Personal Worldview Inventory: Spirituality & Ethics

Running Head: PERSONAL WORLDVIEW INVENTORY Basic Personal Worldview of Spirituality and Ethics 1 PERSONAL WORLDVIEW INVENTORY 2 Basic Personal Worldview of Spirituality and Ethics Introduction Today, we live in a place, where it is free and acceptable for people to practice freely their own religious beliefs and cultural traditions. Very often, religion offers patients with exact moral guidance on variety of medical issues and administer rituals that are important to patients. As a health care provider, we need to find and recognize a fine balance between science and spirituality. Spiritual beliefs can help patients cope with disease. The author of this paper will describe her personal worldview with brief explanation on the concepts of scientism, pluralism, postmodernism and primarily addressing with 7 basic worldview questions. Personal Worldview Every individual has a worldview. It is a set of core beliefs about life and the world which enable us to define our cultural practices, make us aware of what is important, and thus directs our attitudes and actions. Whenever we deal with unforeseen circumstances or hear new concepts, our worldview directs our reactions and responses. Sometimes we are fully conscious of our worldview, but it operates in the background. The writer of this paper was born and brought up in Christian family. Attending Holy Mass on every Sundays and participating religious studies are important part of this writer’s early life and even continue most of the traditions cherished from childhood days. Many people have impacted my life that shaped my personal belief and value systems. The major aspects that helped to form my worldview are the deep rooted Christian faith and the values of compassion and sharing that inherited from my PERSONAL WORLDVIEW INVENTORY 3 parents. The moral choices that I have adopted or taken in my life purely based on my religious beliefs. Concepts of Spirituality, Pluralism, Scientism and Postmodernism Spirituality is not confined to specific religious traditions. It is the way we connect with what is sacred in our lives; it’s something that is bigger than you and me. It gives life a sense of meaning and purpose. Pluralism, common phenomena in our society to be inclusive of multiple religious beliefs and cultures inspite of wide range of opposing cultural or religious principles. According to worldview one religion beliefs is not solitary and elite source of the divine truth (Rouner, 1984). Scientism, a way of belief that provides a definite answer to a question and seems very logical in defining the cause and effect. It is based on the belief that natural science has control and authority over all other interpretations of life, and the methods of natural science form the only proper elements in any philosophical enquiry. Postmodernism, a campaign of the late 20th century, consider truth as non-existent or not important. In post-modernism, all perceptions, all beliefs, lifestyles and behaviors are regarded as equally important. For them, tolerance has become so important that no exception is tolerated and common assumptions and languages are replaced by radical relativism and subjectivism. Prime Reality and Seven Basic Worldview Questions Prime Reality: God is immanent, transcendent, omniscient and sovereign. He created the Universe and controls everything. There is only one God without Him nothing is possible. And Christians calls Him “Jesus Christ or God the Father”. The nature of the world around us PERSONAL WORLDVIEW INVENTORY 4 People from various religion see world differently. Christians believe, everything is created by God and the humans are created in His image. And the things in the nature and environment are created for human being to live and grow. As per Christian faith, the universe we live is a gift from God and needs to be managed for His greater glory. The concept of human being People have a different perception on what is it mean by the nature of human being, is a thinking, creative being. Human beings have a unique superiority over other being on the earth. They are able and have the power to use knowledge and rationality to reach the highest level of accomplishments and success. In Biblical term, humans are created by God in His own image. What happens to a person at death? The reply to this question is much more complex as there are beliefs that suggest our actions or way of living, are the deciding factors of what will happen to a person at the time of death. People in different religion have their own beliefs about what happens at death and after death. As a Christian, this author believes that after death, soul departs from the body and leaves for where it came from, means to God or Heaven. Why it is possible to know anything at all? Naturalists take the path that everyone has moral standards and awareness of moral standards. We create and eventually develop our own future. We have freedom of choice. What we do is what we are. We are caught up in the objective world. We are pressed to become what the world expects but the authentic person creates his or her own values. To be authentic we need to be true to our own instincts and beliefs. Individuality is your choice. From this we derive ethics. It is described as naturalism and rationally developed in a process of evolution. For those who believe that because we are made in the image of God automatically makes us knowing or with knowledge does not make sense. We are in control of gathering knowledge or rejecting the opportunity. "Knowing" also comes from experience. No one is born with knowing capabilities. They are developed with life and age. PERSONAL WORLDVIEW INVENTORY 5 How people know what is right or wrong? Based on Christian teachings, God has given us the power or rationale to discern and determine what is right or wrong. We learn the values and ethics from our religious leaders, parents and society as we grow up. It is guided by the teachings of Jesus Christ “Love one another as you love yourself” (Mark 12:31). Following proper human values, ethics, religious beliefs and the desire to seek knowledge are the main attributes help us to choose what is right and wrong. If we listen to our conscience, we will able to analyze and do what is right or wrong. Because, God has given us the ability to make choices. Meaning of human history We believe human history is a meaningful sequence of events leading to the fulfillment of God’s promises and purposes for humanity. The ultimate plan of God who created human being in His image, is to make paradise on Earth (Tripp, D, (2000) “Where did I come from”). Scientific and Postmodernism theories consider that the human beings are from the process of evolution in nature. Conclusion Every person on earth has a purpose in life, regardless of his or her worldview. God has given us a special grace as human being to forgive and to be forgiven to make a world with lots of love and respect. That encourages and inspires us to respect and love others the way they are. The unique capability of human being is to learn from each other and obtain the positive beliefs from each other. As healthcare professionals, we may come from different religious beliefs with diverse cultural and religious backgrounds, we need to be like a ‘Good Samaritan’ to serve the sick and people in need with grace and love.