The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.'” (Psalm 14:1)
Or, sometimes the fool makes a public proclamation that lets the whole world know that his or her foolishness is not merely a matter of the heart. Such is the case with Charlotte Mayor and Obama Transportation Secretary Nominee Anthony Foxx, the winner of “Fool of the Week.” Granted, there were many worthy candidates vying for this coveted title, but Mr. Foxx won hands down when he proclaimed this Thursday, May 2, as “A Day of Reason.” I wish I was making that up, but sometimes the far left just throws one right over the plate to knock out of the ballpark. It’s like shooting fish in a barrel. For those Christians who still consider themselves Democrats, this is yet another embarrassing reminder of how hard it must be to reconcile Biblical principles with those of the modern Democrat Party on a whole host of issues, including abortion rights, gay rights, and an increasing anti-religious (i.e., anti-Christian) fervor.
One of the many faces of the new Democrat Party is the man President Obama nominated to be his new Transportation Secretary. I’m quite sure that the Administration vetted Mr. Foxx prior to his nomination, so I would assume that the President and his advisers were fully aware of just how far left the Mayor of Charlotte, NC truly is. How far left is he? So far outside the mainstream of American culture that he would declare the first Thursday in May — a day designated by Congress beginning in 1952 as a “National Day of Prayer,” — as a “Day of Reason” instead. So much for setting aside a day for people of many faiths — Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, and Sikhs — to gather in churches, synagogues, mosques, temples, and on the courthouse steps to offer prays for the nation and the nation’s leaders.
With 364 other days of the year available to Mayor Foxx to proclaim as “A Day of Reason,” Foxx chose May 2. Now, let me say that I don’t have a problem with reason. I think it is a false dichotomy to pit faith (or religion) and reason against each other. As Christians, we are not to check our minds at the door of the sanctuary. We are not called to a blind faith, but to a faith that is supported by reason and evidence. Some may not accept the reason and evidence found in the Bible, but that does not mean that the Christian faith is devoid of reason. We may not always be able to figure out issues of faith with merely human reason. That’s because our post-modern, post-Christian culture often elevates as “reason” that which is nothing more than what the Bible declares as foolishness. However, as one of the greatest pastors and theologians in American history rightly stated, reason is an essential component of the Christian faith:
All truth is given by revelation, either general or special, and it must be received by reason. Reason is the God-given means for discovering the truth that God discloses, whether in his world or his Word. While God wants to reach the heart with truth, he does not bypass the mind.” Jonathan Edwards
In substituting his “Day of Reason” for the “National Day of Prayer,” Foxx was not just promoting his positive view of reason. If he wanted to do that, he could have chosen another day. Instead, Foxx, either intentionally (which I believe) or unintentionally (which seems hard to believe), chose May 2 because he wanted to denigrate religion in general and Christianity in particular. How else to explain the foolish nonsense contained within the proclamation:
But Foxx argued in his proclamation May 2 was better served as A Day of Reason because “the application of reason, more than any other means, has proven to offer hope for human survival on Earth.”
Better served? What does that mean? Oh, yeah. That means that Foxx sees absolutely no benefit in prayer or faith or anything of a spiritual nature. For Foxx and those like him, “reason” is the only hope for mankind humanity. If that’s what Foxx believes, then fine. If “reason” has become Mayor Foxx’s god, then more power to him. I will defend his right to worship whatever false god he chooses. But, if he truly wants to be seen as a man of “reason,” the sly Foxx might want to stop acting like a complete fool!