Plato, in his Allegory of the Cave, said that most men live in a cave, and are content with seeing the shadows on the wall. A few turn toward the light, and see what makes the shadows.
Plato was right in general, but wrong in one key point. There are a lot of caves in which people are very, very comfortable.
Liberals, for example, live in their caves, see shadows on the wall, and think they are seeing reality in the imaginary dangers of climate change, fat, etc. Further, they think they are “helping” when they try to do an endless number of remarkably useless things about their largely imaginary problems.
Conservatives have caves, too. They read the supposedly conservative William F. Buckley’s purportedly conservative magazine and think they are seeing reality in the polished press releases of various government agencies.
It is a universal truth that all cavemen believe that they are helping when they repeat what they have absorbed in their cave. Plato forgot to tell us that there are lots of rooms in the cave; or, that there are a lot of caves.
Each room, or cave, is occupied by three groups. Each cave has “permanent residents” who find all the satisfaction they need in that cave. They say two things: “Come in, come in.”, and “Don’t go, don’t go.”
Another group is made of those who are moving into the cave. “How nice to be here. This is such an important cave.”
The third group is moving out. “This cave is getting old and stale. There is a better cave over there. That’s where I’m going.”
Creation was programmed so that all three groups of cave dwellers may believe they are making progress, no matter what they do.
It is only by leaving whatever cave we’re in, and approaching the light that emanates from God that we may escape the shadows. That light, personified by the fulfillment of the Hebrew prophecies, is Jesus Christ.
His truth is light. In Him, the shadows fade away, and we who are saved rest content forever in His mercy and His love.
We should be very, very afraid that we may not walk in that light. If we do walk in it, we should ever fear being led away from it.
Caves, we must understand, are dank, damp, dark places filled with shadows. They’re no place for the children of God to live.
