Secular Worldviews: Atheism, Agnosticism,Communism, Modernism, Post-Modernism...

Secular Worldviews: Atheism/Agnosticism/Communism/Modernism/Environmentalism...

Just what is meant by a ‘secular worldview’? Secular means worldly as opposed to spiritual, and worldview means “a collection of beliefs about life and the universe held by an individual or group.” However, it is possible for a person to hold a particular worldview and still hold certain religious views as well (people are often complicated like that—or confused!). These are the major most widely held secular worldviews.

Agnosticism (Agnostics)- Agnostics believe that it is impossible to know for sure that God exists. Agnostic believers believe there is a God but there is no way we can know who He is or what He’s like. Agnostic Atheists are almost definitely certain that God does not exist. However, they would not go so far as to say absolutely that there is no God. Agnostic believers hope that if they die they will go to a better place, while agnostic atheists think you cease to exist after death. Many agnostics who desire fellowship join the Unitarian-Universalist church.

^“The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--His eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but their thinking became futile [“with vain imaginings, foolish reasoning, and stupid speculations”- Amplified Bible] and their foolish hearts were darkened.” Romans 1:17-21

Prominent Agnostics:
Mark Twain (Huckleberry Finn), Tom Bergeron (Dancing with the Stars host), Zac Efron (High School Musical star), Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia, Star Wars), Matt Groening (creator of The Simpsons), Larry King (Larry King Live), Bill Maher (political commentator), Dave Matthews (Dave Matthews Band), Brad Pitt (claims to be atheist, but mostly agnostic), Sting (The Police), Matt Stone (co-creator of South Park), Marie Curie (Nobel physicist & chemist), Charles Darwin, Albert Einstein, Carl Sagan (astronomer & skeptic), Steve Wozniak (co-founder of Apple).

Atheism (Atheists)- Atheists believe there is no God. They believe it very strongly. When atheism began in ancient Greece it was not a movement against God, but against the pantheism (belief in everything is God) that so consumed their society. However, about 40 years ago, a woman named Madalyn Murray  O’Hair started the American Atheists. The AA’s are responsible for prayer being banned from schools. They are the ones responsible for the push for “separation of church and state." Mrs. O’Hair was at one time considered to be the most hated woman in America; she and her son and granddaughter all disappeared in 1995 and their bodies were not found until 2001.

“The fool says in His heart, "There is no God." Psalm 14:1

The Message states: “It's a school of hard knocks for those who leave God's path, a dead-end street for those who hate God's rules.” Proverbs 15:10 and in Job 34:29,

“If God is silent, what's that to you?  If He turns His face away, what can you do about it? But whether silent or hidden, He's there, ruling, so that those who hate God won't take over and ruin people's lives.”

Prominent Atheists:
H.G. Wells (War of the Worlds), Woody Allen (actor, director), James Cameron (Avatar), George Orwell (Animal Farm), Ivan Pavlov (Pavlovian conditioning), Charlie Chaplin (silent movie star), Marlene Dietrich (movie star), Hugh Laurie (actor, House), Ricky Gervais (actor, British The Office), Angelina Jolie (actress), Bruce Lee (martial artist), Seth MacFarlane (Family Guy), Johhn Malkovich (actor), Ian McKellen (Lord of the Rings), Joaquin Phoenix (actor), Brad Pitt (actor), Keanu Reeves (actor), Barack Obama Sr. (father of US Pres.), Steven Soderbergh (filmmaker, Oceans 11), Ayn Rand (Atlas Shrugged)

Atheistism in Literature:
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (made into a movie), His Dark Materials triology (first book made into movie: The Golden Compass)

Existentialism- Existentialism comes from the idea of finding meaning for existence. There are atheistic existentialists and theistic ones. The main idea behind atheistic existentialism is that humans have a free will to make their own decisions. However, atheistic existentialists believe that God is dead or that He does not interfere in the affairs of men. According to the Bible, if God were dead, the world would fall apart.  Colossians 1:17 states, “He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.”

Existentialists think we are left to ponder the meaning of life and to discover morals and a purpose without the help of any divine being. Existentialism often leads to despair because many followers come to the conclusion that life has no meaning. This may be because for some, when the human mind removes God from the picture (or determines He has no bearing) purpose, and the meaning of life become meaningless. Two philosophers important to the formation of existentialist thought are Søren Kierkegaard (Christian) and Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzche (atheist).

  

Existentialism can be found in many popular films: Forrest Gump, The Matrix, Blade Runner, Inception and  2001: A Space Odyssey (Stanley Kubrick films are known for their existentialist themes). Existential movies are characterized by: events that have no long-term purpose, themes that question the meaning and purpose of existence, and typically begs the question: ‘what is reality? "For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."- Ephesians 2:10. God says we do have a purpose and life does has meaning!

[Biblical examples of existentialism: the books of Ecclesiastes & Job—however, the difference is, that ultimately, even if life’s circumstances do not always make sense, or the daily pursuits of life are proven to be in vain, God is in control.]

Examples of existentialism in literature: Notes from the Underground by Dostoyevsky (Orthodox Christian), Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (made into the movie Blade Runner).

Marxism/Communism (Marxist-Leninist)- Karl Marx was an atheist who lived during the early 1800’s. He taught that all of life is a struggle between the rich and the poor. The rich are trying to keep the poor down, and the poor are trying to move up. He advocated force in obtaining equality between the rich and poor. He wrote the Communist Manifesto, the most important text to communists. Later, at the end of his life he began Das Kapital, but died before finishing it. He believed in creating a perfect society- a Utopia.
 [Although a perfect society is an ideal that every human should desire and strive for, Jesus stated: “You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me." Jesus was not saying that we should ignore the poor, but He knew that because of sin, there would never be a perfect society (not by man’s efforts anyway). Since Karl Marx had committed the whole New Testament to memory(!), it is reasonable to assume that he was aware of Jesus' prediction.]

 Marx taught that no one should own property. All wealth should be owned by the government and distributed equally by taxation. This is Communism, a belief that everyone should own everything equally (commune---ie, common). This means everyone should live in standard houses and have a standard religion. [The early church in the book of Acts shared everything equally, however, they did not turn their things over to the government, they were democratic, and they were led by the Lord, motivated out of Christ-like love for one another.]  

Capitalism is seen as dangerous and the root of all social and economic evils. Marx was banished from Berlin for his ideas, then in turn from Bonn (Germany), Paris (twice), Brussels and Belgium. He eventually lived out his life in London. He began many revolutions while getting banished from country after country. He taught that there is no morality, because morals are determined by society and change according to the societies’ needs.
[The Message renders Proverbs 14:9 this way: “The stupid ridicule right and wrong, but a moral life is a favored life”].

Over time it has been proven that the ideology and the reality of Marxist communism just are not the same. In a communistic society, everyone is equally poor (like in Cuba and China where the vast majority ride bikes for transportation).  Communism failed in Eastern Europe because it never delivered what it promised: equal wealth. Ironically, it not only makes everyone “equal” (in poverty), it makes the government officials (those in control of the “means of production”—a favorite communist phrase) extremely rich. “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.”  Proverbs 16:25.

[Lenin’s form of communism as seen in the Soviet Union, was actually opposite of what Marx advocated. Marx theorized that communism would not start in an underdeveloped country, it needed to begin in a country where capitalism had run its course (there would be a revolt), leading to socialism, then communism.  Since all Lenin had to work with was an underdeveloped country with mostly a peasant population, Lenin revised Marx’s theory. He theorized that it could work in an underdeveloped nation, if the revolution were to begin in a number of underdeveloped countries in quick succession, joining together to form a socialist state, which was the original idea behind the Soviet Union. However, as previously stated, no communist country has ever delivered equality of wealth among all its citizens.]

In Literature:  Animal Farm (Orwell), Red Scarf Girl (about the Cultural Revolution; Ji Li Jiang), We (Yevgeny Zamyatin), Behind the Wall: The Inner Life of Communist Germany (Hans Maaz), Voices from the Gulag: life and death in communist Bulgaria (Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn)

Modernism- Was a reaction to traditional conservative values in society. Modernism can be applied to a broad range of cultural, artistic and intellectual movements. In philosophical arenas it asserts that everything must have a logical explanation. You cannot know anything outside of science. If you cannot see, smell, touch, or hear it, then it doesn’t exist. Reason is the only other way to know anything. If you can reason out why something works or exists, then it does. Truth is only what you can discern through science and reason. From the modernist point of view most things from the Bible are symbolic and not literally true. Like Jesus rising from the dead is just symbolic to the modernist.

“O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.”  Psalm 34:8; also see Romans 1:17-21 above.

American Modernism, as manifested in culture, literature and art began in the early 20^th century, most notably during the period between WWI and WWII, but continues into the 21st century. In literature and film, modernism reflected a mistrust of institutions such as religion and government and rejects ideals of aboslute truth. In art, theatre and dance, modernism is marked by abstraction and experimentation, often considered avant-garde. Culturally, as well as artistically, modernism stresses freedom of expression, radicalism and primitivism. In architecture, geometrical forms, absence of clutter and clean lines were paramount- the skyscaper became a popular ideal form for modernist architecture.

Examples of modernism in literature: Of Mice and Men and The Grapes of Wrath (Steinbeck); A Farewell to Arms and For Whom the Bells Toll (Hemingway); The Road Not Taken and Fire and Ice (Frost); The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald), The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes and The Ways of White Folks (Hughes), Their Eyes Were Watching God (Hurston)

In film: Psycho (1960, Hitchcock), Rosemary’s Baby (1968, Polansky), Dawn of the Dead (1978, Romero)

In Architecture: Fallingwater House by Frank Lloyd Wright

In Art: Picasso, Manet, Seurat, Gauguin, Matisse, Kandinsky.

In Music: Jazz (a rejection of previously accepted musical norms in American 'mainstream' culture)

In cultue: the Harlem Renaissance (in that it was a rejection of and reaction to previous institutionalized beliefs about blacks and their place in the arts; a truly avant-garde ideal at the time)

Naturalism- Naturalism fuels humanism, atheism and agnosticism. It is all about answering the question:  “What is ‘real’?” Naturalism is not a religion, it is a philosophy. Naturalists believe that humans are complex biological machines and the universe is made up of matter that is eternal.  There is no supernatural world (spiritual), people do not have souls. Science is the only way to know things. Without it you cannot know anything. God must not exist since you cannot see Him.

[The Bible assures us that there is a spiritual world, and that there are spiritual forces: “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Ephesians 6:12.

We are spiritual beings, we have an eternal soul: “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” Matt. 10:28].  

For those who believe there is a God, they think He is outside the creation.  [Hebrews 4:15 assures us that God is involved with His creation and cares about us: “For we do not have a High Priest Who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have One who has been tempted in every way, just as we are; yet was without sin.”]

Naturalists tend to be fatalists. All our behaviors are a function of heredity and environment (naturalistic determinism). Naturalists believe that nothing you do in this life matters because it’s all predetermined anyway (predestination). Notice the contradiction? How can there be predetermination without Someone to predetermine everything? Predestine means “to decide before hand,” which means there would have to be a Decision Maker. God knew before you were born whether you would choose to follow Him or not, that is why Romans 8:29 states: “For those God foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brothers.”

In Literature: Stephen Crane (The Red Badge of Courage), Jack London (The Call of the Wild), Gustave Flaubert (Madame Bovary), Charles Dickens (Oliver Twist, Great Expectations), Upton Sinclair (The Jungle),

In Music: It’s My Life (Bon Jovi), What If? (Coldplay), Jesus of Suburbia (Green Day)

In Movies: Titantic, West Side Story, 28 Weeks Later, the Final Destination movies

Post-Modernism- Post-modernism is a reaction to modernism. It teaches that modernism with its dependence on science and reason has failed to answer many questions of life like “why?” and “how?” Post-modernists are accepting of differing worldviews, different religions, different cultures, different sexual orientations, ‘alternative’ lifestyles, etc. Relativism is the main theme of post-modernism. Relativism is the belief that truth is relative to the situation. Every man doing what is right in his own eyes without being judged. Unlike modernism, which philosophically rejected religion based on the fact that it cannot be scientifically ‘proven,’(or as a reaction creatively to traditional social norms), post-modernism accepts that everyone’s religious belief is valid. We are presently living in a post-modern society.

 [The Bible teaches that there are absolutes, truth can be known, and it does not change according to the situation.  Jesus said, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” John 14:5-6. 

How can people know what truth is, who can answer the “why?” ‘s  and “how?” ‘s of life?.  “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on His own; He will speak only what He hears, and He will tell you what is yet to come.” John 16:13]

In art, literature and architecture, post-modernism is a reaction to modernist ideals, often by reintroducing classical themes and elements, structures and aesthetics.

In literature: I, Robot (Isaac Asimov), Catch-22 (Heller), Catcher In the Rye (Salinger), Absalom, Absalom! (Faulkner), One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (Kesey)

In Film: Pulp Fiction, Scary Movie, Austin Powers, A Clockwork Orange, The Stepford Wives

On Television: Futurama, Family Guy, Reno 911, South Park, MTV Jacka@@, Seinfeld, The Office, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Lost

In Art: Andy Warhol, Renee Magritte

In Architecture: Disney's Dolphin and Swan Hotels, Transco Tower (Williams Tower), Crystal Cathedral, Louvre Pyramid, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (Cleveland, OH),

Secular Humanism (Humanists)- Humanism began during the Renaissance when people began relying more on science than religion to assess their world. People began questioning the Catholic Church which had been very powerful up to that time. This ‘free thought’ movement took the form of Humanism and in 1933 a group of humanists put a document together called the Humanist Manifesto. This was a document of personal beliefs. It was rewritten 40 years later as the Humanist Manifesto II.  Humanism (as well as atheism) is responsible for much of the anti-religious activity that goes on in this country (the push for nativity scenes to be removed from courthouse lawns, the 10 commandments being removed from courtroom walls, etc.) They believe they are making the world a better place through human effort and scientific achievement. It is their belief that logic, ideas, good will and tolerance will lead to a better code of ethics (rules to live life by), without ever having to consult religion or God. Humanism tends to be anti-religion and can be summed up as a deification of man.

Humanist thought has seeped into much of our daily culture. When you hear: ‘triumph of the human spirit,’ or terms like 'our collective consciousness,' 'life force' 'faith in humanity', 'all people are basically good' and other such phrases/thoughts, it is humanist thought. In other words, man through his own effort can become better. Disney has ingeniously capitalized on humanistic themes, marketing the ideal that anything you believe/dream can come true. "I can do anything, if I believe,' is a pervasive humanistic thought.  Disneyworld’s Millennium Celebration (in 2000) had a similar humanist, new age, post-modern theme and imagery. The 2008 Summer Olympics theme was a humanist, new age one: “One World, One Dream,” as was the 2010 Winter Olympic theme: “One Dream” (both furthering the thought of the 'collective consiousness').

Prominent Humanists:

Isaac Asimov (sci-fi author), Albert Einstein, Gene Roddenberry (creator of Star Trek), Salman Rusdhie (The Satanic Verses), Rod Serling (The Twilight Zone), Carl Sagan (astonomer & author: The Dragons of Eden: Speculations on the Evolution of Human Intelligence), Aldous Huxley (author, Brave New World), A.A. Milne (author, Winne the Pooh), Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (poet)

Humanism in film: Batman Begins (while being interrogated by Batman, Flass pleads, "I don't know. I swear to god!", Batman then states, "swear to ME!" thus usurping God's position and putting Batman, the symbol of the self-made man in place of God. This is a direct reference and affront to Hebrews 6:13).
Toy Story 1 & 2*: finding meaning in who you are now, for as long as it lasts; recognizing that here and now is all that you have; I, Robot (is a 'Humanist Laureate in the International Academy of Humanism,' all of Asimov's tales are distinctly humanistic).

Humanistic Literature: 1984 (Orwell), Farenheit 451 (Bradbury), Flowers for Algernon (Keyes), A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (Twain), V for Vendetta (Moore), I Robot (the book is a collection of short stories; Asimov)

*This rather long article, written by a humanist explains why Toy Story 1 & 2 are 'good' humanistic/existentialist movies.

Environmentalism – This ‘ism’ was not a part of my prior lessons, nor is this covered in the book Why So Many Gods?, but it seems that this social movement has become so popular and so pervasive in our daily lives in recent years, that it warrants discussion. I believe for many people, it is a worldview, and for some even a religious belief system.

Environmentalism is a social and political movement (aka the Green Movement) that seeks to improve and protect the quality of the natural environment through changes to environmentally harmful human activities. In Genesis God put man in the garden and gave him the task of caring for it (Gen. 1:26 and Psalm 8:6-8). In Exodus 23:10-11 and Leviticus 25:1-7, the Lord tells His people that He wants them to observe a ‘Sabbath rest’ for the land. Since God created the Earth, He cares very much about man’s proper stewardship of it.

It is now common agricultural knowledge that land cannot be farmed repeatedly year after year without negative consequences. Scientist have conclude that one of the major causes of the great Dust Bowl of the 1930’s which affected 100 million acres of land,  was farming without crop rotation. Since the God of the universe made the Earth, He already knew about erosion and soil depletion. 2 Chronicles 36:20-21 indicates just how serious the Lord was about His people keeping His law and giving the land rest. When man is a bad steward of the earth, there are negative consequences.

Staunch environmentalism, however, leads one to think that man is evil (which is true--humans are not good) and Nature or Earth is good. I capitalize the word nature because, for some very devout environmentalists, they truly see nature and the Earth as a personifications of good, often deifying them.  This is something Paul warns against in Romans 1:25, “They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—Who is forever praised. Amen.”

Just as post-modernism was a reaction to modernism, it could be argued that environmentalism is a reaction to humanism—whereas humanism deifies man, environmentalism vilifies him. From my research, I found that humanists are as much against environmentalist dogma as conservative Christians. A common theme in environmentalism is how man is destroying nature; as this agenda is taken to its natural conclusion, man’s very existence is a threat to earth. Thus, terms such as ‘carbon footprint’ and ‘recycle, reuse, reduce,’ and ‘save the planet,’ have entered into our popular consciousness and language.

Global warming or Climate Change has become a hot button topic of late. It is is defended with religious fervor among certain segments of the world’s population and by such radical groups as Green Peace and Earth Liberation Front. 

An example of the type of religious fervor invoked by environmental issues can be seen by the actions of James Lee, an extremist environmentalist who held people in the Discovery Channel building hostage in September of 2010. Among other things, he called for all human babies to be killed, because humans are a plague on the earth. 'Deep Ecology,' an even more radical form of environmentalism, adds a spiritual emphasis to the mix and rejects the idea that Man is a steward, or by any means positioned over creation, but is no more special or important than any other creature on earth. On the contrary, Psalm 8:3-8 says: 
"When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars,which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor. You made them rulers over the works of your hands; you put everything under their feet: all flocks and herds, and the animals of the wild, the birds in the sky, and the fish in the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas."

Romans 8:29 states, "For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay.”  So, because the earth does not flourish as it should, it is imperative that we take seriously the mandate to care for it as God has commanded. 

Therefore as Christians, we must take a balanced view of our stewardship of the earth. We cannot ‘save the earth,’ however, we are to care for it; we should not litter, or pollute its waters, or its air --besides, it is ourselves we harm when we live in a polluted environment. Actions have consequences, and the Lord will not remove the consequences of our misuse of his natural gifts. So we should take care of the earth because by doing so, we honor God and we are taking care of ourselves. Environmentalism should be a means to an end, not a means unto itself.

In Film: Avatar , An Inconvenient Truth, The Day the Earth Stood Still, Wall-e, The Happening

In Literature: The Lorax (Dr. Seuss), Hoot (made into a movie in 2006; Hiaasen), Walden (Henry David Thoreau), The Population Bomb (Erlich), An Inconvenient Truth (Al Gore), An Inconvenient Book (Glenn Beck)

In Culture: Earth Day, Climate Change (the earth has had climate shift such as ice ages, however, NASA has determined that the current changes warrant concern click here for more information) , Overpopulation

Notable environmentalists: Prince Charles (British royalty), Al Gore (former VP of US), Ansel Adams (artist), Henry David Thoreau (writer), Leonardo DiCaprio (actor)