Posted by
Bryn T. Jones on Wednesday, October 29, 2008 9:10:12 PM
I believe there are basically two types that determine world view. From these two basic paradigms we have conflicts such as Creation versus Evolution, Christianity versus atheism, Deism versus humanism and Free Market Capitalism versus Socialism. The two, distinct castes are those who believe humans are born in a fallen, sinful state, given to basic urges of selfishness and evil, and those who hold to the notion that we are born innocent and pure, basically good. Depending on which side one falls on, thus sprouts his or her world view.
Those who believe humans are basically good point to the acts of kindness and the fact that we manage to get along enough to form civilized society and government. We have a capacity for charity and empathy, compassion. They believe that upon birth, everyone could be raised to be a paragon of good will and altruism. The environment twists each in a different way, sometimes wiping out the inherent goodness with which one was born. (note: such folks would not use 'environment' to mean one's ecological surroundings, but rather other already twisted humans who raise said child).
This idea gains traction for its romantic appeal. Everyone wants to believe that an infant cooing in a crib is 'innocent' and 'pure.' Although, one look at that child chucking a hard toy at his parents or siblings will drive that idea to the bleachers. Seeing a six-month-old screaming in anger at not getting his or her way will convince the most rose-eyed optimist that selfish desire exists without any prompting. No, children never require teaching to do bad things. It is good behavior we need to instill. And re-instill, quite often.
But this misguided belief in the inherent goodness of humanity persists among those who are naive or foolish. They either are oblivious of the evidence against the hypothesis, or determined to ignore anything contrary to their precious belief.
Out of the willful ignorance of this world view comes the idea that we evolved from ape-like creatures. Despite never witnessing a creature change from one species or kind to another, nor any plant or cell or gene converting to another form, the humanists cling to this absurd notion that evolution not only happens, but that 'science' proves it. The fact that science is the conclusion of careful observation is inconsequential to such folks. They already ignore the evidence of human self-interest from birth. They don't get hung up on details.
Another accompanying product of the inherent goodness world view is ultimately Socialism. It springs from the humanism/evolution idea that we are the masters of our fate. We rose from ape-like creatures and evolved. Such thinkers (if you want to be generous with the term) believe that we have failed to achieve a Socialist Utopia for lack of a collective enlightening. Thus, they realize, this better form of living will just have to be forced on the mongrel masses in order to plunge us into the next plane of our existence.
For those who reject the human inherent goodness and admit we are born with an evil bent, we recognize our wretched state. We recognize the limits of our flesh and realize that we could not have simply evolved from nothing. The good we do is a direct result of our Creator's grace. We have not, after all, been purged of our Creator's goodness. In an ironic sort of way, we ape our creator with our good deeds.
Acknowledging our Creator leads us to seek a relationship with Him, which leads us to Christianity and a life devoted to service to a benevolent God. Our service becomes acts of compassion and kindness which actually has provided true relief, if not utopia, to the world.
This is not meant to be an exhaustive essay on a rather complex topic. I'll conclude by saying we have a war of world views--and we must stand firm with God. He will ultimately win, regardless of what the humanists may accomplish in the short term.