consciousness is always met with evangelistic activity. That’s why there should be a different area of emphasis in each generation.

i. Application of Divine Sovereignty. It is God’s will that all members of the human race be saved, 2 Pet 3:9, “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to a change of mind.” This is God’s plan. Jn 3:18, 36 teach that only negative volition keeps a person from being saved. It is God’s will for all members of the human race to be saved (1 Tim 2:4, “who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth."), but God’s sovereignty and the free will of man coexist in human history by divine decree in order to resolve the prehistoric angelic conflict. Heathen are heathen because they choose to be, not because God wants them to be.

j. Application of the Doctrine of Unlimited Atonement. 2 Cor 5:14-15, 19; 1 Tim 2:6, 4:10; Tit 2:11; Heb 2:9; 2 Pet 2:1; 1 Jn 2:2. Since Jesus Christ died for all members of the human race, it is His purpose to save all members of the human race. However, God is a gentleman and doesn’t coerce human volition, and doesn’t intrude on people’s privacy. So God has provided salvation by faith in Christ. Each person must decide all by himself. God cannot force any unbeliever to make a decision about anything.

3. Internationalism or universalism is Satan’s attack against nations to promote heathenism. Satan, as the ruler of the world, is always trying to gain control of the people of this world. He attacks nations and tries to bring them under control through religion, internationalism, and other things.

a. One-worldism was expressed by the human race in the building of the city of Babylon and the tower of Babel, Gen 11:6, “And the Lord said, `Behold, they are one people, and they all have the same language. And this [tower of Babel] is only the beginning of their [evil] deeds, and that which they purpose to do nothing will restrain them. Come, let Us go down there and confuse their language, that they may not understand each other’s speech.’ So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of the whole earth; and they stopped building the city. Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of the whole earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of the whole earth.”

b. If everyone speaks the same language, it intensifies the possibility for evil and lack of restraint in the old sin nature. Language is a divine protection from the spread of evil. God provides nations to prevent the spread of evil. This stops man from self-destruction and all the evil Satan seeks to perpetrate on the human race.

c. One of the great mistakes made by theologians is thinking that nationalism started at the tower of Babel. It did not. Nationalism started later in history. Nationalism developed out of the confusion of languages. Deut 32:4-8, “The Rock [Jesus Christ]! His work is perfect, For all His ways are just; A God of faithfulness and without injustice, Righteous and upright is He. They [Israel] have acted corruptly toward Him, They are not His children [in the sense of client nation status], because of their defect; But a warped and twisted to their shame. Is this how you repay the Lord, O foolish and unwise people? Is He not your Father who has bought you, who made you, and formed you? Remember the days of old, Give thought to the generations of long ago. Ask your father, and he will tell you, Your elders, and they will explain it to you. When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance, When He divided all mankind, He established the boundaries of the peoples [Gentiles] on the basis of the number of the sons of Israel.” The boundaries of all the nations of Old Testament times were based on the number of Jews. Everything revolves around Israel.

d. Acts 17:18-26, “And also some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers were conversing with him. And some were saying, “What would this idle babbler wish to say?” Others, “He seems to be a proclaimer of strange deities,"— because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection. And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, `May we know what is this new teaching which you are proclaiming? For you are bringing some strange things to our ears; we want to know therefore what these things mean.’ (Now all the Athenians and the foreigners visiting there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.) So Paul stood up in the middle of the Areopagus and said, `Men of Athens, I observe that you are very religious in all respects. For while I was walking around and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, `TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.’ Now what you worship as unknown, I am going to tell you about. The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, He does not dwell in temples made with hands; neither is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all life and breath and everything else; furthermore He made from one, every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times, and the boundaries of their habitation.” Nationalism is the basis for evangelism.

e. A study by Mrs. Katie Tapping has concluded the following. There will be no one-worldism during the Church Age. No theological evidence exists that any one-world government will be established in this age. To the contrary, the judgment of Babel is God’s barrier to one- worldism. The restraining ministry of the Holy Spirit protects from one- worldism. Jesus Christ controlling history determines that nationalism is God’s will for all ages, predicting wars and rumors of wars for this age, not world peace or world government. No historical evidence exists to confirm that any one-world government has been established in the past or will be established in the future. On the contrary, empires rise and fall without ever approximating one-worldism. If Satan is unable to unify his own spiritual forces behind himself, how shall he organize the world of mankind with its multiple desires and clashing wills. The resulting disorder is the chaos of history. God has answered the rebellion against His will by simply allowing the rebels to run everything within prescribed limits and letting the resulting chaos witness against them. Events must continue until it has become evident before men, angels, and demons that no will, apart from the will of God, is capable of bringing order, peace, righteousness.

When this truth is seen, the world’s present confusion will not only be seen but expected and the ultimate collapse of all man’s efforts toward union and unity, peace and stability will be anticipated.

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