Scientism tells us that there is no truth related to the meaning and purpose of life; the difference between right and wrong or virtue and vice; life after death; and, of course, God himself. And even if there were truths in these areas, no one could have a clue as to what they were.

Embracing scientism—the view that the hard sciences provide the only genuine knowledge of reality—is like knocking over the first domino, leading to a cascade of other beliefs that will fall by the wayside.

This is true when it comes to how our culture defines knowledge, truth, duty, virtue, freedom, and tolerance.

Shift from Knowledge to Blind Faith

The first shift is in the realm of religion and ethics and is a shift from knowledge to blind faith.

Shortly after the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001, Oprah Winfrey focused an episode of her program on the turn to God since the attack, a turn she herself wished to foster.

For those already deadened to cultural shifts, the program was fairly uneventful, but for those with eyes to see, it was breathtaking.

Oprah urged people to seek God, “whatever he, she, it, or they mean to you.” We should not get hung up in the word we use for him, her, it, or them, she cautioned. The important thing is that we all seek our own truth with renewed vigor.

Now, what assumptions—most likely subconscious—must Oprah Winfrey and her editorial crew be making about religion and the audience’s understanding of it?

The assumption is that, in contrast to scientific assertions, religious claims are neither factual in nature nor subject to rational evaluation. Religion is not a domain of fact and knowledge, so there are no experts on that subject.

Thus, a talk show host’s feelings about her own truth regarding religious matters is no more “valid” than anyone else’s.

Shift from Guided By Truth To Guided By Desires

The second shift is in the realm of guidance for living one’s life, and it goes from truth to the immediate satisfaction of desire.

Scientism tells us that there is no truth related to the meaning and purpose of life; the difference between right and wrong or virtue and vice; life after death; and, of course, God himself. And even if there were truths in these areas, no one could have a clue as to what they were.

It follows that truth as a first-priority guide for living must be dethroned. After all, who can guide his life by an unknowable set of truths that probably aren’t really there anyway?

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