NATURALISM vs TRANSCENDANTALISM [Part 1]

Is it 'normal' to be an atheist? 

Many contemporary people argue that since one cannot PROVE God exists, therefore He does not.

Interesting, but is this logical?

Worldviews, i.e. the instincts/motivations/beliefs/unconscious biases from which we operate in this world seem to place greater emphasise on NOT believing than they do too believing. Is this just normal, common sense?

From about AD 1500 until today, a major shift has been occurring in Western society. This shift has increasingly made naturalism the default functioning worldview. Philosopher Charles Taylor insightfully probes the depth of this shift and what it means for us today in his landmark book A Secular Age. [Crain, Natasha. Faithfully Different: Regaining Biblical Clarity in a Secular Culture (p. 70). Harvest House Publishers. Kindle Edition.] 

Up until the late 13th Century people lived in what Taylor termed "the enchanted world", that is; a world so saturated with a belief in the transcendental that most people found it incredibly difficult to NOT believe in the 'other-world'. 

I was born in Africa and the belief in an existence that embraces both a natural and a supernatural world seems quite acceptable, even 'normal', evidence that Western conditioning in secular materialism has not yet had its desired affect on Africa. Interestingly, given how completely captured all of the 'organs of meaning'(i.e. institutions that govern the minds and motivations of the masses) in the West are, we still see that a majority percentage of the population continue to believe in a transcendant 'something', even though there is much confusion about what that 'something' is. This 'transcendental confusion' is playing havoc on the psyche of  the Western population, hence the mass usage of illegal drugs, alcohol, anti-depressants, anti-social behaviours, suicides, and general dysfunctionality so evident in Western societies even with all of the material advances made in the West since the Industrial revolution: 

Fast-forward to today. Taylor calls our present age “haunted.” Everyone longs for meaning, but we encounter so many options that we often lack confidence in our own beliefs. We’re haunted by the realization that any belief is contestable today, and it leaves us with a sense of unease. That sense of unease grows when we perceive that more and more people are finding our own beliefs to be implausible—and that’s exactly what’s happening today for Christians. As more and more people abandon Christianity and theism in general, naturalism increasingly becomes the default worldview we encounter in society. And it’s not just atheists who have a naturalistic worldview.3 In a functional sense, the many people who believe in a nonspecific God often live their day-to-day lives as though this world is all there is. The fact that we’re increasingly surrounded by even a functional naturalism creates a certain sense of cognitive pressure: Why are so many other people convinced that God doesn’t exist or that He’s not in any way active if He does? Am I really so sure He’s there? And when those who hold to a strict naturalism are vocal in proactively challenging our beliefs, the pressure can become even greater. Any unease we might already have felt in this “haunted” age is magnified to a level that’s hard to ignore. [Ibid p. 71]

IS IT THE BLIND LEADING THE BLIND

I like Joni Mitchell’s song ‘Big Yellow Taxi,’especially the line; “don’t it always seem to go, you don’t know what you've got till its gone”. Half a century later it appears to accurately sum up a major impulse within our 21st Century youth culture, especially regarding those who appear to be hell bent on trashing the Western lifestyle and all of its benefits.

One of the downsides to true freedom is that it allows sinful people to do sinful things, and very soon stupid people and people with egregious agendas begin to exploit these stupid and sinful things and before you know it, it’s all anybody focuses on. 

Too many people (perhaps the majority?) in the West seem to think that their lifestyle of leisure, luxury, ease and plenty is the ‘normal life’. They think that everyone lives like they do, not understanding that vast populations of the world still live under dictators, thugs, fear and deprivation.

Many of these (perhaps)well meaning, naive and historically illiterate Westerners think that some form of socialism will alleviate the suffering and burdens of the ‘underprivileged’, because the problems are caused not by sin, greed, exploitation or the ‘will to power’, but on social conditions and government failures. So if we just change the government and or the social conditions we can create nirvana.

Vladimir Lenin said many things about socialism that I think the more starry-eyed amongst us should at the very least consider. These are a few:

“The goal of socialism is communism”

“We can and must write in a language which sows among the masses hate, revulsion, and scorn towards those who disagree with us.”

“Atheism is a natural and inseparable part of Marxism, of the theory and practice of scientific socialism. Our program necessarily includes the propaganda of atheism.”

 I also believe in what Ronald Reagan stood for(take note of the medical intervention in point 2) when he said:

Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it on to our children in the bloodstream. The only way they can inherit the freedom we have known is if we fight for it, protect it, defend it, and then hand it to them with the well fought lessons of how they in their lifetime must do the same. And if you and I don’t do this, then you and I may well spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it once was like in America when men were free.– 1961

One of the traditional methods of imposing statism or socialism on a people has been by way of medicine. It’s very easy to disguise a medical program as a humanitarian project.– 1961

If we lose freedom here, there is no place to escape to. This is the last stand on Earth. And this idea that government is beholden to the people, that it has no other source of power except to sovereign people, is still the newest and most unique idea in all the long history of man's relation to man. This is the issue of this election. Whether we believe in our capacity for self-government or whether we abandon the American revolution and confess that a little intellectual elite in a far-distant capital can plan our lives for us better than we can plan them ourselves. – 1964

During the 20th Century there have been almost perfect social, political, educational, cultural and philosophical, comparative ‘experiments. For example: East vs West Germany, North Vs. South Korea, North vs South America, Venezuela, Cambodia, Vietnam, Cuba, Zimbabwe, Maoist China...etc,etc.

Why have we not learned from these examples?

DON'T WORRY, BE HAPPY!

One of the more misleading, catchy and therefore famous songs ever played over the airwaves is; 'Don't worry, be happy'. Perhaps unintentionally subversive, who knows, however it is nothing but a huge misdirection. 

If happiness was possible through an act of the will who wouldn't choose it? 

The tragic reality that happiness is NOT a choice is evidenced by the unfortunate fact that a huge proportion of the population of the Western world lives on anti-depressants.

The answer is never found within us, nor is it found in the pursuit of materialistic belongings or even the repudiation of said materialistic longings, desires or expectations as some worldviews would have you believe, no matter how many gurus tell you it is. I know, I followed those teachings and nothing changed; if anything a selfish, narcissistic pursuit of things and reputation leads only to dissatisfaction and disappointment. Solomon, who achieved the pinnacle of everything that life has to offer illustrates that very effectively in his book called Ecclesiastes. 

Regarding the title of this song, read what the bible has to say about not worrying: Matthew 6:19>34

Do not seek happiness, surrender yourself to the Truth and happiness will find you!

FOR OR AGAINST

It's truly sad when a theologian with the reputation of N T Wright expresses an acceptance of abortion. In my opinion it brings into question all of his previous and subsequent positions, or at the very least I am going to take all of his future proclamations with a pinch of salt. 

Abortion, along with the alphabet issue are two of the most contentious worldview topics through which our common enemy is creating division and turmoil within the church. 

Both of these positions should be examined in the context of scripture and preached about somewhat frequently so that believers can know the position of their particular church family on such divisive issues, thus setting the stage for greater unity in the body.