The Capture of Thought

W. Carl Ketcherside

[Page 171]

     "Our battle is to bring down every deceptive fantasy and every imposing defence that men erect against the true knowledge of God. We even fight to capture every thought until it acknowledges the authority of Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5).

     We are engaged in a struggle for the minds of men. This is the real basis of our war against atheistic Communism. It is not essentially a conflict between two political theories--between democracy and socialism. One nation cannot impose its governmental structure upon another without its consent, except in violation of basic human rights. But the kind of communism of which I speak dethrones God and enthrones the state, so that man is made the vassal of the latter instead of the servant of the former. Communism erects an imposing defence against the true knowledge of God.

     Man's heart belongs to God. It is His chosen dwelling-place and whatever else occupies that territory is a usurper. It must be dislodged and driven out, and the flag of the kingdom must be planted in the soul, and possession be taken in the name of the absent Sovereign. The soldier of Christ is committed to unrelenting and aggressive warfare against every such intruder regardless of how imposing his defence may be.

     Communism is not the only such enemy we must face in our day. Another is scientism. I did not say science. There is a difference. Science is a hand-maiden of God. It is his servant. But scientism is the elevation of the slave to the throne. God gave us science, but scientism is the mistaken view that science gives us God. That which was intended to serve our needs is regarded as the supplier of them. And this is idolatry!

[Page 172]

     Communism and scientism originate in men's minds. They are the brainchildren of human rationalization. In spite of their opposition to the divine purpose their very existence is proof of the creative power of God, just as Satan is. God did not create Satan, but he created angels and archangels, and one of them by rebellion against God made himself to be Satan. So false "isms" spawned by fertile minds, only serve to show the length to which concepts may go when started on a tangent away from God. The very devilishness of such ideologies is indicative of how ingenious and inventive is that mind which could come only by the power of One whose mind is infinite.

     It is here that we need to be very careful. Our task is not to discourage men from thinking and certainly not to destroy the power to think. In our zeal for victory we must not crush men's spirits in order to soften their hearts. When we make men flabby and thoughtless we make them useless. In the past "religious systems" have often operated on the basis that to avoid wrong thinking it is better not to think at all. Their communicants have been blessed when they exhibited a rubber-stamp mentality, and cursed when they rose above partisan mediocrity.

     To stifle original thinking is not to bring a man closer to the image of Christ, but to eradicate the image of God from his heart. Bland conventionality and blind conformity are not conducive to creativity. We are to channel thought, not crucify it. Read our heading text again. It is one thing to capture a man, and a wholly different thing to crush and kill him. We are to capture every thought and bring it to acknowledge the authority of Christ. That which is dead is incapable of recognizing or acknowledging authority.

     Please notice that our responsibility is to every thought. We are always tempted to categorize thoughts into "religious" and "non-religious." But thoughts affect men's lives and behavior. They make us what we are. Though some of them appear irreligious they are not non-religious for they are wrapped up in life as we live it. And our life is our "religion."

     Whether our thoughts are labelled as literary, scientific, mechanical, poetical, fictional, or whatever, they must be captured and led to the throne and brought to bow before the authority of the Christ. We must not stop men from writing fiction and thus dry up the wells of imagination which God hollowed out in human hearts. Let us only bring our stories, plays, television scripts, and magazine articles to serve his purpose in slanting men's minds toward his glory. We need as much as anything else to encourage literary genius in our day.

     Let us not deride those whose creative hearts seek to express their inner visions in various art forms. The great Artist of the universe is not jealous when his children walk in the steps of their Father. Let men be free to probe the far reaches of space, to experiment in their laboratories, to explore the depths of the sea. Let them postulate, theorize and speculate, and let the world know that God sets no limit upon our right to knowledge of the universe except the limits we impose upon ourselves through fear or false humility, which is not really humility at all.

     All truth is one truth! Whether given by revelation, discovered by scientific investigation, or arrived at by rationalization, if it is truth, it is His truth, and He wills it to be ours if we arrive at it. Let us capture every thought, but let us not torture our captives, or brutalize and murder them. Dead thoughts are like dead men, they can acknowledge no authority, not even His!

     I believe that the throne-room of consciousness is the rightful domain of the King. Every concept which invades it must come in proper homage to his majesty. No alien thought can long be tolerated which arrogantly refuses to be naturalized and bow before him. But foreign ideas which stray into the sacred premises must not be smitten down. Instead they must be placed under tribute that they may bring to his coffers all the riches of the universe. The Lord of glory is also the Lord of thought. The infinite Mind must capture and embrace the minds of the universe!