First Error of Modernism: Relativity of Knowledge and the philosophy of Empiricism
- From: "ordoteutonicus.inhocsignovinces@xxxxxxxxx" <ordoteutonicus.inhocsignovinces@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 17 Aug 2008 00:58:24 -0700 (PDT)
Relativity is indeed the stillborn child of modern skepticism. It is
a distinct worldview that claims that no man can be sure his worldview
is absolutely correct because no worldview is absolutely correct. The
relativist believes that there is no eternal, absolute truth; he
believes that all opinions and propositions given are in fact only
true in relation to the adherent of the view. For example, a
relativist might say that the belief in God is true for some people
(because of their internal convictions, sociological upbringing, and
psychological conditioning) but not true for other people for similar
reasons. In effect, a pure relativist reduces facts to opinion rather
than outright defending or denying a proposition. He claims the only
absolute truth is that there is no absolute truth. It is a dangerous
error that leads to a lost sense of right and wrong, a conviction that
religious truth is unattainable, and ultimately leads to moral and
religious apathy. The end result of relativity is the deadly sin of
spiritual sloth.
The philosophy of relativity is a direct reaction to the skepticism of
the Enlightenment philosophers (such as David Hume). These
philosophers questioned all modes of knowledge and debated how it is
possible for a person to know anything (especially the role of faith
and divine knowledge). Skeptics often attempt to reduce epistemology
into one of two camps: empiricism, the belief that knowledge can be
attained only through the senses (the way of modern science), and
rationalism, the belief that reason is the ultimate starting point for
all knowledge.
Skepticism’s withering attack on epistemology has lead the masses to
believe that truth is impossible to attain. As a result, a generation
of Americans has appeared who no longer believe that anything can be
known for sure. In reaction to skepticism, the general public will
often take one of two solutions. One solution to this dilemma is to
abandon all hope in the existence of truth and embrace agnosticism.
The other more common reaction to skepticism is to adopt a pragmatic
empiricist philosophy that will only accept wisdom from the senses (by
way of science) that yield immediate workable results. Both reactions
have become embedded in mainstream America and have led to a gradual
deterioration of faith. A loss of faith occurs because empiricism
seeks to replace religious truths (both natural and revealed religion)
with materialistic science. Agnosticism is the end result of
relativism and is ultimately responsible for the public’s erroneous
perception of a battle between religion and science. Since the
adverse impact of agnosticism on religion is immediately obvious, this
article will treat only on the second solution to skepticism.
One effect of adopting pragmatic empiricism as a solution to
skepticism is the wholesale assault on rationalism and its subsequent
abandonment. The general public, who has unwittingly bought into the
epistemology of empiricism, is no longer aware that rationalism is an
avenue to truth. Nowhere is this more obvious then in the demand,
“Prove to me that God exists.” Unfortunately, no general answer can
be given to the satisfaction of the modernist because no empirical
evidence exists to prove God’s existence. God’s existence cannot be
seen with a telescope, microscope or any scientific instrument. No
one will ever see God as an old venerable man smiling down from the
clouds. For the modernist, this lack of physical evidence is enough
to discredit organized religion. The modernist, confronted by lack of
empirical evidence, will then either accept religious agnosticism or
reduce faith to the realm of emotion. Since God’s existence cannot be
proven, argues the skeptic, that must mean religion can only be
validated by “faith”. And what is faith for the modernist? Faith is
a “feeling”; an encounter with the spiritually sublime that is an
intimate private affair. Since God can only be known by this quasi-
faith, the modernist will reject the proposition that knowledge of God
is an absolute truth. God becomes a relative truth that cannot be
defined and pressed on others to believe. As a result, worship of God
deteriorates into a vague personal experience. Organized
religion’s demand that the community worship God in a public union
(such as at mass) begins to look silly and unnecessary to the
modernist. Dogma and religious doctrines become laughable.
Evangelization of non-believers looses all of its force and
credibility to the modernist. After all, why force your personal
“faith” on someone else, who has a right to believe what ever they
want to believe? It is this overzealous use of pragmatic empiricism
at the expense of rationalism that has strangled the life out of the
Catholic Church in Europe and now threatens to spill into America and
the rest of Western society. God is no longer our beloved creator and
redeemer: he is now an experience to be claimed by the spiritually
inclined.
A second effect of pragmatic skepticism is a declining sense of
morals. This occurs because pragmatism answers skepticism’s incessant
howl by declaring that knowledge is found by adopting whatever works.
On the surface, pragmatism seems like an ideal solution to
skepticism. When challenged to explain why we believe anything, the
pragmatist simply says, “I believe this because it works”. No other
justification is necessary. For example, science works so that must
mean it is true. An unfortunate byproduct of pragmatism and
empiricism is that it fails in application to rational questions such
as, “how should a man act to be morally good?” Pragmatism will often
answer this question by focusing on society at large. Pragmatic
empiricists will say that morals are defined by whatever allows
society to continue to exist and function properly. For example,
uncontrolled homicide would cause irreparable damage the social
structure; therefore homicide must be immoral. Unfortunately, many of
the Judeo-Christian morals suffer under application of pragmatic
morality. Sex is a good example. What are the effects of sexual
actions on society? Sex causes pregnancies, spreads disease, and
intensifies interpersonal relationships. Sex is also incredibly
pleasing for most people. The harm that sex does cause can seemingly
be controlled by birth-control, abortion, and medicine. As a result,
a modernist who adopts the pragmatic-empirical philosophy has little
moral justification for taming the sexual appetite of the individual.
Every type of perversion and moral incongruity can be justified as
long as it does not hurt anyone else in the process. The spread of
modernism explains why morals are decaying rapidly in the west.
Homosexuality, artificial birth-control, and abortion were once
unthinkable evils in the Christianized Western world. These practices
are now largely supported in the American Church and are thoroughly
impregnated throughout Europe. Lust is not the only vice that is
gaining public acceptance. Pride and avarice are rooted throughout the
business world. Since these vices work well on a financial level,
they are now tolerated by the masses. The twin forces of pragmatism
and human concupiscence discredit religious moral convictions. The
corrosion of morals is one of the fruits of the modernist reaction to
skepticism.
Adherents of modernism have commented that rationalism is the driving
force against religious belief. Ultimately, this is untrue because it
is the force of empiricist philosophy manifested in nominalism and
pragmatism that provides the bulwark of modernist human beliefs. The
evidence to support this hypothesis is manifest in the modern
deification of science. Science, a materialist access to knowledge,
is often touted as the only true way to rationally understand the
world. The use of the word “rational” in this statement is simply a
modernist synonym for intelligent. The definition of rational is
divorced from its true meaning: the access of knowledge through
reason. For a modernist, the only reasonable way to view the world
is thorough scientific empiricism; hence he calls his approach
reasonable and rational. In truth however, the modernist philosophy
is not rational; it is explicitly empirical.
The error of empiricism latent in the modernist heresy is troubling
because it attempts to cast religious belief as irrational (an ironic
twist of words) and unintelligent. The modernist reaction to
relativism manifested in empiricism seeks to discredit religion as a
fantasy at best and psychological delusion at its worst. The only
cure for the error of modernism is a healthy dose of rationalism. In
order to combat this error, a Catholic evangelist must first
understand that relativity has its place in matters of opinion; but
one must understand that not all propositions are matters of point of
view. Rational thought, manifested in philosophical proofs, is a
reflection of the truth in the world. The world is what it is; either
our various beliefs about it are right or they are wrong. Either
light exists or it doesn’t. There is no in-between; light doesn’t
exist for one person and not exist for another simply because one
person refuses to believe in it. If a Catholic can press the point on
the difficulties of relativism, the evangelist should be able to turn
the tide on empiricism as well. For if truth exists, surely our
rational thought process plays some role in finding that truth.
Rational proofs are a way to truth; provided they are logical and the
propositions true. It is imperative for a modern Christian’s
evangelization strategy to be familiar with the merits of unified
rational thought and empirical observation. Catholicism’s strength
has always been its utmost respect of the total human: both body and
soul. For the soul is manifest with rationalism and intelligence,
and the body with empirical materialism. It is this unity that must
drive our search for truth.
http://www.saintaquinas.com/modernism_error1.html
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