by Mike Gray
Author and minister David Noebel offers a concise summary of the six major views of the world that presently jockey with each other not just for mankind’s attention but also his allegiance. Noebel defines a worldview as
“an interpretive framework”—much like a pair of glasses—through which you view everything. It refers to any set of ideas, beliefs, or values that provide a framework or map to help you understand God, the world, and your relationship to God and the world. Specifically, a worldview contains a particular perspective regarding at least each of the following ten disciplines: theology, philosophy, ethics, biology, psychology, sociology, law, politics, economics, and history.
The six philosophies delineated by Noebel are:
1. The Christian Worldview — “Many people, including many Christians, do not realize that the Bible addresses all ten disciplines of a worldview. …. America has been described as a Christian nation. However, America—along with the rest of Western Civilization—has turned away from its intellectual, cultural and religious heritage.”
2. The Islamic Worldview — “It is estimated there are 1.3 billion followers of Islam. …. ‘Islam is not a “mere” religion; it is a complete way of life, an all-embracing social, political and legal system that breeds a worldview peculiar to itself.’
3. The Secular Humanist Worldview — “Secular Humanism is the dominant worldview on the majority of colleges and universities throughout all Western nations. It has also made gains in many Christian colleges and universities, especially in the areas of biology, sociology, law, politics, and history. Secular Humanists recognize the classroom as a powerful incubator for indoctrinating students into their worldview. Operating under the educational buzzword ‘liberalism,’ a Secular Humanist agenda controls the curriculum in America’s public schools thanks to the National Education Association, the National Academy of Sciences, and a host of foundations, including the Ford Foundation.”
4. The Marxist Worldview — “Marxism predominates on many American university campuses. Recruited as college students in the 1950s and ’60s, many Marxist ‘radicals’ earned PhDs and are now the tenured faculty on many campuses. …. According to Karl Marx, the key problem with capitalism is that it breeds exploitation. Therefore, capitalism must be replaced with a more humane economic system, one that abolishes free markets (private property and the free and peaceful exchange of goods and services) and replaces it with a government-controlled economy.”
5. The Cosmic Humanist (or New Age) Worldview — “The New Age Movement mixes ancient Eastern religions (especially Hinduism and Zen Buddhism) with a touch of other religious traditions, adds a smattering of scientific jargon, and imports the newly baked concoction into mainstream America. ‘The New Age,’ explains researcher Johanna Michaelsen, ‘is the ultimate eclectic religion of self: Whatever you decide is right for you is what’s right, as long as you don’t get narrow-minded and exclusive about it.'”
6. The Postmodern Worldview — “… J. P. Moreland notes that Postmodernism refers to a philosophical approach primarily in the area of epistemology, or what counts as knowledge or truth. Broadly speaking, Moreland says ‘Postmodernism represents a form of cultural relativism about such things as truth, reality, reason, values, linguistic meaning, the “self” and other notions.'”
Meanwhile, Marsha West, at RenewAmerica, notes the decline of secular humanism (SH) in almost inverse proportion to the rise of cosmic humanism (CH):
It may surprise some readers to learn that secular humanism, the anti-religious, anti-supernatural belief system liberal reformers and radicals tried to foist on society has fizzled out. Their anti-God worldview failed to sway us away from our religious beliefs and from our obsession with “hidden knowledge.” Instead of the promised Utopia, “secular humanists created two world wars and the death of 200 million.” …. Those who experienced years of spiritual deprivation — and guilt — have moved on to Cosmic Humanism.
CH is a pantheistic worldview which holds that God is all and all is God (all things are interconnected) including humans, animals, insects, water, rocks, trees, planets, stars and so on. Cosmic humanists believe that humanity is evolving, moving upward toward an age of higher consciousness where we will experience “cosmic unity.” Humans who want to achieve unity with all existing things must get in touch with the “god within.”
Some of their doctrines include: the Divine Mind (“Creating instant manifestation through union of the human and divine mind”), Christ consciousness (“the state of awareness of our true nature, our higher self, and our birthright as children of God”), reincarnation (“rebirth of the soul in one or more successive existences, which may be human, animal, or vegetable”) and karma (a person’s action, either bad or good, determines his or her destiny).
CH is very different from SH in that the secular humanist sees man as the measure of all things and denies the soul whereas the religious humanist sees man as having unlimited human potential because of his “inner divinity.”
. . . So those who wish to evolve to the next step in human evolution must dive into the occult. Those of us who prefer not to take the plunge will simply remain unenlightened humanoids. Sort of like Neanderthals, but with less hair.
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David Noebel’s article.
Marsha West’s article.
David Noebel’s massive Understanding the Times on Amazon.com.
An abridged version of Understanding the Times is The Battle for Truth: Defending the Christian Worldview in the Marketplace of Ideas on Amazon.com.
Humanist Manifestos I and II on Amazon.com.
The Communist Manifesto on Amazon.com.