Sunday, August 10, 2008

The fifth (copout) worldview

In the previous post on worldviews I listed the four fundamental worldviews, namely theism, deism, pantheism and atheism.

I also mentioned that we have no definite proof for which one is true – although there are some very good reasons to assume one over the other.

Following from this, there is a fifth worldview position, namely Agnosticism, i.e. the belief that one cannot know whether God exists or not, or the belief that one cannot be certain what to believe.

Unfortunately the agnostic copout is not a sustainable position to take for at least two reasons.

Firstly the agnostic standpoint is self-refuting. When one believes that everything is unknowable, that is in itself a certainty. It is knowable that everything is unknowable; thus self-refuting.

Secondly, all our actions (and reactions) stem from one worldview or another. An agnostic can be agnostic in theory, but never in practise.

If you wants to be an active member of society, or an active partaker in your own life, you need to think carefully about the worldview you choose. And in the end, it is a choice, and every choice has consequences. For instance, your worldview will influence your morality, vocation, etc.

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