I hope I didn’t leave any religious people at the last train station (previous post), still standing on the platform, holding on to subjective truth for balance. I invite even those to stay on this objective, evidence-driven train. The Christian can take solace under the auspices of Aquinas’ words (arguably, the greatest of all Christian theologians),

But there are some truths which the natural reason also can reach. Such are that God exists, that He is one, and the like. In fact, such truths about God have been proved demonstratively by the philosophers, guided by the light of the natural reason.

Going forward, I want to speak to atheists, agnostics, and Christians such as myself who base their worldview on objective evidence. I will not be trying to establish any doctrines specific to Christianity, the ones that Aquinas says would require (subjective) divine revelation. I will only be looking at the big questions that all people, atheists and religious alike, share. In this episode, I will simply list the possible answers to the grand enigma, the fact we exist, without much commentary.

House Keeping.

Every time I post something, I feel torn. I want to write honestly and clearly, but I also don’t want to offend people. We must learn to disagree with each other without making it personal. I have no notion that those who disagree with me are either uninformed, spiritually inferior, or immoral. I respect them with the same attitude that Aquinas expressed so well here,

We must love them both, those whose opinions we share and those whose opinions we reject, for both have labored in the search for truth, and both have helped us in finding it.

The Menu

Francis Schaeffer, consider by most as the leading Christian philosopher of the twentieth century did a lecture titled, Possible Answers for Basic Philosophical Questions. He opened that lecture by saying (my paraphrase), “When you really think about it, there are only a few possible views left standing in the room.” His point being, when you boil it down, the plethora of religious and nonreligious perspectives, you end up with only a handful of possible choices. Here I will list those world view options along with their major tenets, which I’m sure you are familiar with. In future posts, I will look, fairly, at the pros and cons of each position. I will close this series with a summary of why I personally left agnosticism and returned to believe in the historical, objective Jesus Christ.

Agnosticism

Simply the person is not confident of any position because they don’t think there is enough evidence to reach any conclusion. I consider this the “default” position.

Atheism

A position of certainty, believing that there is no God or spiritual force at work. That the cosmos is in a closed system of nature (closed meaning nothing outside of the laws of nature can interfere with natural processes).

Pantheism

The belief that the universe is a spiritual force that you could consider god-like but that there is no personal god outside of this spiritual force of nature, that includes the souls of people. Example: Hinduism.

Panentheism

Is like pantheism, except it considers the spiritual force of nature is part of the entity of God (rather than created by God), but God’s nature exceeds this force, being present beyond nature as a separate entity. Example: Sikhism. Some aspects of Neoplatonism. There are also some Christians who see the world through a panentheism lens, that God, while a personal entity, is also part of nature rather than the creator of it. NT Wright (presently senior New Testament researcher at Oxford University) read an early manuscript of my own book, Butterflies in the Belfry, and advised me that some people would consider me a panentheism for my high regard for nature. I rewrote parts of the book to make it clear I was not, seeing God as the creator of nature, not nature itself.

Buddhism (an Atheistic Religion)

I separate Buddhism because it is a bit chameleon-like, pantheistic to Hindus, but basically is an atheistic, nonspiritual religion or philosophy. The major tenet is that this world is an illusion, and the major cause of suffering is want. We find peace by transcending the illusion via meditation and other acts. Many postmodern Christians blend Buddhistic teachings (which in many places holds the exact opposite of basic Christian tenets) with traditional Christian language and forms.

Abrahamic Faiths

I will combine Judaism, Christianity, and Islam together because they all three acknowledge one single deity, God, who created the cosmos. All three recognize the Old Testament writings as inspired by God. The latter two recognized the New Testament as the inspired word of God and Islam alone recognizes the Qur’an, dictated to the prophet Mohammed as the final word from God. Christianity recognizes Jesus Christ as the messiah, God taking on the form of man to save humanity. Islam recognized Jesus Christ as a prophet, but Mohammed being 500 years later, is the most important and informed prophet for today.

Postmodernism

I will list postmodernism because it has become a dominant view alongside, and mixing with, the previous listed views. It has peaked and will likely see a slow decline in future years. Postmodernism is a reaction to modernity, the belief that through reason we can discover the truths about the cosmos, and that will lead us to a better life. For the sake of harmony, it rejects both reason and objective extrinsic truths. For them “truth” is subjective and intrinsic, something you create for yourself. By eliminating extrinsic (objective) truth, making all opinions valid, it aspires to create space for harmony between people. This is in contrast to the teachings of Jesus of Galilee, who elevated objective truth, while relying on love and respect to create harmony, not agreement

With such respect,

Mike

P.S. my cancer labs were finally found and once again, just shy of two years, I am in complete remission from Multipe Myeloma. Thank God.