In The Name of ”Reason”
In The Name of ”Reason”
By Jack Kinsella
The laminin protein that forms the ‘glue’ holding our cells together is shaped exactly like the Cross of Christ. And according to Colossians 1:15-17; “by Him all things consist” [sunistemi: to be compacted together,” “to cohere,” “to be constituted with.”]
The laminin protein is, to a Christian, an awesome visual depiction in nature of what Christ is to our total existence – He is the glue that holds it all together.
“And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.” (1st Corinthians 15:14)
“Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:2)
Everything about the Scriptures depends on Christ being all in all. The purpose of the Old Testament was to proclaim His coming; the New Testament proclaims His soon return.
His life was an example of what God expects of each of us.
“Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow Me.” (Matthew 19:21)
Since even one sin would undo ALL of the perfection Jesus required of the rich young ruler, the lesson is that it is “easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.”
Without Christ, it is impossible to fulfill the demands of perfection. With Christ, it is still humanly impossible to fulfill the demands of perfection. You doubt me?
How are you reading these words? By computer? Is it yours? Where is it? In your house? Where? On a table? Desk? Laptop stand? Are they yours?
Go immediately and sell all that stuff and give the money to the poor. Then go find the most hostile social environment possible and, homeless and broke, minister to the gang members and drug addicts that you find there.
On the other hand, if you are still reading, then by your actions (or inaction) you tacitly agree that for most of us, (and you, for certain) the demands of perfection are impossible even with Christ.
“For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not…O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.” (Romans 7:18-19, 24-25)
That is who we are before God. Wretched creatures unable to perform that which is good, trapped within a body of flesh condemned to serve the law of sin. Paul calls it, “this body of death.”
It is impossible for the flesh to adhere to the things of the Spirit or for the Spirit to adhere to the things of the flesh. Impossible, that is, without the Cross. The Cross is the glue that allows the two to co-exist in the same person.
Without the Cross, the spirit ‘dies’ with the first sin.
“For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.” (Romans 7:9)
“And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath He quickened together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses.” (Colossians 2:13)
The Cross is the glue that holds our faith together in the natural; it is the glue that forever binds us to the Father in the supernatural.
The Cross is also the logical glue that proves Christianity to be the one true faith for this age. Without the Cross upon which full payment was exacted for sin, there is no way to anyone to be logically certain of their redemption.
There is always the possibility that maybe they weren’t quite good enough, or maybe they didn’t perform enough sacrifices, or maybe…with the Cross, there are no ‘maybes’.
“Then said Jesus again unto them, I go My way, and ye shall seek Me, and shall die in your sins: whither I go, ye cannot come.”
Logically, nobody could offer themselves up for their own sins, since that is not a sacrifice, but a debt already owed. You can’t pay a debt with a debt (unless you are the US government).
And the Lord is pretty clear on that topic. Since you can’t pay your own debt for yourself, “ye shall die in your sins.” No maybes there.
“I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for IF ye believe not that I am He, ye shall die in your sins.” (John 8:21-24)
No maybes here, either. Just a big ‘IF.’ One that demands a simple choice.
The Cross is the glue that binds the whole thing together. Without the Cross, Christianity flies apart into a hodgepodge of uncertainty.
If ‘all roads lead to heaven’ then it logically follows that there are no roads left that can lead to hell.
Assessment
Do I think there is some deep theological significance between the shape of laminin and its function in nature? You bet I do. The Laminin Protein Molecule But that’s just me. I can’t believe in both an omniscient God and an unintended coincidence without it making my head hurt a little.
But if I were an honest skeptic seeking the truth, rather than looking for confirmation of my lack of belief, I would think the laminin cross still unsettling enough to give me pause for reflection.
It isn’t as if laminin only looks like a cross to Christians. Nor is it as if the protein’s function doesn’t parallel doctrinally with twenty centuries of Christian teaching.
I admit that by itself, it is not enough reason to believe, but taken together with the evidence of DNA and genetic encoding, the search for the Higgs boson, the historically uncontested and still uncontestable accuracy of Scripture and its advanced scientific knowledge…you’d think that would at least give the skeptic pause.
It doesn’t. If one looks around the skeptical internet, the level of hostility is palpable.
One guy writes,
“I think you’ve got the wrong ‘god. The protein looks a whole lot more like caduceus wielded by Hermes, God of Travelers. While laminin is important for cell structure, DNA is the code that makes us what we are, and its structure is another double-helix, like the caduceus. It really makes you marvel at how the Hermes, the God of Boundaries, extends to the very boundaries of our cells!”
It isn’t like the guy (Radical Russ) believes in Greek mythology. He goes on to say that,
“another protein called ‘porin’ is shaped “just like the triquetta of Celtic paganism. Yet another expression in creation of how the power of three San Francisco witches feed all of us.”
Writes another, “Laminin is so floppy that there are probably far more molecules in your body in the shape of a swastika than there are as arms-straight-out-like-a-cross.”
And another: “Well that cinches it!! Jesus was crucified in my pancreas!!”
And according to RationalWiki.com, it looks like an ‘awesome shape for a sex toy.”
It makes the phrase, “rational skeptic” an oxymoron. A skeptic is ‘one who doubts.’ The rational thing for someone with doubts to do is to seek to put those doubts to rest.
What passes for “rational skepticism” is a hard-and-fast belief in an alternative faith. Those who claim the title, ‘rational skeptics’ are evangelists for their own faith.
And as near as I can tell, that faith consists entirely in the belief that the Christian faith is both unreasonable and irrational.
Not anybody else’s. Just Christians. “Radical Russ” wasn’t mocking Hermes or witchcraft – he was mocking Christianity.
“RationalWiki” made the ‘rational’ observation under a photo of evangelist Louie Giglio that, “This guy would make a great George Bush impression.”
Their “rational” assessment of the laminin photo and the members of Louie Giglio’s audience?
“Despite the fact that, in reality, laminin looks like a sex toy the audience happily accept that the electron microscope image is a cross.”
Whether or not one believes that laminin is the Signature of the Creator — or simply an interesting coincidence — is a matter of faith.
But it is not at all a matter of doctrine.
For some Christians, it is an awesome and awe-inspiring confirmation of the truth already joyfully received. To others, it may seem more like a reach that exceeds one’s grasp.
What is fascinating to me is the reaction of the so-called ‘rational’ skeptics.
Rational: “the belief that reason and logic are the primary sources of knowledge and truth and should be relied on in searching for and testing the truth of things”
Reason would recognize that ‘doubt’ means ‘uncertainty’ and the ‘rational’ response would be to seek the truth. There isn’t a lot of literature out there extolling the intellectual advantages of unreasoning hatred for conflicting opinions.
According to the ‘rational’ skeptics out there, doubt is its own truth — and they are prepared to defend their doubts against all non-doubters seeking to dispel their doubts – by pre-emptive attack whenever possible.
Especially when it comes to Christians. That maddening confidence must be destroyed…in the name of tolerance and, especially, in the Name of Reason.
And so, if one is a reason-driven ‘skeptic,’ then it’s the only rational thing to do. (That, or go buy a dictionary.)
“The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God.”
And then he said, “I’m a rational skeptic.”
Originally published: May 1, 2010.