Ideological And Philosophical Terms Christians Should Know
The following terms are words that Christians need to know and understand. Almost all of them speak to the belief there is no God or a human centered worldview. A few do not and are compatible with Christianity. Many Christians do not understand what communism is or its verifying factors. So learn the definitions of the words and try to understand. Not all atheists are communists, but all communists should be atheists even though there is a contradictory trend of “christians” claiming it. Not all humanists are atheists, but all atheists are humanists, but both atheists and humanists hate religion (even though early humanists claimed they were a religion). All the definitions are a mix and match of concepts that may or may not consist of the entire definition of current people following such beliefs. There may be 2 separate definitions for the same term, yet it is not hard to understand which is which. They are all from dictionary.com. I list them in no particular order. Just skim over it and read the definitions.
There are a lot of “isms” thrown around in social, political, and worldview discussions. The only 4 I believe could be considered biblical and give freedom to men are capitalism, nationalism, republicanism, and individualism when practiced with Christian morality of course. Even though many cultures exist, it is impossible to have a nation with a set of values that identify it if there is an emphasis on forcing multiculturalism. It is a way to mask absolute truth and promote a liberal view of morality and religion. Cultures and customs are one thing, but when it comes to a cultures morality and theology it gets difficult. The influx of Islam in many western nations is an obvious sign that multiculturalism is not a good thing. The national identity will be lost and its values and culture covered up. The United States is suffering from multiculturalism as well and our nation is failing because we gave up our Christian heritage. Globalism is also bad. Yes caring about other nations is good, and having an eye out for the earth to preserve resources and nature; but allowing the world to dictate your nations values, rules, regulations, culture, and religion is not, and that is the goal is globalism. It rejects a nations sovereignty and make everyone a citizen of the world. It has the goal is creating a one world government and one world culture and it will be a humanistic philosophy. The Bible teaches that individual nations should exist. Even in Ezekiel when it talks about the reign of Christ on earth it mentions other nations still existing who will come and honor Christ in Israel.
The rest are pretty much godless views that are anti-christian in nature and vehemently opposed to the Bible’s teachings. They are man’s idolization and promotion of human transcendence over any God and their own take on how a “perfect” society should be in thought and practice. The results of such thinking are pretty much worldwide misery and destruction and bondage to the elite few who will dictate to the world every aspect of their lives. It will be a dystopian future ready for the Antichrist. Even anarchy in its philosophical form makes no sense since humans will not freely cooperate with one another unless someone makes them. So anarchy is self refuting. It would be short lived.
Terms to know:
HUMANISM: The denial of any power or moral value superior to that of humanity; the rejection of religion in favor of a belief in the advancement of humanity by its own efforts. A variety of ethical theory and practice that emphasizes reason, scientific inquiry, and human fulfillment in the natural world and often rejects the importance of belief in God.
SECULARISM: A doctrine that morality should be based on the well-being of man in the present life, without regard to religious belief or a hereafter. A secular spirit or tendency, especially a system of political or social philosophy that rejects all forms of religious faith and worship. The view that public education and other matters of civil policy should be conducted without the introduction of a religious element.
*Put them together and it is SECULAR HUMANISM*
MATERIALISM: The philosophical theory that regards matter and its motions as constituting the universe, and all phenomena, including those of mind, as due to material agencies. Preoccupation with or emphasis on material objects, comforts, and considerations, with a disinterest in or rejection of spiritual, intellectual, or cultural values. The monist doctrine that matter is the only reality and that the mind, the emotions,etc, are merely functions of it. The rejection of any religious or supernatural account of things. Philosophy that nothing exists except matter.
NATURALISM: The view of the world that takes account only of natural elements and forces, excluding the supernatural or spiritual. The belief that all phenomena are covered by laws of science and that all teleological (of or relating to teleology, the philosophical doctrine that final causes, design, and purpose exist in nature) explanations are therefore without value. The belief that all religious truth is based not on revelation but rather on the study of natural causes and processes.
MORALISM: The practice of morality, as distinct from religion. The practice of moral principles without reference to religion.
IDEALISM: The cherishing or pursuit of high or noble principles, purposes, goals, etc. Any system or theory that maintains that “the real” is of the nature of thought or that the object of external perception consists of ideas. The tendency to represent things in an ideal form, or as they might or should be rather than as they are, with emphasis on values. Philosophical doctrines that share the monistic view that material objects and the external world do not exist in reality independently of the human mind but are variously creations of the mind or constructs of ideas.
REALISM: The tendency to view or represent things as they really are. The doctrine that universals have a real objective existence. The doctrine that objects of sense perception have an existence independent of the act of perception. That things exist despite not perceiving them or knowing about them. They exist outside of the mind.
MONISM: The doctrine that the person consists of only a single substance, or that there is no crucial difference between mental and physical events or properties.
DUALISM: The doctrine, as opposed to idealism and materialism, that reality consists of two basic types of substance usually taken to be mind and matter or two basic types of entity, mental and physical. The theory that the universe has been ruled from its origins by two conflicting powers, one good and one evil, both existing as equally ultimate first cause. The theory that there are two personalities, one human and one divine, in Christ.
RELATIVISM: Any theory holding that criteria of judgment are relative, varying with individuals and their environments. any theory holding that truth or moral or aesthetic value, etc, is not universal or absolute but may differ between individuals or cultures. The doctrine that no ideas or beliefs are universally true but that all are, instead, “relative” — that is, their validity depends on the circumstances in which they are applied.
GLOBALISM: The attitude or policy of placing the interests of the entire world above those of individual nations.
NATIONALISM: Devotion and loyalty to one’s own country;patriotism. The desire for national advancement or political independence. The policy or doctrine of asserting the interests of one’s own nation viewed as separate from the interests of other nations or the common interests of all nations.
STATISM: The principle or policy of concentrating extensive economic, political, and related controls in the state at the cost of individual liberty. The theory or practice of concentrating economic and political power in the state, resulting in a weak position for the individual or community with respect to the government.
ANARCHISM: A doctrine advocating the abolition of government. A doctrine urging the abolition of government or governmental restraint as the indispensable condition for full social and political liberty. The belief that all existing governmental authority should be abolished and replaced by free cooperation among individuals.
UNIVERSALISM: (Social Welfare) The principle that welfare services should be available to all by right, according to need, and not restricted by individual ability to pay, but funded by general contributions through taxes, rates, or national insurance payments. A system of religious beliefs maintaining that all men are predestined for salvation.
MULTICULTURALISM: The preservation of different cultures or cultural identities within a unified society, as a state or nation.
MARXISM: The system of economic and political thought developed by Karl Marx, along with Friedrich Engels, especially the doctrine that the state throughout history has been a device for the exploitation of the masses by a dominant class, that class struggle has been the main agency of historical change, and that the capitalist system, containing from the first the seeds of its own decay, will inevitably, after the period of the dictatorship of the proletariat (the class of workers, especially industrial wage earners, who do not possess capital or property and must sell their labor to survive), be superseded by a socialist order and a classless society. Actions and human institutions are economically determined, that the class struggle is the basic agency of historical change, and that capitalism will ultimately be superseded by communism.
COMMUNISM: A political movement based upon the writings of Marx that considers history in terms of class conflict and revolutionary struggle, resulting eventually in the victory of the proletariat and the establishment of a socialist order based on public ownership of the means of production. A theory or system of social organization based on the holding of all property in common, actual ownership being ascribed to the community as a whole or to the state. A system of social organization in which all economic and social activity is controlled by a totalitarian state dominated by a single and self-perpetuating political party. Advocacy of a classless society in which private ownership has been abolished and the means of production and subsistence belong to the community.
LENINISM: The form of Communism as taught by Lenin, with emphasis on the dictatorship of the proletariat. A dedicated group of intellectuals had to spearhead the revolution into communism and serve as leaders of the state.
STALINISM: The principles of communism associated with Joseph Stalin, characterized especially by the extreme suppression of dissident political or ideological views, the concentration of power in one person, and an aggressive international policy. The theory and form of government associated with Stalin: a variant of Marxism-Leninism characterized by totalitarianism, rigid bureaucracy, and loyalty to the state. Emphasizes the repression of all dissent, often by brutal means; a rigid adherence to government management of economic life; and the domination of all communist movements worldwide by the Soviet Union.
SOCIALISM: A theory or system of social organization that advocates the vesting of the ownership and control of the means of production and distribution, of capital, land, etc., in the community as a whole. The stage following capitalism in the transition of a society to communism, characterized by the imperfect implementation of collectivist principles. An economic theory or system in which the means of production, distribution, and exchange are owned by the community collectively, usually through the state. It is characterized by production for use rather than profit, by equality of individual wealth, by the absence of competitive economic activity, and, usually, by government determination of investment, prices, and production levels.
MAOISM: Marxism-Leninism as interpreted by Mao Tse-tung: distinguished by its theory of guerrilla warfare and its emphasis on the revolutionary potential of the peasantry. The doctrines of Mao Zedong, most notably the doctrine that a continuous revolution is necessary if the leaders of a communist state are to be kept in touch with the people. Chinese communism of the People’s Republic of China.
TOTALITARIANISM: Absolute control by the state or a governing branch of a highly centralized institution. The character or quality of an autocratic or authoritarian individual, group, or government. Domination by a government of all political, social, and economic activities in a nation.
AUTHORITARIANISM: Of or relating to a governmental or political system, principle, or practice in which individual freedom is held as completely subordinate to the power or authority of the state, centered either in one person or a small group that is not constitutionally accountable to the people. Exercising complete or almost complete control over the will of another or of others.
CAPITALISM: An economic system in which investment in and ownership of the means of production, distribution, and exchange of wealth is made and maintained chiefly by private individuals or corporations, especially as contrasted to cooperatively or state-owned means of wealth.
REPUBLICANISM: Republican form of government. A state in which the supreme power rests in the body of citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by representatives chosen directly or indirectly by them.
COLLECTIVISM: The political principle of centralized social and economic control, especially of all means of production.
INDIVIDUALISM: A social theory advocating the liberty, rights, or independent action of the individual. The principle or habit of or belief in independent thought or action.
UTOPIANISM: The views or habit of mind of a utopian; impracticable schemes of political or social reform. Of or relating to a perfect or ideal existence founded upon or involving idealized perfection. Given to impractical or unrealistic schemes of such perfection.
NIHILISM: Total rejection of established laws and institutions. Anarchy, terrorism, or other revolutionary activity. An extreme form of skepticism: the denial of all real existence or the possibility of an objective basis for truth. Nothingness or nonexistence. Annihilation of the self, or the individual consciousness, especially as an aspect of mystical experience.
SKEPTICISM: Doubt or unbelief with regard to a religion, especially Christianity. The doctrines or opinions of philosophical Skeptics; universal doubt. The position that what cannot be proved by reason should not be believed. In its extreme form, that no knowledge is possible.
ATHEISM: The doctrine or belief that there is no God. Disbelief in the existence of a supreme being or beings. Rejection of belief in God or gods.
AGNOSTICISM: An intellectual doctrine or attitude affirming the uncertainty of all claims to ultimate knowledge. A denial of knowledge about whether there is or is not a God. The impossibility to prove that there is no God and impossible to prove that there is one.
Ehud's 18 Inch Dagger 