Differences in Worldviews
Norman Geisler on worldviews: (Unshakable Fondations, pp. 53-60)
"There are seven worldviews: theism, atheism, pantheism, panentheism, deism, polytheism, and finite godism. We know that all of these views have permeated our culture and exist, in one form or another, on virtually every secular college or university campus in North America and much of the rest of the world."
However, Geisler mentions that there are three predominate worldviews which exist in our culture: atheism, pantheism, and theism.
Atheism:
"Atheism believes that no God exists, either beyond the universe, or in it. The universe or cosmos is all there is or ever will be; it is self-sustaining. Some of the more famous athiests were Karl Marx, Friedrich Nietzche, Sigmund Freud, and Jean-Paul Sartre. Their writings have had a tremendous influence upon the world. These men expressed their views in different ways, but all of them held to the basic belief that God does not exist. Some of the main tenets are as follows:
God – He does not exist; only the universe exists
Universe – It is eternal; or it randomly came to be
Origin of Humanity – We have evolved, are made of molecules, and are not immortal
Destiny of Humanity – We have no eternal destiny and will be annihilated
Origin of Evil – It is real, caused by human ignorance
Destiny of Evil – It can be defeated by man through education
Basis of Ethics – They are created by, and grounded in, humanity
Nature of Ethics – They are relative, determined by situation
Pantheism:
"The belief that God is the universe...For a panthiest there is no creator beyond the universe; creator and creation are two different ways of viewing the same reality, and ultimately only one reality exists, not many different ones. God pervades all things and is found within all things. Nothing exists apart from God: God is the world and the world is God; God is the universe and the universe is God. People hold to different kinds of pantheism, which are respresented by certain forms of Hinduism, Zen Buddhism, and the New Age. Their views differe as to how God and the world are identified, but they all believe that God and the world are one. Some of the main tenets are as follows:
God – He is one, infinite, usually impersonal; he is the universe
Universe – it is an illusion, a manifestation of God, who alone is real
Origin of Humanity – The human’s true self is God.
Destiny of Humanity – Our destiny is determined by karma/cycles of life.
Origin of Evil – It is illusion, caused by errors of the mind.
Destiny of Evil – it will be reabsorbed by God
Basis of Ethics – They are grounded in lower manifestations of God.
Nature of Ethics – They are relative, transcending the illusion of good and evil.
Theism:
"The worldview that holds to the belief that the world is more than just they physical universe (atheism). At the same time, theists do not accept that idea that God is the world (pantheism). They believe in the existence of God and see His existence as the essential component of the theistic worldview. Thesists are convinced that the universe had a supernatural First Cause who is indefinitely powerful and intelligent. This God is a personal God, separate from the world, who created the universe and sustains it. Thesists believe that God can act within the universe in a supernatural way. The traditional religions of Judaism, Islam, and Christianity represent theism. Some of the main tents are as follows:
God – He is one, personal, moral, infinite in all his attributes
Universe – it is finite, created by an infinite God
Origin of Humanity – We are immortal, crated and sustained by God.
Destiny of Humanity – By choice we’ll be either eternally with or separated from God.
Origin of Evil – It is privation or imperfection caused by choice
Destiny of Evil – It will ultimately defeated by God
Basis of Ethics – They are grounded in the nature of God
Nature of Ethics – They are absolute, objective, and prescriptive.
posted by Charlie Wallace at
1:49 PM
2 Comments:
Charlie,
While I like Geisler for the most part, I disagree with him in two places. One is minor. Zen Buddhism is not a pantheistic religion. It is atheistic. There is no God. God is only part of Maya or the illusion, which we must transcend to realize what we are (which is nothing).
The other area of disagreement is more important though. There is a four major worldview that Geisler omits. I would argue that it is far more prevalent than atheism. It is those people who would call themselves agnostic. There are millions of people who would not dogmatically say, "There is no God." They have found that to be an illogical statement. On the other hand, many of them would say, "I don't know." Unfortunately, most of those who say, "I don't know," would also say, "...and I don't care." In the postmodern world, this is where most "atheists" are. They have been told over and over that you can't know anything so that is what they believe.
Michael,
You're probably right about your first claim.
However, about agnostics, I believe for simplicity's sake, Geisler groups them into Atheism. Of course there is a difference, and he does do a great deal of explaining Agnosticism in another chapter. Maybe I'll post that.
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