Christianity and Postmodern Relativism
Christianity and postmodern relativism are two contrasting philosophies. Christians believe that everything on the earth was created and controlled by God. Biblical teachings justify the existence and supernatural power of God. Christians acknowledge science as key in providing the solution to world problems. Ethics taught in Christianity religion are applied in the healthcare sector. On the other hand, postmodern relativism is a Western philosophy that states that truth does not exist, but can be invented.
Christianity has played a significant role in shaping the healthcare sector. Christian teachings and values influence healthcare providers affiliated with Christianity. Christians use biblical teachings in their daily lives to solve world problems(Bulgakov, 2016). The biblical teachings on human suffering encourage Christian nurses and doctors to provide healthcare services to patients. Christians believe that God created human beings. Also, Christians believe that human beings were given the power to take care of all the other creatures on earth. Therefore, according to Christian teachings, human beings are considered as unique creators. Human life is also considered as sacred that is only given and taken by God. Christian nurses and doctors who believe in Christianity work selflessly to save human lives because they believe that human life is sacred. Also, Christian ethics does not support abortion and euthanasia. Unlike Christianity, postmodern relativism holds that human beings are not special creators than the other living things in the earth. Therefore, nurses who believe in postmodern relativism treat human patients as any other living organism. Postmodern relativism philosophy holds that truth is not discovered, but it is invented. According to Christianity, terminating human life is an offense, while, according to postmodern relativism, murder can be wrong or right depending on the outcome of the murder. Therefore, nursing professionals who believe in postmodern relativism work under challenging situations where there is limited truth on whether murder is wrong.
Scientism
Scientism is a belief that humanities, philosophies, and social sciences can be explained using science. In case of Christianity, God is the provider of knowledge and wisdom. In other religions, knowledge about human life and philosophies is passed from one generation to another, which is opposite to scientism. Scientism states that any natural phenomena can only be explained using science. Also, scientism holds on the opinion that knowledge can only be acquired after experimental method. The proponents of scientism do not believe in the existence of supernatural powers, which has made scientism to receive criticism.
One of the major arguments against scientism is the claim that only scientific claims that are measurable are meaningful. However, the argument itself is not scientific because it is not measurable; thus, scientism is meaningless. Another argument against scientism is the claim that life does not exist after death. Scientism believes that death is the end of life. The proponents of scientism argue that it cannot be empirically proven that life can exist after death. However, scientism does not have any other proof that there is no life after death, which renders scientism meaningless. Also, scientism does not support belief in the existence of God and other supernatural powers. Christianity and other religions believe in the presence of supernatural powers. God is believed to have created the universe and all other living things. Scientism does not believe in the existence of God, but it has failed to explain the origin of human life. Scientism should thus understand that not all humanities and philosophies can be scientifically proven, but some need to be accepted through faith.