It came to my attention this week, after listening to progressive-thinking pastor, that for me to go forward in this discussion there is yet another important bridge that we must cross. As I listed the smorgasbord of possible world views, I realize that there is a very popular position among religious and nonreligious people alike, that would make this discussion obsolete and that is the views of omnism and syncretism.

Omnism and Syncretism

Omnism is the idea that all worldviews and religions are equally true and syncretism, is that you can merge all world views into one. It is now quite unfashionable to speak of your own world view as being correct and the others wrong or to even distinguish between two ideas.

Omnism and syncretism are children of postmodernism, which is defined as a loss of a meta narrative or overarching story of meaning. The reason that this idea is so popular is because both postmodernism and its offspring, are the response of society to religious bigotry.

The Problem of Religious Bigotry

Religious bigotry is not just an issue of minor consequence. You can trace the dots of most human rights violations, abuse of people groups, and wars to religious bigotry. Even World Wars I and II have religious overtones. Didn’t the German Lutheran church support Naziism? Doesn’t the Russian Orthodox Church give cover to Putin’s invasion and war against Ukraine? Religion is the major player on both sides of the Gazan war. Didn’t the idea of Christian supremacy justify the European colonialism and the domination over much of the rest of the world, often murdering their inhabitants and enslaving them?

It is estimated that almost a billion people have been murdered or tortured by the Christian church over the past two thousand years, in the name of Christ. Islam has lower numbers only because it is half a millennium younger than Christianity. Don’t think that other religions have done better. It was the Buddhist majority in Myanmar that led the genocide against the Muslims in what is called the “Rohingya genocide.”

Besides open violence, religion ideology is used to support conventional bigotry, the hatred of people who are different. The KKK was born of the southern Christian church. Those who have beaten or killed gay people, often cite a religious bases for their animosity.

So, it is no surprise that there has been a massive exodus out of religious ideologies, including the Christian church and this exodus is by good people who want a better world, a world without a basis for hate. For those who are staying in Christianity, many of the want an inconspicuous religious life, one that is personal and does not discriminate between other people, including people of other religions. Their aspirations are honorable. But there is a problem.

The Philosophical Problem

When I raise objections to postmodernism and now with omnism, some Christian people think I am coming from the perspective of a Christian dogmatist. I define those as Christians who have a long list of Christian dogmas (often claiming those dogmas are based on the Bible), a grid by which they measure all people, those failing the test are immoral, and/ or bound for hell. I am not a dogmatist. I am, however, a rationalist. I do believe that reason is the major tool we have for finding truth. The problem with postmodernism and omnism is rational. It makes no sense that two world views that say opposite things are both true. This violates the fundamental rule of logic. The things that would make Plato, Aristotle, Jesus, Augustine, and Aquinas’ hair stand on ends.

Islam says that Jesus was just a prophet, the essence of Christianity is built around the notion that Jesus Christ was divine, above all prophets. The cornerstone of the Abrahamic faiths is that God created the cosmos as real, out of nothing. The tenet of Buddhism is that the cosmos is not real, just an illusion. I could go on and on, but the point being there are major differences between the different world views and while one could be true, all could be false, but opposites cannot be simultaneously true. The progressive pastor I mentioned also suggested that even atheism is world view given by God to some people as their own way to navigate life and equally true. This is absurd.

The Demise of Reason

If you were going to burn down your own warehouse full of merchandise, just for the insurance settlement, the first thing you would do would be to disarm the fire alarms and security. The first thing you will hear from the postmodernist and those who want to sell the idea that opposites are the same, is to dismantle reason. You will hear it from all the religious gurus of postmodernism, that reason is against God. Most of the attacks I’ve received is because I say I believe in reason. The Christian church has declared war against reason many times in history, always for the same purpose, to make their irrational ideas palpable. It is no different this time.

The other problem is that removing reason, considering all world views as the same, will remove tension at first, but does not solve the problem. Bigotry is not a problem of differences; it is a moral problem of attitude. The omnist, while taking pride in being accepting and tolerant to all world views, themselves are bigoted against the non-omnist. In the same way, those who say there is no truth, believe in that view so strongly that it becomes truth to them, strongly opposing people who still believe in truth, a paradox.

I have a progressive friend who has promoted a particuar postmodernist Christian Guru for years. I’ve listened to his guru many times, it being like fingernails on the proverbal chalk board to me. Out of respect to this friend, I said nothing about my views. Then I happen to mention, almost in passing, that I am a rational Christian. Immediately, knee-jerk like,I got an e-mail from him, “instructing me” that because I’m a rationalist, my relationship with God is illegitimate. Old fashioned bigotry from someone that prides himself in being omnist, believing all views as equally valid. He is a good man, but I’m just pointing out that it is simply impossible to live consistently in a world where you think there is no truth and all views are the same.

So, what does solve the problem? It is love and respect. Jesus called himself “Truth.” He also said, “love your enemies.” He didn’t say you have no enemies because all opinions are the same.

I know that I have relied heavily on Thomas Aquinas during this series and have used the following quote before, but no one could state it better.

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 the finding of it. Thomas Aquinas (Summa Theologica)

Life is hard. Making sense of it isn’t easy. We all deserve respect for the arduous journey.

Agreement is a sorry surrogate for love and does not solve the problem that only true love and respect can. I love spending time with my atheist and Muslim friends, because I have a profound respect for them, not because I agree with them. It is when religion teaches you that others are different because they are intellectually, spiritually, or morally inferior that bigotry takes root. That we must oppose with all our being.

Future Episodes

If I go forward in this series, I will not look at the pros and cons of each worldview as I had intended. I think in this climate of omnism, if I were, as a Christian, to look at the pros and cons of other religions, it would not be well received as the reader would assume a bias or my own bigotry. I will however, if I continue this series, look at the pro and cons of atheism as compared to Christianity with a focus on my own journey from agonism, toying with atheism, back to a belief in the historical (rather than the religious) Jesus of Galilee.

With Respect,

Mike