Monday, September 17, 2018

Sean McDowell on PANTHEISM / AWANAYM Advocates

Star Wars is one of the most successful film series in history.  As a kid, I remember the epic battles between Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader.  In fact today I enjoy bringing my own kids to the most recent Star Wars films.  The cinematography, the special effects, and storyline have captured generations.  Star Wars also introduced the West to the worldview known as pantheism. 
As we have seen naturalism is the worldview that says only physical things exist and there are no supernatural forces.  By contrast, pantheism is the worldview that says all is divine and there is no distinction between creator and creation.  Like naturalism, pantheism offers answers to our four big worldview questions. 
The first questions is, “What is real?”  In pantheism all is divine.  God is not a personal being who we know but is inseparable from the universe.  God is more like a cosmic energy that pervades all things.  This is like the force in Star Wars.  In essence, all is one. 
Our second questions is, “What is man?”  If god is one with the universe and all is divine then by necessity man is divine.  Man is god.  Pantheists will sometime refer to human beings as gods or goddesses in embryo.  So rather than see human beings as uniquely created in the image of God, but broken by sin, pantheists see human beings as essentially good and divine.
Our third worldview question is, “What happens at death?”  The goal in pantheism is to achieve enlightenment and to escape the cycle of reincarnation and this is accomplished through practices such as channeling, meditation, and yoga.  And then like a drop falling into a river, we achieve enlightenment and become absorbed into the oneness of the universe.
The fourth worldview question is “What is the basis for right and wrong?  Since on pantheism all is one, distinctions are ultimately artificial.  There is no distinction between creator and creation, between god and man, between right and wrong.  Morality is an illusion.  Since good and evil don’t exist, ultimately, morality is relative. 

Like naturalism, pantheism is nothing new. Some of the ideas we see in the Star Wars films have their roots in ancient eastern religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism.  In fact, Paul likely addressed some pantheists in his speech at Mars Hill as recorded in Acts chapter seventeen.  Pantheism is not new, but it is direct conflict and contrast with the Christian worldview.  The biggest question is can it adequately capture reality as we know it and experience it.

No comments:

Post a Comment