There are 3 unbiblical philosophies that have infiltrated our culture in the West. These have caused great harm to our lives and our understanding of ourselves. They contradict what the Bible says about how to live and what to believe. Most Christians and citizens in the West do not understand the harm these philosophies have caused them and the ways they have been influenced. They are Freudianism, which originated with neurologist Sigmund Freud in the 1890s, Darwinism from Charles Darwin in 1859, and Marxism from Karl Marx in the 1840s.

Why should we talk about these?

We cannot change ourselves and our culture unless we first understand what we are fighting against. It is important as Christians that we are thinkers and evaluators. Otherwise, the most prevalent thinkers in our society, whether or not Biblical, will influence us. We need to counteract these 3 philosophies with what the Bible says about us. First, we must examine ourselves and how they have influenced our thinking.

From Issachar’s descendants there were 200 leaders who understood the times and knew what Israel should do. 1 Chronicles 12:32 (GW)

Overview of the 3 Philosophies

Philosophy / Result / Bible’s View
Freudianism / We are Victims / We are Victors
Darwinism / We are Evolved Animals / We are created in God’s Image
Marxism / We are treated as the Same / We are Unique

As you can see from the overview, these are very different ways of viewing ourselves and living from the Bible. I propose that the Bible’s view is a wholesome way that leads to a healthy life. Let’s look at each of these philosophies in more detail.

Freudianism – Victim vs Victor 

Sigmund Freud said that most of our problems come because we are victims. Victims from our environment, experiences, and parents. Freud especially hated families. This thinking keeps us in a perpetual loop of hopelessness that we think we can never escape. Because how do you escape your past? It teaches that our past perpetually influences us. Our society has become one of victimhood and always blaming others. If we believe in Freudianism, we will never be more than our experiences and circumstances, which leads to hopelessness, despair, suicide, lack of meaning. Doesn’t this sound like our society today?

Biblical Answer

The Bible acknowledges that terrible environments, experiences, and parents affect us. This is reality. But it also says that with God on your side, the effects of these experiences can be reversed. We start with our problems, but then we see what the Bible says about us and our circumstances. We don’t end with our problems. We end with what the Bible says about us and our lives. This change in thinking will point us in a new direction toward God, who will help us reverse the damage of our past and give us a new future.

The answer is not to blame who we are on others but to react with what God says we can be. This will move us from being bitter to being better. Walking with Jesus, using his Biblical principles, can overcome any environment or experience. The cross is bigger than your environment or experiences.

He will make you a victor because you’re walking with a victor. The answer is not to blame but to learn Biblical principles and apply these new ways of thinking.

The first step is to get an understanding of how our thinking goes against the way God says to think. This takes time. It is difficult. It requires introspection and research. Get with a mature Christian who can help you understand the Bible’s philosophy. It is worth the time and effort to move from victim to victor.

Darwinism – Animal vs Image

Darwinism says you’re just an evolved animal. The dignity that God gave us as being made in his image is gone. You are in the image of the last species you evolved from. The only beauty and glory you have is that you have managed to out survive every other animal and rise to the top of the food chain. What dignity is there in that?

The survival of the fittest is the most basic rule of our lives in Darwinism. That means that the strongest and or smartest wins. This implies there are no rules or morality. For instance, why should we say that murder is wrong? If murder ensures my survival over another, why wouldn’t I?

Biblical Answer

Darwinism removes beauty, art, morality, and being created in God’s image from us (Genesis 1:26-27). All of God’s creativity and uniqueness that he placed in you is gone. In Darwinism, you are just a bag of flesh and DNA. But when created in God’s image, you have a supernatural component in you. This component is our spirit that is eternal (Ecclesiastes 3:11) and can communicate with the supernatural God. Darwinism has no place for the spiritual. You can’t evolve into a spiritual component.

Darwinism gives no answer as to why I am here on this earth beyond survival. It leads to an attitude of fruitlessness with no future. When God created you in His image, He built in a purpose and a future for you!

Marxism – Sameness vs Uniqueness

Marxism is a philosophy of making everyone equal, usually financially. The goal is that in the end everyone has the same outcome, usually the same physical things.

The Bible believes and desires that everyone have the opportunity to grow, advance, and be all that He wants them to be. We should strive for equality of opportunity; this is the mark of a moral society. But Marxism goes beyond equality of opportunity; it wants equality of outcome. This means everyone must always have the ‘same’ things. No difference. 

Many people have tried equality of outcome – sameness – since Karl Marx. Some examples are Russia, Eastern Europe, Cuba, Venezuela, North Korea, to mention a few. One thing these examples have shown is that Marxism, in its various forms (communism, extreme socialism) has led to some of the most brutal, authoritarian dictatorship societies ever. It requires power to make equality of outcome. You have to physically remove something from one person and give to another. Ultimately, force confines everyone to the lowest state of being. Marxism does not have one good example. Instead, tens of millions of people have died needlessly trying to implement equality of outcome. It is simply inhumane and does not work.

Communism applied this idea economically with money and income. Today we have Marxism being implemented in the West and it’s applying the idea on race. Trying to make the outcomes in life the same no matter the race of the person. Each race should have the same opportunities, but to force equality of outcome does not work. 

The problem with whatever metric being used, economics or race, is that we are not all the same. In addition, Marxist systems use force to implement their view of sameness or fairness. This leads to domination by one group over another.

The problem is that not everybody can be equal. We can have equality of opportunity but not equality of outcome.

Biblical Answer

When we walk with God, we each have a purpose, and the purpose requires resources and a plan. He has a calling for each of you. And it’s gonna look different from other people. When some government decides what resources you need, they are believing that everyone has the same purpose and needs the same resources. We don’t put our eyes on God and what he wants us to do.

We follow his plan, not a predetermined outcome decided by men. He will give us what we need and it is always generous.

Marxism also leads to greed and envy. It leads to always comparing ourselves to other people and what they have, and it leads to discontent, which leads to depression or riots. Doesn’t that sound like our society?

Closing

Let’s change our thinking to realize we are victors, unique, and created in God’s image.