What is a Christian Worldview, part 3
This week we’ll analyze the worldviews of Christianity, naturalism, and the New Age movement. We haven’t the space to do a thorough analysis, but we can employ a grid that every worldview attempts to answer: Where did I come from? What is the matter? What is the solution? Where am I going?
According to the Christian (or biblical) worldview, God created the heavens and the earth, including plants and animals. God also created man in His own image and gave them dominion and stewardship over the earth. The Bible describes a moral and spiritual fall in which the first man and woman used their free will to rebel against God by desiring to be like God. After this rebellion, mankind fell into a moral tailspin; hatred for God and hatred for one’s neighbor (including murder) became commonplace. The solution is redemption and forgiveness of sins by the substitutionary atonement of Jesus Christ. On the cross He bore our sins, suffered, died, was buried, and rose again. Those who trust in Him receive Christ’s righteousness, are restored to a right relationship with God, and will live in His presence forever. Those who trust in themselves will be separated from God forever.
The naturalist worldview postulates that we are a product of blind random chance. Naturalism denies there is a creator (there is nothing outside of nature), so any appearance of purpose or design in the universe is merely an illusion. It affirms that all living things are the result of random mutations happening over millions of years and that mankind is nothing but a cosmic accident. Naturalists believe that although man is basically good, they are rapidly destroying the environment which, if not corrected, will bring an end to life on this planet. The solution is to reshape man’s collective thinking through education, and enforce global environmental laws. There is no afterlife to the naturalist; death is the cessation of existence.
The New Age movement is pantheistic, meaning that everything and everyone is god. The New Age movement is a fusion between western naturalism’s commitment to Darwinian evolution and Eastern religion’s rejection of human reason as the means to understand the world. It asserts that mankind has not achieved ‘cosmic consciousness,’ which is the realization that mankind is god. The solution to achieving ‘cosmic consciousness’ is to open the ‘door’ through drugs, meditation, biofeedback, music, channeling, crystals, spirit guides, etc. In the New Age movement, reincarnation is a positive part of the cosmic cycle of evolution and will end when the collective cosmic consciousness is achieved and mankind realizes they are the sovereign god.
When analyzed through the same grid, these competing worldviews are shown to be vastly different. Even this brief analysis demonstrates the contradictions. Based on the law of non-contradiction, we can draw the conclusion that all three of these worldviews cannot be correct.
Next week we’ll conclude this series with some closing comments concerning these three worldviews.
According to the Christian (or biblical) worldview, God created the heavens and the earth, including plants and animals. God also created man in His own image and gave them dominion and stewardship over the earth. The Bible describes a moral and spiritual fall in which the first man and woman used their free will to rebel against God by desiring to be like God. After this rebellion, mankind fell into a moral tailspin; hatred for God and hatred for one’s neighbor (including murder) became commonplace. The solution is redemption and forgiveness of sins by the substitutionary atonement of Jesus Christ. On the cross He bore our sins, suffered, died, was buried, and rose again. Those who trust in Him receive Christ’s righteousness, are restored to a right relationship with God, and will live in His presence forever. Those who trust in themselves will be separated from God forever.
The naturalist worldview postulates that we are a product of blind random chance. Naturalism denies there is a creator (there is nothing outside of nature), so any appearance of purpose or design in the universe is merely an illusion. It affirms that all living things are the result of random mutations happening over millions of years and that mankind is nothing but a cosmic accident. Naturalists believe that although man is basically good, they are rapidly destroying the environment which, if not corrected, will bring an end to life on this planet. The solution is to reshape man’s collective thinking through education, and enforce global environmental laws. There is no afterlife to the naturalist; death is the cessation of existence.
The New Age movement is pantheistic, meaning that everything and everyone is god. The New Age movement is a fusion between western naturalism’s commitment to Darwinian evolution and Eastern religion’s rejection of human reason as the means to understand the world. It asserts that mankind has not achieved ‘cosmic consciousness,’ which is the realization that mankind is god. The solution to achieving ‘cosmic consciousness’ is to open the ‘door’ through drugs, meditation, biofeedback, music, channeling, crystals, spirit guides, etc. In the New Age movement, reincarnation is a positive part of the cosmic cycle of evolution and will end when the collective cosmic consciousness is achieved and mankind realizes they are the sovereign god.
When analyzed through the same grid, these competing worldviews are shown to be vastly different. Even this brief analysis demonstrates the contradictions. Based on the law of non-contradiction, we can draw the conclusion that all three of these worldviews cannot be correct.
Next week we’ll conclude this series with some closing comments concerning these three worldviews.
Labels: Christian worldvies
posted on Friday, November 24, 2006 |
1 Comments:
I'm not surprised, but you have completely misrepresented the naturalistic worldview.
Post a Comment
<< Home