Session 5 Final - Copy

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Philosophy

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Dec 6, 2023

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Session 5 Final Holly Ray Colorado Christian University PHL-205A David Mau November 12, 2023

Session 5 Final This course taught so much about many different worldviews, and what causes and affects them. In the textbook Understanding the Times by Myers and Noebel, is a list called “Ten Ways of Looking at the World.” These “ways” are theology, philosophy, ethics, biology, psychology, sociology, law, politics, economics, and history. This paper will compare the worldviews of Christianity and New Spirituality/Pantheism, considering these ten ways of looking at the world. Christianity revolves around the belief in one tri-union God, and in the belief of Jesus Christ incarnate God. “The Christian worldview is based squarely on the person of Jesus Christ. As John Stott said, “Christ is at the center of Christianity; all else is circumference.” (Myers & Noebel, 2015, p. 33). The central concerns of Christianity include surrender, salvation, forgiveness, and redemption. Christianity’s main view is that one must believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and died for our sins so that we could be reconciled with God the Father. The major themes of Christianity involve surrender to the Lordship of Christ, compassion, love, humility, hope, and servitude. Christianity’s core ideas are in believing in the Holy Trinity, the Righteousness of Jesus Christ, and in sin being an absolute truth. The ultimate goal of Christianity is to realize the need for a Savior for our souls, living a life in relationship with the Savior and in accordance with God’s will, while building the kingdom of God. New Spirituality, or Pantheism, is a term used to describe a diverse set of beliefs, many being from religions and practices from the ancient Egyptians, thousands of years old. Myers and Noebel (2015) state “New Spirituality is hard to define because it lacks a definitive core of belief” and that it is “an ancient worldview masquerading as a new path for meaning on which the human race can travel in order to achieve true enlightenment” (p. 129). The central concerns

of New Spirituality involve connecting with a higher power, and spiritual enlightenment. The major themes of New Spirituality include the idea of oneness, the importance of mindfulness and manifestation, and an interconnectedness that God is all, and all is God. The ideas of New Spirituality are in the belief in the power of positive thinking, the law of attraction, that we create our own reality, that crystals and burning sage can ward off evil energy, and that people are of one consciousness. “New Spirituality advocates often point to Jesus as an example of how to tap into the energy field called consciousness.” (Myers & Noebel, 2015, p. 137). The ultimate goals of New Spirituality are to transcend to higher consciousness and to vibrate on higher frequencies, to “become one with the universe, where they cease to exist” (Welbaum, n.d.) while feeling free from the confines of religion. Though there may seem to be some similarities between New Spirituality and Christianity, there are distinct differences. In comparing both worldviews using the “Ten Ways of Looking at the World” in Myers and Noebels Understanding the Times , the contrast between the two is stark. Reviewing each worldview individually considering theology, philosophy, ethics, biology, psychology, sociology, law, politics, economics, and history, will give us a deeper look revealing these differences. Theology: Christians believe that “God is a personal triune, creator, omnipotent, omniscient, omnibenevolent, holy God who desires to be in a relationship with His children.” (Sims, 2017). “Today theologians and philosophers use the word pantheism to describe this belief. Pan means all and theos means God . Pantheists believe “all is God.” It’s an accurate description of the theology of New Spirituality.” (Myers & Noebel, 2015, p. 136). Christians believe that Christ is the way to get to heaven, while Pantheists believe that all paths lead to heaven.

Philosophy: Christians have the understanding that God, also in the form of Jesus, is the sole meaning of Truth. A verse that Christians revere and uphold is John 14:6, when Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” ( New International Version , 1973/2018). New Spiritualism does not believe in absolute truth, but rather relative truth. Believing that truth is different for everybody; My truth is different than your truth (Parr, 2019). Ethics: Christianity teaches ethics based on the teachings of Jesus. The Torah was the Old Testaments guide to ethics, and Jesus taught how to ethically live in God’s will. The ethical principles of a Christian could be also referred to as the fruits of the Spirit found in Galatians 6:22-23; “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” ( New International Version , 1973/2018). Ethics are gifts of guidance given to imperfect people, through the Holy Spirit, to help them live in a way that pleases God. New Spirituality highly believes in karma, and themselves governing what is right and wrong. “To New Spiritualists, ethics is something that happens inside a person, not the result of divine commands or societal expectations.” (Myers & Noebel, 2015, p. 245). Biology: Christianity considers life very preciously and intimate with God as the Creator, while New Spiritualists believe that life has evolved over time. “New Spiritualists carefully distinguish this view from anything resembling the Christian idea of creation. As Deepak Chopra phrases it, “Consciousness-directed evolution isn’t the same as invoking a creator God. Instead, it introduces a property inherent in the cosmos: self-awareness.” (Myers & Noebel, 2015, p. 275). Christians believe in the sanctity of life and consider it a gift from God, that is to be acknowledged and cared for. New Spiritualists do not regard life in the same way, but rather as consciousness, energy and spirit.

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