There are two kinds of intelligence - godly and ungodly.
Ungodly intelligence stems from ignorance and rejection of God leaving mankind to live in
the sphere of extremely limited intellectual pursuits that seem great to them but they are feeble at best, and insufficient to understand things beyond finite human intellect.
Godly intelligence, of necessity, relies on Divine Revelation. This revelation is necessary for the intellect to rise from spiritual ignorance to spiritual understanding. All those who have received this revelation transcend the plane of mere human intellect and see things as they really are because, what is seen is only temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. This great intellectual understanding is from the "INFINITE" mind of God not the paltry "finite" mind of man. It is vastly superior in every way.
People who have never received this revelation are generally antagonistic toward those who have received it because they speak of things that the finite mind cannot grasp, and worldly intellectuals hate anything they can't understand. Because of their hatred they attack those who have received divine revelation deeming that what believers accept as knowledge is foolishness. This can be found in the Bible in 1 Corinthians 2;14 “For the natural man cannot receive the things of the Spirit of God for they are foolishness unto him, neither can he know them because they are spiritually discerned.”
Let me put it in the words of Jesus Christ. "Be not amazed if the world hate you because you are not of the world even as I am not of the world. Is the servant greater than his master? If the world hates me it will hate you. According to the words of Jesus, Christians should expect that their words will be rejected and hated by worldly-minded, carnal people.
There are two parallel universes so to speak existing in the lives of all mankind. Both are spiritual in nature. One refuses to acknowledge the spiritual aspect of their universe and depends on weak human knowledge and understanding, and the other surpasses human understanding and can only be seen by those who know God personally. You will know if you possess spiritual understanding, and you will be ignorant of whether you don't because spiritual discernment is only given to those who have humbled themselves and repented of their sins and asked God to forgive them and received that forgiveness through faith in Jesus Christ. The natural (unsaved) person's spirit is dead in sin and blind to reality of its own spiritual condition. Spiritual truth is revealed to those who search humbly and diligently.
All supposed wisdom outside of Christ is folly because Jesus Himself declared himself to be the source of all real truth. Apart from Christ man only has "wisdumb." He cannot attain to wisdom apart from divine revelation which begins at the point of salvation. As a matter of fact, the Bible expressly says the wisdom of men is foolishness to God. In Isaiah 55:8-9 God tells mankind that their thoughts are not his thoughts nor their ways his ways because his thoughts and ways are higher than the ways of men. The difference is obvious or should be. A finite mind cannot hope to understand the mind of an infinite being because they think and act on absolutely different levels. Divine revelation at the point of salvation solves that problem.
You can question me about God anytime you like. The Bible clearly teaches that all men are evil from their youth. "Romans 3:23; "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." That's not so hard to understand. As far as Hell is concerned; it is reserved for those people who reject God and his commandments and his Son who died for them. All who go there literally send themselves there. Hell is not the final place for the ungodly and unrepentant. The lake of fire is. Revelation 20:14-15 speaks of this. The Book of Life in that portion of the scripture is the names of those redeemed through Christ alone plus nothing and nobody. John 14:6
Everyone is spiritual whether they want to be or not. The Bible says some are children of the devil (A lesser entity) and some are the children of God (the supreme entity). The Bible also makes it clear that those who die serving the devil are doomed to separation from God by their own choice since God provided a way for them to escape. The Bible also makes it clear that those who love and serve God will live at peace forever with him on a new earth where there is only righteousness. The choice should be simple.
Atrocities have been committed by religious people, and none of them were Christians but rather what some people have falsely believed to be Christians. (ie; Catholics who sent knights on crusades to kill Muslims). Jesus was very clear when he issued this command: “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you and pray for those who despitefully use you and persecute you.” That would eliminate any basis for war and killing for those who truly love and obey the Lord.
None of us can use our own goodness to compare ourselves with any individual or any group of people since we are all responsible for our own sins, and cannot stand before God and blame anyone else on the day of judgment. I know that everyone will be able to understand when they stand before him concerning their sin and their accountability and he will not have to say a word to them. The unregenerate will be convicted by their own conscience of the wicked way their lives were lived. God will sit on his throne in all his holiness and power to preside over this judgment and none will argue with him because their lives will be opened in court for all to see including every person individually. Those who will be punished will know they deserve it.
As far as why I personally chose to believe one way is right. That is simple. I have had an ongoing personal relationship with God for over 50 years. I have spoken with him and he has spoken to me. He has answered many of my prayers that only were prayed to him and not shared with anyone else. I have been given power in the name of Jesus Christ to cast out demons from people and houses and have done so. I have been given power in preaching God's word to Christians and non-Christians alike. I have been healed instantly through prayer in the name of Jesus Christ and have prayed for people who were instantly healed in Jesus' name including my son in our home.
However, the greatest miracle of them all was when God reached down to me in 1974 and changed me from a drunken, dope using, dope dealing, foul mouthed, fornicating, liar filled with hate for my father and forgave me for that and much, much more and made me one of his children. Since that time I have been used of God in many ways including raising our seven children for him, counseling, preaching, teaching, home Bible studies street and prison evangelism, writing and publishing books and building ministry sites from scratch.
I can't be arrogant as some might think in my sure knowledge of these things, because I know that my salvation and anything good that comes from it is by God's mercy to me, and that without him I would still be a vile wretch cursing him and his Son and living a life of service to the devil or perhaps dead by now from a bad drug deal.
The truth is; He alone is worthy of all glory, honor and praise! He is the majestic ruler of the universe and everyone and everything in it. He sustains us by his power and might and nobody can tell him what to do. While men fritter away their lives on lesser things and much evil, he patiently waits for them to wake up to the reality of who he is. He sends his Holy Spirit to speak to and convict men of sin and their need of salvation through Jesus Christ. If he hasn't yet spoken to you, it is because you haven't heard the message of salvation or you haven't been listening, aren't willing to listen or believe something is more precious to you than his love and securing your salvation in preparation for eternity. Whether you choose to continue to reject God's merciful offer of eternal life or accept it is up to you.
God is willing to forgive you and open your spiritual eyes so that you can get past anything that keeps you from the truth. He will not force it upon you. He has given you the freedom to choose whether to seek him out or live without him. It's everyone's personal choice and nobody can do it for you or be accountable for your sins.
What will you do? What choice will you make? We are not guaranteed the next second of life let along days, weeks, months or years. Anyone can die at any time for many reasons. The Bible says, today is the day of salvation. Do not harden your hearts against the only person in the universe who can deliver you both now and forever. God's love will forgive your sins and radically transform you for your good, the good of others and for his glory!
C R Lord © 2014
Revised 4/28/2021