by Brad Alles
Published by Concordia Publishing House 3558 S. Jefferson Ave., St. Louis, MO 63118-3968 1-800-325-3040 www.cph.org Copyright 2013 Brad Alles All rights reserved. Unless specifically noted, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of Concordia Publishing House. Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from The ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version ), copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Qur an quotations cited from The Qur an, E. H. Palmer translator, (Clarendon Press: Oxford) 1880. This publication may be available in braille, in large print, or on cassette tape for the visually impaired. Please allow 8 to 12 weeks for delivery. Write to Lutheran Blind Mission, 7550 Watson Rd., St. Louis, MO 63119-4409; call toll-free 1-888-215-2455; or visit the Web site: www.blindmission.org. Manufactured in the United States of America 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13
Table of Contents Introduction...6 Chapter 1: Worldview Components...8 * Assumption * Philosophy * Ethics * Future Chapter 2: Secular Humanism...13 * Assumption=Atheism * Philosophy=Naturalism * Ethics=Moral Relativism * Future=Global Government Chapter 3: Marxism...27 * Assumption=Atheism * Philosophy=Dialectical Materialism * Ethics=Working Class Morality * Future=Global Communism Chapter 4: New Age...47 * Assumption=Pantheism * Philosophy=Non-Naturalism * Ethics=Moral Relativism * Future=Global Civilization Starting at the End 3
Chapter 5: Islam...61 * Assumption=Theism * Philosophy=Supernaturalism * Ethics=Moral Absolutes * Future=Global Islamic Government; Heaven and Hell Chapter 6: Christianity...76 * Assumption=Theism * Philosophy=Supernaturalism * Ethics=Moral Absolutes * Future=Heaven and Hell Chapter 7: Implications...114 * Spiritual Growth * Societal Involvement * The Titanic Scenario Endnotes...126 4 Starting at the End
Acknowledgments I wish to thank Kelly, my wife, for all of her support and encouragement. I am grateful for those who read and gave insight on different chapters of the book: Adam Francisco, Katherine Gnan, Berit Kjos, Taylor Miller, Alex Pankow, Mollie Radewahn, Carl Teichrib, and Ward Alles. This book is dedicated to Roger Riggs, my Senior Religion teacher at Milwaukee Lutheran High School, who was also a mentor and inspiration. Starting at the End 5
Introduction I have been teaching high school religion in two Lutheran high schools for over twenty-five years. During that time, I have been invited to speak in eighteen different states on various topics to youth and church workers. Recently, one youth counselor in Missouri sent me this e-mail: I wanted to drop you a note to let you know how much I enjoyed listening to and learning from you this weekend. And it wasn t just me; on the ride home, we polled our kids and asked them about the weekend. All of them found the information to be very interesting, and it helped us to grow in our faith and be better equipped to stand firm against the other worldviews that we will face in this sinful world. Everywhere I go, people have great interest in defending their faith as well as knowing what the future holds, and for good reason. Is there any more intriguing topic than the future? Will humankind exterminate itself, come together in a peaceful existence, or be ushered into eternal states of heaven and hell after the Judgment Day of God? People want to know. Understanding the Bible as well as other worldviews will aid Christians in grasping events happening in the world around us today. Since not all people believe in God, they have a different starting point, or assumption, on which to base their understanding of reality. If there s no God and if this material world simply exists void of any spiritual realm or afterlife, that presupposition shapes how unbelievers view life now as well as how life could be in the future. Combining this belief with the notion that humans are basically good, and not sinful, leads to a worldview suggesting humans can create a utopia, an ideally perfect place a heaven on earth. Knowing what other worldviews believe their starting assumptions, their view of reality, and their expectations about behavior will pay off in comprehending what unbelievers think will affect the future and the formation of this idyllic existence. This knowledge also 6 Starting at the End
allows Christians to witness more effectively to the need for Jesus as Savior when the dreams of utopia collide with the reality of sinful humans living in a fallen world. Furthermore, knowing what the Bible actually says regarding the end of days and the signs of the times will aid believers in being vigilant. As Jesus commanded in Mark 13:37, What I say to you I say to all: Stay awake. Will humans exterminate themselves? No Jesus says all the tribes of the earth will mourn when they see His return (Matthew 24:30). Will humans create a perfect world? No Jesus says, Lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold (Matthew 24:12) in the last days. Will there be a Judgment Day and eternal states of heaven or hell? Yes Jesus said that He would gather all the nations before Him and separate the Christians and unbelievers as a shepherd divides sheep and goats (Matthew 25:31 33). In order to figure out the times in which we live, we need to start at the end. What do Secular Humanists think the future holds? What do Marxists understand? What do the New Age adherents say? What do Muslims believe? What do Christians know from the Bible, since it is the true Word of God? When we go on a trip, we first determine the destination the end point. Once we know the destination, we try to figure out the best method of transportation to get us there. Will it be by car, bus, train, or plane? If we decide to drive by car, we need a map to reach the destination. Whether we use MapQuest, GPS, or our old, trusty atlas, we try to figure out the best route to get us there. In a similar way, we can t understand the times we re in unless we know where we are going. We can t grasp why people are living the way they are unless we know their desired destination. We need to start at the end aware of the various worldviews, their vision of the future, and how the Christian worldview map matches reality better to witness the truthfulness of the Bible and the need for Jesus Christ as Savior. There is no more intriguing topic than the future and this one has eternal consequences. We need to show the world Jesus, who is the way and the truth and the life, since no one comes to the Father except through faith in Him as Savior ( John 14:6). Starting at the End 7
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{ chapter 1 } Worldview Components Our trip into the future will start with a map. We ll call this map a worldview. The term worldview is one that shouldn t intimidate us, since we all have one. By definition, it s the way we view the world and our place in it. It explains life and reality. 1 A worldview helps us make sense of our existence so we can navigate through life. Just as every map has various components such as a legend and a compass, the same holds true for every worldview. Some of these basic parts are the starting assumption, the philosophy (telling us what is real), the ethical stance (telling us how to live), and the view of the future (telling us what is coming). For example, Christianity teaches that God exists, that there are natural and supernatural realms, that there are certain things we should and shouldn t do, and that ultimately we will all be judged by God at the end. 9
Like a map, a worldview explains life and reality. Assumption When you look at a map, you have to start somewhere. In a mall, the map has a point that says, You are here. You start there, find your destination (the store in which you will shop), and eventually find the best route to get you where you want to go. It s the same way with a worldview. Whether people want to admit it or not, everyone starts somewhere. This starting place is an assumption, or presupposition, used when forming their worldview. 2 This initial assumption centers around the existence of God is He there or not? If God does exist, there are powerful implications for life and the afterlife. If He doesn t exist, that has ramifications as well. Beginning with either of these assumptions leads you down very different paths to explain life and how we should behave. So before traveling down life s path with one of these worldview maps, we need to think critically. A critical question to ask would be, How do you know there is (or isn t) a God? A Christian could say there is a God since there s physical as well as moral order in the universe. In other words, how does everything work with clock-like precision without an intelligent God? How does everyone know there are certain things that shouldn t be done, such as murder and theft, without a holy God? On the other hand, the atheist claims there is no God. Yet how can they make this absolute statement? Does he or she know everything? The key to remember is that every worldview starts with an assumption, and this first component becomes the foundation upon which the map is made. It has to; every map has to start somewhere. All worldviews start with an assumption God is or isn t. 10 Starting at the End
Philosophy The second component of every worldview is its philosophy, or beliefs about ultimate reality and all things. 3 There s one basic question everyone asks regarding reality: Is there anything more to life than this existence? In other words, is there an afterlife? Or, to put it another way, Are heaven and hell for real? If the starting assumption (the worldview s first component) is that God doesn t exist, it profoundly impacts the answer. The atheist will claim there is nothing more than this earthly, material existence. You live and die. That s it. For others, those who start with the assumption God does exist, their answer is yes, there is an afterlife. Ultimate reality is comprised of what we see and what we don t see earth and heaven. Returning to the map analogy, one worldview shows that the world is a place of matter only, with no spiritual territory. The other map has natural and supernatural realms. This map would explain phenomena beyond the natural realm God, miracles, angels, and demons. While the atheist will say their map includes no supernatural realm, this does not fit what they experience in life, since all people face the miraculous or unexplained in their lives. That s why the Christian worldview makes sense it matches reality, or what we experience. This will become important when we talk about various worldview thoughts concerning the future. Since some worldviews presume this life is all that there is, the goal is to make this world a heaven on earth. If the goal of life on earth is an idyllic existence, then that affects another part of worldview, the ethical stance. All worldviews tell us about reality. Ethics The third component of every worldview is its ethical stance regarding how humans should behave. 4 For some, there s no ultimate source of morality to tell them right from wrong, since these worldviews start with the assumption there s no God. Each individual decides what Starting at the End 11
constitutes acceptable behavior, their community votes on morals, or the government tells them what is permissible. People sharing this viewpoint are called moral relativists. Their morality is relative to their own interpretation or according to their community or government. Tied into this concept is the nature of man. All worldviews except Christianity teach that humans are basically good or, at worst, neutral. Since we re not sinful, we can decide what s acceptable and what isn t. But if humankind is basically good, why do we lock our doors at night? Or if the United States Congress is basically good, why do we hear about scandals and crimes by those who actually make the rules for us in the first place? On the other hand, if God exists and has revealed Himself through the Bible, then He has declared what is right and wrong according to His holy and perfect character. These standards of behavior apply to all people and communities in any time or place. Instead of morals being relative to people, God s moral absolutes exist. The standards don t change. Yet right from the beginning, Adam and Eve rebelled against God s standards, allowing sin to enter the world. Christians understand that humankind is by nature sinful, so what we see is a world full of evil. Once again, the Christian worldview map reveals life as it truly is. Yet while all other worldviews deny that humans are sinful, they still see the need to make the world a better place. Hence they plan for the future of humankind in hopes of building a utopia. All worldviews have beliefs about how to behave. Future The final component of all worldviews is their vision of the future. Many people believe history is moving in a straight line toward an exact goal. This is called a linear view of history. 5 Everyone wonders what that future will bring. In a naturalistic worldview, devoid of the supernatural realm (since the starting assumption is that God doesn t exist), the vision of the 12 Starting at the End
future can be optimistic. Humankind is basically good, so the ethical stance is one of moral relativism, with individuals choosing what is morally good. Since this worldview assumes humans evolved on their own over millions of years, life has gotten progressively better. Humankind will continue to evolve, making better and better choices until humans make a world full of peace and tranquility. A linear view of history states life is moving toward an exact goal. A Christian view of the future is quite different. The starting assumption is that God does exist, and the world therefore has both natural and supernatural dimensions to it. Absolute moral standards are needed since humans are basically sinful. Just as Adam and Eve rebelled against God at the beginning of creation, all of their descendants will do so until the end of time. In the Bible, the world doesn t get progressively better. So, which is it? Will the future get better or worse? Does humankind reach perfection on its own, or does God come back for Judgment Day? While there are many influential worldviews in our culture today, each addressing the future, we will focus on five in this book: Secular Humanism, Marxism, New Age, Islam, and Christianity. Each of these worldviews touch our lives sometimes subtly, sometimes not. Because there s no escaping these viewpoints, it s imperative to know what their view of the future is since their adherents work today to make their vision a reality tomorrow. If we know what their future endgame is, we can better understand why they live the way they do today as well as why they want others to emulate them. But beyond that, we can witness to the reality of Jesus Christ and the biblical worldview as the map that makes sense of the world both now and in the future. When their shattered dreams of a perfected future lie in ruins due to the sinfulness of humans, we can expose the falsehood in these worldviews. We can then offer the truth Jesus Christ and the ultimate map, the Bible. Let s start by examining our first worldview, Secular Humanism. Starting at the End 13
{ Chapter 2 } Secular Humanism Man is at last becoming aware that he alone is responsible for the realization of the world of his dreams, that he has within himself the power for its achievement. He must set intelligence and will to the task. 6 That s how the Humanist Manifesto I ends. Written in 1933, it describes life as it should be according to the Secular Humanist. Forty years later, Humanist Manifesto II continued this vision of the future: We further urge the use of reason and compassion to produce the kind of world we want a world in which peace, prosperity, freedom, and happiness are widely shared.... Commitment to all humankind is the highest commitment of which we are capable; it transcends the narrow allegiances of church, state, party, class, or race in moving toward a wider vision of human potentiality. 14
What more daring a goal for humankind than for each person to become, in ideal as well as practice, a citizen of a world community. 7 Starting at the end is essential for understanding why people are advocating their worldview. Notice that commitment to all humankind is the highest commitment, greater than your commitment to family, country, or God. Why? Because God doesn t exist. Humankind alone is responsible for the realization of the world of his dreams. Assumption=Atheism There can be no doubt that the underlying assumption of Secular Humanism is atheism the belief there is no God. While countless quotes could be surveyed, a few will be offered here to illustrate the point. The Humanist Manifesto I says, We are convinced that the time has passed for theism, deism, modernism. 8 In other words, out with theism (the belief a personal God exists), deism (the belief God exists yet is uninvolved with His creation), and modernism (the belief that church teachings should be defined in the light of scientific discoveries). Furthermore, the Humanist Manifesto II states outright, We find insufficient evidence for the belief in the existence of a supernatural; it is either meaningless or irrelevant to the question of the survival and fulfillment of the human race. As non-theists, we begin with humans not God, nature not deity. 9 Corliss Lamont, author of The Philosophy of Humanism, declared that Humanism considers all forms of supernatural to be myths. He goes on to say that anything outside of nature does not exist. 10 Recall, every worldview starts with an assumption and this one does so loud and clear. Author and speaker Nancy Pearcey sums it up: Secularism itself is based on ultimate beliefs, just as much as Christianity is. 11 Yet the danger of failing to remember that every worldview starts with a presupposition leads to the notion that Secular Humanism is somehow neutral, without bias, while Christianity is solely based on private opinions. Pearcey continues: It is impossible Starting at the End 15
to think without some set of presuppositions about the world. 12 Translation: no one is neutral. And that s why asking the question, How do you know there s no God? helps expose the starting premise of this map. Secular Humanism begins with humans not God, since He doesn t exist. Philosophy=Naturalism Having established the starting point of the map, let s examine reality according to Secular Humanists. It should be no surprise that there s just a natural world without the supernatural (God, Satan, angels, or demons), as Corliss Lamont stated definitively. Returning to the Humanist Manifesto II, it says, Any account of nature should pass the tests of scientific evidence; in our judgment, the dogmas and myths of traditional religions do not do so.... Nature may indeed be broader and deeper than we now know; any new discoveries, however, will but enlarge our knowledge of the natural. 13 Stated another way, the Secular Humanist eliminates the possibility of the supernatural since it is neither observable nor measurable using the scientific method. But this naturalist view, believing that only physical things comprise reality, 14 rules out the soul as well, since it is immaterial. It can t be measured or observed. We have a brain, which can be seen and examined during brain surgery, but no soul. In their worldview, the mind (or soul or personality) is just a manifestation of the brain, since matter is all that exists. Yet by thinking about the mind or soul, Christian apologist C. S. Lewis states that the Secular Humanist misses the blatantly apparent. The moment one attends to this it is 16 Starting at the End
obvious that one s own thinking cannot be merely a natural event, and that therefore something other than Nature exists. 15 To state it differently: thoughts and logic aren t made of matter. There is more to life than just the material state of things. Denial of the supernatural also rules out heaven and hell. Humanists claim there is no possibility the human consciousness, with its memory and awareness of self-identity intact, can survive the shock and disintegration of death.... The body and personality live together; they grow together; and they die together. 16 Therefore, when you die, it s all over. There s no afterlife, since nature and matter are all that exists. Even more bluntly, the Humanist Manifesto II states, Promises of immortal salvation or fear of eternal damnation are both illusory and harmful.... There is no credible evidence that life survives the death of the body. 17 Apparently, Jesus empty tomb, the changed lives of the eyewitnesses, as well as Josephus s recording of Christ s resurrection must not count! 18 Yet this philosophy explains why the Secular Humanist is so focused on this present life that s all there is. You get one ride on the merry-go-round of life, and that s it. This philosophical stance, starting with the assumption there s no God and supernatural realm, has implications on their ethical views. Just how should we behave, according to this map? Secular Humanism believes only physical things comprise reality. Ethics=Moral Relativism According to Secular Humanism, humans have evolved over millions of years. To quote Humanist Manifesto II, Science affirms that the human species is an emergence from natural evolutionary forces. 19 Over time, we have gained life from lifeless matter (against the law of biogenesis, which states only living things can give life), developed thought (an immaterial concept in a universe comprised only of matter), and gotten progressively more advanced. But no matter how advanced humans get, there is always the lurking presence of evil. Starting at the End 17