The following student report was submitted by Ambassador League Agent Luke W. during the 2009-2010 League.
Mission: Read Lifeviews by R.C. Sproul
R.C. Sproul aptly named his book Lifeviews; the way you see the world determines the way you live. Worldview, Sproul says, affects the disciplines of art, science, literature, economics, and government.
Sproul points out how Christianity is, to some degree and certainly not in its entirety, a secular religion. It used to be that some were prepared for the "secular ministry." Secular only means world. Secularism, however, is a system of thought that excludes the church and its sacred tenets. Fallacious worldviews, that is lifeviews, have emerged under the umbrella of secularism. These worldviews frequently conflict systemically and consistently contradict one another. Wading through these worldviews, R.C. tills the ground in order to plant a Christian worldview. He addresses existentialism, humanism, pragmatism, positivism, relativism, and hedonism.
Existentialism declares that “God is dead.” The outworking of that presupposition can be heard in the words of Jean-Paul Sartre: “Man is useless passion.” The passion is useless because everything is irrational and no rational claims to truth can be made. Existentialism clubs itself; if everything is irrational then no objective claim to truth can be made. The statement that there is no objective truth is an absolute claim to truth.
Humanism also faces troubles. It assumes that man is the measure of all things and that he can be lifted up through education. The humanist finds himself in a perpetual predicament, full of good intentions without any absolute initial intender. The Christian wants to be like an unchanging God. The humanist who thinks that man is the center of all things can only use man to be his measurement.
Pragmatism either falls flat or turns into utilitarianism. Its chief refrain seems to be, “if it works, go with it.” Unfortunately, often what is best for the present is not best for the future. The Christian, however, is a successful pragmatist. He sacrifices the temporal world for his eternal soul. Secular Pragmatism, however, becomes dangerous when it turns into utilitarianism. When the collective good is exalted above the individual then minorities can be oppressed (e.g. Hitler and the Jews). Sproul did not say this, however could it be said that this is the miracle of Christians being the body of Christ. Questions of the collective and individual become as irrelevant from one person to another as it is from a toe to the finger.
Positivism fails because it cannot make any important claims to truth. It only makes scientifically verifiable statements. However, as C.S. Lewis said, “An explanation of cause is not a justification by reason.” Understanding the passage of the earth around the sun does not answer why it is there in the first place.
Relativism plunges a person to a wish wash world without any truth. Without an absolute source of truth a person can make no absolute claim to truth; conversely the claim that all truth is relative makes an absolute claim to truth. The danger is, as Sproul put it, “Once you realize that you have destroyed truth, even truths are not true, values have no value, purposes have no purpose, and life becomes impossible.”
Hedonism seeks pleasure and avoids pain and as a result loses any chance of happiness. Joy is in the kingdom of heaven. Fornicators inhabit Hell. The eyes of man are never satisfied and in the closed system everything is meaningless.
Secularism and the lifeviews under its penumbra cannot stand. For this reason the Christian should be confident as he operates in the fields of art, science, literature, economics, and government.
