Many years ago, when I was an undergraduate student studying philosophy, several books I read were by the historian and philosopher Will Durant. In one of Durant’s volumes, he wrote something that remains with me all these years later: “The greatest question of our time is not communism versus individualism; not Europe versus America; not even the East versus West. It is whether men can live without God.”

I think one reason Durant’s observation has remained with me is because even non-philosophical types can surely see the devastating effects of secularism in the West. When you see a civilization destroying itself because it refuses to admit men are men, that women are women, and that Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI) madness leads to unimaginable tragedies, you can be sure that you’re witnessing a culture that professes itself wise but demonstrates its folly. That’s exactly what Scripture says is the root lie that sinners imbibe:

¹⁸For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. ¹⁹ For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. ²⁰ For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. ²¹ For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. ²² Claiming to be wise, they became fools . . . . (Romans 1:18-22)

That’s what secularism does. It spits in the wind, and then laments the slimy consequences. I sense that some folks are finally wising up, however. When I board a plane to fly, I don’t relish the idea that my pilots have their jobs because of DEI insanity; I want the best pilots possible. I could not give a rip about their skin color or pronouns.

But that’s what secularism does; it exchanges reality for upside-down world. It substitutes (or tries to, anyway) made-up things for truth. Everyone remembers the classic scene from Full Metal Jacket when Gunnery Sergeant Hartman, teaching “Pyle,” the marvelously failing Marine recruit, his left from right. Remember how Hartman taught Pyle? Whack! “What side is that, Pyle??!!” Whack! “What side is that, Pyle??!!”

The daily humiliations the West is experiencing due to its embrace of secularism is kind of like a series of slaps from Drill Instructor Hartman. Whack!

And yet, God calls out to all with ears to hear:

Does not wisdom call?
    Does not understanding raise her voice?
² On the heights beside the way,
    at the crossroads she takes her stand;
³ beside the gates in front of the town,
    at the entrance of the portals she cries aloud:
⁴ “To you, O men, I call,
    and my cry is to the children of man.
⁵ O simple ones, learn prudence;
    O fools, learn sense.
⁶ Hear, for I will speak noble things,
    and from my lips will come what is right,
⁷ for my mouth will utter truth;
    wickedness is an abomination to my lips. (Proverbs 8:1-7)

Do we want wisdom? Then we must go to the fountain of all wisdom.

My now-deceased godly grandparents used to say this, and it’s stuck with me all these years: “What’s down in the well comes up in the bucket.” Yes and amen. Folks, there’s a lot of stuff coming up in the buckets of the world, and most of is not something you’d want to inhale. And yet God calls out. In my faith tradition, one of our greatest confessions summarizes it this way. God is “infinite, eternal, and unchangeable, in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth” (WSC, Answer 4).

Secularism, DEI insanity, up called down & down called up—no thanks. “What’s down in the well comes up in the bucket.” Amazing how wise my grandparents’ generation was with their aphorisms. It’s almost as if they knew the fountain of all wisdom.