Transcendentalism

The next major worldview is virtually the opposite of naturalism. While naturalism says that all things are made of natural means, transcendentalism says that all things are spiritual. We are all part of a "greater force" in nature itself that only inhabits the physical sometimes.

In this worldview, the idea of "shedding these natural clothes" is an important one. The basic religions that all transcendentalist religions are daughter to are Hinduism and Buddhism. We do not seem to have an exact time frame for the birth of Hinduism, but Buddhism, which flowed directly out of Hinduism, was around about 400 years before Christ. Buddha worked to help people's spirit to get out of the cycle of suffering and reincarnation and join everlasting peace and oneness in nirvana [just why did Kurt Cobain blow his head off? Do you think it had anything to do with his worldview?].

In Hinduism, the greater "force" is Brahman. The goal is to reach enlightenment, which includes peace and ridding yourself of you, that is, anything that is inconsistent with brahman, to become part of brahman. Buddhism is very similar, but nirvana is the term for the 'greater force'.

The ultimate questions are answered in different ways in the transcendental worldview.

1. Origins - Where did everything come from? In the transcendental worldview, everything already existed. Maybe it didn't always exist in the natural form we see it today, but the spiritual dimension [brahman/nirvana] has always been there. Generally, the transcendental is not very concerned with the natural bend on life, since they are really just trying to rid of it anyway. Therefore, understanding 'how things first arose' or 'came about' is not nearly as interesting to the general transcendentalist as it might be for the naturalist. They are more focused on where they are going, which has nothing to do with material existence at all.

2. Meaning - Where do transcendentalists' find ultimate meaning in life? This might be the most coersive part of the naturalist mentality. See, in the transcendentalist worldview, human beings are NOT sinful or mean or bad, they are Divine. They are part of god [brahman/nirvana]. The greater purpose then is to shed anything that is inconsistent with the great 'force'/god around them and become a part of it. In some unusual ways, one can see how attractive this idea might be for someone. "You are not intrinsicly evil or sinful, you are god!" That sure could sound much better, whether it is true or not.

3. Morality - How do trancendentalists' decide right and wrong? Since everything is about becoming one with your surroundings, about obtaining peace and unity, about submission to the way of brahman/nirvana, then any moral code would align itself with these goals. If stealing would rob someone of unity with another, stealing would be out of the question. If killing would takes away from a peaceful existence with others, it too would out of the question. The moral codes in transcendental religious belief systems vary, but the main thrust is to pursue unity, oneness, peace and happiness.

4. Destiny - What happens when a transcendentalist dies [according to their religious teaching]? This might be one of the most interesting points of this worldview. Many transcendental religious worldviews have some sort of twist on the teaching of reincarnation. Reincarnation says that when one dies, if they are not yet enlightened to the point of reaching brahman/nirvana, they will come back in another life. Think Brad Pitt in "Seven Years in Tibet". Do you remember why the Buddhist monks stopped digging for the foundation of the new orphanage? They ran into some earthworms. That's right, they decided they couldn't build an orphanage for unwanted children because these earthworms could be "great-grandma" or something. What a trajedy.

There are many ideas of how or why someone will come back as another organism, based on works righteousness and doing better at life, but finally you just keep on coming back until you "finally get it right" and join brahman/nirvana. No wonder Kurt Cobain shot his brains out. Have you ever read the lyrics to his songs? This man was hurting, angry, pissed off and sad. Why wouldn't he kill himself?! If he was enlightened enough, he would go onto nirvana [the name of his band], but if not, he would just be reincarnated anyway and 'get another chance'. The chances would go on infinitely until you reached brahman/nirvana [or in an Americanized twisting, like on the movie "Knowing", you are picked up in the space ship by aliens...Tom Cruize is waiting his turn...they can have him. Scientology is a strange mixing of these ideas from transcendentalism as well as some from naturalism, at least for the question of origins, since they believe that aliens 'seeded' life on earth.].

These ideas have been twisted and changed in more 'westernized' versions. There are many, and they are also made very popular by Hollywood stars, including Wicca, Taro card reading, horoscopes, scientology, kabbalah, and many others. The "living god in the soul" and the power one can obtain by reaching this source is always a draw for many. In fact, many of the main ideas of Star Wars is attributed to transcendentalist thinking. "Become one with the force, Luke" isn't just a line in a movie, but a real worldview that is making its renown known. Yoga and other systems of thought which seek to 'harness the power from within' are all trying to grasp the divine nature in "all of us" [as the trancendentalist would conceive].

Transcendentalists and Naturalists seem to look within for meaning, answers, direction and strength, but maybe the answer is in looking up.

Worldviews

Did you know that you have one? We all have a way in which we understand, interpret and apply ourselves to the world around us.

First, we must take the information we have acquired about a given situation in front of us, understand it in light of cultural principles, and make sure we interpret it correctly. This might look something like a discussion I recently had with my high schoolers:

What if a sophomore girl, passing one of you freshman guys in the hallway, winked on the way by? What would you think? How would you interpret her actions? What would you do about it?

Most of the guys jumped to the "clear" conclusion that she liked "me", and that they were going to ask her to the next dance or on a date.

That would probably be a correct interpretation based upon the usual thinking and actions of our American culture. However, there is also the possibility that the girl is "just kidding" and "messing around with a freshman". As cold as it may seem to us guys, there are women out there that will do that...I suppose we deserve it most of the time.

We are evaluating life with our perspective all the time! This is our worldview. It's like a map of New York City. When you are standing in that seemingly chaotic environment, it seems like a huge mess. But if you take out a city map, find out where you are and where you want to go, you will begin to see the purpose in the world around you.

The same is true for our worldview. It's like a map that makes sense of the world around us. When we correctly apply what we know, it gets us moving in a helpful direction.

The only problem is this: everyone seemingly has a different worldview. I am currently studying the three major worldviews in our world. Of course, there are many variations to these three, but every worldview seems to be connected in one way or another, to one of these three worldviews. So, if we want to engage in order to make an eternal difference in the lives of others, we need to know something about who 'they' are and what 'they' assume to be true through their perspective and worldview.

While looking at this, we will use four worldview questions to create a table for discussion on this subject. The worldview questions will be termed the "Ultimate Questions." The Ultimate Questions are:

1. Origins - How did everything get here?

2. Meaning - Why are we here?

3. Morality - What is right and wrong, and who decides?

4. Destiny - What happens when we die?

1. Naturalism

Naturalism is the idea that nature, or the physical, is all that exists. There is no supernatural, and no metaphysical. People who assert a naturalist perspective believe that all matter has always existed. Matter, in the physical world, is eternal. Just to compare, I believe that God is eternal, but a naturalist would believe that matter is eternal.

They will generally assert a belief in some evolutionary development over millions or billions of years. The story generally goes like this: About 15.5 billion years ago [it was 14 billion in 2007], all the matter in the universe was pushed together into a dot smaller than a dot on this page. [Yep, that's the theory] It was spinning super-fast, and finally exploded...this is where they get the "big bang" connection. The explosion formed all the planets and most of the stars almost immediately and the universe began expanding rapidly.

About 4.5 billion years ago, the earth was a hot molten planet. It rained on the rocks for millions of years and finally, around 3 billion years ago, in the prebiotic soup, just the right chemicals came together at just the right time to produce life. That 'simple' cell organism found something to eat and someone to 'marry' and over the course of 3 billion years, slowly mutated into every form of life we see today by random chance mutations.

Now I want to be very clear: I don't believe this stuff. There are serious and huge problems with this theory. The problems are not just with Christianity, but with sound intelligent reasoning. However, a majority of people in the Western World [of which America is] believes this in some way or another. So it is very important to understand other perspectives. Paul could only speak to those on Mars Hill in Acts 18 because he understood and could apply not only his worldview, but his hearers perspectives as well. This is how he gained such a platform with them!

But let's go back to the naturalist. There are many variations to this theory, but they all stem from the same "root" teaching. So the answer to the first ultimate question on origins for the naturalist is that everything came from natural means. There was no supernatural involved. Everything that is 'true' for the naturalist is physical, the metaphysical is not true. [Does that mean that any thoughts are not true, since thoughts in and of themselves are not physical? Haven't heard a good reply from a naturalist on that one yet, so please feel free to respond.]

Since the naturalist believes that we are nothing more than a cosmic mistake in all of this, there really is no meaning to life. Although we can come up with meaning on our own [like living for our personal pleasure, wanting more money, living for immediate gratification, etc.], there is no real meaning to life. You live, you die, and that's it.

Again, since life is just an accident, we will not be able to validate a higher standard that isn't also accidental. If my brain is just a random accident, then all the thoughts that come from it are as well. The same will be true for everyone else's ideas and thoughts, therefore, no one can form a code of morality that won't inherently be accidental in nature. Therefore, the naturalist will come up with his own code of ethics that meet his own fancy or needs. He may state that stealing is wrong, but cannot intellectually support that standard in his own worldview. He must either steal the Christian worldview for a minute, or be totally inconsistent with his as he hopes his ethics will stop others from stealing what he has worked so hard to accumulate.

Since the naturalist does not believe in the supernatural or metaphysical, then when he dies, he dies and that's it. There is no afterlife and no judgment.

You can see how these ideas could rapidly move someone down a line of chaos in their beliefs and actions. "I choose what is right and wrong" [sounds like the days of the judges when "everyone did what was right in their own eyes" - Judges 17:6; 21:25], "there is no meaning to life", and "I won't be judged"...that could lead down some very interesting paths indeed, for we know that beliefs lead to values, and people act on what they value in life. Therefore, if I have a naturalist belief, then I will have values based upon my feelings and emotions and wants, and I will act based on those, whether consistent or inconsistent.

Chew on that. Ask God to give you His eyes for other people, to understand them, but also to learn how to love them even when they are unloveable.

ESV Romans 5:8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Look for opportunities to ask an interesting question that will probe into the naturalist's worldview and shatter it a little, since the reasoning will not satisfy. Then always be ready to give a reason for the hope you have in Jesus Christ! For His glory. Bless you as you be salt and light. Next we will visit the transcendental worldview.

Soothing help of laughter

Here are just a few spots I have found to be helpful during the tough times. Bless you...I think.

http://www.tangle.com/view_video?viewkey=050bbc8d5b1a19742efc

http://www.tangle.com/view_video?viewkey=37c4b3685c84e75f4b78

http://www.tangle.com/view_video?viewkey=6d6a37c89cba223c5f78

"Jumbo diet" anyone?

http://www.tangle.com/view_video?viewkey=2275da59ba352aa5070c

http://www.tangle.com/view_video?viewkey=bf37f05d0a246355b505

Loving...

God is a being of love. Then why does it seem as though He isn't always loving?

This is what some would suggest, but I wonder if there may be part of an answer here. You see, God's love for us is always the same. He doesn't change:

NIV Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

We are the fickle ones. But even in my evil nature, we can see a glimmer of how God's love would stay the same, yet His response to us would look differently depending upon the circumstance.

Let's say my 3 yr. old daughter, who is highly experiential, was in the kitchen as we began to cook dinner. As we turned on the stove, being the electric stove it is, it would begin to glow a bright orange color.

She might look at that color and say something like, "Daddy, look at that. Can I touch it?"

Of course, I would say "no" and make sure that my body was in between her and the burner, for her safety.

But let's just say that her interest gets the better of her 3 days later when I'm not around, and she touches the burner. She suffers burns on her hand that leave pain, sadness and tears for hours. Would that change my love for her? Of course not! Would I respond differently because of the situation...of course I would! We would need bacitracin, bandages, maybe even a trip to the hospital. I would then carry out a different supervision or protection strategy so that she could not fall into that problem again. But it wouldn't change my love for her, just my actions for her.

The same would be true for God's response to us. When we turn from Him and sin, when we fail to listen to His advice or direction, does that mean His love for me has changed? Not a bit. But He might respond differently to me for my good.

It is my hope and prayer that you understand how good God is, and how much He loves you in spite of who you are, what you think, and the things you have done. His love for us is never contingent upon our faithfulness [goodness], but His faithfulness often compels us to learn to be good and submit to the leading of His Word and Holy Spirit.

If you haven't tried that sort of life, I want to encourage you to do so. It usually doesn't seem reasonable [especially since our reasoning is usually a "worldly" type by now], but it is certainly the greatest adventure and the most exciting living I have experienced to date. I hope the same for you in these short days called life. May He bless you with an interesting one.

Jesus, God and man?

I have recently begun working with 9th graders...160 of them. What a great day that is! The insight, the crazy questions, the interesting dialogue. We are just getting going with the Old Testament, but came across an interesting discussion today.

So, Jesus was fully God and fully man, right? Then why was He led around by the Holy Spirit?

ESV Luke 4:1 And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness

Jesus, as we are told in Philippians 2, had "emptied Himself" of all His power, glory, might, etc. It's like the clothes I am wearing today. They are mine. I could take my shirt off and set it aside. It is still mine, but I am not using it right now. The same is true for Jesus' divine powers. So He waited upon the leading of the Holy Spirit through the direction of the Father. In this way, Jesus did not have any supernatural powers of Himself so that He could, as Hebrews makes clear, bear every bit of suffering known to man.

NIV Hebrews 2:17 For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.

NIV Hebrews 4:15 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.

And He did know suffering...

NIV Isaiah 53:3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

I haven't had that many sorrows, but I have had some. I have read of many others who lived sorrow-filled lives, yet still maintained a joy from the Lord. But I have trouble imagining how and why the Almighty, Holy, Perfect Creator of the universe ["uni" = one, "verse" spoken sentence..."And God said, "Let there be..."] would give of His power to suffer, worse than I or anyone else, just to save us. It just doesn't make sense. I guess that is what it was going to take to help us understand how much He loves us.

I hope you know. I hope you have not only 'heard' about Him, but I pray that you will come to "know" Him like never before. He is just, grace-filled, merciful and always loving towards you.

Loving...and waiting for you to respond and not reject.