The Natural vs. The Supernatural World
Is reality even real? That’s the sentiment at the heart of the Transcendentalism, or Spirituality, Worldview. To transcend means to go beyond the range or limits of something. This worldview believes that people can transcend the natural world and go beyond the boundaries of the natural order and laws that exist in our universe.
The term Transcendentalism, as used to describe a group’s set of beliefs, started with the Transcendentalist movement in the early to mid-1800s in England. The movement included famous authors and poets like Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau who advanced the movement through their writings.
Even though this Transcendental movement happened long after Eastern religions like Buddhism and Hinduism formed, the principles of this term capture the idea of those older Eastern religions, particularly related to moving beyond our mind, body, and spirit in our material (or natural) world, as well as relatively newer forms of thought.
Within this Transcendentalism, or Spirituality Worldview, there are common ideas that elevate nature, one’s personal experience or journey, the spiritual or supernatural world, and generally a reincarnation-type experience of dying and then being reborn into a new body, which could include another human body, an animal, or even an object. One competing idea within the worldview is that some would say looking outside of oneself, or escaping self, is where true reality or meaning begins, whereas others would suggest that meaning and reality can only be found within oneself.
Either way, as the Worldview Prepared Curriculum lays out, this worldview puts a high emphasis on the supernatural or spiritual world, with a focus on emotions and self-experience, making it almost the polar opposite of the rational, evidence-focused approach of the Naturalism, or Scientific, Worldview.
This worldview lays claim to many of the Eastern and Occult religions we see today. 
The Biblical Worldview Perspective:
In reviewing the last two worldviews that focused either on the scientific natural world or the spiritual supernatural world, we can see hints of truth buried in both. God created a natural world, filled with the laws and order we find in nature, which God has allowed us to uncover through scientific discovery. God is also supernatural, or spiritual, meaning that He exists outside of our natural world. Even in our own Scripture and Christian experiences, we know that God has created an opportunity for humans on natural earth to interact with Him spiritually through salvation, prayer, and the power of the Holy Spirit. While the Biblical Worldview encompasses both natural and supernatural (spiritual) forces, our Christian beliefs are informed by the Bible, not by scientific theories or emotional perceptions of reality.
Just like with the Scientific Worldview, we also see with the Spirituality Worldview that preconceived ideas, interpretation, and context shape a worldview. In the next blog article, we’ll discuss how the Biblical and Spirituality Worldviews differ.
Spotting the Differences
The religions, or practices, that fall under the Spirituality Worldview are vast. Therefore, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach. While there are many areas where the Biblical and Spirituality Worldviews differ, we’ll explore three of the most common in this blog article.
1. RE-PRIORITIZATION OF CREATION
Within the Spirituality Worldview, the universe tends to act as the supreme being, at times being interchanged with the term “God,” which puts God and creation (universe, nature, earth) on equal footing. By equalizing God and creation, this worldview re-prioritizes the order of creation by no longer making God the supreme being, and elevating the created (universe, nature, earth) above the Creator. The universe then gets credit for handing out either good or bad things to people, which is why “thanking the universe” is a popular phrase when something good happens to a person.
The Biblical Worldview Perspective:
The Biblical Worldview, which seeks Scripture for our understanding of creation order, says God is first, humans are next, and the rest of creation (animals, nature, earth) comes after that. In this way, humans are under the authority of God, and creation is under the authority of humans, which is a blessing God gave in the Garden in Genesis 1. “God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.’” (Genesis 1:28-30)
As humans, we have been given a great blessing to oversee God’s creation, and we should honor that responsibility.
2. SUPERNATURAL INTERVENTION OR EXPERIENCE
Another important differentiation between the Spirituality and Biblical Worldviews is on the topic of spiritual experiences or supernatural intervention. The primary difference between the two worldviews is based on who is in control, what can be done, and for what purposes.
For the Spirituality Worldview, when adherents interact with the “spirit world,” it can be for positive or nefarious purposes. In general, they could be speaking to the universe, to demons, to other spirits they believe may assist them, or even have a belief in their own manifesting (or creation) powers. They may seek healing, answers about the future, connection with the dead, or even revenge. They are not seeking a holy God for His holy purposes and plans when they practice these spiritual rituals or activities.
The Biblical Worldview Perspective:
The Bible is full of examples pointing to a supernatural or spiritual world that extends beyond the natural order of this world. There’s God Himself, Jesus incarnate, the Holy Spirit, the angels, the devil, and demons. There are also occurrences we experience on earth that have a spiritual significance. Just consider the spiritual transaction that happens when we have faith in Jesus and are saved. We go from spiritual death to spiritual life in that moment. Or when we pray, we as human beings on earth are speaking to a spiritual Being (God) who we cannot see or touch, and yet we know He is our God who hears and answers prayers. For Christians; however, the spiritual experience is guided by the Holy Spirit in us and is based on truth found in Scripture, not based on rituals and witchcraft.
“In the past, you were spiritually dead because of your disobedience and sins…But God’s mercy is so abundant, and his love for us is so great, that while we were spiritually dead in our disobedience, he brought us to life with Christ.” (Ephesians 2:1 and 4-5)
3. PERSONAL EXPERIENCE OR SELF-DISCOVERY
An additional hallmark of the Spirituality Worldview is the focus on self-discovery or experience. That self-discovery journey could lead people to seek the “god” within or to empty out their minds so they can connect with the universe. Within the Transcendentalist movement of the 1800s, the goal was to solely focus on self and the god within for the answers in life instead of following social norms. The aim of older Eastern religions was to escape self and connect to something beyond.
The Biblical Worldview Perspective:
With the Biblical Worldview, our life journey is God-focused. It’s focused on the plans God has for us, following Him in obedience, and becoming more like Jesus with the fruit of the Spirit shining through us: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22-23) Rather than emptying our minds or seeking ourselves for answers, we search the Bible, follow the Holy Spirit, and submit to God’s plans for our lives.
UNDERSTANDING HINDUISM AND BUDDHISM
The two most prominent Eastern religions that fall under the Spirituality Worldview are Hinduism and Buddhism.
HINDUISM
Unlike Christians who believe in birth, death, and an eternity in heaven with God or in hell separated from God, Hindus believe in a cyclical life of birth, death, and re-birth. This process, called reincarnation, suggests that after death a person’s “soul” passes into another living creature and a new life is assumed. The placement of one’s soul depends on what kind of life the person had in his or her past life. If they achieve their dharma, which is their responsibility according to their caste, or role on earth, they may come back in their next life at a higher caste level as a reward for their good actions in their previous life. The four castes include 1) priests and teachers; 2) the rulers, governing officials, and warriors; 3) landowners and businessmen; 4) laborers and servants.
The goal of the Hindu is to escape this cycle of rebirth and to become one with Brahman, which is their god who is impersonal and unknowable. While Brahman is one, this god manifests into thousands of other Hindu gods making this a polytheistic (the worship of multiple gods) religion. The three primary gods of Brahman are Brahma who is the creator, Vishnu who is the preserver, and Shiva who is the destroyer. These three primary gods connect to the circle of birth, death, and rebirth on which the religion hinges.
The Hindu religion, found primarily in India where it had its earliest discovery, has existed for 4,000 years, with over 1 billion followers, and is considered one of the top 5 religions of the world. Common practices are meditation and yoga.
The Biblical Worldview Perspective:
While the Hindu religion is polytheistic, meaning the worship of many gods, the Bible is clear there is only one God, “Yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.” (1 Corinthians 8:6)
The Christian faith also clearly states there is not a re-birth process on earth, rather those who believe spend eternity either with God or separated from Him depending on their salvation. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)
BUDDHISM
One man who is said to have been liberated from rebirth, as the Hindu mission encourages its adherents, was Siddhartha Gautama, later known as the Buddha, or the awakened one. He was born into a royal Hindu family over 2,500 years ago in Nepal. He left his royal life after he encountered sickness, poverty, and death on the streets outside his palace home. While brought up in the Hindu belief system, Siddhartha ultimately created an offshoot religion with both similarities and differences to Hinduism. Today, Buddhism is one of the top 5 religions in the world and has over 500,000 million followers.
Buddhism’s basic premise contends that 1) all life is suffering or dissatisfaction, 2) that suffering is caused by desire, 3) suffering ends when the desires end, and 4) Buddha’s eightfold path leads to the end of desire and, thus, suffering. These points make up the four noble truths of Buddhism. The eightfold path then provides a roadmap for how to achieve the end of suffering, with eight directives for individuals to follow, such as right thoughts, right speech, and right actions. After following the eightfold path, desire ends, and, subsequently, so does suffering. Then Nirvana, or a state of enlightenment, is achieved, and the re-birth process ends.
The Biblical Worldview Perspective:
Whereas the Buddhist belief is that there is an eightfold path to achieve enlightenment, which is focused on works, the Bible is clear that salvation is received by faith in Jesus through grace, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)
UNDERSTANDING SPIRITUALITY AND OCCULT PRACTICES
Let’s dive deeper into other spirituality practices and religions that fall under this Transcendentalism, or Spirituality, Worldview.
THE NEW AGE
Several religious influences, including Hinduism and Buddhism, guided the New Age movement, which gained prominence in the 1960s and ‘70s and still goes strong today. In many ways, the New Age movement developed as a counter-culture response to social norms and religious traditions with people desiring to be unrestricted by traditional ideas. Prominent beliefs of New Agers include a focus on self and the god within,
the ability to manifest, or create, one’s own reality, and concepts like reincarnation and karma, which is the idea that what goes around comes around.
Eastern practices like yoga and meditation are common for connecting to a higher power and spiritual enlightenment in this worldview, as well as occult practices like astrology and tarot card readings for guidance and predicting the future, and uses of crystals for healing and energy.
WICCA
Wicca is derived from paganism, which focuses on nature’s seasonal cycles, and is considered polytheistic through the worship of more than one god. Introduced by Gerald Gardner in the 1950s, many Wiccans believe in the use of magic or supernatural powers to bend reality through the use of rituals and spells, which may include calling on spirits. With a focus on nature, Wiccans celebrate eight seasonal rituals that include celebrations around the solstices and equinoxes. Some Wiccans may also call themselves witches and participate in other occult practices.
NATIVE AMERICAN
Many Native American beliefs center around animism, a belief that everything has a spirit, including non-living things, like the wind or rocks. Because of this, Native Americans who believe this are particularly focused on harmony in all things and have a high respect for nature and the spirit world. These Native Americans believe spirit animals are sent as guides and represent certain qualities. For healing or connecting to spirits, they look to their mediators or mediums, known as shamans, who are believed to hold the authority of the spirit world in their communities.
The Biblical Worldview Perspective:
In all three of these spirituality examples, there is a common theme of searching for power or knowledge in someone or something outside of God. The Bible warns against this: “Let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord…” (Deuteronomy 18:10-12)
