CAST UP!

A list of alternatives

It may surprise you to know that there are a limited number of alternatives in which to answer the questions confronting us. We are sometimes led to believe there are as many views about life, reality, and God as the stars in the sky. The truth of the matter is there are surprisingly few. The reason there appears to be such a large number of views is due to the variations of similar views. Nevertheless, while there is a limited number of views about reality, the meaning of life, and the existence of God, opinions abound everywhere and are often repeated. James Sire points this out and says, “The fact is that while worldviews at first appear to proliferate, they are made up of answers to questions that have only a limited number of answers” (Sire, The Universe Next Door, p. 243).

My goal in this website is to attempt to present a slightly over-simplistic view of the alternatives. I have attempted to narrow the views to a very short list of seven.

     Naturalism
     Secular Humanism
     Religions
     Postmodernism
     Truth Divided
     And One More...(some predominate views against the Bible)
     Christianity

On the down side, I am possibly overstating the simplicity of this matter. Yet my opinion is that the various views can be understood as being more similar than different—again, this is a simplistic view, but, accurate I believe. For those inclined to read further and understand this subject more extensively, I recommend works authored by James Sire, Nancy Pearcey, Donald Grey Barnhouse, Norman Geisler, and others, who provide a more capable and in-depth explanation about worldviews. Some of those sources can be found at my primary citation and resources page.

Just to be clear, here is a more extensive list of worldviews and philosophical thinking (sources of authority as I term them). Our society often describes them as the -isms of the world. These are in no particular order.

     Darwinism (Evolutionary Theory)
     Atheism
     Postmodernism
     Modernism
     Naturalism
     Secular Humanism
     Moral Relativism
     Marxism
     Scientific Materialism
     Material Humanism
     Socialism
     Unorthodox Christian beliefs
     New Age/Polytheism
     Rationalism
     Determinism
     Moral relativism
     Humanism
     Nihilism
     Religions of many types

These –isms may appear to be innocuous, but the opposite is the case. Actually, few things could be further from the truth. These views dominate the philosophical landscape, and subsequently people's thinking, in ways that are difficult to appreciate. The propagation of these views plays out in every corner of society and exerts a tremendous influence on American culture from the highest level down to the individual life.

And finally, it is not enough to list and explain these various views, I also provide a general perspective on the Bible’s accusations against those who point people to alternatives that advocate a distorted view of truth and away from the Scripture's declarations. These voices place stones in the path of life that cause people to stumble at the truth and their perspective of reality. I have appropriately titled the discussion, Behind the Scenes—the Suppressors of Truth.

Let's continue by mentioning how our choice of information influences our thinking.