Paradigm Pondering - Why They Don't Believe

By Albert E. Hughes
3/7/2013
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)

We all grapple with this question: what evidence is available to lend credence to Christian Faith? To answer this question, we first have to identify the thought boundaries imposed by materialism and positivism.

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CORPUS CHRISTI, TX (Catholic Online) - Habits; good habits, bad habits; time saving habits, time wasting habits; life giving habits, deadly habits. Paradigms can be among the worst; habitual patterns of thought, half conscious assumptions which define "conventional wisdom" about nature and life. Paradigms act as mental filters, imposing perceived boundary conditions which often are unreal. They block critical thinking regarding belief in the spiritual world of the Creator and in His role as a personal Father.

Our secular culture is plagued by a quartet of philosophical paradigms: materialism, positivism, rationalism, and relativism. These "-isms" were born in the 18th century, culturally matured in the 19th and became endemic in the 20th century; they are deeply embedded in our minds today, limiting the way we think, placing boundaries that may not be real. None of us are totally immune. Unexamined, materialism and positivism may lead the unaware to conclude that there is no rational evidence, no basis to believe in unseen Spiritual existence. (Rationalism and relativism will be examined separately in two future articles.)

We all grapple with this question: what evidence is available to lend credence to Christian Faith? To answer this question, we first have to identify the thought boundaries imposed by materialism and positivism.

The first boundary of thought we impose on ourselves is to assume that physical matter is the fundamental reality (Materialism: the theory that physical matter is the only or fundamental reality. All being, processes and phenomena can be explained as manifestations or results of matter.) Nearly everyone operates on the assumption that matter is the fundamental reality. It works as an everyday practical matter. But we must examine that assumption (that paradigm.)

Well established, it is, that what we see is not what we get. What we perceive with all our senses are the effects of zillions of subatomic particles or forces or energy waves (usually defined by their energy states and attractions) buzzing around like bees at the hive. (Is it not true that when we name some "thing", all we do is label the perceived effects of unseen realities?) Matter transforms to energy in atomic reactions and energy transforms to matter in the explosive pressure cookers of the cosmos. All seems to be energy in one form or another. Seen any energy lately? Not effects of energy which we perceive, but energy, itself? I think not! Bottom line: so far, unseen energy beats matter for the status of fundamental reality!

Materialism is even more obstructive to the search for fundamental reality when coupled to its twin, the assumption that knowledge of reality must be verified by empirical science (positivism: the theory that theology and metaphysics are earlier imperfect modes of knowledge; that positive knowledge is based [only] on natural phenomena, their properties and relations as verified by the empirical sciences.)

With uncritical acceptance of the paradigm boundaries of materialism and positivism taken together, evidence of all realities must be verified by scientific methods. We never say that, but that is the result of our paradigm bound thinking.

Restrained by positivism, we assume real knowledge must be verified by scientific methods which require observable and repeatable evidence so that independent scientists can repeat the same experiments and arrive at the same conclusions; a consensus regarding some aspect of reality. That approach has been quite successful in advancing our understanding of the physical (created) world, but empirical science is not up to the search for a spiritual, Creator world. (Empirical: capable of being verified or disproven by observation or experiment.) Who can "observe or experiment" on Spirit? Who can verify or discount a world of Spirit with observable and repeatable experimentation?

Positivism finesses evidence of an unseen/ un-seeable Creator existing beyond time, space, matter and energy, dwelling only on evidence from the created, which cannot satisfy. So! Many question the reality of unseen Spirit, but let's be fair! If unseen energy is detected only by its effects, should we not try to detect unseen Spirit by its (His?) effects?!

There is a different type of evidence revealing effects of the unseen spiritual world of Christian Faith: anecdotal accounts of non-repeatable individual observation and experience. But we tend to dismiss this type of evidence; it is outside of our paradigm boundaries: it cannot be observed, repeated and experimented upon.

Personal, non-repeatable experiences rendered in anecdotal accounts are evidence; (such accounts certainly are ...

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1 - 5 of 5 Comments

Edward Q. Guerrero
2 months ago
THE WORD WAS MADE FLESH
Quoting Col. Hughes: "We all grapple with this question: what evidence is available to lend credence to Christian Faith?" Yes, I personally found myself a 'doubting Thomas' in my youth, but fortunately my selected career(s) helped me overcome the effects of the secular prone acceptance of "-isms" you write about; that has been recognized to eventually impede our Christian Faith. I remember wanting always to seek tangible evidence to affirm my faith. However, having chosen work that required use of common electrical energy on the devices to function helped me overcome my tendency to become a tepid Christian. Within the 60 years span that I worked with equipment using electricity, ranging from devices used on airborne navigational aids, radio communications, radio /Tv broadcasting and to my final years; industrial automation systems allowed me to learn what electrical physics properties was all about. Basically, the studies led to the knowledge of the Atom, especially the electron component of it, which is the discrete unit that generates the electrical energy when it is in motion. As I aged I gradually discovered that there are more components/elements to support our existence that are not visible. The infrastructure and all creatures (both human and non) that occupy our planet, are certainly have been put together by these invisible building blocks (the ATOM) that has been conjured by a Supreme Spiritual Being, possessing an non-measurable infinite intelligence. "The nature of atoms in philosophy varied considerably over time and between cultures and schools, and often had spiritual elements." - Wikipedia. God has given us these wonderful gifts- perhaps even these same building blocks were used in the conception of Christianity. When the Annunciation event took place, when a mere ordained WORD was said before our Blessed Mother Mary!
Col Hughes, thanking you and your colleagues/authors who write these interesting articles here on CatholicOnline. God Bless all of you!
Paul-Emile Leray
2 months ago
"The coincidence or convergence of independent probabilities which taken together amount to moral certainty?" (Rooted in the UnMoved Mover?) The Great Artist and his art? If out of nothing, nothing becomes; since existence exists, if the hand of The Great Artist is present in all art, then should we be so surprised? Coincidence? To the perception of some, but not to those who see through the eyes of faith. A very interesting article.
Paul-Emile Leray
Christine A Hickey
2 months ago
I so much appreciate your publication of this article. I plan to print a copy to send to my young niece, who is a biology/science scholar and is "stuck" in the first two paradigms of materialism and positivism. My prayer is that she may read and consider that there is more to reality than she believes at present, and seek that which is unseen and the true fullness of reality, our LORD.
Scott A.
2 months ago
Brilliant! Thank you for such a logical presentation!!!
Mathew Thankachen O.Praem
2 months ago
Congrats to Albert Hughes for your " scientific thinking" to encounter the " hitherto prevalent danger of materialism and positivism', a gigantic work you plan to undertake. Although I am not a science student, in my simple thinking, " if science can prove the substratum of every matter is energy", that is being experimented in CERN (Geneva), it would amount energy is the " source and origin of matter". This energy is life which animates the matter. So, no positivists can deny " energy, spirit" although imperceptible and intangible other than through matter. This will solve the riddle of " intellectual, rational denial of the world of spirit" ie. God and faith. In this way, God becomes a source of " energy, spirit", no matter whichever names the source is known as. But, it is energy, life, animating, warm, light. No wonder, even the Greek in their primitive belief found 'Zeus', the 'son god', the supreme among other gods. Heat and energy is life. cold and darkness is death. It's symbolic language is " sin and death". Christ symbolizes " light and life", the new Zeus. As a matter of fact, science in its ultimate analysis of matter only can " confirm" God and energy, not to deny itself. Today, the world conceives 'positivism and materialism' as ' negation' of God and spirit against the very origin and source of materialism and positivism as 'confirmation. As a matter of fact, the victory of science is the ' victory of man', the 'crown of creation' only but for the "glory of God". And so we find many scientist with great faith. The deeper the faith, the deeper the " insight"(Revelation) the backbone of hypothesis and scientific formulation.
Mathew Thankachen O.Praem

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