# The Christian values on axiology ## How do we find purpose? It's entirely possible to have a meaningless form of Christianity, though it's not recommended: - **Absurdism** is difficult to justify, since God designed the universe for us and it is literally *designed* to give us purposes. - **Nihilism** is also possible, but sabotages the implicit meaning of God's design. - **Fatalism**, in particular, is only possible with Christian doctrine if we see God's omniscience as taking away the value of our [agency](people-decisions.md). **Anthropomorphism** is acceptable, and in some ways *encouraged* by God (i.e., the Bible refers to God's "hands", God's pronoun is a "him/he"). To an extent, **egoism's descriptive aspects** (and both **cynicism** and **psychological egoism**) is true (i.e., our sin condition), but it can't be all-inclusive or there would be no hope for humanity's moral redemption. As a derivative of humanism, **Freudianism** is possible, but never directly addresses our moral condition correctly. **Hedonism** must be fundamentally true as a description of our pleasure-seeking design. ### The verdict on how we find purpose True - Hedonism Possible (or partial) - Anthropomorphism Possible (but difficult) - Absurdism - Egoism (outside of what God does) - Cynicism - Psychological egoism - Freudianism - Nihilism - Fatalism ## Where *should* we place our purposes? In Christianity, **amor fati** is all depending on perspective: - Knowing that God is ultimately in control should give us some degree of closure. - However, the value system goes too far when it minimizes the emotional realities of present hardships. **Anthropocentrism** is a fundamental belief of Christianity, with the idea that the universe is all designed for man's relationship with God. Christianity conforms to **immortalism**, even including nearly every doctrine of hell (since eternal destruction would mean never actually being destroyed). While **pragmatism** can exist, it doesn't serve as a greater place than what God wants. **Teleologism** can affect Christianity profoundly through the understanding that God designs everything *very* cleverly with a purpose. ### The verdict on where we should place our purposes True - Immortalism Possible (or partial) - Amor fati - Anthropocentrism (if it's about man's relationship with God, and not just man) - Pragmatism - Teleologism ## How should we gain knowledge? Since our [certainty](understanding-certainty.md) can never be complete (given our fallen state and God's commands to trust Him), the approach in Scripture to gaining knowledge is somewhat unimportant by comparison: - **Coherentism** and **foundationalism** are both fine, though good theology leans toward foundationalism. - However, in some ways, **functionalism** may have more merit, simply because it leans against reductive materialism and logical behaviorism. - **Critical rationalism** (along with **falsificationism**) has merit, since even science [science](science.md) can't fully validate our understanding. - However, **pancritical rationalism** goes too far, since it interferes with God's direct authority. - **Logical positivism** has some use, but could be regarded as a waste of time, and makes **comtism** is a *complete* waste of time. **Deism** can't work because the basis for knowledge comes *at least* partly through God's inspiration. **Experientialism** can be validated in some ways (e.g., [Luke 1:3-4](https://biblehub.com/luke/1.htm)). **Inductionism** has enough Scripture to indicate it's at least partly true (especially in [Proverbs](https://biblehub.com/proverbs/1.htm)), but it can't be complete. - **Inductivism** and **scientism** can't be true due to our fallen state affecting the scientific community. - **Psychologism** is likely untrue unless we define Scripture as a type of philosophical study. **Instrumentalism** has some degree of truth to it, simply because love is materially more important than truth. **Irrealism** doesn't work because it sits on the presumption of physicalism having value. **Kierkegaardianism** is possible, but takes a *lot* of work and requires being very smart. **Occamism (Occam's razor)** has a *ton* of use, and is often the role of most [church leadership](mgmt-church.md). - Further, many [modern churches](history-church.md) have proven **greedy reductionism**, *especially* on critical doctrinal issues. **Phenomenal conservatism** must necessarily be true regarding God, though it doesn't always extend to society (e.g., being "shrewd as serpents" in [Matthew 10:16](https://biblehub.com/matthew/10-16.htm)). **Skepticism** (and the domains of **postmodernism**, **probabiliorism**, **probabilism**, and **pyrrhonism**) is *very* difficult to harmonize with Christianity, since it alienates the general nature of God's design for the universe. Implicitly, Christians do believe a form of **structuralism** within [God's ultimate plans](https://theologos.site/god-sight/). Believing in absolute truth defies **subjectivism**, and by implication **post-structuralism**. **Syncretism** is a *very* common reality within Christianity, in many directions, with the most prevalent one being the base concept of being "[born again](https://theologos.site/gospel/)". ### The verdict on how we should gain knowledge True - Structuralism - Syncretism Possible (and useful) - Inductionism - Occam's razor - Greedy reductionism - Phenomenal conservatism (with respect to God) Possible (or partial) - Coherentism - Critical rationalism - Experientialism - Falsificationism - Foundationalism - Functionalism - Instrumentalism - Logical positivism Possible (but difficult) - Comtism - Kierkegaardianism - Phenomenal conservatism (with respect to anything *but* God) - Psychologism - Skepticism - Postmodernism - Probabiliorism - Probabilism - Pyrrhonism False - Deism - Pancritical rationalism - Inductivism - Irrealism - Scientism - Subjectivism - Post-structuralism ## What is the most moral thing to do (greatest good)? A relationship with Jesus is portrayed directly as a form of *very* personal **mysticism**. - *All* Christians convert by accepting a form of **defeatism** about our moral state. - To even acknowledge that defeatism, they must accept some level of **objectivism** (at least with how God sees it). - To follow Jesus is to accept a form of **altruism** (and **collectivism**, to some degree) as a directive on how to live. - The altruism in Christ also happens to be a *very* radical and specific form of **pacifism**. Some ideas are *possible*, but don't capture the spirit of Scripture: - **Antinatalism** (particularly with [leftward thinking](politics-leftism.md)) is possible, but difficult to validate in light of God's love for humanity (and desire for more people as a logical product of it). - **Antinominianism** is possible due to the scope of Jesus' sacrifice, but it misses Jesus' general directive to "go and sin no more" ([John 8:11](https://biblehub.com/john/8-11.htm)). - **Asceticism** is possible to conclude, though it has been taken too far (e.g., [1 Corinthians 8](https://biblehub.com/1_corinthians/8.htm)). The call to Christ has an implicit opposition to *all* **ethical egoism**. - To a lesser extent, it's *very* difficult to uphold **careerism**, **consumerism**, and **emotionalism**. Christianity *could* be classified as a type of **ethical hedonism**, with the joy derived from a relationship with God being the greatest good. - However, it can't be the highest end, which makes most implementations of **Epicureanism** far too extreme. - In a sense conformity to God's standards is a type of **utilitarianism**, though it requires justifying the calculation as being beyond our understanding. - Further, if the Body of Christ is a [new adoptive family](church-family.md), there is an aspect of **role ethics**. Since Christianity opposes naturalism, **humanistic naturalism** can't be consistent with it. The certainty of Scripture and God's commands makes **immoralism** impossible. Since God's divine inspiration is the best way to gain understanding, **intellectualism** is difficult to maintain without defining divine inspiration as part of our reasoning. Christianity has a type of **irrationalism** (through the understanding of divine inspiration), but doesn't go far enough that it completely dismisses the value of reasoning. Strong Christians often adopt a form of **perfectionism** (such as the idea of [spiritual gifts](spiritual-gifts.md)). Following Jesus requires a humble attitude driven toward love for others, so both **Randianism** and **Stoicism** are entirely *possible*, but difficult to harmonize. ### The verdict on the most moral thing to do True - Altruism - Defeatism - Mysticism - Objectivism - Pacifism Possible (and useful) - Collectivism - Hedonism - Perfectionism - Role ethics Possible (or partial) - Asceticism - Irrationalism - Utilitarianism Possible (but difficult) - Antinatalism - Antinomianism - Careerism - Consumerism - Emotionalism - Epicureanism - Intellectualism - Randianism - Stoicism False - Egoism - Humanistic naturalism - Immoralism ## Do we have free will? *Some* Christians believe in **incompatibilism**, but most Christians believe a form of **compatibilism/soft determinism**. - Many Christians also advance **open theism**. - A few Christian sects assert a type of **metaphysical libertarianism**. **Personalism** is also entirely possible without any issues. ### The verdict on free will Possible (and useful) - Compatibilism/soft determinism - Open theism Possible (or partial) - Incompatibilism - Libertarianism - Personalism ## How can mankind be morally saved by an all-knowing God? In **soteriology**, multiple doctrines can be at least mostly consistent with Scripture: - **Arminianism** and **Calvinism** are mostly the same, but hinge heavily on whether people can resist God's calling. - **Molinism** is possible for Christians, and even *likely* in many doctrines of the Trinity. - **Fideism** makes a hard distinction between faith and reasoning. **Pelagianism** can be justified, but needs a bit more criteria to clarify it, but has been regarded as heresy by the Christian church at large. - **Semipelagianism** is a hybrid, and therefore a little easier to work with, but has many of the same issues. **Gnosticism** isn't possible for Christianity, since it takes away from the simple directive to believe in Jesus. ### The verdict on how salvation happens with God's omniscience True - Soteriology Possible (and useful) - Molinism Possible (or partial) - Arminianism - Calvinism - Fideism Possible (but difficult) - Pelagianism - Semipelagianism False - Gnosticism ## Ethics Both **cognitivism** and **moral realism** have merit, but can be sidestepped if God *is* morality incarnate (which can remove any reasoning we could make that navigates elements of it). - On the other hand, **non-cognitivism** can't be true, since Christian doctrine draws a hard connection between ethical statements and truth. - **Expressivism** may have some truth to it, but it's difficult to conceptualize in a Christian framing. There's plenty of room for **emotivism** and **universal prescriptivism**. There is room for **quasi-realism**, but it can't go so far that it defines *all* ethics as being purely emotional. In many ways, Christian thinking embodies **value pluralism** directly, especially with respect to domains involving the Old vs. New Covenant. ### The verdict on how we should position our ethics Possible (or partial) - Cognitivism - Moral realism - Emotivism - Universal prescriptivism - Quasi-realism (as long as it's not complete) - Value pluralism Possible (but difficult) - Expressivism False - Non-cognitivism ## Ethics: Why are things good or bad? **Ascriptivism** is an inherent requirement to accept we are responsible for our sin, which is a requirement to accepting Christ's sacrifice. **Consequentialism** (along with **eudaimonism** and **situational ethics**) is generally *not* true, except regarding what God can do (i.e., God's consequences are righteous). - **Non-consequentialism** is *generally* true (i.e., follow God's directives). - In some ways it can adopt flavors of **extrinsicism** or **Kantianism**, but easily diverges when the motivation becomes love for God and others. Most aspects of **humanism** *can* dovetail with Christianity, but will create dangerously dysfunctional theologies. - **Meliorism** takes away from what God can do, implying people can rise to something beyond themselves. - **Posthumanism** removes *any* greater [meaning](meaning.md) that God has for humanity. - **Secular humanism** implies that our development is better without God being involved. - While **transcendentalism** and **neo-Platonism** sound fine within a Christian context, they imply that mankind can self-promote themselves through some form of understanding or spirituality (which goes against the Christian doctrines of defeatism). - **Transhumanism**, along with **extropianism** and **singularitarianism**, imply transcendentalism, but through [science](science.md) and [technology](technology.md). - **Religious humanism** and **Christian humanism** try to split the strong difference between humanism and Christianity, which severely dilutes anything legitimately Christian about it. Christianity emphasizes **moral absolutism** (and therefore a type of **moral universalism**) based on God's perspective, which sabotages any hope for **moral relativism**. ### The verdict on why things are good or bad True - Ascriptivism - Moral absolutism Possible (or partial) - Moral universalism - Non-consequentialism - Extrinsicism - Kantianism Possible (but difficult) - Consequentialism (except for God) - Eudaimonism - Situational ethics - Humanism (in every one of its forms) False - Moral relativism