What Do You See? A Worldview for Today

What do we see? Looking at a man having a seizure, the citizen of 1700 CE would judge a demon is at work, whereas the 21st century observer would call 9-1-1 to treat a medical emergency. It is an understatement that the world has undergone a radical shift in knowledge in the past 500 years. Every person living today is shaped by the worldview which emerges from these changes. Can an ancient faith make sense now? Explore the great changes and the views of a modern woman, Lexi, in this episode.

This episode is read by Tony, an AI Voice friend from Microsoft ClipChamp.

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What do we see? Looking at a man having a seizure, the citizen of 1700 CE would judge a demon is at work, whereas the 21st century observer would call 9-1-1 to treat a medical emergency. It is an understatement that the world has undergone a radical shift in knowledge in the past 500 years. Every person living today is shaped by the worldview which emerges from these changes. We see life differently than our ancestors. Can an ancient faith make sense now? 

Historians mark a dramatic change in human knowledge, society, and beliefs which began around 1500 in Europe. The Modern Age slowly brought a new way of understanding and experiencing the world.  In time, facts proven by scientific research and experimentation replaced philosophy and traditions as the sources of knowledge. It is clear the matrix of beliefs in the Modern Age, then the Quantum Age worldview, are different than the Classic worldview that shaped the people of all previous history, the Judeo-Christian culture, and the traditional doctrines of the Christian church.

 “The Quantum Age” describes the complex of beliefs around us. The shifts from the knowledge and cultures of 1500 to the 21st century can be summarized in nine areas of human understanding and experience.

CASUALITY- Belief about the source of some physical events has shifted from supernatural action to explanations based solely on physical causes.  

COSMOLOGICAL- People today know the universe is not a small, static, three-tiered world as the ancients thought but a 13.8B years-old universe with 200 Septillion stars. 

PHYSICS- Modern science has grown beyond Newton’s laws of mechanistic regularity to a subatomic Quantum world governed by probabilities, multiple simultaneous states, uncertainty, and entangled interconnections across at least 4 dimensions.

HISTORICAL- Awareness of past events has enlarged from tribal, oral history of local events to the evolutionary model documenting universal multi-billion-year events and 300,000 years of human evolution.

TECHNOLOGICAL- Innovation has lifted resources from handmade tools, fabrics, and books to electric vehicles, nanoengineering, robots, digital worldwide communication, space travel, and AI-driven resources. 

PSYCHOLOGICAL- Perspectives on mental and emotional processes have shifted from simple behavioral observation or philosophical models like body, mind, and soul to complex consciousness built on neurobiology and evidence-based behavioral research.

SOCIOLOGICAL- The structure of society in which we live is no longer  local tribes, patriarchy, and caste but with global multi -pluralism, ideals of equality, and the dominance of nation-states to regulate communities.  

ECONOMICS- Business endeavors have moved from an agrarian-centered, slave labor, barter exchange, and local markets to a consumer-driven model, multi-national capitalism and regulatory governmental oversight. 

ETHICAL- Ancients made decisions influenced by a perspective of absolute moral laws for all people instead of today’s subjective, relative, situational morality.

SPIRITUAL- Classic religion was shaped by long-held traditions and institutions guiding faith whereas the modern view follows a highly individual and eclectic spirituality.

We can consider the worldview of the Quantum Age with the ideas of a modern woman named Lexi. She lives in a large city just like 60% of the eight billion people in the world today. Lexi is in her fourth significant relationship, three with a man. She lives in a small apartment, buys groceries at corner store, and works a 40-hour week in a downtown clinic. She is proud to have a college degree. She thinks a lot about her happiness. She talks with a therapist to understand her complex psychology of unconscious and conscious thoughts. She decides for herself what is right or wrong. She visits the doctor regularly and depends on medicine to keep her well, especially since she has high blood pressure. She controls when she gets pregnant with the Pill. She expects the city government to keep her safe and support her equal rights. She knows instantly what is happening across the world and with friends in the city. She thinks about her small place in a huge, old universe and worries about the future since so many global events are bad. She hopes that different leaders and improved technology will make things better. She occasionally thinks about God, sorting out her own belief system that is different from her parents. In her mind, what happens today is much more important than happens after death—who knows that anyway?

Classical Christian theology, as taught in many institutions and churches today, has not kept up with the radical changes of the past 550 years. Beliefs that are based on the worldviews of a previous age cannot sustain abundant life now or for future generations. Many Christians today do not have a system of belief that incorporates the Quantum worldview into a meaningful mindset. God has become merely an icon of religion that is not necessary for daily life for billions of people. 

A philosophy and theology that brings vital meaning to the Quantum Age person must be shaped by the facts of today. Process Theology presents ways of understanding God and the universe that are compatible with many ideas in the Quantum Age.

The next episode will explore the key ideas of Process Theology that can carry faith in today’s world. I hope you will join me.