I recently learned that a poll in Iceland revealed that no young person - NONE, ZERO - actually believed that God created the universe. That is, every young that participated in this poll had a 100% naturalistic world view. They do NOT believe in the supernatural, and thus they live life based on their own individualized life stance.
What is a world view and what is a life stance? They are related concepts that define reality for a person.
A world view is more comprehensive - how do you see world - what makes life work? Where did we come from? Who makes the rules? What is your fundamental view of reality; a framework for viewing reality that encompasses the entirety of space, time, knowledge and truth.
A life stance is more about how the individual relates to others and the world around them in light of their view of reality. It deals more with values, ethics, and ones commitment to aligning oneself with and holding on to what is important within their view of reality. A life stance defines ones commitment to living and even dying for what they believe.
As a Christian, I have a world view that accepts as fact that God created the heavens and the earth based on philosophical, historical, and theological evidence, (I could not accept this view without evidence). My life stance, says that I am committed to the observable and existential functional ethics, morals and values that are derived from such a world view. These ethics, morals, values and truths are revealed in the Christian sacred text, specifically the New Testament as the teachings of Jesus Christ and his hand-picked apostles,
According to a recent Washington Post article, Iceland is moving toward a completely atheistic, 100% naturalistic world view - a view of reality that says there is absolutely no God. The idea of a God, then would be mythology, in the same category as Zeus, Hera and Poseidon. In fact, on January 15, my friend Jerry Coyne (I don't know him personally, but I get his blog report and on rare occasion, I will comment on it. Once, he actually referenced my comments and I think we exchanged email, but I don't remember), a Biology professor from the University of Chicago, stated that the research behind this article shows that Iceland "to be on its way to complete atheism".
The research is solid and the transition in Iceland to becoming primarily an atheist country is clear. The Icelandic Ethical Humanist Association (IEHA) is doing a phenomenal job of teaching an ethical and moral framework to the youth without the need for the supernatural historically or in the present. IEHA provides training as coming of age programs that effectively teach young people how to be contributing members to society, appropriately adhering to laws, rules, and cultural values and changing them when needed by practicing critical thinking and appropriate skepticism. They also provide officiates for weddings, funerals, and special family dedications! It's a spirituality that celebrates the human spirit without acknowledging the existence of God! It's brilliant, awesome and the approach is definitely working. I am impressed and I mean it.
Yet, when you strip away the scientific jargon, the data, the statistics, and the derived value system used to teach ethics without a transcendent and personal creator of the Universe, what do you really have? I am certain that Coyne, Dawkins, Shermer and many others will tell you that ethics and morals are invented by mankind - a necessary derivative of evolution by natural selection, and thus, have no value in determining right from wrong or good from evil in any absolute or transcendent sense. I'm sure this is oversimplified and men smarter than I am, including Coyne, can add clarity to this idea, but at the end of the day, if we evolved,then moral relativistic cultures, values, laws and norms are the only way human beings can create a cooperative (i.e. civil) society. Even so, from my specific world view, what IEHA has accomplished in Iceland falls in line with what is implied in 2 Corinthians 2:11 and Colossians 2:4,8.
What is your world view? What is your life stance? I have followed the arguments and my current conclusion is solid. Yet, I am a skeptic by nature and always trying to learn more. I am convinced that the teachings of Jesus Christ and his hand-picked apostles are the best and, existentially, most logically livable framework on which to build ones life. But more than that, I am convinced that it is true and what is recorded in the Christian sacred text reflect what actually happened in history and what is, in actually, the ultimate reality.
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