The Garbled Epoch

This past Monday I had to turn in a paper showing the following:

How man rejected his Maker's Biblical foundation.
How Deism, led to Naturalism, which led to Nihilism, which led to Existentialism.

I'd like to know what YOU all think about this paper.

But before you do all that I'd like to give you this:

Deism: The belief that God made the universe and then abandoned it. That He isn't active in our everyday lives. Deists believe that if God was active in the universe, this would mean that God didn't make everything perfect in the beginning.

Naturalism: This is the belief that there is no God, nature created itself, matter is all that exists. There is no supernatural. If you want to think of it in simpler terms: Evolution.

Nihilism: This is a belief that there is no God, there is no meaning to anything in life. Only matter exists so what hope does mankind have? There is no greater purpose, there is no point.

Existentialism: A form of being politically correct. Basically what I believe is ok, and what you believe is ok, and both beliefs are correct.


Now for my paper, I'd like to know what you all think:

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The Garbled Epoch

The story of mankind has four chapters. The Prelude, which includes the events prior to the fall of mankind; The Old Covenant, which is from the time of the fall to the grace of Jesus Christ; The New Covenant, which mankind is currently under, beginning with the coming of Jesus Christ; and last but not least, the coming Kingdom of Christ on Earth as described as upon His return. There is one interesting shift seen from the beginning, which will continue until all is set right upon His return; that is a departure from God, Christ, and His Biblical foundation. Beginning with the fall, there is seen a rebellion against God's laws and decrees which continued into the Old and New Covenant. The Greek civilization prospered greatly during the Old Covenant and brought us many ideas of a god, or gods. The Greeks had two god concepts. One was their humanlike, personal gods which were seen throughout their mythology. The second was their impersonal infinite "nature" which created their lives and continuined to change and shape the globe around them. This "impersonal nature" worldview was not fully integrated into western culture until much later in the New Covenant. This idea of nature was an attempt to reject the creator, or explain away the creator. In the New Covenant, before society saw this idea of Naturalism flourish, there was a focus on Deism. Deism was the idea that God created the universe, and left it to run on its own accord. Basically in Deism God just watches mankind like He's watching a movie and He is not active in man's everyday lives. Men believed this because they thought that an active God in their everyday lives would mean that God had created an imperfect universe. This though, opened the door to the ideals of Naturalism which lead to many other ideologies. Darwin's Origins was published in the 19^th century and it was an explanation of the world around mankind. Darwin described the world with a Naturalistic view point, that there was no "head deity" or godhead, but that nature was a guiding force. Nature created itself, it evolved out of nothing and it continues to this day, as a closed system without any supernatural. Society accepted this view and immediately began to place science as their foundation and continued the rebellion against their creator. With no Biblical foundation, science began to take an unhealthy role in men's lives. With no supernatural there was no greater meaning to the universe, there was no afterlife, and there was no one in charge to guide us through the ages. Mankind continued his defiance and ripped his legs right out from underneath him. Slowly, mankind began to realize that science and evolution didn't hold all the answers. Man went on a search for his meaning, the very thing he had in the beginning. It was at this pivotal time that many dark and dangerous ideas began to seep into culture and take root.

When man removed his Biblical foundation through Naturalism, other thought processes began to emerge. The three worldviews that have influenced our society the most, and have lead to other worldviews, include Naturalism, Nihilism, and Existentialism. Naturalism in recap is the idea that there is no God, nature created its own self, nature is all-powerful, there is no supernatural, and there is no great plan or purpose for mankind. This dangerous way of thinking, isn't as dangerous as its offspring's train of thought, Nihilism. Nihilism is the complete rejection of God, hope, purpose, and meaning, the realization that there is no supernatural, and knowledge that man is nothing more than meaningless flesh. Lastly, Existentialism is the idea that: "You are unique, just like everyone else." In further explanation, this worldview stresses the idea that every single interpretation of the world is correct. That mankind is not fallen, and that mankind is able to reason himself into whatever existence he wants, and in that reasoning, he is correct. This, according to existentialists works, even when the two different thoughts conflict with each other.

So how far has society come from the Biblical foundations it once had? As stated above, existentialism is the idea that whatever a person believes is correct regardless of the idea. This does not line up with the Biblical foundation which places emphasis on the creator, not the created, and that there is one and only one way to salvation, which is through the grace and salvation of Jesus Christ. Nihilism is almost completely opposite of the Bible. The Bible continually stresses that there is a God who is supernaturally active in the everyday lives of mankind, giving meaning and purpose to those who accepts His grace. This goes against the ideas of Nihilism and Naturalism. Naturalism stresses an impersonal nature that created us, while the Bible shows that mankind was created by a loving personal God. Interestingly enough is that there is a flow through all of these worldviews as our society continues to move farther and farther away from God.

Historians are able to look back on history and see an almost "flow" like a river. So where has this "river" come from, where has it taken man, and where is he now? Deism was the start of the removal of our Biblical foundation. The Church allowed many to believe a false doctrine that God was distant and impersonal, that after creating His creation He left it alone to show His perfection. However this is not a Biblical foundation, yet not a complete departure. The departure would begin with the removal of God in Naturalism. Naturalism leads us to the idea that there was no God, yet nature created itself and that nature was a self-sustained system. When God was removed as a foundation, other aspects were lost. Naturalism led men to the thought process that since there is no God, there is no supernatural, since there is no supernatural there is no meaning, since there is no meaning, there is no hope. This is where Nihilism is introduced. Nihilism is Naturalism in its extreme form, that there is no God, and since there is no greater purpose or meaning or hope there is no point to anything. What a depressing way of thinking. Society began to want meaning again, they wanted hope. This lead mankind on a search for meaning and purpose yet rather than turning back to their creator who had given them so much, mankind began to search in other places for meaning and purpose. Meet Existentialism, mankind's answer to it all. Existentialism was introduced when men wanted purpose and meaning that Nihilism did not offer. The thought on Existentialism is that everyone is right, and that whatever gives purpose and meaning to one person, is good for that person. Also, whatever anyone picks for meaning, purpose, or salvation is the correct way for that specific person. This was just a focus on the individual.

God is a God of order, stability, love, and judgment. When mankind rested on a Biblical foundation, it was stable, yet when society rejected God He allowed them to fall. God knows what men need, and that is an infinite, personal God of purpose and meaning. Outside of that, as has been shown, mankind slowly hurts itself more and more. There is a removal of first God; then hope and meaning; then order, reason and a healthy view of mankind. This is where a society ends up when it rejects its own maker; with its legs shot out from under it, and its house falling down around it.

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Now, post your opinions.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 20, 2005 at 12:55 PM. You can skip to the end and leave a response.