Stop following the crowd and running towards the cliff!

Evangelical philosophical theologian Sardius Williams
In-depth analysis of the times and bold, urgent appeals

This book soberly diagnoses our current state of living as slaves to our own false and deeply corrupted 'self-minds.'
The author exposes the theological, philosophical, and logical failures of the "Ten Commandments of Self-Worship" and calls for a "new generation of believers" who will not be swayed by the ego-obsessed crowd.
It traces the cultural formation process of various thinkers who shaped the mainstream outlook on life in modern society, helping us discern the sea of ​​culture and worldview in which we are immersed.

As both theology and science show, the more we experience awe, the more fulfilled we become as human beings.
Humans not only desire awe, but they also desperately need it.
Because it was built to be admired.
That's our human nature.
That is why today's fastest-growing world religion, self-worship, is betraying so many people.
When you worship the self, you lose your sense of awe and become empty.
It's because we're not as great as we think we are.
--- p.33

If you observe long enough the awe-inspiring factors, especially those you like, you'll begin to see some commonalities.
None of them are complete in themselves.
Nothing is perfect, eternal, or infinite.
All of them gradually weaken through a half-life [the time it takes for the mass or concentration to be reduced by half - translator's note].
There is no certain persistence.
Why is this so? Because the awe-inspiring factor exists to point to a more majestic reality: God.
In other words, these are premises, not conclusions, rivers, not seas, sunlight, not the sun, gateways, not destinations.
This book is an invitation to follow the countless signs of awe in your life and reach the infinite source of that awe: God.
To truly become your most authentic self, you must not be vaguely awed, but awake to the ultimate source of all awe.
Who is the source? It is the God of the Bible.
Of course, some readers will find this very jarring.
If it were a sunset or a starry night, we would naturally exclaim in admiration, but if it were the God of the Bible, as claimed by many Christian denominations, we would first feel resistance.
For many, the Christian God does not seem like a worthy object of reverence.
--- p.34~35

The serpent tempted Adam and Eve with this absurd logic of zero-sum power.
“God leaves you completely helpless in order to maintain absolute power.
The vast orchard God has made you stewards of is ripe with beauty and potential, overflowing with life-giving flavor, but that is not what you should be concerned about.
You should only look at this tree with the forbidden fruit.
If you want true power, you must stop bowing down to God and become God.
This fruit is a guarantee that it will reach the top.
So, hurry up and eat it.
Taste the power of God yourself.
Taste the sweet liberation from the oppressors of the universe.
Shout “Long live the revolution against the ruling power of heaven!”

All temptations are variations of this lie.
If you listen closely, you can still hear the old snake whispering and flicking its tongue.
"Why settle for the lowly level of a creature when you can become the Almighty Creator? Trust in yourself." However, the fruit of freedom the serpent touted ultimately proved to be the bitter medicine of shackles.
The results of evil always break promises.
Such false advertising is everywhere.
… (omitted)… Like Adam and Eve, we too fall by following the old lie that we are not creatures made in God’s image, but rather creators.
--- p.60~62

Are we living in the present age, or in the age to come? The Bible answers, "both."
In Venn diagram terms, we live at the intersection of two eras.
The two of them fight fiercely to win our hearts simultaneously, clashing at every moment in a war of infinite cosmic proportions.
Every day, tens of thousands of times a day, we choose which era we will place our hearts in, which country we will pledge our allegiance to, and which lord we will pledge our loyalty to.
Is our king Jesus, “the blessed and only Sovereign, King of kings and Lord of lords” (1 Timothy 6:15), or is it “the prince of the power of the air”? … (omitted) … Ultimately, this means that the serpent’s lie to worship self will also naturally fail.
To be self-centered and bow down to oneself rather than Christ-centered is a path backwards to the future.
It is to side with the snake, which has already suffered a head injury and is destined to fall into the fire and brimstone and be destroyed.
But when we accept the reality that Christ reigns as king, we enter into his victorious kingdom.
It is moving forward towards the glorious end of the universe.
Only when we worship Him instead of ourselves do we move forward in step with the future.
--- p.70~71

Another reason you can't follow your heart is because your heart, like mine, is not only stupid but also very fickle.
Our hearts sway and waver, moving back and forth without a fixed destination.
It is more like sinking sand than a solid rock that supports one's identity.
… (omitted)… The Greek philosopher Heraclitus left behind a famous saying that water always flows, so you cannot step into the same river twice.
Our hearts are always in turmoil like this.
Some hearts flow like the Ganges River in the rainy season, while others move slowly like molasses on a cold day, but everyone's heart is the same in that it sways back and forth.
--- p.84~86

Our hearts are not only unstable and unreliable compared to God's heart, but are also full of contradictory words.
The doctrine of following our hearts naively assumes that our hearts are like a choir.
Each different emotion is in harmony with all other emotions.
In fact, the mind is closer to the demonstration hall of a music store than to a choir.
It's like 50 people all trying to outplay each other with different guitars and amplifiers.
C. in 『The Abolition of Man』
S. Lewis used the word “instinct” to capture this fact.
“To say that you should obey your instincts is like saying that you should obey many people.
Just as people's speech is different, so too is the speech of instinct.
… … If you listen carefully, you will see that each instinct is crying out to achieve its own will, overcoming all other instincts.”
--- p.88

He calls us to a far better adventure.
He doesn't make us like drug addicts who are always trying to escape the monotonous realities of everyday life.
Rather, He died in the body and was resurrected in the body to save all of us, including soul and body.
He does not take us out of the world, but rather enters into our daily lives.
He gives meaning to ordinary life, although we may not notice it.
When we take social risks and tell our neighbors about Him, He drives back the forces of darkness.
The same is true when we move furniture, change diapers, wash dishes, endure insults, welcome uncomfortable outsiders, break the ice with a timely joke, and treat restaurant workers as more than just a means to an end—food.

When we, as David Foster Wallace put it, “sacrifice and sacrifice for others in countless small and unglamorous ways,” we embark on an eternal adventure.
When we preach the gospel with our words and practice it in our daily actions, we cast the ring into Mount Doom like Frodo and Sam, fire a quantum torpedo into the exhaust of the Death Star like Luke Skywalker, and destroy Horcruxes like Harry Potter and his companions.
Everyday life has eternal meaning.
Because we are eternal beings, we can join a true adventure that will continue forever.

--- p.163~164