The Darkness of a Foolish Heart
Romans 1:21
“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.” -Romans 1:21
The word for reminds us that Paul is laying out his argument logically. That is, one thing follows another. One choice has consequences which produces another choice with consequences, and so on.
Since mankind (humanity) possessed real knowledge of God and chose to suppress the truth, they did not honor God as God. That is, they refused to give him the honor or glory due to him. This is not a circumstance of ignorance. It’s deliberate. There are enough of God’s attributes revealed in creation to warrant certain honor and certain thanksgiving; yet, they refused.
Because they refused, they became futile, or vain, empty, in their thinking. In other words, the thoughts of humanity were pointless and vainglorious; they chose their own way—man-constructed religion instead of God-given revelation. Thus, their foolish hearts were darkened (cf. Psalm 14:1 and 53:1). Because they rejected the light (said in their hearts there is no God), they were left in darkness (without light). It was their choice.
The idolatry of mankind (worship a god of one’s own making) is a denial of reality that can only logically lead to darker and darker delusions: there is no God. Man is the maker of himself. He is “the master of [his] fate… the captain of [his] soul. The gods he creates for himself tell him he can worship as he pleases, indulge as he pleases, have sex with whom he pleases, be whatever he pleases.
Thus, the “woke,” trans-delusional society we witness in the 21st century is the only possible result of a society that really knew God in the beginning, but refused to honor him as God or give thanks to him for his goodness to us.
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