WHAT IS A WORLD VIEW Without exception, every individual holds to a certain world view. A World view is a set of presuppositions about the basic make up of the world. These assumptions may be entirely true or entirely false; or partially true or partially false. Some views are inconsistent while others may be consistent. Still others are held either consciously or subconsciously. In any case, all human beings hold to a particular set of assumptions about the world. These views are fundamentally religious in nature, and consequently, these ideas always translate into action. "As a man thinketh, so is he". Since world views are the basic defining identity of every individual, these views are critical to every aspect of life. Personal world views define who people are and where they are going. A world view is the standard by which a person lives. It is his set of law and ethics. TWO BASIC DISTINCTIONS There are only two primary basic presuppositions; Theistic or Humanistic. Theistic is based upon the Biblical interpretation of the World, while the humanistic view is based upon mans fallible anti-Christian ideals. These two are violently antagonistic and can never be reconciled. Either God defines His world or man defines it. There can be no compromise. WHY A BIBLICAL WORLDVIEW IS IMPORTANT Without a Biblical World View the Christian can never hope to wage a productive war against the antichristian Philosophies of sinful man. Without a Biblical Standard in every sphere of life, Biblical leadership cannot be attained. Thus, the continuity of the Covenant generations may be severely hampered if not broken altogether. An Biblical World View is the fundamental tool for a Dominion Conquest. The above index will assist you in understanding the basic world view philosophies we face today, briefly explaining each and then comparing them with the Biblical Christo-centric World View of the Bible. FURTHER STUDY For further study on the topic of Biblical
Leadership World View Principles contact
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Four Models of Western Religious Thought |
[Greek: theos (God) + logos (word)]: The study of the existence (or non-existence), nature, and attributes of God.
Secular Humanists believe that there is no God, that science and the scientific process have made God obsolete. Humanists believe that only matter things we can touch, feel, prove, or study exists and has always existed. Man is only matter (no soul or spirit). No supernatural explanation is needed for the existence of this matter.
Marx was an atheist before he became a socialist. Engels and Lenin agreed that religion was a drug or "spiritual booze" and must be combated. To them, atheism put into practice meant a "forcible overthrow of all existing social conditions," which would include the economy, government, law, etc. The Communist Party has not deviated from its founding fathers' attitude toward God or religion. This explains the persecution of the church in countries with a communist government.
The New Age movement believes that all things are divine, or a part of God: people, rocks, trees, stars, etc. Since everything and everyone is a part of God we have to get in touch with the "god within" to achieve total cosmic unity. Some adherents of Cosmic Humanism resort to channeling, meditation, Ouija boards, or hallucinogenic drugs to contact the god within. (In a very real way, these methods are the "sacraments" of the New Age religion.)
Jesus Christ is the "fullness of the Godhead."
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[Greek: philo (love) + sophia (wisdom)]: The love of wisdom; the attempt to discover an explanation for the whole of existence or reality.
Naturalism says that only matter exists things you can touch, feel and study. The Humanist trusts the scientific method as the only sure way of knowing anything, so if something cannot be observed, tested, and experimented on, it doesn't exist. Since you can't observe God, hell, the human mind or spirit, or conduct experiments on them they can't and don't exist.
Materialism is another name for Naturalism (see above). The dialectic says that in everything there is a thesis (the way things are) and an antithesis (an opposition to the way things are) which must inevitably clash. The result of the struggle and merging that comes from the clash is the synthesis, which becomes the new thesis. This new thesis will eventually attract another antithesis, and produce a new synthesis. For Marxists, "Dialectical Materialism" is the driving process that moved matter from inorganic state into life, then to animals, then humans, and finally organized social institutions like governments and nations.
Because the Cosmic Humanist believes God is in everything, and that everything is a part of God, he must conclude that everything in essence is spiritual. The things that we can see and feel are only a manifestation of spirit, and all matter will melt away when universal consciousness is achieved. This view leads the New Ager to believe all matter can be controlled by an enlightened mind, one that is in touch with the god within. Health, wealth, even a good sex life, are all perceived as the result of "mind over matter."
Jesus Christ is the "Logos of God."
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[Greek: ethikos (custom)]: The study of conduct, moral values, duties, actions, and ends.
Since the Humanist rejects the existence of God, human beings get to decide on standards and values. Humanists believe that science, reason, and historical experience are sufficient guides for figuring out what is right or wrong in any situation. These standards will not always be the same, as each person has a different background and reasoning. Therefore, the standards and values ethics are relative. The Humanist Manifesto II states, "We affirm that moral values derive their source from human experience. Ethics is autonomous and situational, needing not theological or ideological sanction. Ethics stems from human need and interest."
Marxist ethics don't come from a sense of absolute rules, but from the cause of communism. Whatever advances the proletariat (the working class) is morally good. Whatever advances the cause of communism is morally good, whatever hinders its advance in social and human evolution is morally evil. The killing fields of Cambodia, the Soviet Union and the Ukraine, as well as the mass murders in China were the practical results of proletariat, or class morality.
Since each individual is divine, they need only get in touch with the universal god-consciousness within to act morally. According to this standard, virtually every mindset and action is justified with the notable exception of adhering to a worldview which believes in moral absolutes (such a view supposedly stunts a person's ethical progress).
Jesus Christ is the "Light"
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[Greek bios (life) + logos (word)]: The study of living organisms.
Naturalistic evolution says that life just happened. It just appeared from a primordial ooze and through natural selection (from beneficial mutations) changed into animals, plants and man. Without naturalistic evolution, there is no Secular Humanism. Anything else would demand a Creator, which would mean that man is not the source of all things. Humanists believe that science has proven the theory of evolution to the extent that it is no longer a theory but a scientific fact. According to this "fact," man is the most highly evolved of all creatures, and is now responsible for directing and aiding the evolutionary process.
Marxism-Leninism also depends on the theories of evolution and spontaneous generation. Karl Marx made it very clear that the origin of the species contained the scientific basis for his views on the class struggle. However, Marxist dialectical materialism called for something more than just the gradual progress of natural selection. The dialectic needs a theory with clashes and leaps. This is satisfied with punctuated equilibrium, which says that each species stayed the same for long periods of time (equilibrium) and evolution happened through occasional ruptures or leaps (punctuations) from one species to another.
The New Age movement sees mankind as evolving from disharmony to harmony, until evolution has guided men and women out of the material into becoming completely spiritual beings. Evolution is central to Cosmic Humanist doctrine, because it ensures mankind's eventual progression to godhood.
Jesus Christ is the "Life."
Copyright © 2002-03, Summit Ministries and the ITR. All rights reserved. Used by permission. |
[Greek: psyche (soul) + logos (word)]: The study of the soul, mind, and spirit.
This psychology focuses on man's inherent goodness and predicts that every individual can achieve mental health through the fulfillment of physical or material needs. This is self-actualization. Monism means that man is only body, that no soul, mind, or conscience exist. If man is only matter, then his actions are simply the result of mechanical impulses. This notion, called behaviorism, is inconsistent because it directly contradicts the Humanist's atheistic theology and naturalistic philosophy which claim that man is the master of his fate.
Behaviorism says that everything a person does is the result of two purely material reasons: the individual's physical makeup and the influence of the environment on a person's nervous system. The brain is just a collection of nerves and blood vessels and tissues that have been programmed to react a certain way. The programming is done by a person's environment: his education, surroundings, family, background, etc. Just like Pavlov conditioned his dogs to salivate when they heard a bell, humans are conditioned to feel patriotic when they see a flag, or to rescue children from drowning. This conclusion follows logically from their materialist philosophy (only matter exists). However, Marxism has a problem if this is all the further they go. If every man's actions are programmed, how could any individual consciously choose to revolt? The Marxist must water down behaviorism to encourage the worker to actively, consciously strive for Communism. The Marxist's belief in Pavlov's "second stimuli" of language allows the Marxist to claim that while man's actions are largely determined, the individual can obtain a measure of freedom in his use of and response to the stimulus of language. In this way, the Marxist is able to cling to his behavioristic assumptions and still claim that the worker may choose to join the revolution.
Society and the environment, according to the New Age movement, stifle our knowledge of the god within. Thus, the aim of psychology should be to cause each individual to realize that they are fundamentally perfect and therefore should trust their intuitive urges. According to the New Age doctrine, a man's true self would never urge him to contribute in any way to dis-unity.
Jesus Christ is "Savior."
Copyright © 2002-03, Summit Ministries and the ITR. All rights reserved. Used by permission. |
[French socio (social, society) + Greek: logos (word)]: The study of social institutions and society.
Humanists use sociology to explain the huge gulf between their view that man is capable of perfection and the real world of evil. They say civilization and culture shape the individual. Thus, man is evil primarily because his cultural and social environment are evil, not through any fault of his own society and culture have influenced man's actions and have therefore stifled this inherent goodness. One of the most stifling of human institutions is the family. Government sponsored education provides the most desirable method for abolishing outdated social institutions and ensuring the development of a free society.
The Marxist is especially anxious to usher in a communist society because only then will man achieve a truly moral social consciousness. (Communism is the goal of socialism.) When he has achieved this consciousness, society will be so radically changed that the individual will be influenced to act responsibly at all times. Since every man can then be trusted to act responsibly and rightly, established institutions such as the church or family will be unnecessary. In fact these would only hinder man's development or lead him astray.
To explain the all-too-obvious evil done by man, the Cosmic Humanist resorts to blaming traditional society especially the central principles of Western Civilization. Various New Age leaders blame different aspects: technology, male-dominant norms (including those of the traditional family), the free-enterprise system, a central government, and dogmatic monotheistic religions. This results in a rebellion against all traditional values without examining their reason for existence.
Jesus Christ is "Son."
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[English: lagu (code, rules)]: The study of principles of conduct or procedure which are expected to be observed.
In Secular Humanism, the state is given sovereignty which is entirely rational because there is no higher power to be taken into consideration. Just as man is seen as the final word in ethics, the world state is seen as the only source for legal "truth." The Humanist believes that crime is more the fault of the social order than an inherent flaw in the criminal.
In Marxism-Leninism, sovereignty is given to the proletariat. Marxists generally trace law back to the concept of private property. Law was devised by the propertied class to protect its property. Marxists refer to this a bourgeois law. The basis of proletariat law is to protect social or state property. Socialist law grants certain human rights but only such rights as assist the advancement of socialism and communism, or only such rights as advance evolution. Once the full socialist system is victorious, however, the proletariat class experiences its victory of communist paradise and law ceases (along with the state).
Individual autonomy means that each person gets to decide what is right and act for himself. Any need for laws and legislation will quickly fade away as we grow closer to achieving god-consciousness. The unenlightened people who still believe mankind is inherently evil require laws, but once this outdated concept is exposed as a lie the world will function in complete harmony.
Law Jesus Christ is "Lawgiver."
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[Greek: polis (city)]: The art of governing a city, state, or nation.
Humanists believe that world government is the next logical step on man's evolutionary road to utopia as man is now conscious of his evolution and is responsible to direct it. Also, a goal of Humanism is world peace, and a global state can best achieve it. The state, directed properly, plays a central role in guiding man. As Julian Huxley said, "To have any success in fulfilling his destiny as the controller or agent of future evolution on earth, [man] must become one single inter-thinking group with one general framework of ideas... ."
Eventually, the proletariat throughout the world will rise up, throw off the chains of bourgeois oppression, and seize the means of production as well as political power, thereby establishing a worldwide "dictatorship of the proletariat." When this occurs, mankind will be taking its next major evolutionary step toward the coming world order. Marxists are willing to call for a one-world dictatorship of the proletariat because they will control such a government through Marxist-Leninist law. The Marxist believes that once every trace of bourgeois ideology and all the remains of capitalistic tradition have been eradicated a fully communist society will exist. In such a society, government will become unnecessary and wither away.
As with law, the need for politics and government only exists because some individuals refuse to get in touch with their true selves. The trend toward a one-world government is perceived by Cosmic Humanists as a positive sign that we are evolving away from our need for government toward spiritual unity or finding the "oneness" with everything that is the real basis of all spirituality.
Jesus Christ is "King of Kings and Lord of Lords."
Copyright © 2002-03, Summit Ministries and the ITR. All rights reserved. Used by permission. |
[Greek: oikos (house) + nomia (rule)]: The rule or management of resources, whether by an individual or a society.
Most Humanists believe in some type of a socialist economy because this is more consistent with their belief that man is an evolving creature who will become capable of planning the perfect economy. Man, who must "save himself," must be in absolute control of all aspects of his universe. Thus, the world's economic system must be strictly controlled through central planning that is, government must be granted authority over man's economic affairs.
Economics is central to Marxism-Leninism because Marx believed that the economic system of a society determines the nature of all legal, social and political institutions. Because the Marxist believes that modes of production form the foundation for society, he concludes that anything wrong with society is the result of imperfect modes of production. Societies have been improving because the economic systems on which they have been founded are gradually improving: slavery gave way to feudalism, and feudalism to capitalism. Because of flaws in capitalism, it will give way to socialism. In a socialist society, all private property will gradually be abolished and man will no longer oppress his fellow man in an effort to protect his private property. When all private property and consequently all class distinctions have withered away, the slow transition from socialism to the highest economic form, communism, will be complete. The ultimate aim of Marxism-Leninism is the creation of a political world order based on communism that will solve the economic problem of scarcity so efficiently that each individual will see his every need, and most of his wants, fulfilled.
Traditional economic forms act as a hindrance to individual enlightenment, because they emphasize only the material. This does not mean, however, that Cosmic Humanists should not have possessions; rather, whatever is necessary for the happiness of New Agers will automatically flow toward them, if they stay true to the voice within. "Mind over Matter" becomes a way of life; if you are in harmony with the spiritual realm you can control the ebb and flow of material gain.
Jesus Christ is "Owner."
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[Latin: historia (information)]: The study of past places, persons, and events.
Humanists view earth's history from a strictly naturalistic vantage point, meaning there has been no supernatural influence. The history of man and the universe is the history of evolutionary activity. Propelled without design by "blind natural selection," history has moved in an upward direction from simplicity to complexity. Some Humanists view Artificial Intelligence the computer as the next step in historical evolution.
History is the result of the dialectic (thesis, antithesis, synthesis) at work through biological evolution, economics, and the social order. Marxist-Leninists begin with eternal matter and spontaneous generation, and view history as a progression of biological and economic evolution which will ultimately result in a society of communist man in a communist paradise. Man is merely the consequence of these impersonal happenings, but man is given a minor role to play, to nudge history along a little faster toward its predetermined end.
Evolution is constantly moving mankind toward god-consciousness. Cosmic Humanists are assured, by the scientific fact of evolution, that man and all reality are progressing toward a unified enlightenment. The fittest already recognize this; the "unfit" are the Christians and other proponents of dogmatic worldviews (who act as a hindrance to evolutionary forces).
Jesus Christ is the "Logos made flesh."
Copyright © 2002-03, Summit Ministries and the ITR. All rights reserved. Used by permission. |
World
View Analysis