The Existence of God

This is the third in a series of articles by Brad Harrub on the existence of God.  I hope you all are enjoying these—Thomas.

Worldviews 

What is our ultimate purpose in life? From the dawn of man until the present individuals have been searching for the answer to this and the four major questions of life. The answer to these questions is not altered by your bank account or position at work. It matters not whether you are male or female, young or old. They are questions asked by religious individuals as well as atheists. Mankind has spent years pursing the answers to:  Who am I (and what am I worth)? Where did I come from? Why am I here? Where am I going when I die?

How would you answer these questions?

The approach we take to answering these questions is greatly shaped by our worldview. Worldview can be defined as the overall perspective from which we view and interpret the world and the events around us. Our worldview is often shaped by our parents, educational experiences, and the environment in which we live.

While many different worldviews exist, below are the five most common:

Naturalism (atheism, agnosticism, existentialism) is the belief that everything around us can be explained through processes of nature. Most who hold this view believe the “scientific method” (hypothesize, predict, measure in laboratory setting, test, repeat results) is the only correct and effective way to evaluate the world around us.

Pantheism (Kabalistic, Taoism, New Age, Buddhism) is the belief that nature, the Universe and God are one and the same. Any concept of God is normally very abstract. Most of these belief systems view God not in a personal matter, but rather as some vague cosmic force.

Theism (Christianity, Judaism, Islam) is the belief in and worship of a supreme deity (monotheism-the belief in one God). Commonly, this form of divinity is considered omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent. Simply put, most who hold this view believe that God exists and is able to interact with nature or the Universe.

Polytheism (Greek mythology, thousands of religions) is the belief and worship of multiple gods. Firmly held by many Romans and Greeks, this philosophy identifies gods for many material objects (e.g., Sun, Moon, water, etc.).

Postmodernism (comprised by believers and non-believers) is the philosophical belief that truth cannot be known. This recent belief system urges a change in thinking with the notion that past beliefs (whether theistic, naturalistic, etc.) are incorrect because we have a more complete understanding. This view holds that dogmatic lines cannot be drawn on things like morals and truth.

Due to the extreme differences in these worldviews, it is easy to understand why there are so many different beliefs and so much confusion out there. University classrooms are in turmoil as tenured professors feel safe to promote their own personal preference. But is there one worldview that can be considered “correct”?  And if so, are we willing to confirm to it and place our allegiance there?