Secular Spirituality

Part 1-Introducing the Concept of Reality

Secular Spirituality is rapidly gaining popularity in the United States. The popularity of this subject has to do in large part with the one of the fundamental teachings that it embraces. This is the philosophy of relative truth. It is the belief that one person’s view of reality cannot be proven to have any greater significance or bearing than any other person’s view of reality.

It focuses on the science behind the human perception of reality. In purely physical terms, what our brains interpret as “reality” is the sum of electrical impulses created by some stimulus to the brain. While we would like to believe that our brains are delivering accurate interpretations of the world around us, there is no concrete way to say, for example, that what one person sees as red is not, in fact, what someone else sees as blue.

There is nothing inaccurate about this scientific explanation of what reality is. However, there is no reason so look at that data and then suddenly say that we can never know for sure whether what we think is real is actually real. Sure, we should be aware that we may perceive things differently than others, but there is no reason to make a leap to the statement that reality in concrete form does not exist except relative to the mind perceiving it.

Anything metaphysical is considered to be non-scientific. This would include spirits, psychic energy, God, will power, karma, etc. There are Physics researchers, though, who do work on metaphysical theories. For instance, there was a group of researchers who wanted to test the theory of independence. (Statisticians base much of their work on the theory of independence, which states that one event does not affect another. For example, flipping a fair coin and getting a certain result does not affect the probability of obtaining a certain result on the next flip.) To test this theory, the researchers shot off two electrons in different directions, altered one of them mid-flight, and then observed the other. They found that, when the changed one, the other inexplicable altered as well. This falsified the theory of independence, but, due to its inexplicable nature, the findings are considered metaphysical and not directly applicable the physical world, therefore not scientific.

If you were to ask two different people, “What is love?” One could answer that love is the result of chemicals firing in ones brain resulting in a reaction that causes one person to prioritize a certain other person because the chemicals released when that person is around triggers a sensation of pleasure. Most of us, though, would say that love is a feeling, emotion, or action of good will for another person that simply cannot be explained by science, aka it’s metaphysical. Both may be true. I say all this only to enforce the idea that metaphysical theories should not be thrown out just because their physical results cannot be scientifically tested and explained, or definitively tied to them.

When considering what reality is, it is important to recognize that the metaphysical plays a significant role in our physical live. At the same time, we must keep the physical world in mind when considering metaphysical sources. Reality includes, for instance, both the creator and the creation, both the metaphysical concept and the physical realization. In any case, definite theories, if not laws, can and should be made concerning what is real.

Part 2-Secular vs. Biblical Spirituality

Secular Spirituality is something that that frustrates me more than anything else. In its essence, spirituality has come to mean the belief in a spiritual reality but without being able to say that one religion is more accurate or better than any others. A secularly "spiritual" person is one who attempts to derive spiritual truths from all religions. I don't know how one qualifies "truth" in the spiritual sense without a clear religious base (i.e. Christianity) other than to say, "It's whatever works for you." Secular Spirituality refuses to make a clear statement of belief in order to remain nonreligious. In this light, I (a follower of the Way found in the Gospel of the Judeo-Christian Bible) am adamantly religious.

Certainly truths can be found in other religions, but let me be clear as to why. Truth is that which reflects God's character or design. When God (Yahweh of the Judeo-Christian Bible) is reflected in another teaching, or when the teaching of God and His Prophets are repeated in another teaching, there is no harm in gleaning that truth in that perspective. In fact, it can be greatly beneficial to see it from a different perspective in that it may aid our understanding of the nature of that truth. However, this should only be done provided it is qualified by a Biblical premise.

The reason I am so frustrated by Secular Spirituality is that it is, quite frankly, a lukewarm, uncommitted belief system. This is many-fold more dangerous to one's spiritual life than, for example, atheism. I have long said that I would rather converse spiritual truths with an atheist than with an agnostic for the simple reason that an atheist is definitive in what they believe.

This is a Biblically supported point of view. In John's Revelation, God says that He would rather us be cold or hot, and that if we are lukewarm He will spit us out of His mouth. In other words, an uncommitted belief system is repulsive to God. Why? Because it is incredibly dangerous, and more of a lie than a straight rejection of God.

Secular Spirituality attempts to please everyone by saying, "Do what feels right for you." It's no wonder that this sort of belief system has gained the popularity it has in the United States. The one thing that most secularly "spiritual" people have in common is that they, more often than not, ascribe to an eastern belief system to some extent, usually Buddhism or, to a lesser extent, Hinduism; though, it is not uncommon to find Secular Spiritualists in the United States and throughout the Americas that ascribe to Native American belief systems or, to a lesser extent, African belief systems. Many of these belief systems are summed up in saying to live in harmony with everything. Similar to what Jesus said when He said, "The greatest law is this: love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and strength. And the second is like it: love your neighbor as yourself. All the law and the prophets rest on these." And when Paul said, "Whenever possible, live at peace with everyone."

Looking at the first, “greatest,” law, though, there is no room for error. The greatest, most important law is to love the Lord God (Yehovah Eloheem) with absolutely everything. This is complete commitment. The word used for strength is more accurately translated as vehemence. Jesus stated this even more clearly when He said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." It's not a matter of preference, or my truth versus yours. It is about The Truth. This is my reality.