| It's Good to Know Right Thinking Leads to Right Living By Bob Smith |
| What is real? Is the tooth fairy real? What about a person's soul? How do we know? “What is real?” and “How do we know?” These are not just heady questions for philosophical discussion, but instead are deeply connected to our everyday lives. We make choices based on what we believe to be real and the certainty with which we trust them to be real. Yet there are varying answers to these questions based on one's worldview. As Christians, what is the right answer and what do others say? Christianity defines what is real as that which is found in the natural as well as the supernatural realms based on an objective standard found outside ourselves. This means that we believe that trees are real as well as God. These beliefs are formed through a combination of faith and reason. We believe the tree is real because of what our senses make evident to us. We also believe that God is real because of faith. While God cannot be proven in the same way a tree can, we believe God is real because of the reasonableness of evidence. For example, we believe the order in the universe gives evidence of a Designer. Furthermore, we believe that Scripture is evidence of God's revelation and that the fulfillment of prophecy, recorded in Scripture, is further evidence that there is a supernatural force behind it. Islam also defines reality in terms of the natural and supernatural. While there are differences with the Christian worldview, they are similar enough for the purposes of this short article. Secular Humanism and Marxism also have differences in the way they define reality and the ability to know, but it is sufficient to say that they both reject the idea of the supernatural. To them, all that is real is present in the natural realm and able to be proven through scientific methods. There is no God, no conscience, no heaven, hell or angels. Even the concept of love is explained in terms of hormones which produce nothing more than chemical reactions in the brain. There also is no such thing as evil. Mankind's heinous choices are only a product of brain chemistry brought on by environments. For example, the mass murderer is serotonin-deficient because of a lack of parental attention and poverty. New Age believes that everything is God. Therefore, everything is a manifestation of God. A droplet of water may only be a droplet, but it is part of the greater ocean. A tree, love, gravity, the Milky Way … all are various expressions of God. The New Ager knows this to be true because the God within affirms it. Looking for validation outside of oneself is to deny the existence of God within. Ultimately, our feelings let us know what is true. Let your conscience be your guide. | Postmodernism affirms that there is no objective reality. There is no such thing as cold for example. What is cold to a Texan might be balmy to a Russian. There is only a person's interpretation of life. The “fact” that there is a tree is simply a reflection that many people share the same interpretation that there is a tree. Even if we can't know what is really real, it doesn't matter. What matters is that it is real to you. Do you believe Bill Clinton was president? Do you believe he was a good president? To the Postmodern these are not viewed as fact and opinion. Both are equally true if they are true to you. While some of these worldviews may sound absurd, we need to be aware that at least parts of these ideas are found in popular culture and even in the church. We may not embrace Marxism, but how often do we treat problems as if they were simply physical? While a bi-polar disorder may be the result of a chemical imbalance, does that mean a child's inability to behave must be as well? Many want to portray faith as superstitions for the unintelligent, but it takes faith to believe in the missing links of evolution or to even pass through a traffic light on the way to work. We are all people of faith. It is just a question of what our faith is in and is that a reasonable faith. We may not espouse crystals and transcendental meditation, but we can fall for the idea that our conscience is our guide. Yet are our feelings a trustworthy source? Think of the last time you thought you lost weight or you thought you knew the answer on a test. Likewise, we might consider the idea that there is no reality to be ridiculous; but, do we buy into the idea that it all depends on one's perspective? People may argue about whether America was founded as a Christian nation, but the fact is that America either was or wasn't. It's not a matter of if you think it's true or not. A portion of scripture can mean a different thing to different people, but the fact is the author intended it to mean one thing. An example from current culture as to why worldview matters is the question concerning what is a real family? You can present logical arguments, you can talk about what you feel in your heart a family to be and you can say that family is whatever a person determines it to be. But the Christian worldview defines a family as God defines a family in His supernatural revelation of Scripture. |