Naturalism and panic

I'm not panicking because my worldview is not limited to Naturalism. COVID-19, bushfires, climate change, etc. merely remind me of our mortality, and the bigger view of life. But Naturalism, which dominates Western public discourse - news and entertainment media, social media, politics, law - across Australia, NZ, USA, UK and Western Europe, has no bigger perspective. As such it's a worldview that generates the very fear, depression, and hostility we see with every reminder of how fragile we are. 

Naturalism in a nutshell: 

• God is sidelined as an invalid reference point 
• Humans will progress by ourselves 
• (Naturalistic) 'Science’ will save us. 
• Nothing outside the physical world is relevant. 

​No wonder they panic when death comes near! 

Naturalism is both shallow and brittle.
It's shallow because it rules out other dimensions, and disregards all non-physical phenomena observed. 

• All the following are ignored: angels, demons, being Spirit-filled, The Presence, dreams, guidance, Illuminated Word, After Death Experiences, healings, resurrections, answers to prayer, transformed lives, fruits of the Spirit. 
• Sometimes an attempt is made to explain spiritual phenomena in naturalistic terms, but these attempts generally lack proof in a manner worse than other dimensional explanations. (I'm not referring to times when physical phenomena are mistaken for spiritual, but when the phenomena are actually spiritual.) 
• It is closed-minded to rule out other-dimensional options before examining whether the evidence actually points there. "First rule of investigating: do not have a presupposition that keeps you from investigating."  
• To justify this reductionism naturalists invoke 'the scientific method’ (ie. that non-physical explanations should not be invoked to explain physical processes) as an article of faith implying all life is only physical. But the scientific method is by definition limited to the physical. So applying ’scientific method' to non-physical subjects will always create a false reading because it irrationally demands that "non-physical explanations should not be invoked even to explain the non-physical”! Well what should?! Examining phenomena outside the scope of naturalism is outside the scope of the scientific method. 
• It is less scientific (in the broader sense of ‘knowledge’) to consider fewer hypotheses. Naturalism prevents us from considering explanations beyond the physical. That's shallow. 

It is brittle because when disaster strikes, as it inevitably does, the meta-narrative quickly escalates to dread fear and panic. Consider HIV, SARS, COVID-19, 911, ISIS, droughts, bushfires, floods, earthquakes, climate change. Even merely the death of celebrities in their prime, from Elvis, to Princess Diana, Steve Irwin, Kobe Bryant. When confronted with mortality, the public discourse is inconsolably shocked, as if our whole existence is in danger of collapse. 

• When all you have is this natural life, to be reminded of death is to be reminded of oblivion. The naturalistic narrative has no higher perspective from which to evaluate mortality. No afterlife, no hope - except for the species in general which is little consolation for the individual. No individual escapes death, and then all is lost (so they believe.) 
• Fear of death spikes the flight or fight instinct. 
• Flight causes irrational stock-piling of toilet-paper, cancelling travel, economic collapse.
  [Or perhaps denial: "She'll be right, I wont take any precautions..."]
• Fight blames scapegoats - those gays, those Christians, those migrants, those terrorists, those [insert-race-here] 
• Further, with no higher reference point for moral conduct outside each individual’s own self-centered view, we splinter into tribes (of people who agree with us), and the law of the jungle ensues, as Darwinism approves according to the naturalistic worldview. 
• Living without hope in such a fragile and dangerous world wears one down - no wonder anxiety and depression are epidemic! 

In contrast the Biblical meta-narrative is deep and robust. 
Don’t be put off by the shallow dismissals on public broadcast. Examine the Bible properly without prejudice against spirituality, and you’ll see why it stands the test of time as uniquely reliable revelation from The Creator to us. Unique because no other volume or corpus of texts has anything close to the following qualities: Reliable because the archeological and manuscript historical evidence is peerless concerning the Bible's preserved transmission from eye-witnesses to us. Revelation from God, because the over-arching Saviour-centred story is uniquely coherent and comprehensive, despite the diversity of 40 contributing authors across at least a 1600 year period. Plus it contains hundreds, even thousands of specific prophecies, many of which were fulfilled in later parts of the Bible, some of which are yet to be fulfilled in the yet to be completed parts of the History. Plus it claims to contain, and be, God’s word around 3000 times. Plus the meta-narrative combines with the readers’ realities to change lives for the better, right up to the present day. (I mean people can relate with the God of the Bible in the present!)

The Biblical meta-narrative is deep in that it accepts other-dimensional realities and interacts meaningfully and substantially with them.

• The spiritual and relational phenomena in the Bible accord with phenomena experienced in the present day. It matches the fullness of reality as we know it by including other dimensions. 

• God-fearers can and do use 'the scientific method’ just as effectively as naturalists may. They just use it within its limits. That's why operational sciences (which came from Christian presuppositions that creation would be orderly) continue to be done well by Christians today. 
• ’Science’ (in the broader sense of ‘knowledge’) is better served by 1) clarity about the limits of naturalism, and 2) by also considering non-physical explanations for the non-physical, and even for the physical too! 

It's robust because when disaster strikes, the Biblical meta-narrative has a bigger perspective from which to assess reality. 

• There are reasonable explanations for disaster, pain and suffering. Loss doesn't take us by surprise. Both gloomy and hopeful prospects for the future are reasonably expected. There are firm foundations for hope in the face of personal death. Far from oblivion, death is a doorway. 
• That's why we don't panic. We don’t react to death with abject fear, but with faith, hope, and love (for God and for our fellow humans). We appreciate the reminder of mortality, we come closer to God (through Christ). We can face the harsh realities head on. 
• Then as part of our mandate to care for the planet, we can work calmly for sensible solutions.
• Our Creator provides the higher reference point for our moral code and conduct. And this true north for our compass has worked reliably throughout history: when we do life God's way, it works better. When we abandon God's way, life goes to custard. So it has been generation after generation. 
• This Creator God is truly multi-cultural. It brings us together as one race under God, albeit with many cultural varieties. This makes us work for each other’s good. So yes we also try to help everyone see that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself - 2Corinthians 5. 
• Well-founded hope; a steady, positive reference-point; and the personal and communal relationship we have with the Creator through Christ's Spirit in us; enable us to live with perspective and positivity even under personal mortal threat. 

Naturalism is a shallow and brittle worldview that discords with reality, and fragments society. 
The Bible gives a deep and robust worldview that accords with reality, and unifies humanity under God. 

Our public discourse needs to break out of its shallow, brittle naturalistic worldview. Otherwise it will keep covering up the BIG Story that these apocalyptic events are meant to uncover for us:
- that we are mortal, sin/self/satanic forces are bad, we need a Saviour. Leaving God was not progress.
- and that we need to turn back, trust in, & tune in to the Creator, accept his salvation now and forever. In this true, deep and robust worldview, fear subsides, and we can live in courage & faith. 

​​That’s why with all these fires, viruses, climate change... I'm neither panicking nor in denial. I know what to think when reminded of my mortality. Not only the creation, but we who have the first fruits of the Spirit also groan inwardly as we eagerly await our adoption, the redemption of our bodies. For we were saved with this hope in mind - Romans 8. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom - Proverbs 9. 

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