True Enlightenment vs. the Enlightenment of the Serpent
Viewpoint of Mark Cadwallader, Creation Moments Board Chairman
Several months ago, a major news network1 told the story of Annabella Rockwell who graduated in 2015 from an expensive all-women’s college in Massachusetts. Her experience at the college had radically changed her worldview, given her the viewpoint that she was “oppressed by a toxic, patriarchal society”, taken away her “faith in God”, and left her “sad and anxious”. Her wealthy mother – noticing the behavioral changes in her daughter and how she had “completely estranged herself from her family” – hired a professional cult de-programmer to “unlearn four years of ‘wokeism’”, as Annabella says in hindsight.
“Woke” is a new term describing how Marxists believe we need to “awaken” to their worldview, with updated ideas about oppressor groups (white males) and victim groups (everyone else in various subcategories and priorities). As an example of the insanity inherent in this “woke” worldview, Annabella says she received an official note in her mailbox in her early days on campus in 2011 saying, “He may be a she, she may be a he, don’t assume anyone’s gender”. And this was at an “all women’s college”?!
Humanist “enlightenment” by displacing God is the “enlightenment of the Serpent”. It was the enticing message which Satan, in the form of the Serpent, told Adam and Eve. He gave them this big lie: “Ye surely shall not die” if they disobeyed God and ate of the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. He then told them that “…your eyes shall be opened (you’ll get “woke”?!) and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:5).
Marxism tells people to “tear down” traditional principles in order to rebuild an enlightened humanist utopia – because supposedly the problems of culture and society stem from the current structure of civilization. But modern civilization has largely resulted from a biblical worldview and from universal traditional principles retained from the original truth of God – such as marriage is between one man and one woman.
But “tear it all down!” because this is our path to “enlightenment”, to “freedom from oppression”, and to “saving the planet”! The “enlightenment of the Serpent” says we should collectively be able to pursue what we want – whatever humanity wills. Yet, without the rule and sovereignty of God … and since anarchy does not work … the State and the elite of humanity must take charge and even force the change away from traditional civilization, free enterprise, and private property.
The good news regarding Annabella is that she eventually unlearned and exchanged the “enlightenment of the Serpent” for truth, a “true enlightenment”. You see, the Bible says that the Creator who came as Savior and in whom “was life, …was the light of men, …the true Light which lighteth every man” (John 1:1-14). Indeed, we are the image of God. “True enlightenment” is found in the presence and communion with Him who is both our Creator and Savior!
Marxist ideology is like a religion, one with various forms, including the “woke” ideas of the present day. It creates its own authority, apart from God, having the right to rule and to be obeyed. And it seeks to proselytize and advance its atheist materialism and other ideas upon the whole world. It is a system for global unification, promising utopia under human enlightenment free from the “constraints” of God.
“Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” is the mantra. By this is meant equality of outcome for all sub-standard and even unrighteous ideas and behavior vs. equality of opportunity under God. Accept all behaviors, all untrue opinions of personal identity, all untrue and inferior values and value systems, and make sure they are equally represented. This is the outcome of years and years of value relativism and multiculturalism being tolerated and promoted in our society.
Marx has been called “the Darwin of politics”.2 Charles Darwin tore God away from science and Karl Marx tore God away from human governance. What is interesting is that Marx, a great admirer of Darwin, was also an actual admirer of Satan, as confessed in letters and ghoulish poetry hailing him as “the first free thinker” and “the great emancipator”.3 He literally and explicitly esteemed “the enlightenment of the Serpent”.
Marxist “wokeism” leads to an elimination of the true God of the Bible. It pins the “blame” on “white supremacy” for what are traditional biblical values – like primacy of the nuclear family and private property achieved through hard work and free enterprise. Yet, what led to a so-called Euro-centric civilization dominating the world is the fact that European culture embraced and benefited from many of the blessings of biblical and Christian worldviews. And thus there were benefits to systems of government. And benefits to science and technology as people sought to discover the principles which our great law-giving Creator put in place for us – with attendant confidence (faith) and curiosity to venture across the world. As Francis Bacon said it in the 1600s, “We have the Book of God’s Word, and the Book of God’s Works” to research as gifts from our Creator!
In his new book, The Return of the Gods, Messianic Rabbi and author Jonathan Cahn discusses how Baal, the possessor god, usurped and took possession of the place of God in the life of the Hebrews. This resulted eventually in their descent into Babylonian captivity. Baal worship, an “enlightenment of the Serpent”, was not extinguished by the Hebrews in the “Promised Land”. In fact, it was tolerated and practiced over time. Cahn presents many fascinating and incredibly precise analogs from biblical scripture of the experience of the Hebrews to what is occurring in our day – with its increasing paganism and dropping of biblical forms. He traces the replacement by Baal and other spiritual powers (gods) of the ancient world as being ushered-in to great extent by the sexual revolution and “God is Dead” movements of the 1960s. Yet, the foundation for spiritual usurpation of civilization as noted above was arguably set not in the 1960s but in the mid-nineteenth century with Darwin and Marx.
Ultimately we are in spiritual warfare. As Winston Churchill pointed out, “The destiny of man is not measured by material computations. When great forces are on the move, we learn that we are spirits, not animals.” So we covet your prayers and support as we labor to proclaim to all nations and tongues the true and life-giving enlightenment of the Word of God vs. the false and death-dealing enlightenment of the Serpent!
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1https://www.foxnews.com/media/former-college-grad-slams-cult-like-college-education-unlearn-four-years-wokeism
2Marxism and Darwinism, Anton,P., English Translation Kerr and Co, 1912
3The Devil and Karl Marx, Kengor, P., TAN Books, 2020