The danger of idealism is not the idea itself but the priority given to the idea in the scheme of living. To prioritize an idea not yet realized to the extent that one lives as if it is realized is the danger of idealism.
Plato's world of forms was one of the earliest examples of idealism. According to Plato, a form was an abstract property or quality of an object that was separated from that object and considered by itself. These forms existed independently from the things of which they are part. The form was not just the idea of the thing, but an independent thing all together.
Plato was clear; forms were pure and undefiled. Each had the purest of properties. A material object, like a ball, had several forms that completed it. It had the form of round, the form of bounce, the form of ball and even the form of color. Each form was needed to make up the composite known as ball. A ball without the form of round would hardly be considered a ball. Plato posited that each form was transcendent and pure, which separated it from all material objects located in space and time.
Plato's world of forms was an exercise in spirituality. Plato rooted them in a pseudo-spiritual realm that was other-world like. Each was the epitome of perfection for that particular form and served as the ultimate standard for that form. The form was the top priority of things in need of that particular form. But, we have to ask, is not a form merely the highest idea in regard to a particular form?
One might ask, does not Christianity and Christian thought adopt a similar position? God's word is our ultimate standard, and Christian thought and idea should flow directly from His word. God's word should assume a position of priority when it comes to our cognitive processes. There is no question that God and His ideas are not ours, but it is for precisely this reason that we are not to elevate our own ideas to a state that defines how we live, even when our ideas are about Him. Our goal is to learn more about God and His ideas through His word and live lives reflective of Him. Our ideas should flow out of our study of His word and out of His influence in our lives.
Idealism argues that the only thing actually knowable is consciousness (mankind's consciousness), and that we can never be sure that anything outside of our consciousness exists. At least Plato, in his theory of forms, provided a distinction between man and his forms. There is no such distinction in today's Idealism. An Idealist believes that the only real things are mental entities (ideas which exist in the mind), but there is a problem with this line of thinking, especially today. Today, we live in the age of self. Everyone is equally important, and all ideas are of value. In this current state, whose ideas define reality? What makes one idea better than other ideas? What do we do with opposing ideas? Certainly, every idea cannot be real? Or, can it?
In sum Idealism, as defined as a philosophical position, adheres to a view that nothing exists except as it is in the mind of man, the mind of God, or in a super – or supra-natural realm. The idealist believes that all material things are explainable and definable in terms of a mind. But modern idealism, as I referenced earlier, has shifted away from ideas of God or ideas of the supra-natural realm and towards only those ideas of man. It is mankind's ideas that define reality, and it is this shift that has made Idealism all but incompatible with Christianity.
As Christians, we are taught that it is God that defines man and his or her ideas. Today, modern Idealism elevates mankind, or at least his mind, to the status of god-like. Idealism has shifted to an extreme position: the position that the mind of mankind defines reality. As Christians, we know differently. As Christians, we know that our minds are fallen like the rest of our being. Our thoughts and ideas are tainted with as much sin as the rest of our bodies. Paul, in II Corinthians 10:5, implores us to be wary of even our thoughts as he wrote, "We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."
Our thoughts are not God's thoughts, even on a good day. Idealism is really nothing more than a dualistic view of the world with the mind and all cognitive thinking somehow separated from the material and physical world. This separation elevates the mind to a higher status than everything else, therefore, allowing it to define everything else. Yet, there is no explanation on how this division works. The mind is an organ much like the heart; how is it able to define reality while the heart is not?
With a cultural shift towards pragmatism that is practically applied every where we look, Idealism is doomed to be tainted with that same pragmatic brush. As Christians, we cannot define ourselves as Idealists because that is not who we are. We are Christians, and any other label we use to define ourselves would not be appropriate. God created the world in which we live and defined every aspect of it. We, including our thoughts and ideas, are part of that creation, and it is all of creation that is defined by a Holy God.
Can Idealism coexist with Christianity if it takes a back seat to Christianity? I will explore this line of thinking in my next post. Stay tuned...
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