The Achilles Heel of Worldly Systems of Thought

By Mark W. Christy

Throughout history, humanity has struggled to explain the world. In ancient times, these explanations were overtly religious in nature. In more modern times, many are attempting to develop a worldview model that appears to be devoid of religion (e.g., atheism, scientific materialism, naturalism) or at least religious commitment (e.g., agnosticism). Like their predecessors and even their contemporaries (e.g., any of the world religions), the ultimate goal is to derive an acceptable explanation for the human experience to facilitate human ability to exercise control over their reality. Nevertheless, all of these man-made attempts to explain life have a glaring weakness, an Achilles Heel.

In Homer’s Iliad, Achilles was a hero of the Trojan War whose body was impervious to any weapon except for one heel. It was here that he was shot with an arrow. From this ancient story, the term Achilles Heel has come to describe, among other things, something that appears to possess invulnerability and yet suffers critically in some minor area to the extent that an incursion into this vulnerable area can bring about the collapse of the entire entity.

The many extant worldviews possess just such a vulnerability despite the efforts of many scholars to buttress them against any onslaughts. While these worldviews may indeed portray high levels of sophistication internally, they nevertheless are built upon the opinions of their proponents. To arrive at the claim that one possesses a worldview which is adequate and sufficient enough for all humanity to concede to, one must provide answers to life’s ultimate questions: Does a supernatural reality exist? If so, what or who is that reality? What is my place in the order of the universe? Does my life have purpose and meaning? Is death final? Is there any hope beyond death?

In answering these questions, any reputable worldview must of course make every effort in satisfying the inner longings of those who become its adherents. Unfortunately, the answers to these questions can only be subjectively determined unless the source exists objectively beyond the human proponent. To put this simply, subjective truth can only arise from mere human opinion, whereas objective truth arises from an external source that exists outside of the person.

To properly answer life’s most difficult questions, one must have an objective source that exists beyond physical reality. While science can help explain physical reality in part, it proves unable to answer the philosophical questions which pertain to matters that undergird the physical world and the human experience. Therefore, a worldview must offer an other-worldly, objective communication that speaks to these difficult questions. In other words, it must claim a supernatural (divine) source for its communication of its answers to life most pressing questions.

Indeed, such a provision has been made by the world’s major religions. Unsurprisingly and despite many publications of scholarly proponents, those propounding atheism (scientific naturalism and materialism) have failed to offer a supernatural source to verify their claims which must by default emanate from their own opinions. Within this fray, Christianity offers the Bible as its supernatural, objective source of divine communication.

Unlike Islam, Buddhism, and Mormonism, which have supposed divine communication founded on the word of a single person, and other religions like Hinduism, which offer unverifiable mythological claims, Christianity offers its answers to life’s ultimate questions in a book composed by around 40 authors who lived over a period of 1500 years. These authors all spoke of the same God and revealed the same consistent message. They frequently interrelated their message with the historical events of their day. Instead of pleasing their religion’s adherents, they frequently angered them by prophesying judgement upon them. When it came time for the prophesied Messiah to appear and die on the cross, even those events were done in the presence of many witnesses.  To be sure, one can still choose to reject the Christian message about a personal God who offered personal communication through a multitude of personal agents. One can reject His personal offer through the death of Christ His Son to heal the divide (sin) which separates people from having a right relationship with Him. Instead, one can turn to any number of people who brazenly claim to be divine agents of divine message of their own making. If one prefers, he/she can look to the sophisticated diatribes of the academic elite as they explain away all of life from the foundations of their own opinions. Finally, one can rest in his/her own opinions and choose a life of denial so as to avoid the hopeless and meaningless reality on his/her own making along with life’s ultimate questions, questions which can only find meaningful answers when a truly divine source is consulted.