Worldview Matters

Michael Lindsay a Belhaven University board member , a remarkable scholar holding positions of significance at Rice University, and an insightful sociologist who studies evangelical leadership in the Church and in the marketplace.

His recent article in the Washington Post, is a wonderful synopsis of the leadership opportunities and challenges of highly visible evangelicals in the marketplace

Evangelical and elite: Four approaches to power

Evangelicals have become significant players on the national stage, so much so that the actions and statements of their leaders ripple across the political and cultural landscape. What happens when evangelicals bring their faith convictions to bear on corporate America or the U.S. government? In particular, how does an evangelical Christian who also leads a major American institution–such as Walmart or the National Institutes of Health–invoke his or her faith when making big decisions?

Bradley C. Smith of Princeton University and I just published a study on this subject in the Journal of the American Academy of Religion. It emerged out of a larger study (first published by Oxford University Press as Faith in the Halls of Power) for which I interviewed 360 evangelicals who were top American leaders. These elites included former President Jimmy Carter along with 50 cabinet secretaries and senior White House officials from the last five administrations. I also sat down with 100 CEOs, chairpersons and presidents of major companies including New York Life Insurance, Johnson & Johnson, Tyson Foods, and JC Penney. To round out the study, I met with over 150 leaders from the worlds of nonprofits, the arts, entertainment, and the news media.

I wanted to uncover how these people bring their personal religious convictions to bear on their roles as public leaders. In other words, how does religion seep into their relationships, their work, and the decisions they make?

We found four kinds of evangelicals in the corner offices of major U.S. institutions–the pragmatic, the heroic, the circumspect, and the brazen.

Pragmatic evangelicals are serious about their faith, but they don’t advertise it. In the words of Genworth’s Chief Investment Officer, Ron Joelson, “You don’t want to offend people who are not Christians. . . . [As someone] in a position of power and authority, I don’t want people to feel uncomfortable. . . . [That's] not a particularly good witness.” Joelson’s sentiment was repeated by dozens of other leaders we studied.

Ed Moy, director of the U.S. Mint, takes a different approach. Early in his career, he worked in the private sector and was confronted by his boss after submitting his first expense report:

He shuts the door to his office, and says, “Let me explain something around here. We in sales management never believe that the company is paying us enough, and so…we measure the minimum amount of miles from home to work and back again, and that’s personal miles. Everything else . . . gets dumped in the business column, and that way you get an extra 50 [to] 75 bucks a month. If I were to hand this in, accounting is going to ask some questions, and then there’s a massive audit on everyone, and we can’t have that kind of trouble. So I’m telling you that if you’re interested in a career here, you’re going to change this expense report.”

The next week, when Moy submitted the expense report unchanged, his supervisor threatened to fire him (but, in the end, didn’t). Moy refers to the event as a “seminal moment” in shaping his understanding of the relationship between faith and work.

Moy and other evangelicals embody what we call heroic evangelicalism. Even if it costs them their jobs, these evangelicals refuse to compromise their core beliefs. Now, because evangelicalism is a large, diverse group (comprising about one-third of the U.S. adult population), what one evangelical regards as compromise, another sees as prudence.

The circumspect evangelical are leaders who prefer to signal their faith obliquely, rather than make explicit mention. Michael Duke, the CEO of Walmart, keeps a Bible on his desk and reads from it occasionally, but he’s uncomfortable being too direct about his Christianity.

As the CEO of the country’s biggest business, he has received a number of critiques, many of them challenging how he, as a Christian, could lead a company that pays its workers comparatively low wages and drives smaller businesses into the ground. When asked, he provides answers that would likely please Walmart’s supporters and frustrate its critics. But he doesn’t quote the Bible. He embodies a cosmopolitan evangelicalism that prefers to bear witness to his faith through subtle signals as opposed to explicit reference.

Finally, brazen evangelicals work in environments where they can take remarkable freedom in being bold about their faith. Some private companies give rise to this kind of Christianity, but the easiest examples come from professional sports.

Consider David Robinson, the San Antonio Spurs center who won both the NBA’s Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player awards. Robinson felt an obligation to make known his evangelical faith, and he frequently led the team in prayer before games. Not all of his teammates appreciated Robinson’s praying in Jesus’ name, but no one actively resisted, including a Muslim player on the team. Robinson, like other brazen evangelicals, indiscriminately draws upon his faith with no adverse impact on his career.

These four postures of evangelical leadership–pragmatic, heroic, circumspect, and brazen–can be found all around us in American society. My hunch is that there are analogous approaches occurring among devout Jews in senior leadership positions, as well as among practicing Muslims and those of other faith traditions. Naturally, it will always be a challenge for committed people of faith in senior leadership positions to draw upon their faith sincerely and responsibly. But understanding how their beliefs are playing out on the national stage is the first step in helping them do so–and in holding them accountable for it.

With nearly 400 full time faculty and staff, now spread out over 6 physical campuses, plus our online campus, there is only one time each year when we all get together.

I only have  one time each year to share with all our focus for the year, and emphasize the core of our God-honoring mission that drives us together.

I just posted online my 16th message from these “Kick-Off” events, which we now call our Service of Dedication.  (And during the service received a clock to commemorate completing 15 years as president.)

Each of these messages are based on a verse of the year – a text that is especially applicable as I see where the Lord is leading the school in the year ahead.

From my perspective, during these 16 years, there have been three of these messages that have been most important (although last years would be a close 4th in my ranking):

1996 – My first message to the campus set the tone for our future together.

2003 – I introduced a new planning model to the campus based on the metaphor of becoming sailboats to catch the wind of God, rather than powerboats who go where we assume God wants us to go, but operate ignoring the wind.

2010 – I’ve outlined our mission in a fresh way, as the Lord has developed us as a University of 3,500 students.

If you’d like to listen, read, or download the message, you can find it HERE.

But here is the core ideas in summary:

What distinguishes Belhaven University from all the other 4,168 schools in America is our commitment to: “purposeful stewardship.”

It comes down to this idea – we have a drive and culture ingrained in Belhaven that seeks to get the best out of everything that God has given to us. We are purposefully good stewards of whatever the Lord entrusts to us.

1.  We have a calling to the stewardship of teaching an unchanging biblical worldview.

We are unwavering in the major issues of our Christian faith, and couple that solid biblical commitment with grace to be accepting of a variety of perspectives the minor issues of faith. We together all of God’s people across the evangelical spectrum of the Church.

• The uniqueness of Christ as the only way to the Father
• The justification by faith alone
• The authority and inerrancy of scripture
• The transforming power of the Holy Spirit
• The reality of eternal life to come.

Like the pillars that symbolize Belhaven near our fountain, these timeless pillars of what it means to be a follower of Jesus are unmovable at the center of our campus.

2.  We have a calling to the stewardship of valuing every student.

We take every student – just where they are – and we invest in them to help get the most out of them.  We don’t just try to push students through a pre-designed program that makes it easy for us. Instead, we try to work with each one as a unique person whom God designed with special gifts, drive, and purpose.

We are convinced that every student at Belhaven University came here because God hand-picked them to come here.  And because they are a gift to us from God, we must be purposeful stewards of every single one of them.

3.  We have a calling to the stewardship of honoring God-given opportunities.

Our planning is built around waiting for God’s wind to blow, rather than traditional destination planning that attempts to predict where God wants us to go in the future.  Yes, we plan, but we do it locally, as close to every academic department, office, team, and function as possible – in order to be purposeful stewards of what God has already given us.

We do stewardship planning, instead of predicting a future in destination planning that wastefully consumes most schools, attempting to predict future outcomes that are often far beyond their control.

For sometime I’ve been encouraged to take the time to write and share some of the leadership principles that have been important to me through 21 years in the college presidency. As our faculty, and others of you who write know, it takes discipline and it’s sometimes hard to stay in the chair long enough to get ideas onto paper.

But with the encouragement of our Board of Trustees (they even put it in my annual evaluation to make this a priority) this three year project is now in print and was released last week.  One of my great joys about the book is the opportunity to share the stories of how God has worked so marvelously at Belhaven through these years.

David C. Cook is the publisher.  They are working with B&B Media to help get out the word about the book, and I discovered last week that the daughter of the VP for B&B, Diane Morrow, is studying dance here at Belhaven – Amy Morrow.

With their guidance I started a round of radio interviews last week, and there are more on the schedule – Detroit, Charlotte, Des Moines, Cleveland, etc. – I’ll be sharing on the American Family Radio broadcast to several hundred stations tomorrow with Matt Friedman.

On Wednesday the 28^th at 4:30 central time, I’ll have the honor to talk about the ideas of the book on the national broadcast of Prime Time America, on Moody Radio .

I put in the campus mail today a signed copy of the book to each faculty and staff member because they make leadership easy for me at Belhaven. Thanks!!

But if you’re not on the team here at Belhaven and would like a copy, it is on all the major book websites now, and will be featured in Family Christian Stores and in LifeWay Christian Stores during the month of November.

Here is the quick link to Amazon where you can order, or share your reviews if you like (of course, if you don’t like it, just tell me instead of the whole world on Amazon!!)

Had some nice endorsements for the book including Ken Blanchard, Joni Erickson-Tada, Michael Lindsay, Ed Young, Steve Douglass, Duane Litfin, and Doug Birdsall.

There is a website for the book as well:  www.thelongview.info

Since you know me, you won’t be surprised that some concepts run against the norm of traditional leadership thinking, such as the chapter:  Planning Will Drain the Life from Your Ministry. This has been one of the hallmarks of distinction for Belhaven, and while our long-term faculty and staff lived through this dramatic shift, those who are newer may be interested to know the philosophy behind our not having a traditional long-range plan.

The core focus of the book is on pages 11 and 12, calling us to break free from the immediate results driven culture that has taken over business – and permeated the church as well.

Our theology and our ministry passion draw us to talk about longview outcomes as our heart’s desire, but we have been duped into fostering a generation of leaders, board members, employees, and constituencies who value short-term gain over longview significance. Ministry leaders believe it and act accordingly—hiring and rewarding people who can promote Band-Aid fixes as monumental solutions, creating plans that promise the moon and always come up short, raising funds from unrealistically compressed donor relationships, and touting to boards and constituencies those results that can most easily be measured and applauded.

Because this short-view corporate culture has so permeated the church today, we in ministry have loosened our grip on the biblical model for leadership. . . . The time is right for rising leaders to break free from the short-term leadership patterns of the past and set their sites on the horizon to ensure a life of leadership that will be honoring to God and bring us back to principles that will allow the church to make a transformational difference in the world.

We need to be leading for significance rather than giving into the pressure for short-term results.  This book not only calls us to this priority, but deals with the practical implications of leading for the longview.

I’d welcome your feedback and insights.  You can leave them here, or on www.thelongview.info blog.

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Each fall the humanities department of Beloit College attempts to help academics understand the incoming first year students with its “Mindset List” which reflects what the class of freshmen will have experienced, or don’t know.

It is always interesting and sobering to read this list – and makes lots of us feel older than we wish we were.  Here is their introduction, and a portion of this year’s list:

If the entering college class of 2013 had been more alert back in 1991 when most of them were born, they would now be experiencing a severe case of déjà vu. The headlines that year railed about government interventions, bailouts, bad loans, unemployment and greater regulation of the finance industry. The Tonight Show changed hosts for the first time in decades, and the nation asked “was Iraq worth a war?”

• They have never used a card catalog to find a book.
• Dan Rostenkowski and Mike Tyson have always been felons.
• The Green Giant has always been Shrek, not the big guy picking vegetables.
• Salsa has always outsold ketchup.
• Rap music has always been mainstream.
• Chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream has always been a flavor choice.
• The KGB has never officially existed.
• Babies have always had a Social Security Number.
• Bungee jumping has always been socially acceptable.
• The European Union has always existed.
• There has always been a Cartoon Network.
• They have always been able to read books on an electronic screen.
• Women have always outnumbered men in college.
• There have always been flat screen televisions.
• Britney Spears has always been heard on classic rock stations.
• Someone has always been asking: “Was Iraq worth a war?”
• Most communities have always had a mega-church.
• There has always been a computer in the Oval Office.
• Avon has always been “calling” in a catalog.
• Official racial classifications in South Africa have always been outlawed.

From The Times of London

December 27, 2008

As an atheist, I truly believe Africa needs God

Missionaries, not aid money, are the solution to Africa’s biggest problem – the crushing passivity of the people’s mindset

Matthew Parris

Before Christmas I returned, after 45 years, to the country that as a boy I knew as Nyasaland. Today it’s Malawi, and The Times Christmas Appeal includes a small British charity working there. Pump Aid helps rural communities to install a simple pump, letting people keep their village wells sealed and clean. I went to see this work.

It inspired me, renewing my flagging faith in development charities. But travelling in Malawi refreshed another belief, too: one I’ve been trying to banish all my life, but an observation I’ve been unable to avoid since my African childhood. It confounds my ideological beliefs, stubbornly refuses to fit my world view, and has embarrassed my growing belief that there is no God.

Now a confirmed atheist, I’ve become convinced of the enormous contribution that Christian evangelism makes in Africa: sharply distinct from the work of secular NGOs, government projects and international aid efforts. These alone will not do. Education and training alone will not do. In Africa Christianity changes people’s hearts. It brings a spiritual transformation. The rebirth is real. The change is good.

I used to avoid this truth by applauding – as you can – the practical work of mission churches in Africa. It’s a pity, I would say, that salvation is part of the package, but Christians black and white, working in Africa, do heal the sick, do teach people to read and write; and only the severest kind of secularist could see a mission hospital or school and say the world would be better without it. I would allow that if faith was needed to motivate missionaries to help, then, fine: but what counted was the help, not the faith.

First, then, the observation. We had friends who were missionaries, and as a child I stayed often with them; I also stayed, alone with my little brother, in a traditional rural African village. In the city we had working for us Africans who had converted and were strong believers. The Christians were always different. Far from having cowed or confined its converts, their faith appeared to have liberated and relaxed them. There was a liveliness, a curiosity, an engagement with the world – a directness in their dealings with others – that seemed to be missing in traditional African life. They stood tall.

At 24, travelling by land across the continent reinforced this impression. From Algiers to Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon and the Central African Republic, then right through the Congo to Rwanda, Tanzania and Kenya, four student friends and I drove our old Land Rover to Nairobi.

We slept under the stars, so it was important as we reached the more populated and lawless parts of the sub-Sahara that every day we find somewhere safe by nightfall. Often near a mission.

Whenever we entered a territory worked by missionaries, we had to acknowledge that something changed in the faces of the people we passed and spoke to: something in their eyes, the way they approached you direct, man-to-man, without looking down or away. They had not become more deferential towards strangers – in some ways less so – but more open.

This time in Malawi it was the same. I met no missionaries. You do not encounter missionaries in the lobbies of expensive hotels discussing development strategy documents, as you do with the big NGOs. But instead I noticed that a handful of the most impressive African members of the Pump Aid team (largely from Zimbabwe) were, privately, strong Christians. “Privately” because the charity is entirely secular and I never heard any of its team so much as mention religion while working in the villages. But I picked up the Christian references in our conversations. One, I saw, was studying a devotional textbook in the car. One, on Sunday, went off to church at dawn for a two-hour service.

It would suit me to believe that their honesty, diligence and optimism in their work was unconnected with personal faith. Their work was secular, but surely affected by what they were. What they were was, in turn, influenced by a conception of man’s place in the Universe that Christianity had taught.

There’s long been a fashion among Western academic sociologists for placing tribal value systems within a ring fence, beyond critiques founded in our own culture: “theirs” and therefore best for “them”; authentic and of intrinsically equal worth to ours.

I don’t follow this. I observe that tribal belief is no more peaceable than ours; and that it suppresses individuality. People think collectively; first in terms of the community, extended family and tribe. This rural-traditional mindset feeds into the “big man” and gangster politics of the African city: the exaggerated respect for a swaggering leader, and the (literal) inability to understand the whole idea of loyal opposition.

Anxiety – fear of evil spirits, of ancestors, of nature and the wild, of a tribal hierarchy, of quite everyday things – strikes deep into the whole structure of rural African thought. Every man has his place and, call it fear or respect, a great weight grinds down the individual spirit, stunting curiosity. People won’t take the initiative, won’t take things into their own hands or on their own shoulders.

How can I, as someone with a foot in both camps, explain? When the philosophical tourist moves from one world view to another he finds – at the very moment of passing into the new – that he loses the language to describe the landscape to the old. But let me try an example: the answer given by Sir Edmund Hillary to the question: Why climb the mountain? “Because it’s there,” he said.

To the rural African mind, this is an explanation of why one would not climb the mountain. It’s… well, there. Just there. Why interfere? Nothing to be done about it, or with it. Hillary’s further explanation – that nobody else had climbed it – would stand as a second reason for passivity.

Christianity, post-Reformation and post-Luther, with its teaching of a direct, personal, two-way link between the individual and God, unmediated by the collective, and unsubordinate to any other human being, smashes straight through the philosphical/spiritual framework I’ve just described. It offers something to hold on to to those anxious to cast off a crushing tribal groupthink. That is why and how it liberates.

Those who want Africa to walk tall amid 21st-century global competition must not kid themselves that providing the material means or even the knowhow that accompanies what we call development will make the change. A whole belief system must first be supplanted.

And I’m afraid it has to be supplanted by another. Removing Christian evangelism from the African equation may leave the continent at the mercy of a malign fusion of Nike, the witch doctor, the mobile phone and the machete.

I invited the Student Leadership Council for lunch last week in the President’s Dining Room.  They are an impressive group and I was glad for the opportunity to dialog with them about the year ahead.  Each of these students is uniquely gifted, with a vision and commitment to their assignment. These are students who are serious about making Belhaven a better place, strengthening our student’s college experience, and honoring God in all they do.

This is unlike the traditional “Student Council” where students represent a class or sector of the campus (usually spending most of the year ineffectively finding some common ground in order to get something done.)  The Leadership structure our students have developed through the past decade is focused on outcomes, and this group hit the ground running on day one with a full agenda.  Together they coordinate a comprehensive focus for student initiated activities and priorities.

From close to far at our luncheon on the left side of the table

STUDENT COORDINATOR OF ACTIVITIES – Katelyn Wolfe
As Student Coordinator of Activities, Katelyn works closely with the Coordinator of Student Leadership & Activities in planning and implementing the College activities program.  She also serves as the student leader of the Belhaven Activities Team (BAT).  Have student activity questions or ideas?  Want to serve on BAT?  Contact Katelyn at studentactivities@belhaven.edu.

STUDENT MINISTRIES COORDINATOR – Sergei Yepishin
As Student Ministry Coordinator, Sergei networks with campus ministry organizations and offers ministry-related events and services for the student body.  He can help you connect with a group who will encourage your walk with Christ.  Want to find out what ministry organizations are available to you at Belhaven?  Want to come together with fellow students in prayer?  Contact Sergei at studentministries@belhaven.edu.

WHITE COLUMNS EDITOR – Michelle Sipes
As the White Columns Editor, Michelle is responsible for the creation and production of the College yearbook.  She works with a student staff to create, write, edit, format and produce this lasting record of the Belhaven College school year.  Do you take quality pictures?  Have computer design, graphics or layout skills?  Contact Michelle at whitecolumns@belhaven.edu.

COMMUNITY OUTREACH COORDINATOR – Jerry Zifodya
As Community Outreach Coordinator, Jerry creates, organizes and implements community outreach projects for student groups of all sizes.  He is connected with local service opportunities and offers a broad range of options for students wanting to impact the lives of others.  Want to roll up your sleeves and help others?  Contact Jerry at communityoutreach@belhaven.edu.

DIRECTOR OF STUDENT LEADERSHIP (ADVISOR) – JoBeth Petty

From close to far at our luncheon on the right side of the table

CAMPUS LIFE COORDINATOR – Stanton Martin
As Campus Life Coordinator, Stanton aggressively listens to students’ needs, observations and questions.  He meets regularly with the Dean of Student Life and other College administrators to discuss issues related to areas such as residence life, food services and student center services.  Have campus life questions?  Contact Stanton at campuslife@belhaven.edu.

PRESIDENT – Brandon Holman
As BLC President, Brandon is the chief student body representative.  He coordinates all BLC work and represents students in a host of formal and informal settings.  He also works closely with the Director of Student Leadership, and regularly dialogues with other College administrators and faculty.  Have questions about BLC – who they are – what they’re doing- how you can be involved?  Contact Brandon at blcpresident@belhaven.edu.

STUDENT COORDINATOR OF INTRAMURALS – Andrew Gipson
As Student Coordinator of Intramurals, Andrew works closely with the Coordinator of Student Leadership & Intramurals in planning and implementing the College intramural program.  Have intramural questions?  Want to play a team or individual sport?  Want to work as an official or scorekeeper (trained and compensated)?  Contact Andrew at intramurals@belhaven.edu.

THE QUARTER TONE EDITOR – Kevin Harwell
As Editor of The Quarter Tone, Kevin is responsible for the production of each issue of the student newspaper.  He works with a sizeable staff of students who create, write, edit, format and produce each issue.  Want to write?  Have computer or graphic skills?  Want to suggest an idea for newspaper coverage?  Contact Kevin at quartertone@belhaven.edu.

Dr. Stephen Phillips, Political Science Department, has been selected to present a paper at the Hillsdale College Free Market Forum September 25-27th, which brings together business and political science faculty from a wide range of Christian and private colleges.  His was selected among seventeen proposals.  His topic is “The Morality of Free Trade.”  I asked Stephen to summarize his work so I could include it here on the blog:

I examine the problems associated both with various forms of protectionism, as well as with the “Fair Trade” movement.  I promote free trade, bounded by a biblical morality, as the best option.  I show the broad benefits of free trade: improvements in wealth, education, health, and even greater freedom of ideas, including the spread of the gospel.  I provide numerous references as well as empirical evidence to support my positions.

Part of the significance of this presentation is that many of the faculty attending are libertarian, and don’t seem to understand or appreciate a biblical ethic for all of life.  Others attending tend to adopt a soft socialism as representing a biblical view of mercy.  I try to address both positions from a biblical perspective.

I know that lots of people pray regularly for Belhaven College.  I often hear from alumni, friends, faculty, staff, parents, and students who tell me they are supporting us all in prayer.

I receive the following encouraging email yesterday.  What a wonderful gift this is to Belhaven, and the other schools, to have these friends pray for us.

Roger,

Today I saw two ladies looking at the Legacy of Learning plaques on the sidewalk. I thought they must be alums, looking at the names of their old professors.  But they were prayer walkers, praying the Bible passages on the plaques over the campus.

They come here every year on seven consecutive weeks, to pray for God’s blessing on the campus. They go to Millsaps also, the same days. Then they go seven weeks to Hinds, then seven weeks to MC.

This is not a program of their churches, but something God laid on their hearts to do. I was encouraged by that, and know you will be also.

Joe Martin
Biblical Studies and Ministries

I don’t write about politics on this blog – and I’m not going to start now. But, when politics gives us such a blatant example of what happens when one’s worldview is ungrounded, I can’t resist pointing it out.

The Vice Presidential choice of John McCain has caught the nation’s attention and is the talk of the country. The 24/7 news pundits quickly raised the controversy of whether Governor Sarah Palin, a mother of five children (one with Down Syndrome) should also attempt to take on the demanding job of Vice President of the United States.

. . . . . . . . carry on the political argument with your friends here

Leaving politics aside, the fascinating part of this debate is that arguing from their long-held traditional worldviews:

• Republicans advocate women should make home obligations their priority.
• Democrats encourage women to “have it all” in career and home.

With the surprise newcomer joining the campaign trail, the positions switched on a dime:

• Republicans arguing Sarah Palin can “have it all”
• Democrats insisting Sarah Palin would be shirking her responsibility to her children.

A worldview that is easily abandoned when the need of the moment demands it is not a worldview at all. A guiding worldview does not change when it is inconvenient.

Dr. Ligon Duncan, pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Jackson, spoke for our Academic Convocation yesterday. He shared a marvelous message outlining “Ten Radically Counter-Cultural Things that You Can Learn at Belhaven that You Won’t Learn at Other Colleges.”

He gave us so much good stuff in a short time, I ask him for his outline today so I could post it here and allow us all to consider these points further:

1. Life does not revolve around self.
Contra: Individualism THE SELF IS THE PRIME REALITY

2. Truth exists and matters.
Contra: Relativism THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS ABSOLUTE TRUTH OR MORALITY

3. What you believe informs everything you do, and what you do shows what you really believe.
Contra: Secularism RELIGION MUST BE KEPT OUT OF ALL PUBLIC SPHERES

4. Real tolerance is not (and cannot be) based on relativism. All roads do not lead up the mountain!
Contra: Pluralism ALL VIEWS, VALUES, AND LIFESTYLES MUST BE ACCORDED EQUAL STANDING

5. Not everything that works is right.
Contra: Pragmatism WHATEVER WORKS IS RIGHT

6. Not all change is good.
Contra: Progressivism CHANGE IS ALWAYS GOOD AND PROGRESS IS INEVITABLE

7. Our technology does not give us the ability to solve every human problem.
Contra: Rationalization (or Technophilia) TECHNOLOGY CAN SOLVE ALL OUR PROBLEMS

8. This material world is not all that there is.
Contra: Naturalism REALITY IS MATERIAL

9. Freedom does not mean doing what I want to do.
Contra: Antinomianism Freedom is a right and it means I can do anything I want to do

10. You are worse than you think you are. You are what you are alone, when no one sees you.
Contra: Privitivism PRIVATE LIFE AND PUBLIC LIFE HAVE NO NECESSARY CONNECTION