OPINION:
Creatio ex nihilo is a Latin phrase used to describe a central theological point of Christianity. It’s an axiom that captures the first event of Genesis: “In the beginning, God created.”
It says it is God and God alone who can take nothing and turn it into something. He’s the one who sets the field and draws the boundaries. He’s the one who puts the goals in place. He is responsible for the rules and the definitions. God establishes order.
No matter what you’ve been told, there is a Creator, and it’s not you. Some things are what they are, and neither you nor I has any business or power to change or redefine them. Facts are facts, and that’s the end of it. No, the definition of “is” is not subject to President Bill Clinton’s political agenda or sexual fancy. Truth is true, and falsehood is false, and that IS the end of it.
The 2024 election, at its core, is not about President Biden or former President Donald Trump. It is about two diametrically opposed views of our world. It’s about the Democrats’ warped mindset of radical relativism vs. the Republicans’ worldview of self-evident truths. It’s about the difference between a republic, where immutable standards of right and wrong are endowed to us by our Creator, and a radical democracy, where everything is up for grabs and subject to the creative whims of the masses. It’s about Creation or chaos.
According to the Democrats’ malign view of the world, there is no creator other than themselves. They are the grand interpreter, the final authority, the definer of all. They make the rules. They create the values. They define the words. They decide what’s good and evil, bitter and sweet, true and false. They define what’s male and female, moral and immoral, right and wrong. Theirs is a worldview of “whateverism” because anytime any idea is up for debate, the definition of that idea is whatever they decide it is.
The Democrats’ philosophy is one where those wielding the fasces of power accuse all who challenge their power of being fascists. This is a worldview where butchers of children pretend to be pro-child, stealers of freedom claim to be pro-choice, mockers of women profess to be feminists, and champions of justice have difficulty admitting it’s unjust to kill Jews.
It’s Alice’s “Wonderland,” where Humpty Dumpty says, in a scornful tone: “When I use a word, it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less. The question isn’t whether you can make words mean so many different things. The question is who is to be master — that’s all.”
Republicans, on the other hand, believe that God creates truth, and we, as fallible human beings, do not. This worldview argues some moral realities are what they are and that no party or person has the authority to dispute or change them.
Republicans understand that sexualizing children is wrong, Hamas is evil, and letting men steal a woman’s identity, bathroom and shower is a really bad idea.
Republicans understand that we can and still do know that some things are objectively wrong regardless of how someone feels about them. Feelings don’t change the indisputable facts that men can’t get pregnant, children should be protected and not groomed, massive inflation is bad for the economy, and you can’t pretend to be pro-democracy if your key political strategy is to jail your opponent and keep him off the ballot.
The bottom line is that Republicans understand you can argue with the mechanic until the cows come home, but some things about an engine are just true.
I’ll say it again: This fall, we will vote not for one of two candidates but for one of two worldviews. Only one worldview acknowledges that truth is endowed by our Creator and is not the subject of a political consensus. Only one worldview understands that all our rights and freedoms, therefore, can never be taken away by a democracy or a demagogue.
In the ontological world of Creation vs. chaos, some things simply are. The yard lines are down. The boundaries are set. The rule book is written. It can’t be manipulated into whatever you’d like it to be.
Only the Creation worldview understands that denying established facts doesn’t change them. Jumping out of an airplane while shouting “I can fly” does not negate the law of gravity. Pretending the world is flat does not change the fact that you can still sail around it. And suggesting evil is a social construct rather than just wicked immorality will win you a few points at the Nuremberg trials.
Creation acknowledges that there are objective truths. Chaos denies them. Your vote this fall will determine which one of these worlds you will live in.
“When we lose our principles, we invite chaos.” — Mr. Robot
• Everett Piper (dreverettpiper.com, @dreverettpiper), a columnist for The Washington Times, is a former university president and radio host.
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