Two Opposing Worldviews Cannot Coexist

On By Dr. Lloyd StebbinsIn American Culture, Freedom, God's Love, Judeo-Christian Culture

The most important of all life’s decisions is the acceptance or denial of the existence of God and recognition of His active presence in the life of anyone accepting Him. It is a critical decision, because in addition to eternal consequences, the choice becomes the driving force of the present life. The unbeliever tends to live for the benefit of self, within few moral/ethical constraints. The believer matures by learning the importance of serving others, adhering to God’s moral standards as an expression of love, and knowing that focusing on the needs of others inspires the richest possible life experience. God’s moral standards require continuing progress along the lifelong journey to maturity, a journey where an individual should become substantially more humble, forgiving, merciful, and longsuffering, while developing a servant’s spirit.

In contrast, mankind’s own evolution-rooted standards incites a drive toward the opposing view, including selfishness, scorn, vengeance, impatience, and a demanding spirit. Although there are more polite terms for these seemingly negative values, they are all provoked by an unhealthy form of pride. The contrast between the evolutionist/secular view and the Christian view could not be greater. Consider the Table 6.1 comparison between the two views.

Worldviews Table

The evolutionist/secular humanist view appears to provide a path to a strained conclusion that God does not exist, evoking the post-modern conclusions that there is no objective truth and therefore no overarching values that apply to all people. Essentially, man becomes his/her own god, scorning religion and depending on the authority only of self, evoking decisions rendered primarily for the benefit of self. The absence of values anchored to incontrovertible virtues prompts severe criticism of the traditional Judeo-Christian American culture. One casualty of the loss of a stable culture is the replacement of commonly held values with extreme tolerance, which is indistinguishable from indifference. The absence of moral responsibilities combined with the perception that life is absolute and absolutely short elevates a prideful and extreme pursuit of wealth. With the public distracted by materialism, the self-proclaimed elite are able to pursue, virtually unhindered, their perception of a utopia that they believe can only be achieved by total government control of all people, except the elite themselves. Note the tendency of the U.S. Congress to exempt themselves from many pieces of legislation.

The Judeo-Christian view is that God is the Creator of all things and all life. He is personally interested in every individual. Since God is truth, objective truth is derived from Him and the study of His Creation. As such, the Christian depends on the authority of God, rather than self, recognizing that American exceptionalism arose from Judeo-Christian tradition. That tradition produced the best quality-of-life and the highest standard-of-living in the world. There is no other explanation. A Christian values faith and love above all else, keeping a healthy and balanced perspective of materialistic pursuits. He/she recognizes that God provided moral limitations for the benefit of people not to control them. Moral limitations are a safe harbor leading to reduced stress, the full richness of the human experience, stable families and a cohesive culture that is readily sustained from generation to generation. God has already created paradise in the Garden of Eden and in Heaven. Mankind’s own failures have caused the problems in between. The Christian’s life focus is on serving others and maturing by growing in godly character. Finally, the Christian seeks wisdom, noting that the Holy Bible and the clergy are reliable points of reference, not government leaders.

Despite the extreme and life-changing importance attached to the choice of a world view, many people drift toward a view without serious consideration of the alternatives. Although the choice is the most influential driving force of life, many people simply yield to cultural pressure institutionalized in the public education system, moving gradually toward an evolutionist/secular view. Even many people claiming to hold the Christian view do so on a somewhat shallow level bending to the winds of cultural decline as a matter of practical living. God’s view is clear, but often misunderstood, because modern Christians tend to limit God’s Word, the Bible, by depending on detailed analysis to mine a new nugget of wisdom (zoom in). However, God’s view is holistic (zoom out). Rather than viewing God’s Word from the “bottom up,” Christians must learn, insofar as possible to also appreciate in a pervasive way, the wholeness of God’s Word, as He views it.

14 thoughts on “Two Opposing Worldviews Cannot Coexist”

  4. Lloyd, you wrote, ” He/she recognizes that God provided moral limitations for the benefit of people not to control them. Moral limitations are a safe harbor leading to reduced stress, the full richness of the human experience, stable families and a cohesive culture that is readily sustained from generation to generation.”
    Yes, God first provided the Mosaic law as a “schoolmaster” to control and confine the despotic nature of fallen man. But it was only in place until Messiah could come and make way for a more excellent way.
    “Therefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. For you are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ [immersed into Jesus Christ] have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:24-28 KJ2000)
    Through faith in Jesus Christ, God puts a new heart in we who believe so that we can love one another as God does and put other people’s welfare before our own instead of always being self-seeking. This is what make for the most stable of all societies possible… the Kingdom of God on earth.

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  5. Michael, I like your schoolmaster analogy. The harshness of Old Testament law is reminiscent of an old time schoolmaster.

    In contrast, I’ve often used the analogy of a playpen. Sometimes we put a child in a playpen, because we know it is a very safe place. The child can do anything he/she wants as long as the child remains in the playpen. As parents, we know that danger lurks outside the playpen and futilely try to keep the child in the safe playpen even as he/she gets strong enough to begin climbing out.

    When we grow up, we build our own “playpen.” Typically, after getting married, we buy our first home in the ‘burbs and what happens next? One of the first tasks is to build a privacy fence around it. Presto!–Our very own adult playpen.

    Our heavenly Father loves us so much that He provides us with a moral playpen as defined in Scripture. He knows that we are safe as long as we abide by His moral limits, which after all are an expression of His infinite love. But physical, emotional, and spiritual danger lurks just outside the moral playpen. Nevertheless, the Father has given us amazing, incredible gift of free will. We have the freedom to choose the safe zone within the moral playpen or we can go or be lured outside the playpen where we will reap the natural harsh consequences of disobedience. Either way, it’s our choice. How cool is that? What do you think?

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  6. “On the one hand, a former commandment is set aside because of its weakness and uselessness (for the law made nothing perfect); on the other hand, a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God.” (Hebrews 7:18-19 RSVA)

    Lloyd, the New Covenant does not depend on the old Adam in us keeping laws. That always ends in failure just as it did with the the Jews who swore that they would keep them all. There is no good thing in the natural man in us and the sooner we understand and believe that, the sooner we will see the need of the cross and embrace it in our lives. The New Covenant only works when we have a circumcised heart by the power of God working in us. It is here that we can finally enjoy our freedom in Christ and move with the wind of the Spirit in the ONE law of the New Covenant the law of love (see Hebrews 7:11-12) and John 13:34-35). T. A. Sparks wrote,

    “The New Testament takes many warnings from the history of Israel, and we may fail of all that that covenant means if our hearts are divided and we try to live life in two worlds. We never lose anything when the Lord has everything, and that is what it means to have a circumcised heart. May that be true of everyone!” ~ “God’s New Israel” http://www.austin-sparks.net/english/books/003614.html

    I love you, my brother!

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  8. Caitlin

    “The unbeliever tends to live for the benefit of self, within few moral/ethical constraints. The believer matures by learning the importance of serving others, adhering to God’s moral standards as an expression of love, and knowing that focusing on the needs of others inspires the richest possible life experience.”
    So true. Even the most well intended person, if not held accountable to the Truth, can stray and be overcome by self. It never ceases to amaze me how this plays out again and again when people are given more power and their ‘morals’ get tested. If one is not grounded in Christ, it is impossible to not succumb to self righteousness and pride. Only in Christ can we maintain a servant-heartedness in life, living in service, and living out God’s love.

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    1. Caitlin

      Only when grounded in the Truth can one truly serve whole-heartedly. We can serve from the wrong place with our hearts not focused on Jesus. But the more we stay connected to Him through unceasing prayer and meditation on His Word – the easier it becomes to serve as we become more like Him.

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