windows on the world a comparison of major worldviews

WINDOWS ONTHE WORLDA Comparison OfMajor Worldviews

HHave you ever wonderedwhat it would be like to have been born

into another home, culture, or religious system? We’ve allprobably questioned what ourbeliefs and values would looklike through different eyes.

Everyone looks at life througha particular window on the world.So I’m pleased to recommend toyou the work that RBC researcheditor Dennis Fisher has done on the subject of worldviews. In the following pages, hesummarizes and comparesworldviews and shows how eachone attempts to answer certainbasic questions of life. Then heexamines the biblical worldviewto help us decide which way oflooking at life actually makes themost sense. Mart De Haan

Managing Editor: David Sper Cover Design & Photo:Terry BidgoodUnless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version.Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission.All rights reserved.© 2008 RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, Michigan Printed in USA

CONTENTS

The Blind Men And The Elephant . . . . . . 2

What Is A Worldview? . . 3

What Are The MajorWorldviews? . . . . . . . . . . 4

Questions A Worldview Seeks To Answer . . . . . . 12

What Is Real? . . . . . . . 12

Who Am I? . . . . . . . . . 14

Where Did I Come From?. . . . . . . . . 16

Why Am I Here?. . . . . . 18

What Is The Basis For My Values? . . . . . . . 19

What Does The Future Hold? . . . . . 21

Distinctives Of A Biblical Worldview . . . . 23

Is Each Worldview Partially Right? . . . . . . . 30

Which Worldview Will You Choose? . . . . . 32

Q1123 Worldviews pp 5/21/08 3:48 PM

THE BLIND MEN AND THEELEPHANT

NNineteenth-centuryAmerican poet JohnGodfrey Saxe is

most remembered for hispoem “The Blind Men AndThe Elephant.” It was basedon his version of an ancientIndian fable about six blind men who wereexamining an elephant. By touching only part of the elephant, each blind man arrived at a differentconclusion of what anelephant was like. Feelingthe huge animal’s side, oneof them said it was like awall. Another touched itstusk and thought it was likea spear. Holding on to itstrunk, one blind man saidthe elephant was like asnake. Touching one of itslegs, another believed it was like a tree. Grasping one of its ears, still anotherconcluded it was like a fan.

Grabbing its tail, one of the blind men thought theelephant was like a rope.

The poem concludes:And so these men

of IndostanDisputed loud and long,Each in his own opinion

Exceeding stiff and strong,Though each was partly in the right,

And all were in the wrong! Each one of the blind

men was partially right inwhat he experienced butultimately wrong in hisconclusion. Together theyconfused their limitedviewpoint with the whole of reality.

Not only is this cleverparable amusing to read, italso carries an importantpoint about the way we alllook at our world. The partof reality that we see shapesour view of what is true.

The reality that each of us sees, however, is oftenfragmented and confused by the different windows of

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© 2008 RBC Ministries

popular media. Just byclicking on the TV remote,we find ourselves leapingfrom one perspective toanother. The History Channelreviews past events andanalyzes their meaning.Discovery Channel takes usto different parts of the globe,examining animal and plantlife while explaining theirrelationship to evolution. Theseries Lost depicts complexcharacters on an island, withflashbacks that often redefineeach person’s identity andrelationships. The OprahWinfrey Show offers free and compelling counsel onspirituality. Seinfield ticklesour funny bone but has nounifying plot—only disjointedand absurd life situations.The X-Files traces disturbingevidence that points to theparanormal. And variousreality shows film theconflicts of real people in real situations. Interestingly,each of these programsassumes some kind of

window on the world, but itsperspective is often hidden.

With so many differentwindows to look through, how do we discern the keyingredients of a worldview?

WHAT IS AWORLDVIEW?

FFrom the dockworker to the teacher of

philosophy, all of us aretrying to make sense of life.On the way home from afuneral or when suffering aserious loss of health, we areoften prompted to ask the“why” questions. How weanswer those questions islikely to reflect our personalphilosophy of life and ourworldview.

For example, most of uswould agree with our fivesenses that an externalworld outside of our ownawareness actually doesexist. After this admission,however, we are apt tobelieve, with unswerving

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conviction, that our window gives us the clearestreflection of ourselves andthe best view of our world.

A worldview, therefore, isour assumptions about whatmakes up our world. Moreoften than not, worldviewsinfluence us in ways we maynot always be conscious of.

WHAT ARE THE MAJORWORLDVIEWS?

IIn an age of globalcommunication andtravel, our interaction

with other cultures hasmade us increasingly aware of the different wayswe look at our world. Let’ssee what distinguishes theseworldviews and what theyhave in common.

MONOTHEISMOne God exists who is separate from butinvolved with theuniverse. The three great

monotheistic world religionsare Judaism, Christianity,and Islam. Together, theybelieve that God is aneternal Spirit who broughtour material world intoexistence and enables it tooperate according to naturallaw. Their shared beliefsinclude: the story of therebellion of the human race against God, Hisprovidential guidance ofhuman affairs, His desire for reconciliation, and thepromise of ultimate peaceand justice. All of thesemonotheistic systemsbelieve in one God whoexists separate from but isinvolved with the universe.

But despite theirsimilarities, they are marked by some profounddifferences. The majorbeliefs of Judaism are drawnfrom the first five books ofMoses, often called thePentateuch. Members of the Jewish faith believe thatGod has uniquely revealed

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Himself to them throughMoses and the Prophets.Obedience to God’s law is central to their faith. Their hope lies in theanticipation of a Messiahwho has not yet come butwill one day usher in a time of world peace andrighteousness.

The second greatmonotheistic religion isChristianity. Building on theJewish Scriptures, Christiansbelieve that the long-awaitedJewish Messiah has come in the person of Jesus ofNazareth. His followerspoint to His fulfillment ofprophecies as well as aseries of very publicmiracles. According to theNew Testament, His missionon earth was to keep the lawof God perfectly and thendie upon a cross to pay thepenalty for our sin. Hismiraculous resurrection fromthe dead is seen as a basisfor providing eternal life forall who believe in Him. Just

prior to His supernaturalascension into heaven, thissame Christ promised toreturn and to rule over anew heaven and earth. Theauthoritative Scriptures ofChristianity include the Oldand New Testaments.

Islam, the third greatmonotheistic religion, claimsto build upon and supersedethe Scriptures of both Jewsand Christians. Its centralauthority is the Koran,which presents itself as the infallible word of Allah(the Arabic word for God).According to Islam, theworld we see was created byAllah for His own sovereignreasons. Like Judaism andChristianity, it affirms therebellion and sin of thehuman race and the hope of an afterlife. Muslims, as followers of Islam arecalled, believe that reachingparadise is possible if onesubmits to the laws of Allah.Although Islam affirms thatJesus was the Messiah, it

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does not believe that Hewas equal to God or that He died on a cross as asacrifice for our sin.

DEISMGod created anorderly world tooperate on its own.In the 17th century, theprogress of science andtechnology gave birth to aphilosophy that stressed thevalue of human reason overrevelation. Great championsof this philosophy were JohnLocke and Voltaire. Sir IsaacNewton’s laws of physicsalso led to a view that somehave called “the clockworkuniverse.” Deism holds thatan intelligent Creator set upthe world to operate on itsown without divineinterference.

Many Americans honorthe founding fathers of theUnited States as Christiansin faith and practice. Butsome of its finest minds,such as Thomas Jefferson

and Benjamin Franklin,were deists.

As a philosophy, deismderives its understanding of God from reason andpersonal experience—notfrom revelation. Jefferson,like other deists, rejectedmiracles and assertedinstead that God does notinterfere with human affairsor with the laws of theuniverse.

To become more familiarwith the history and beliefsof contemporary deism, seeThe Ontario Consultants On Religious Tolerance atwww.religioustolerance.org/deism.htm.

NATURALISMMatter is all that exists and is bestunderstood throughscience. During the 18thcentury, most scientists stillbelieved in a Creator as theFirst Cause of our universe.But with the publication ofCharles Darwin’s Origin Of

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The Species, a naturalisticexplanation for origins wasproposed. The theory ofevolution claimed that givenenough time and under theright conditions, simple life-forms would spring fromnonliving matter. Then, overcountless eons, these life-forms evolved into morecomplex ones until finallyman appeared on the sceneas a highly developed ape.With this explanation, manyin the scientific communitybegan to replace a Creatoras First Cause with randomchance. Many concludedthat matter is all that existsand that the best way ofexploring truth is throughthe scientific method. Thenaturalistic worldview iswidely held today.

One who has popularized this view is Carl Sagan. In Episode 1 ofhis TV show Cosmos, titled“The Shores Of The CosmicOcean,” Sagan made acomment that is at the

heart of the naturalisticworldview: “The cosmos isall that is or ever was or everwill be.” Struck with aweand wonder at the vastnessof space, he believed ourtiny planetary home is lost somewhere betweenimmensity and eternity.

For books written from anaturalistic perspective, seeCarl Sagan’s The Dragons OfEden and Broca’s Brain.

NIHILISMObjective truth andpositive values are tobe questioned anddismissed. Nihilism ismore of an attitude than a formal philosophy. Itquestions the validity ofknowing truth and moralvalues. If man is determinedby irrational forces beyondhis control, then why trusthis own rationality? Anycertainty of knowledge is clouded by a formernonreflective animal brain. Nihilists believe

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that objective truth is, at best, arbitrary andrelativistic. Because of this assumption, they feelcompelled to tell others how inadequate traditionalideologies are. In manyways, nihilists are “anti-philosophy activists” who seek to debunk what others affirm.

A nihilistic view is also skeptical about moralvalues. In the novel FathersAnd Sons, Ivan Turgenevwrote:

A nihilist is a person whodoes not bow down toany authority, who doesnot accept any principleon faith, however muchthat principle may berevered.The word nihilism is

derived from the Latin wordfor “nothing.” It holds thatall traditional values arebaseless. In response toreligion, it repudiatespreviously held morality and spiritual belief. When

it is brought into politics, it favors the destruction ofexisting traditional socialinstitutions as a means of making way forimprovements.

Literature that reflects a nihilistic worldview isSamuel Beckett’s playWaiting For Godot, JosephHeller’s novel Catch-22, andKafka’s The Metamorphosis.

EXISTENTIALISMLife has no objective meaning,so significance must be subjectively createdwithin. There are variousexistentialist philosophies.Whether atheistic or theistic,each emphasizes themeaninglessness of life and the isolation of theindividual. Those whoassume there is no God view the objective world asabsurd and pointless withno overarching purpose.Despite this grim reality,the committed existentialist

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must rebel against theobjective world andsubjectively create his own meaning. When he makes personal choices, he is said to have “authenticated”himself (i.e., createdsignificance subjectively).That which “authenticates”the individual is strictly apersonal choice. An act that is meaningful to youmay be absurd to me.

A representative of this view is Jean Paul Sartre. Other examples ofexistentialism may be seenin Albert Camus’ The Plagueand Kierkegaard’s Fear AndTrembling.

PANTHEISMEverything that existsis God (Spirit). Matteris an illusion. Some of themost ancient religious textsare the Vedas (which comesfrom the Sanskrit word for“knowledge”). They form theoldest Sanskrit literature and

are the ancient Hindusacred texts of India. Forthousands of years, thesereligious writings haveexerted their influenceprimarily in the East throughHinduism and Buddhism.With the advent of moderncommunication and travel,however, their influence hasspread into the West. Astarting premise of this kindof pantheism is that man’sspirit is part of the Soul of the universe. God is Spirit and is all that exists.Therefore, the external worldwe experience is an illusion.Through meditation,however, one can “becomeone with the universe.”These themes have beenpopularized in the West bythe New Age Movement.

A proponent of this viewhas been Maharishi MaheshYogi. Born in India in 1917,he became a proponent ofthe relaxation techniquecalled “transcendentalmeditation.” The medical

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benefits of such practicesbegan to attract attentionfrom clients in the West. The Beatles were among his celebrity disciples. Many in the West who use transcendentalmeditation seem not to be fully aware of thepantheistic philosophy thatlies at its base. For this kindof pantheism, the ultimatereality is Spirit.

Someone who haspromoted a pantheisticworldview is Hollywoodpersonality ShirleyMacLaine in books like Out On A Limb. The novelSiddhartha by HermannHesse is also written from a pantheistic perspective.

NEWCONSCIOUSNESSReality is beyondreason and can only beunderstood by alteringthe mind. During the1960s, experimentation withvarious hallucinogenic drugs

piqued interest in findingtruth beyond logic and datagathering. College studentsin the US were encouragedto “tune in, turn on, anddrop out.” The response of the youth led to hippies,communes, love-ins, and a variety of other socialchanges.

A high-profilerepresentative of NewConsciousness was TimothyLeary. He began his careeras a professor of psychologyat Harvard University. One day in 1957, Dr. Learyread a 17-page article in Life magazine in which R. Gordon Wasson reportedhis experiences withhallucinogenic mushroomsin a village in the mountainsof Mexico. Leary was sofascinated by this that hetraveled to Mexico and atethe mushrooms himself. The experience was sooverwhelming that when he returned to Harvard heshifted his study to research

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the properties of psychedelicdrugs. Ultimately, Leary wasfired from Harvard. He wenton to lead an eccentric life,including time spent as aconvict, a fugitive, a lecturer,and an author.

Although Dr. Leary wouldadmit that the external worldexists, he also believed thatthe ultimate quest for truthcannot be apprehended byreason alone. Instead,“stoned thinking” opens upthe thought process to newcategories and perceptionsthat shed the limitations oflogic.

A series of booksillustrating NewConsciousness have beenwritten by Carlos Castaneda.First in the series is the bookThe Teachings Of Don Juan:A Yaqui Way Of Knowledge.

PERSONALCOMBINATIONS Interestingly, many peoplesee the world through partsand pieces of the worldviews

we’ve just described. Forinstance, some believe inthe scientific method as the ultimate guide to truthwhile using transcendentalmeditation (a pantheisticpractice) to relieve stress. Others think likeexistentialists, believing that all objective values aremeaningless, while joining asocial activist organizationto fight for social justice.

Yet, in spite ofinconsistencies, people hold on to their perceptionof reality with strongconviction. Why? Theanswer may lie in how much is at stake in our own attempts to answersome of life’s most heartfeltquestions: • What is real?• Who am I?• Where did I come from?• Why am I here?• What is the basis for

my values?• What does the future

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We will now look at how each worldviewanswers these questions.

QUESTIONS AWORLDVIEWSEEKS TOANSWER

EEven though we all livein the same worldand time, our varying

worldviews can profoundlychange the way we interpretwho we are and what we aredoing here. The windowsthrough which we look atour world and one anothercan give us radicallydifferent answers to thesame basic questions:

WHAT IS REAL? Often when sorting out a problem we might say, “Let’s do a reality check.”Interestingly, this is thestarting point for eachworldview.

Monotheism And Reality. All three

monotheistic faiths—Judaism, Christianity, andIslam—see reality in termsof a sovereign Creator whois involved with His world.Each assumes the existenceof God, an eternal Spiritbeing, who has created botha material and a spiritualreality. The objective worldof matter is there to beobserved. God’s specialrevelation, however, isrequired to know about thespiritual realities of heaven,angels, the devil, and theafterlife. Monotheists regardas real what they observe innature and understand fromtheir religious writings.

Deism And Reality.Deists proceed from theassumption that an orderlyuniverse exists. They see its First Cause as a Creatorwho does not guide itsmovements, intervene inhuman affairs, or answerprayers. Their pursuit ofwhat is real comes throughreason and sound inquiry.

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They do not take seriouslyany revelation that portraysthe miraculous. Their realityis limited to nature.

Naturalism AndReality. The naturalistassumes that matter is all that exists and is bestinvestigated through thescientific method. Unlikedeism, it does not hold toGod as a First Cause for the universe. Because matter is the only thing that can be measured under repeatable laboratoryconditions, it is the onlything we can be sure of.Naturalists believe thatmatter is real and that spirit is not.

Nihilism AndReality. The nihilistbelieves that we cannotknow objective truth ormoral values with anycertainty. Adopting a strongskepticism, the nihilistrejects what are traditionallyheld truth-claims aboutreality. At best, even

scientific experiments andthe records of history areinaccurate and irrelevantdistortions of what isclaimed to be “real.”

Existentialism And Reality. Atheisticexistentialists view theexternal cosmos as real.Their problem, however, is that they find it to beultimately absurd andmeaningless. Subjectiveexperience is the only wayto arrive at meaning that is relevant to the individual.Although the existentialistbelieves the objective worldexists, he sees no objectivereason for existing.

Pantheism AndReality. The term pantheismcomes from the Greek wordspan for “all or everything”and theos for God. In otherwords, “everything is God.”Eastern pantheism,popularized by the New Age Movement, assumesthat one impersonal spiritualforce constitutes reality.

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Pantheists believe that Spiritis the ultimate reality andthat matter is an illusion.

New ConsciousnessAnd Reality. Central toNew Consciousness is theassumption that self is theprime reality. This viewassumes that we experiencereality in two different ways:the visible through thesenses, and the invisiblethrough altered states ofconsciousness. NewConsciousness believes that ultimate reality issuprarational and can onlybe understood throughaltered states of mind.

The view of reality mayvary from one worldview to the next. But what can they tell us about personalidentity?

WHO AM I?Identity theft has become a real concern for ourgeneration. The threat ofsomeone stealing our name,social security number, date

of birth, and citizenship is a serious misuse of who weare. Yet a worldview seeks to answer the question of“Who am I?” on a muchdeeper level.

Monotheism AndIdentity. Monotheists arein agreement that humanbeings are made in theimage of God but aremorally flawed and in need of redemption. For the Jew, this means keepingthe law and its traditions.The Christian believes inredemption through faith in Christ’s atoning death andresurrection. The Muslimadvocates submitting to thewill of Allah and obeying the Koran.

Deism And Identity.Deists believe that man is apersonal being who is partof the “clockwork universe.”He is not abnormal or fallen but is as he issupposed to be. Freedom to explore nature will lead to self-knowledge and

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understanding of theimpersonal God who set up the universe.

Naturalism AndIdentity. Naturalists view humans as a highlydeveloped animal whopossesses self-consciousness,reason, and conscience. Theybelieve that humans arehighly complex biological“machines” who havephysical and mentalcapabilities not yet fullyknown.

Nihilism AndIdentity. Awash in a sea ofuncertainty, nihilists have noclear, lasting identity. Theirown understanding is biasedand limited. But they doassume that an identityapplied to them bytraditional institutions and religious values is bogus and to be rejected.

Existentialism AndIdentity. Existentialistsbelieve that because humanshave self-consciousness andreason, we must define who

and what we are. With no credible external sourceto give identity, we mustsubjectively invent who weare. No one else can do thisfor us.

Pantheism AndIdentity. The pantheisticview of identity is holistic.My little soul is part of thebig Soul of the universe.Through meditation, each of us can experiencebecoming one with thecosmos. When we achievethis state of enlightenment,our personality and theexternal world of matter will disappear.

New ConsciousnessAnd Identity. NewConsciousness teaches that the ultimate center of our personhood is within our mind. We arewhat our altered state ofconsciousness shows us. To facilitate this discovery,some use psychedelic drugs.

Worldviews establishidentity through various

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means: God, evolution, ourown search for meaning, orother sources. But how dothese different windows onthe world explain where wecome from?

WHERE DID I COME FROM? When getting to knowsomeone, we often ask thequestion, “Where are youfrom?” What usually followsis a brief description of ourhometown and the family in which we grew up. Butsometimes, in our privatemoments, we may askourselves the ultimatequestion of origin, “Did I have a Creator, was I theresult of evolution, or did I have some other origin?”

Monotheism And Origins. Judaism,Christianity, and Islamwould all agree that ouruniverse was created by apersonal God. Our originalancestors were created to be in relationship with God,

but they and their offspringchose to go their ownindependent way. Beingreconciled to our Creatorrequires faith and obedienceto His revealed truth to us.

Deism And Origins.The orderliness of theknown universe argues in favor of an intelligentdesigner as First Cause. ThisGod has set up the laws ofmotion in the cosmos likean intelligent clockmakerwho winds up a clock andleaves it to run on its own.The deist believes that ourorigin is traceable backthrough the generations to an impersonal God.

Naturalism AndOrigins. Many naturalistsbelieve that the knownuniverse likely exploded intoexistence over 15 billionyears ago. They believe thatthe process of evolutionbegan about 5 billion yearsago with the formation ofamino acids, the first cell,and then lower species

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adapting into more complexones. Naturalists believethat humans are the closestkin to the monkey, and justone of many primates.

Nihilism AndOrigins. Nihilists believethat history has been shownto be unreliable. Even if thescientific theory of evolutionwere true, they assume that all it would mean is thathuman beings have a highlydeveloped monkey brainthat is, at best, unreliable.The nihilist holds the viewthat origins are under “agreat cloud of unknowing.”

Existentialism AndOrigins. If we assumethere is no God, we mostlikely have appeared on thescene as conscious beingsfrom evolution. But unlikelower life-forms, we cry outfor a meaning that does notexist. If we believe in somekind of Creator, the past is still irrelevant to ourpersonal significance. Eventhe texts of religion are filled

with “paradoxes” that cancomplicate our current lifeexperience.

Pantheism AndOrigins. Pantheismteaches that the soul thatdwells within our humanbody has come fromnumerous reincarnations.Reincarnation (literally “to be made flesh again”)means that some essentialpart of a living being (soul or spirit) survives death tobe reborn in a new body.

New ConsciousnessAnd Origins. Through thepast process of evolution,our former primitive monkeybrain has now developed tothe point where we are atthe threshold of “cosmicconsciousness” (seeing thebig picture through analtered state of mind).

Worldviews offer avariety of explanations for our ultimate origin. But when it comes to themeaning of life, there is evenmore diversity of opinion.

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WHY AM I HERE? The title of Viktor Frankl’sbook Man’s Search ForMeaning hits on animportant aspect of life forall of us. “Why am I hereand what difference does itmake?” A worldview has away of probing this questionwithin the human heart.

Monotheism And Meaning. Themonotheistic faiths ofJudaism, Christianity, andIslam would all agree thatwe derive meaning from ourCreator. Having been madefor a relationship with God,we can only find lastingpurpose in honoring Himand finding joy in Hispresence.

Deism AndMeaning. Deists do not believe we derive ourmeaning from a personalCreator. Instead, theybelieve we make use of our intelligence, conscience,community, and creativity tofind meaning in nature.

Naturalism AndMeaning. Many naturalistsfind meaning in “progress.”They believe that the human race developed intoa modern society from itsprimitive beginnings. Thisleads them to believe thatwe are capable of improvingour behavior and livingconditions. We thereforeshould skillfully use scienceand technology to benefitmankind.

Nihilism AndMeaning. The nihilist feelsthat traditional theories ofmeaning may satisfy themasses but are all built on foundations of sand.Because the nihilist sees theflaws in existing institutions,he often views himself as anactivist who must challengethe superficial meaningsprovided by tradition.

Existentialism AndMeaning. Existentialistsbelieve that the cruel joke ofour world is that each of uscomes into the world without

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any overarching purpose. No objective meaning existsin the external cosmos. The existentialist mustsubjectively invent his own“reason for being” throughthe exercise of free will.

Pantheism AndMeaning. As the pantheistcooperates with good moralchoices of “karma,” he willlater be reincarnated into ahigher station. His ultimatemeaning will be realizedwhen he becomes one withthe universe.

New ConsciousnessAnd Meaning. Those who embrace NewConsciousness discovermeaning through thoseexperiences provided in an altered state ofconsciousness. The spreadof “cosmic consciousness”to others will initiate moreindividuals into being lordsof their own universe.

People find significancefor their lives in a variety ofways. But meaning is often

connected in some way withmoral guidelines of “being agood person.” But where dothe values to be good comefrom?

WHAT IS THE BASISFOR MY VALUES? It can be enlightening to listen to the moraljudgments we make.Regardless of our worldview, and despite how inconsistent we mightsound, we all are inclined to say things like,“This isn’tright.” “That wasn’t fair.” “Iwant to do the right thing.”It seems the sense of“oughtness” is an indeliblepart of our human nature.But where does eachworldview get its guidelinesfor moral decisions?

Monotheism And Ethics. Judaism,Christianity, and Islam allagree that God has placed a conscience in humanpersonality. They aredivided, however, on what

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specific special revelationinforms that conscience. TheJews derive their moral codefrom the Torah and theJewish commentaries on it.The Christians go to the Oldand New Testaments forethical guidance. Muslimsbuild their ethical systemson select parts of the Oldand New Testaments, theKoran, and teachings of theirrespective Islamic sects.

Deism And Ethics.Since God does not tamperwith His universe, “specialrevelation” should not bethe basis of moral values.Instead, the deist believesthat we should pursuegeneral revelation (nature)because it is there that wewill find the self-evidentmoral values to inform ourconscience by reason andfree inquiry.

Naturalism AndEthics. According tonaturalists, social groups are the sole source of ethicalsystems. Because of this, we

must realize that there are no ethical absolutes fromone culture to another. The moral consensus of agroup, however, can providehelpful guidelines for ethicaldecisions. Most often it iseasier to live in conformitywith the laws and moralguidelines of the culture inwhich one lives.

Nihilism And Ethics.Those with this worldviewhave no binding moralvalues to judge behavior.Nihilists believe that valuespromoted by traditionalinstitutions coerce andconfine human potential.Because of this, theseinstitutions must bechallenged and in somecases even destroyed.

Existentialism AndEthics. Those lookingthrough this window believethat human societies notonly provide superficialconsolation for meaning but also artificial moralguidance. Existentialists

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think that most of us fail to see that “morally goodbehavior” is a simplistickind of cultural conformity.The existentialist believesthat the highest value is forthe individual to choose anact that makes his subjectiveexistence meaningful.

Pantheism AndEthics. According topantheism, building up the merit of “good karma” is best guided by dharma.This term refers to theunchanging universal law of order, which decrees that every entity shouldbehave according to its own particular nature.Pantheism is found in manyEastern religious writings.

New ConsciousnessAnd Ethics. People withthis view believe thatbecause of our animalorigin, we are prone towarddestructive behavior.Through the expansion of“cosmic consciousness,”however, the mind can be

transformed to greater loveand peace. Being the lord ofone’s own universe can leadto creating one’s own values.

These windows on theworld draw their moralcodes from personalinvention, sacred texts, and social norms. Yet the final question facingeach worldview is relateddirectly to the future.

WHAT DOES THEFUTURE HOLD? Each of us knows that someday we will die. Along withthis is the realization thatthe universe itself won’t last forever. So how do thedifferent worldviews answerquestions related to personalmortality and the future ofthe world?

Monotheism AndThe Future. The majormonotheistic faiths ofJudaism, Christianity, andIslam believe that humanconsciousness survivesphysical death either to be

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welcomed into God’s eternalpresence or to be turnedaway from Him. But themeans of attaining eternallife differs in each beliefsystem. Judaism looks tofaith and obedience to theTorah. Christianity teachesthat faith in the atoningdeath and resurrection ofChrist provides salvation.Muslims believe thatsubmitting to Allah maymerit a paradise of sensualdelight.

Deism And TheFuture. The deist does not know if the soul survivesdeath. Although it seems theuniverse functions like awind-up clock that willeventually wind down, weshould concern ourselvesonly with the present andthe foreseeable future inimproving the humancondition.

Naturalism And The Future. Thenaturalist believes that the consciousness and

personality of the individualis forever terminated atphysical death. The future of the known universe willbe the extinction of all thestars and the end of all life.

Nihilism And TheFuture. In this view, thepositive ideal of human“progress” and the belief in an afterlife have nocredibility. The nihilist isalso pessimistic about whatis to come. We really can’tpostulate what the futureholds for us or our universe.

Existentialism AndThe Future. For theexistentialist, there is nopurpose to existence. One’sultimate destiny is to dieand never be remembered.The future of the universe is doomed to death andextinction.

Pantheism And TheFuture. Pantheism teachesthat the ultimate destiny of“enlightened ones” is toleave the world of materialillusion and transcend to

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become one with theuniverse. In the meantime,we must experiencenumerous reincarnations in this universe, which iseternal.

New ConsciousnessAnd The Future. Thisworldview tries to explorethe human brain’s unlimitedcapacities for perception.Those who hold this viewbelieve that through alteredstates of mind we cantranscend ourselves andeven possibly contactentities in other dimensions.Personal death or even thedeath of the universe may bea way to a different reality.

It’s apparent that allthese windows on the worlddiffer in their views ofpersonal mortality and even where the universe is headed. Indeed, everyquestion asked has asurprising variety ofresponses. Are we toconclude, then, that each view is equally

valid among this diversity of opinion? Or might therebe a single view that mostconsistently contains thetruth?

DISTINCTIVES OF A BIBLICALWORLDVIEW

IIn our multicultural global age, toleranceseems to be an

important virtue. Manybelieve that it is arrogant to claim that one’s ownworldview is right and thatthe others are wrong. Yet inlooking at the alternatives,could there be a thirdoption? Like the analogy of the blind men and theelephant, might it bepossible that everyworldview is at leastpartially right? Even moreimportant, is it possible that one worldview couldactually bring togetherindividual parts of the other views?

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THE BIBLE AND REALITY Lunar-mission astronautswho saw the earth risingover the surface of the moonsaid it made them feel therewas an intelligent spiritualreality behind it. The Bibleoffers a basis for suchuniversal human intuitionwhen it says of our Creator:

Since the creation of the world His invisibleattributes are clearly seen,being understood by thethings that are made, evenHis eternal power andGodhead (Rom. 1:20). According to the

Scriptures, we can all seeGod’s divine power andattributes by looking at thedesign and beauty of nature.

The biblical view,however, goes on to makethe point that “naturewatching” alone is notenough to discover theIntelligence behind what wesee. The Bible claims thatthe Designer has revealed

Himself to us through itsown inspired record.

Speaking of the Bible as prophecy, Peter said:

Prophecy never came bythe will of man, but holymen of God spoke as theywere moved by the HolySpirit (2 Pet. 1:21). Here the Bible

claims that its authorscommunicated knowledgethat is not merely of humanorigin. Peter said that GodHimself empowered Hisauthors to write down what He intended.

According to both Oldand New Testaments, thereis a spiritual reality behindthe universe we see:

By faith we understandthat the worlds wereframed by the word ofGod, so that the thingswhich are seen were notmade of things which are visible (Heb. 11:3). But the Bible goes

beyond the idea that there is a Designer behind the

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cosmos. It also provides awindow into a realm of thespirit where God, heaven,and angels are part of agreater reality. Concerningthis, the apostle Paul wrote:

[Through Christ] allthings were created thatare in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whetherthrones or dominions orprincipalities or powers.All things were createdthrough Him and for Him (Col. 1:16). The Bible describes the

existence of both physicaland spiritual realms. The first is open to the five senses. The secondrequires divine revelation to learn of its reality.

THE BIBLE AND IDENTITYThe various perspectives of major worldviews suggestthat knowing who we areisn’t that easy. We arecomplex and, at times,

contradictory beings.Accordingly, we have builtinstitutions of commerce,developed medicines tobring health to millions, andlaunched space probes. Yetas a race, we have also builtconcentration camps, usedinstruments of torture, andimplemented policies ofgenocide. Why would therebe such a contradiction inattitudes and behavior?

The biblical worldviewoffers an explanation for thisapparent contradiction. TheBible indicates that by virtueof our being made in God’simage, we derive our identityand moral conscience fromour Creator (Gen. 1:26).Many biblical scholarsbelieve the image of Godincludes reason, emotion,will, self-consciousness,creativity, and conscience.These attributes haveenabled us to pursue thebeautiful and creativeaspects of the arts andsciences.

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But the unfolding drama of the Bible alsodescribes and chronicles the destructive capacity ofour hearts. In fact, its pagesare filled with those who did both great and terriblethings. David, the shepherdking, wrote beautiful psalms,showed courage in battle,and was even called a manafter God’s own heart. Butthe same King David alsocommitted adultery andmurder (2 Sam. 11:1-17).

The Bible is adisturbingly realistic book that recognizes thehuman capacity for evil.Jesus Christ, the most lovingand accepting person whohas ever lived, said:

Out of the heart proceedevil thoughts, murders,adulteries, fornications,thefts, false witness,blasphemies. These are the things which defile a man (Mt. 15:19-20). The biblical worldview,

therefore, recognizes more

than our conscience andlove for what is beautifuland good. It also shows that we are morally flawedand prone to misuse ourcapabilities as people madein the likeness of God. Butwhere did this negativemoral bent come from?

THE BIBLE AND ORIGINSGenesis has been called the book of beginnings. Itintroduces us to the Godwho created our first parentsand entrusted them with anideal garden environment.Although Adam and Evewere completely innocent,their moral character hadnot yet been tested. So,according to Genesis:

The Lord Godcommanded the man,saying, “Of every tree ofthe garden you may freelyeat; but of the tree of theknowledge of good andevil you shall not eat, forin the day that you eat of

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it you shall surely die(Gen. 2:16-17). Upon reading such an

account, it seems obvious toask, “Why would God wantto provide a moral test forAdam and Eve in the firstplace? Why would thereeven be the choice of evil?”

To answer that we needto understand the backstoryof Scripture. Earlier in God’screated order, Satan, a high-ranking angel, chose to rebelagainst God’s authority.Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28seem to indicate that Satanwas cast down from heavenand took on the form of aserpent in order to tempt the first man and woman.By cleverly casting doubt on God’s motives, the deviltempted the first couple todistrust their Creator and dothe one thing He had toldthem not to do (Gen. 3:6-8).

There were consequences to this initial act of independence.Adam and Eve experienced

alienation from each other, their environment,and their Creator. Thepersonal friendship they had shared with theirCreator was now broken. Yet as God described theconsequences of theirdisobedience, He made amysterious prediction.Looking back, we can nowsee that God was planning,through the future offspringof Eve, to send a Delivererto defeat the evil one andoffer hope to the world(Gen. 3:15). But who do the Scriptures reveal thisDeliverer to be?

THE BIBLE AND MEANING Those who mourn themeaninglessness of life havestruck upon the heart of thematter. If all we are to doduring our lives is experiencepleasure and pain, only to beextinguished at death, thentruly, “Vanity of vanities, allis vanity” (Eccl. 1:2).

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But according to theBible, when we see whatGod did to bring us back to Himself, everything canbegin to fall into place. IfJesus is not just a teacherfrom Nazareth, but actuallyour Creator, the Son of God,Mediator, Savior, King ofkings, Lord of lords, andruler of the age to come,then everything hasmeaning in relation to Him. When we see Christ as God’s offer of atonement,life, hope, peace, andimmeasurable love, then everything we think or do is a step toward oraway from Him.

THE BIBLE AND ETHICSConsidering the biblicalworldview as true resonateswith what we know aboutthe brightest and darkestsides of our human nature.It should help us tounderstand why we have aninner sense that some things

really are right or wrong.That’s what the apostle Paulreasoned when he wrote:

When Gentiles, who do not have the law, bynature do the things in thelaw, these, although nothaving the law, are a lawto themselves, who showthe work of the law writtenin their hearts, theirconscience also bearingwitness, and betweenthemselves their thoughtsaccusing or else excusingthem (Rom. 2:14-15).“The law” that Paul

referred to is contained inwhat we know today as thelaw God revealed to Mosesand the people of Israel atMount Sinai. It was thestandard a Jew was boundto obey. But even thoughGentiles weren’t exposed tothis divinely revealed moralguideline, they recognizedright and wrong by theirvery nature. The law writtenin tablets of stone, in theScriptures, and then finally

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personified perfectly andfully in the person of Jesus is what the Bible describesas a basis for understandingthe morality of personal orsocial choices.

THE BIBLE AND THE FUTUREThe biblical worldview offers hope in a life to come.Because it tells us that weare made in the image ofGod, it offers us reason tobelieve that our identity andpersonality are eternal.

Yet, according to theScriptures, everlastingfellowship with God afterdeath is not automatic. Itrequires a decision. Forthose who respond to theforgiveness offered in Christ,the promise of eternal lifewill be realized. For thosewho reject it, a place ofexistence away fromcommunion with God awaits them after death.

Yet the hope offered byChrist’s work of redemption

is not just limited topersonal survival beyondthe grave. The Bible tells us that the future of theobservable universe is alsotied to the sovereign work of God in Christ. BecauseChrist is the Creator of ourmaterial world, He has thepower to restore what hasbeen lost and to renew thegoodness of His originalcreation.

Revelation, the last book in the Bible, tells usthat Christ will one day say,“Behold, I make all thingsnew” (Rev. 21:5). The wordtranslated “new” carries the idea of an innovationbased on a form that haspreceded it. This remakingof heaven and earth willhave a familiarity to whatwe already know and isreflected in the words, “Now I saw a new heavenand a new earth, for the first heaven and the firstearth had passed away”(Rev. 21:1).

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IS EACHWORLDVIEWPARTIALLYRIGHT?

IIf the biblical distinctivesprovide the mostconsistent and inclusive

explanation for life as weknow it, how would such a perspective relate to otherworldviews? Is it possiblethat what the Bible affirmsas a whole shows up in part within the other views we have seen?

THE SOURCE OFWHAT IS RIGHTIn his book The Abolition Of Man, C. S. Lewis citescommon values that areshared by every majorcivilization. At the core ofeach is a set of ethics thataffirm honesty, respect forparents, and care for thepoor. These commonlyrecognized standards alsoprohibit lying, stealing,killing, and committing

adultery. Lewis considersthese standards for conduct a part of the doctrine ofobjective moral values. Hereasons that this commonawareness of right and wrongis “not one among a series ofpossible systems of value. Itis the sole source of all valuejudgments. If it is rejected, allvalue is rejected. If any valueis retained, it is retained”(The Abolition Of Man,HarperOne, 2001, p.43).

But if different culturestend to agree on the mostfoundational principles ofethics, why do we also thensee such differences when itcomes to other aspects ofreality? The answer lies inthe universal tendency ofour human nature to view a part of the truth as thewhole truth.

FRAGMENTINGWHAT IS RIGHTThe biblical worldviewclaims to offer a view and system of truth

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that is consistent with God’s character, the physicalworld, and the spiritualdimension of existence. ButLewis perceptively observesthat competing ideologiesoften borrow from the wholeas described in the Bible. By attempting to takefragments of the truth toescape obligation to thewhole, other ideologiesgeneralize their choseninsight into independentworldviews. Lewis believesthat “new ideologies” areonly fragments of God’struth “arbitrarily wrenchedfrom their context in thewhole and then swollen tomadness in their isolation,yet still owing to [it] and to it alone such validity as theypossess” (The Abolition OfMan, p.44).

If Lewis is right, then weshould be able to see in theScriptures the whole pictureand pattern from whichothers borrow. For instance,the Bible teaches that:

• God is the First Cause of the universe (Deism—Gen. 1:1);

• creation is guided byProvidence (Theism—Eph. 1:11);

• matter exists and can beobserved (Naturalism—Eccl. 1:5-7);

• spiritual realities do existand can be experienced(Pantheism—Jn. 4:24);

• skepticism has its place,and apprehending truthoften encounters mystery(Nihilism—Eph. 1:9);

• life without God has no objective meaning(Existentialism—Eccl.1:1-4);

• apprehension of reality requires a newway of thinking (NewConsciousness—1 Cor. 2:13-16). This is not to say that

the Bible agrees with everyaspect of these worldviews.Instead, the parallel ofagreement indicates that theother ideologies have taken

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part of God’s truth andturned it into the whole.

WHICHWORLDVIEWWILL YOUCHOOSE?

AAfter this briefcomparison of

worldviews, let’s think again about the parable of the elephantand the blind men. Eachblind man was partially right in what he experienced but ultimately wrong in hisconclusion. All of themconfused their partialperception with the whole of reality.

We have seen how major worldviews cansometimes take a part ofGod’s objective truth andthen make it into a whole.We’ve seen how the biblicalworldview contains all themajor strands of truth in the best and most unifiedwhole.

The question thatremains for each of us isnow the same. “Whichworldview will I choose?”That choice is one of themost important decisions of our lives.

Choosing the biblicalworldview is not justadopting a philosophicalchange of mind andadopting a new set ofassumptions. It meanstrusting Christ as our Saviorfrom sin and following Himas Lord. For Christ is thecenterpiece of the biblicalworldview.

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The biblicalworldview contains

all the majorstrands of truth

in the best and most

unified whole.



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windows on the world a comparison of major worldviews

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