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DANIEL:
ABIDING UNDER
PAGANISM
Daniel: Abiding Under Paganism
I.
II.
Introduction
A.
What?
B.
Why? (Relevance)
C.
Terms
Historical Contexts
A.
Biblical
B.
Contemporary
III. The Text - Biblical Lessons
IV. Conclusion
What?
Why?
January 2015
From 1979 Series World View: “Time passes by in such a subtle manner that occasionally
an event causes one to exclaim, 'Where have the years gone?' My thoughts moved to very
serious matters. What should a father be telling his son who is moving into a college
environment? What are the intellectual traps that Satan has set? What is the moral climate
of the typical college campus? Are we fully aware of the secular humanistic attitudes that
prevail? Are we alert to the penetration of the evolutionary hypothesis? Are we aware that
what was born as theory limited to one field is now the assumption of virtually every
major field of study? Are we aware that every major secular university is a socialistic
institution? How may we prevent the rape of our children's minds? Are we so blind as not
to see that we have forsaken a culture based on Christian principle? Do we see that our
freedom to study the word of God could well disappear?...In short, do we concur with the
apostle John that the 'whole world lies in the power of the evil one?'”
“In seeking to answer these questions, one soon discovers that secularism, humanism,
relativism, and socialism are not merely the theme of college campuses, but that they come
to us by the hour through the media and are constantly reflected in national policy.”
Why?
Terms
A.
Paganism
B.
Neopaganism
C.
Relativism
D.
Secular Humanism
E.
Postmodernism
F.
Moral Equivalence
Terms
A.
Paganism
B.
Neopaganism
C.
Relativism
D.
Secular Humanism
E.
Postmodernism
F.
Moral Equivalence
dictionary.com
Pagan(ism)

(no longer in technical use) one of a people or community observing
a polytheistic religion, as the ancient Romans and Greeks.

a member of a religious, spiritual, or cultural community based on
the worship of nature or the earth; a neopagan.
Disparaging and Offensive

(in historical contexts) a person who is not a Christian, Jew, or
Muslim; a heathen.
an irreligious or hedonistic person.
an uncivilized or unenlightened person.
Heathen

(in historical contexts) an individual of a people that do not
acknowledge the God of the Bible; a person who is neither a Jew,
Christian, nor Muslim; a pagan.

Informal. an irreligious, uncultured, or uncivilized person.
Terms
A.
Paganism
B.
Neopaganism
C.
Relativism
D.
Secular Humanism
E.
Postmodernism
F.
Moral Equivalence
dictionary.com
Neopaganism

a 20th-century revival of interest in the worship of nature, fertility,
etc., as represented by various deities.
Terms
A.
Paganism
B.
Neopaganism
C.
Relativism
D.
Secular Humanism
E.
Postmodernism
F.
Moral Equivalence
Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry (CARM)
Relativism
Relativism is the philosophical position that all points of view are equally
valid [moral equivalence], and that all truth is relative to the individual.
This means that all moral positions, all religious systems, all art forms, all
political movements, etc., are truths that are relative to the individual.
Under the umbrella of relativism, whole groups of perspectives are
categorized. In obvious terms, some are:
cognitive relativism (truth) - Cognitive relativism affirms that all truth is
relative. This would mean that no system of truth is more valid than
another one, and that there is no objective standard of truth. It would,
naturally, deny that there is a God of absolute truth.
moral/ethical relativism - All morals are relative to the social group
within which they are constructed.
situational relativism - Ethics (right and wrong) are dependent upon the
situation.
Terms
A.
Paganism
B.
Neopaganism
C.
Relativism
D.
Secular Humanism
E.
Postmodernism
F.
Moral Equivalence
Secular Humanism
wikipedia.com
The philosophy or life stance of secular humanism (alternatively known by some
adherents as Humanism, specifically with a capital H to distinguish it from other forms of
humanism) embraces human reason, ethics, and philosophical naturalism while
specifically rejecting religious dogma, supernaturalism, pseudoscience, and superstition
as the basis of morality and decision making.
Secular Humanism posits that human beings are capable of being ethical and moral
without religion or a god. It does not, however, assume that humans are either inherently
evil or innately good, nor does it present humans as being superior to nature. Rather, the
humanist life stance emphasizes the unique responsibility facing humanity and the ethical
consequences of human decisions. Fundamental to the concept of secular humanism is
the strongly held viewpoint that ideology—be it religious or political—must be
thoroughly examined by each individual and not simply accepted or rejected on faith.
Along with this, an essential part of secular humanism is a continually adapting search for
truth, primarily through science and philosophy. Many Humanists derive their moral
codes from a philosophy of utilitarianism, ethical naturalism, or evolutionary ethics, and
some...advocate a science of morality.
Oxford dictionary
humanism, with regard in particular to the belief that humanity is capable of morality and
self-fulfillment without belief in God.