New Spirituality
a worldview that believes in the monomyth; is pantheistic and believes that we need to connect to a collective consciousness (the universe) to achieve our full potential; disagrees with materialism; the theory of evolution frees humanity from the idea that we are all sinful; quantum physics affirms this worldview; the world we see is not all there is;. associated with astrology, firewalking, aura readings, and crystal therapy
New Spirituality’s View of Reality
reality is eternal, reality is impersonal, reality is divine
Contributions to the New Spirituality Worldview
eastern religion, pop psychology, self-help teaching
Law of Attraction
Good thoughts produce good energy and negative thoughts produce negative energy
Meditation
the art of focusing one’s mind to induce a higher state of consciousness; freedom from the Illusion of Self can be attained from practicing this as well as yoga
Goal of Reincarnation
To be cleansed from our karmic debt, to reconnect with consciousness, to rid ourselves of individualism
Deep ecology
the environmental philosophy that contends that all living creatures should have legal rights
Ecofeminism
the political philosophy that links the oppression of women and the exploitation of the environment
Bhagavad Gita
the ancient Hindu text that chronicles the conversations between Arjuna and Krishna; the primary source of special revelation for New Spiritualists
Enlightenment
New Spiritualist belief that we can permanently free ourselves from the illusion of self when this is achieved; we can transcend the limitations of our physical existence by connecting with a higher consciousness
Transcendentalism
movement from the early 1800s that believed in the inherent goodness of people and the immanence of the divine within nature
Consciousness
the divine interconnected essence of reality and our ultimate nature as human beings; an energy that we can connect to, harness, and use; New Spiritualists believe attaining it is our life’s purpose and ignorance of it is the source of suffering
Pantheism
the belief that everything is god
Reincarnation
is the process by which the body passes away but the soul continues its quest for enlightenment in another form
Karmic Debt
the belief that good is returned to those who do good, and evil is returned to those who do evil; karma encourages people to be ignorant toward those who are suffering; the chief among our karmic failings is seeing ourselves as finite individuals
Nirvana
the transcendental state of peace that comes through the release of suffering, self, and karmic bondage
Gaia Hypothesis
the theory that all living organisms form a collective self-regulating living entity
Channeling
the practice of communicating with disembodied spirits
The monomyth
all religions basically tell the same story
god of New Spirituality
everything and everyone is god; god is not a separate person with identifiable attributes, it is an energy; receive our god-likeness through meditation, manifestation, yoga, etc; the better we understand consciousness, the clearer our divinity becomes
Postmodernism
believes that truth and humans are socially constructed and that language functions as a tool of power and manipulation to oppress others; doubts the objectivity of everything; our gender, culture, and language affect how we see the world; truth cannot be known and we do not have direct access to reality; the problems with humanity is our adherence to metanarratives; all worldviews offer biased truth claims; things do not have essences; human nature does not exist
Friederich Nietzsche
pronounced “God is dead;” predicted that once we killed our belief in God, all truth, meaning, and morality will cease to exist
Where Christians and Postmodernists Agree
our cultures play a role in shaping who we are, our experiences contribute to who we are, language can be used to manipulate people
Where Christians and Postmodernists Disagree
Postmodernists say we cannot judge between competing ideas, we cannot perceive reality as it actually is, all language is manipulation
Deconstruction
states that the reader’s interpretation is more important than the author’s intent; there is no meaning in the text
Postmodernist Literary Criticism
claims that words cannot accurately describe objects in the world; words are about words
Modernism
characterized by a strong belief in human reason, empiricism, science, and technological progress as well as skepticism toward religion
Nihlism
the belief that the world and human existence are without meaning, purpose, truth, or essential value
Sophists
a group of people who practiced constructing persuasive arguments, regardless of whether or not they were true
Structuralism
an intellectual movement that believes human knowledge is not based on an accurate understanding of reality, but is the product of linguistically constructed forms or grammars that societies have developed over time
Post-Structuralism
an intellectual movement that contends human communication is not really about things but about the views and motivations of those involved in the conversation
Deconstruction
is a method of literary analysis that seeks to expose the underlying ideologies of a text
Jean-Francis Lyotard
described Postmodernism as an “incredulity toward metanarratives”
Anti-Realism
the denial of the existence or accessibility of an objective reality
Pragmatism
contends that propositions don’t mirror reality and should therefore be treated as tools and judged by their practical consequences; views words as tools for getting others to behave in a manner one deems preferable
Postmodernist-Christianity
hybrid worldview that teaches that since we are fallen and limited, we should demonstrate Christian humility by refusing to make exclusive truth claims
Marxism and Postmodernism
many Postmodernists start as Marxist, but see the violence and oppression it brings about and begin to disagree with it. They believe it puts too much power into the people in charge and is too focused on the group rather than the individual. Believe Postmodernism is the perfect balance of having some Marxist ideas, but not using violence or oppression to put certain people in power
Buddhism and Postmodernism
Postmodernism and middle-way Buddhism share a similar view of truth
Morality
a personal standard of determining right and wrong
Teleological Ethics
an ethical system that judges morality by the consequences of the actions
Deontological Ethics
an ethical system that judges morality based upon some principal of duty
Hedonism
the belief that we ought to do whatever maximizes our personal pleasure
Ethical Egoism
the belief that we ought to do whatever is in our own best interest
Scientism
the philosophical belief that reliable knowledge is obtained solely through the scientific method
Situational Ethics
the belief that the morality of an action is determined by the unique situation of that action
Luke 10:27; The Most Important Law
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself”
Romans 12:9
“Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.”
Sermon on the Mount
Matthew 5-7; the apex of Christ’s ethical teaching
Ethics
the study of morals and how different moral beliefs come to be
Moral Relativism
the belief that there are no absolute moral laws or a moral lawgiver and that individuals can decide what is right and wrong for them
Utilitarianism
the ethical belief that whatever is good is whatever benefits the largest amount of people
Proletariat Morality
believes that whatever advances the Proletariat is moral and anything else is immoral
Cultural Relativism
believes that morals are specific to each individual culture
Karma
karma is the belief that whatever good or bad actions you take will follow you in this life or the next and you will either receive good things or punishment
Divine Command Theory
includes the claim that morality is ultimately based on the commands or character of God, and that the morally right action is the one that God commands or requires
Agape
unconditional love shown by God. Christians show agape love by serving others spiritually and physically
Universally Condemned Acts
murder, lying, and adultery
Secularist Ethics
Human beings make ethical rules; completely naturalistic explanation for ethics; ethical impulses emerge from nature; view science as the primary guide for forming a workable ethical outlook
Marxist Ethics
religion and capitalism are immoral; the ends justify the means so violent revolution is encouraged;
Postmodernist Ethics
suspicious of revelation, reason, and absolutes; rejects the notion of universal moral norms
Muslim Ethics
derives their ethics from Quran and Hadith; no divisions of ethics and law; Allan is not directly knowable, though his decrees are fully revealed through the actions of Muhammad
New Spiritualist Ethics
the source for morality is found within ourselves; Buddhism and Hinduism recognize that at least some actions are objectively wrong
Christian Ethics
moral norms proceed from God’s nature; task is to determine what conforms to God’s character and what does not; common ethical systems among vastly different cultures is evidence of a universal law and universal lawgiver; loving God means serving others both spiritually and physically