51 in void space; yet, how can unintelligent matter on its own acquire consciousness? On the other hand, the natural man assumes the existence of immaterial principles of reason and justice that permanently stand above all his variable experiences. But if evolution be true, then reason itself is a product of the physical world it purports to understand; mind and reason, too, are evolving (changing). Therefore, if nature is all there is, and it is ever developing into new forms, then there is nothing permanent or unchanging that transcends this universe; there can be no certainty, no truth, no lasting purpose to life in a world undergoing random evolution. In short, there is no fixed reference point for finite man to hold onto — not even onto man himself who “appears for a little time and then vanishes” (James 4:14). Thus, what the unbeliever claims as true is contradicted by how he actually lives. For instance, notice that Beard continued to write history even though his rational system of thought could not make sense of it. That he still considered it worthwhile to order the facts of history even though his worldview deprived history of any intrinsic meaning demonstrates that the natural man cannot escape the knowledge of God. All men know God because they are confronted with the truth of God who is “clearly perceived” (Rom. 1:20) in the natural order. All mankind have “inalienable knowledge” of God and His creation. Because created in God’s image and bearing His “likeness” (Gen. 1:26), the natural man cannot help but use his mind to know things. As such, human knowledge is possible only because the natural man has his Creator’s knowledge of the natural order — a knowledge that goes unacknowledged by the sinner. Yet, in order to preserve his illusion of intellectual freedom, the natural man willfully suppresses this truth in his unrighteousness (Rom. 1:17-18), denying any knowledge of God or rational dependence on Him. Biblically speaking, the unbeliever is self-deceived due to a self-inflicted hardening of his heart (Eph. 4:18). Thus, humankind — including historians — in their very core refuse to think God’s thoughts after Him even though they cannot avoid living and thinking within His rational system imprinted on us all. It is in Him that we live and move and have our very being (Acts 17:28). There can be no objective foundation for knowledge or a true basis for human learning apart from the eternal Rock of Ages — the Alpha and Omega — who first established the universe and our manner of knowing it. It is for this reason, then, that the unbeliever is genuinely a “fool” (Ps. 14:1) — a fool because he does not understand that his rational and moral arguments
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