WORLD AND LIFE VIEWS

by Martin Murphy

The church is confronted and seduced by all sorts of "isms" in our modern culture. An "ism" is, of course, any particular world and life view. The letters "ism" attached to the end of a word, simply represent a philosophy of life or the way a person thinks about the world and ones relationship to the world.

There are too many "isms" to enumerate, but just to give you an idea here are a few: Secularism, humanism, materialism, consumerism, pragmatism, positivism, pluralism, relativism, hedonism, individualism, narcissism, and the list goes on. Christians must ask how these "isms" relate to and effect Christianity.

First, Christians must realize that any "ism" (world and life view) must be fundamentally rooted in the supernaturalism of Christianity. Christians cannot adopt a world and life view that is not in agreement with the belief and existence in a personal God and the existence of the real order of nature in the providence of God.

Secondly, Christianity is characterized by a philosophy of truth. Truth is not relative! God is not confused, nor can God contradict Himself. God is at perfect peace with the purity and essence of truth in His mind. One of the chief rivals in modern Christianity is the idea that truth is relative. Classical Christianity rejects such a thought!

Christians should have some knowledge of how the various "isms" effect them corporately as a church and individually as Christians.

HUMANISM: THE FATHER OF SECULARISM

by Martin Murphy

The Renaissance of the 14th through the 16th century brought about a revival of "human" learning and a return to the classics. The rebirth of interest in classical literature and language along with the desire to revitalize culture and intellectual pursuits is said to be the source of religious humanism. Religious humanism found its way in the church through such thinkers as Erasmus, Arminius, and Locke. They believed that man was basically good and had great confidence in the power of education. These thinkers saw human rights as the vehicle to make good men, better men.

Over the course of time, religious humanism has evolved and has now become known as secular humanism. The American Humanist Association along with other humanist organizations teach that "Humanism asserts that the nature of the universe depicted by modern science makes unacceptable any supernatural or cosmic guarantees of human values." Humanism is inseparably connected to Secularism and both enemies of Christianity!

Francis Schaeffer, an evangelical theologian and philosopher, said that "humanism intends to beat to death the [Christian] base which made our culture possible." Schaeffer is correct! The humanist has a goal to destroy Christian ethics, morals, and values. They embrace the doctrine of man and deny the doctrine of God. The modern humanist believes that the supreme dignity for man is found in man himself. An ancient Greek philosopher named Protagoras has given the modern humanist a motto: "Man, the measure." Protagoras believed that man was the measure of all things.

Humanism has had a tremendous influence on the church. The impact is so great that Christians often embrace tenets of Humanism, even while they remain unaware of the danger of humanism. How should Christians respond to this powerful world view? Christians are the salt of the earth [and] the light of the world. "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 5:16).

SECULARISM: THE WORLD VIEW OF THE WESTERN WORLD

by Martin Murphy

The western world can boast of an abundance of world views. The generality of the world views in our nation do not find their roots in religion, but rather in philosophy. It is particularly dangerous to believe that the United States is a Christian nation. Such thinking promotes the idea that the world views espoused by the majority of the citizens of this nation are rooted in Christianity.

Secularism is a world view that encompasses many world views and is rapidly ascending in popularity. The western world has experienced a rise in secularism, as a world view, during the 20th century. Secularism is the most influential philosophy in the western world. This is important for Christians to understand, because although Christians are secular in a sense, Secularism is in direct opposition to Christianity. The tragedy, is that during the last decade of the 20th century, Secularism is being widely accepted by Christians.

The root of the word Secularism is the word secular. The word secular describes the here and now. "Live for today, because there may not be a tomorrow," so says the Secularist. The aestheticians, the world of media (especially news media), and the literary artists of the our age are overwhelmingly committed to Secularism. The conflict with Christianity is the aspect of the eternal. Christians are interested in the present world, but their primary concern is the eternal. The Bible teaches that Christians must be involved in the secular, but Christians cannot deny the sacred. Secularism excludes the eternal. Secularism not only conflicts with Christianity, but by excluding the eternal it rejects Christianity.

The secular is inseparably connected to the sacred or the eternal. The danger for Christians is to profess hope for the eternal, yet embrace Secularism and therefore reject the hope of the eternal. "For man goes to his eternal home while mourners go about in the street" (Ecclesiastes 12:5).

PRAGMATISM: THE WORLD VIEW THAT WORKS

by Martin Murphy

When a fast food restaurant looks at the possibility of opening at a new location they first examine the demographics. They want to know how many vehicles pass by the location each day, trends in population growth and much more statistical data. Why? They want it to be successful. They want the business to work.

Pragmatism is the world view that states: "if it works it must be right." The Greek word pragma from which we get the word pragmatic basically means to execute or to carry out some deed or task. At the end of this century that meaning has been distorted by other world views and now the emphasis is on practicality and expediency.

Is there anything wrong with being practical? No, absolutely not! However, as a world view, pragmatism is often in conflict with Christianity. I have often heard (and in my pagan years) used the phrase "where there is a will there is a way." Pragmatism is the dynamic world view expressed in that statement. While I am writing this article, a robbery is occurring someplace in this nation. The person committing the criminal act simply wills to rob another person and therefore pragmatically accomplishes the way. It is never right to do wrong no matter how good the results may seem.

I have had ministers often tell me that "such and such" works for them. The desire to be practical has been and continues to be a detriment to the spiritual well being of the church. Pragmatism leads to the spiritual illness which is widespread in the 20th century evangelical church. The ultimate danger with pragmatism is its relationship to

humanism and secularism.

In his book "Made in America" Mike Horton points out that "a casual inventory of evangelical periodicals, tapes, and books reveals that there is little difference between the Christian's demand for a utilitarian faith and non-Christian's never-ending search for a new fix. Humanism looks to man for truth. Secularism looks to this present world to find truth. Pragmatism is a technique of the Humanist/secularist to replace truth.

How should the church respond? The same way Jesus responded to Satan when Satan tempted Jesus with all the kingdoms of this world. Jesus responded "Away from me, Satan! For it is written. . . ." Jesus did not respond with a pragmatic answer. Jesus responded by citing the Word of God as the eternal truth and that eternal truth is the only response and action that a Christian may follow.

INDIVIDUALISM: THE WORLD VIEW OF MODERN MAN

by Martin Murphy

Although individualism has a rich history, there has been a tendency to subsume individualism as an integral part of various classical philosophies. Modern man has taken this world view and exploited it, especially the left wing politically correct crowd, so that individualism stands at the forefront among the contemporary world views.

The Greek city/state (the polis), the Roman ideal, the Renaissance, the Reformation, Modernity and now Post-modernity have all faced a certain degree of individualism. My thesis is that although individualism is a moving force within Christianity, it is not a Christian world view.

Individualism embraces other world views such as secularism, humanism, pragmatism, and consumerism. Christians are certainly secular, human, pragmatic, and consumers. However, a Christian world view places the importance on the sacred rather than the secular, the divine rather than the human, the truth rather than expedience, and the good life rather than the happy life. The Christian world view places the emphasis on the sovereignty of God rather than the power of the individual.

Why have Christians rejected the sovereignty of God and favored the power of individual preferences? There are a number of factors. First, Christians have rejected orthodox Christian doctrine and theology. Secondly and related to the first, Christians have lost their passion for investigating truth. Thirdly and significantly, 20th century Christians are interpreting the Bible without considering the contextual, cultural, and historical factors. For example, the average person would say, "I have my individual rights as a citizens of these United (really un-united) States." The idea is that in a democracy the people rule. Throughout most of the history of the Bible and the history of the church most people have been under some form of monarchy. The individual had rights only if the sovereign monarch granted such rights.

The Christian world view is the only world view that grants individual rights (de facto). Christians are the only people who are really and eternally given individual rights and at the same time Christians are under the rule of a sovereign monarch, the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus said, "you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:32). A Christian is one who is adopted into the family of God and is an individual sibling among many siblings. It is the duty of all Christians to reject the philosophy of individualism and accept the sovereignty of God as the ruling principle in life.

CONSUMERISM: THE WORLD VIEW THAT MAKES PEOPLE HAPPY

by Martin Murphy

A friend was very excited to find out that I had become a Christian. I remember him saying "you"re still a salesman, you've just switched products." He was aware that I was once in the sales field. Out of my ignorance, I agreed with him, but I now realize that God is not for sell at any price or under any conditions.

The fundamental goal for most Americans is to be "happy." All of life is shaped around the desire to be self-fulfilled and happy. The French Revolution certainly had a profound influence on the concept of "happiness." Liberty, equality, and fraternity became the watch words that would bring the desired happiness to every successive generation. Do you want to be happy? The world view known as consumerism suggests that happiness comes from instant gratification. "Things" will bring happiness.

This is not just a philosophical world view. Selling Jesus Christ has become an art among the majority of evangelical Christians. Evangelism is no longer God-centered, but rather it is consumer-centered. Even more significant is the loss of God-centered worship and especially God-centered preaching. When you go to church next Sunday pay particular attention to your worship service. You may find there is more of a focus on entertainment, than on an infinite, eternal, all powerful, all knowing and ever present God whose character is marked by wisdom, holiness, justice, goodness and truth. All of these significant characteristics of God take a causal part in most worship services, if they are mentioned at all. Singers try to dazzle the audience with their sensational music. Preachers preach to "felt needs" using popular aphorisms, rarely expounding from the inerrant Word of God or using sound exegetical and hermeneutical skills. In short, entertainment is creating havoc within evangelical Christianity. Erich Fromm once said, "Modern man, if he dared to be articulate about his concept of heaven, would describe a vision which would look like the biggest department store in the world."

The church should be reminded from Holy Scripture: "You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked."

Christians must put there trust in the creative and providential hand of an all powerful God. They receive and rest upon Christ along for salvation and gain assurance of the power of the Holy Spirit in their lives. Take a few minutes to meditate upon the words of the Psalmist: "I have been young, and now I am old; Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, Or his descendants begging bread (Psalm 37:25).