Worldviews

Understanding the Times

Paradigm: Model that forms basis of something; relationship of ideas to one another forming a conceptual framework; a typical example of something, especially one that forms the basis of a methodology or theory.

A paradigm is another way of saying how a person views the world. It is a type of lens on a pair of glasses and this lens distorts or makes clear the experiences in human life. The three prevalent paradigms today are Secular Humanism, Marxism/Leninism, and Biblical Christianity. They are distinct in their philosophies and goals for the future of mankind. By looking through each lens, you can get an idea of how each world view shapes a person’s habits, beliefs, experiences, and values. “In the end, every person must choose between a materialist/naturalist worldview or a supernaturalist worldview and this choice will create repercussions throughout every aspect of the individual’s life.”

Secular Humanism is based on the idea that the world and man are self-existing. “Nature alone, out of its infinite evolutionary complexity, gave rise to man, and that there exists no supernatural powers.” A humanist believes in man as the supreme authority. “There is no God and there is no soul. Hence, there are no needs for the props of traditional religion. …immutable truth is also dead and buried. There is no room for fixed law or moral absolutes.” Faith in science and continual evolution are based on the belief that one day man will overcome all environmental factors and restructure society until it reaches a state of utopia. This Utopian dream is based on the belief that humans are perfectible and continually advancing. “Humanism assigns to man nothing less that the task of being his own savior.” There is no heaven or hell, there is only the here and now and therefore the march towards a perfect society is a driving force behind humanism.

Marxism/Leninism adheres to the dogma of Darwinian evolution. They strive for a global communism based on the tenet of dialectical materialism. Dialectical materialism is the idea that development proceeds by a process of conflict and tension. Change is due to clash and struggle. The only constant in the world is conflict---it is the absolute. Evolution implies that the world is always in motion, always changing, and always in a state of tension. “Dialectics in the proper sense is the study of the contradiction in the very essence of objects.” This competition for survival leads to the formation of new species of higher quality. Marxists believe in man and his capacity to transform the world by his own hand. They operate on the assumption that society determines behavior and that by imposing ‘scientific regulation’ on individuals, they will elicit proper behavior. There are to be no classes and everyone works according to his ability and receives according to his need. Marxists are atheists and believe that religion is the opiate of the masses. “There is absolutely no room for either a creator or a ruler.”

Humanists and Marxists believe in basically the same tenets as follows:
*Humans are animals sprung from natural processes spontaneously generated from nonliving material.
*There is no God, no heaven or hell, no soul in man.
*There is no authority but our own. Human authority is supreme. Evolving man will usher in the Kingdom of Man.
*There is no meaning to life except survival of the species and the progress of mankind.
*There is no right or wrong. Values are relative. There are no absolutes and morality comes from calculated costs and benefits.
*Free will is an illusion.

Biblical Christianity holds to the idea that there is a God, a Supreme Being, who created the universe and the people who inhabit it. God is the fountainhead of moral law that is absolute and unchanging and by adhering to these laws with faith in Jesus Christ a person can be saved in the kingdom of God. Christians believe that there is order in the universe and purpose to the meaning of life. They believe that men are fallen beings who have free will and an internal sense of conscience.

By studying the prevalent worldviews in our modern world, I have gained more depth in my perception of interpreting events, people, politics and other matters. I have seen things differently by looking through the lens of Secular Humanism and Marxism/Leninism. In my opinion, these two worldviews are distorted and contain many blind spots in them (if not outright blindness). I believe that that by holding to these paradigms that a person would be “looking through the glass darkly” in regards to the purpose of life. Shakespeare sums up what I think the feeling of this worldview leaves a person with…“Life’s but a walking shadow; a poor player, that struts and frets his hour upon the stage, and then is heard no more: it is a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing.”

Why a person would choose to hold to a materialist worldview is a puzzle to me. I see this paradigm not as a life force, but a death wish. To quote a secular humanist, “Modern science directly implies that there are no inherent moral or ethical laws, no absolute guiding principles for human society….We must conclude that when we die, we die, and that is the end of us.”

Every person on earth must at sometime ask himself the question, “Is existence ultimately meaningful, or is it ultimately absurd? If God is, He represents the ultimate meaning of existence, the sufficient reason why it came into existence and the final end towards which it moves as its destiny. If God is not, existence is an accident, a momentary flicker of light between an infinite darkness and void before, and after.”

I am thankful for the Great Physician, Jesus Christ, who gives me the lens of hope in which I view life. I believe that the Biblical Christian worldview is the most correct and clear outlook for a life of purpose and meaning. In the words of C.S. Lewis, "I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else."

Copyright L.L. Williams