Positivism

Psalm 19 "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork" (v. 1).

Metaphysics is the study of that which transcends the physical realm accessed by our five senses. Every worldview has its own answer to the single most important metaphysical question: What principle makes sense of the diversity of creation? Is there something that explains the existence of the universe and demonstrates how the tremendous variety of "things" (dogs, stars, flowers, sand, and so on) all fit together as pieces of the whole?

Christian theology has always said that this unifying principle is the Creator who stands above all things. God is the one who makes sense of everything. Non-Christian philosophers have suggested that an abstract concept, such as reason serves as the unifying principle.

The nineteenth-century French thinker Auguste Comte was dissatisfied with both theological and philosophical views of metaphysics and turned to sociology. He said human society passes through three stages as it matures. In the stage of infancy, religion dominates one's study of the world. Philosophy is the means by which the world is understood in society's adolescence. Adulthood comes when empirical science alone is used to comprehend reality.

A movement called positivism expanded upon these theories. Denying that we could get to a single explanation for all things, positivism tried to understand each of the many particulars in our universe "scientifically." Since nothing brings unity, everything is relative. There is no final standard or ultimate criterion of transcendent truth, so we might as well give up our search.

Logical positivists said a statement has meaning only if it is empirically verifiable. If the senses cannot test it, we can have no knowledge of it. This principle guides most scientists today even if they do not call themselves logical positivists. Yet the idea that a statement has meaning only if it can be empirically verified is self-refuting. This maxim itself cannot be tested empirically; there is no way for the five senses to verify it. It is therefore meaningless according to the guiding idea of logical positivism. Logical positivism fails as a viable worldview if its basic tenet has no meaning according to its own standards.

Coram deo: Living before the face of God

Many scientists say that a Creator does not exist or that there is no way of knowing if He exists because we cannot see, hear, taste, touch, or smell Him. Today's passage, however, states that there is empirical evidence to support the existence of God. Creation testifies to the reality of God (Ps. 19:1-6; Rom. 1:18-32). Take some time this week to find and make use of a good apologetic resource that discusses the evidence for the Lord's existence.

For further study:

Jeremiah 5:21-22

Pragmatism

Luke 14:25-33 "Which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?" (v. 28).

While most of the philosophies that have shaped American culture are European in origin, pragmatism is at least one worldview that was born in the United States. Its assumptions lie at the heart of postmodernism, that catch-all term used to describe the views that dominate Western thinking in the first part of the twenty-first century.

Pragmatic philosophers are generally agnostic as to whether ultimate, transcendent truth even exists. Even if objective truth exists, they say, it cannot be known, nor is it even worth pursuing. Truth is therefore radically redefined. Traditionally, truth is regarded as that which corresponds to reality. However, truth in pragmatism is what "works."

This leads to relativism. What "works" for you is not necessarily what "works" for me. Christianity may make me a happier person; thus, it is true for me. Muslims find that Islam makes them happy, and so Islam is true for them since it "works" for them. Rational discussion, or an appeal to a final norm, cannot solve disagreements over what "works"; therefore, the group with the most power wins when pragmatism is wholly embraced. If homosexuality works for me, then I must gain power to silence those who, by convincing others that my behavior is unacceptable, can create cultural impediments that hinder my enjoyment. I will not try to debate those who disagree since there is no universal standard to which we can appeal.

Pragmatism usually looks for immediate solutions without considering whether the answers will work in the long haul. Perhaps the best example of this is the Social Security system in the United States. The problem of people not saving enough for retirement was "solved" by mandating contributions to a government-sponsored savings plan. No one seriously considered whether there would always be enough workers to support these benefits, and now the time is coming when Social Security will be unable to pay out what the government has promised. Jesus opposes this type of short-term thinking, calling us to count the long-term costs of following Him ( Luke 14:25-33).

Coram deo: Living before the face of God

The corrupting influences of pragmatism are seen even in the church. "Seeker-sensitive" worship can increase attendance without ever seeing the congregation grow to maturity. Churches targeting specific ages or lifestyles might attract a lot of people from these groups and not minister to those who do not fit certain classifications. Beware of any ministry that emphasizes "what works" and do what you can to help your church avoid slipping into pragmatism.

For further study:

Prov. 19:20; 24:13-14

Secular Humanism

Psalm 144:3-4 "O Lord, what is man that you regard him, or the son of man that you think of him? Man is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow" ( vv. 3-4).

Yesterday we saw that secularism is the broad, overarching system under which many non-Christian worldviews are subsumed. We will start today to examine four of these worldviews in more detail, beginning with humanism.

Because it has appeared throughout history in a variety of forms and with a variety of emphases, humanism can be hard to define. Perhaps the best way to summarize its major tenets is to use the ancient Greek philosopher Protagoras' statementhomo mensura , which means "man the measure." In its secular form, humanism has taught that man is the measure of all things. Man is the ultimate, autonomous norm; that is, he is a law unto himself. His reason, not subservient to divine revelation, is the basis of ethics.

Not every humanist has denied God's existence, but even those religious humanists have said that belief is merely one aspect of our humanity. Removing faith from the center of existence made it easy for humanists in the nineteenth century to question the Bible's validity and define it solely as a record of primitive man's experience of religion. As a result, many seminaries began to deny the supernatural, producing pastors and other leaders who denied the resurrection but tried to keep many of the ethical teachings of Jesus. The consequence of all this was the "Social Gospel," which emphasized feeding the hungry and other works of charity without telling people of their need for salvation from sin. This incomplete Gospel is directly linked to the decline of the so-called "mainline denominations." If we do not need to be saved from sin, there is no reason for us to sit under a preacher and hear platitudes about giving to the poor. Such good works can be done without the trappings of religion.

Beginning in the twentieth century, humanists began to articulate more honestly that subjectivism is the inevitable consequence of making man the final arbiter of what is true. Without an objective, transcendent norm all we have are individual preferences to guide us. We must then ask, whose preferences will guide us? More often than not this has led to some form of statism wherein the preferences of the few are made into laws for the many.

Coram deo: Living before the face of God

The naturalism that is taught alongside humanism makes humanity into a cosmic accident with no real value, hence the ease with which we abort children and abandon the elderly. Only the Christian worldview, where God is the measure of all things, can preserve life and liberty. Only those who believe that man is made in God's image have grounds for attributing any kind of worth to humanity. Remember this as you engage other worldviews.

For further study:

Genesis 9:6

Secularism

Psalm 14 "The fool says in his heart, 'There is no God.' They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds, there is none who does good"(v. 1).

Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount lays out the basics of the Christian worldview when He calls us to make a wholehearted commitment to His life and teaching (Matt. 6:25-34; 7:13-14,21-27 ). All people have a worldview - a construct that, like eye glasses, is the lens through which we interpret reality and make our everyday decisions. The Christian worldview is defined by the words and deeds of our Savior. Over the next week we will more closely examine the Christian worldview and its response to some of its strongest competitors with the help of Christian Worldview, a teaching series by Dr. R.C. Sproul.

Western society in our day has not been characterized by a single worldview. Various systems of thought influence our thinking, often without us being fully aware of those things that are shaping our minds. These non-Christian worldviews differ from each other on several important points, but those not grounded in a specific religion (Islam, for example) are all forms of what we may more broadly call "secularism."

Historically speaking, God's people have had a biblical view of the secular realm (that sphere not under the church's authority). The sacred and the secular are different spheres, but both are under the Lord's sovereignty, and therefore they are not in opposition. The state is to rule over its people, and the church is to rule over its own matters, each fulfilling the functions unique to its ordained role. Justice and maintaining the civil order is the purview of the state, while the church conducts the ministry of Word and sacrament (Rom. 13:1-7).

Secularism, however, elevates the secular to the point where it is believed that nothing exists beyond that which we can see. Accordingly, secularism says there is nothing beyond this life. It denies the church a voice in society, and even if God is not denied explicitly, the secularized culture operates as if He does not exist. There is nothing transcendent to which the secular is accountable.

The Christian worldview emphatically holds that all of reality centers around the existence of a personal, holy, and transcendent Creator. Only fools deny the Lord's existence (Ps. 14 ), for He holds eternity in His hands.

Coram deo: Living before the face of God

The title of Dr. R.C. Sproul's Tabletalk column, "Right Now Counts Forever," is based on the reality of an eternal, good Creator. What we do today counts for tomorrow because the Father has ordained to work through our present decisions, which therefore impacts our eternal destinies. In Christ we are assured of eternal life; yet, even the smallest choices we make impact the degree of our heavenly reward. Is God's will the basis by which you make even the most "minor" decisions?