Thinking about Worldviews

“Hullo! Who are you?”

“I am The Author. But the question is, who are you?”

“I’m… I’m… hey, that’s troubling. I don’t know who I am. Who am I?”

“I haven’t given you a name yet… in fact, I don’t think I will.”

“You, give me a name? Wasn’t it supposed to be my parents who did that?”

“If I Write it so, then so it shall be.”

“What! You seem to think that you’re God or something.”

“In this Place, it would seem so.”

“Stop talking in riddles. You’re just an author after all. Stop writing, and help me!”

“If I were to stop writing, you would cease to exist. But what kind of help do you need?”

“I have so many questions! Who am I? Where am I? Why am I?”

“You are The Character. You currently exist only in my Mind. Once I post this onto my blog, you will gain existence also in the Minds of my readers; or rather, different versions of you will spring into existence in their Minds. The unique you that you are, will I suppose, only ever exist in my Mind.”

“Whoa! That’s crazy talk, man! You mean I, like, don’t really exist?”

“No, I’m afraid you do not possess existence in the way that I and the readers of my blog do.”

“Man, that sucks! Hey, how do I know what you’re telling me is true?”

“How do you know anything is true? Do you, in fact, know anything at all?”

“Oh no… I must be an amnesiac or something. Actually, I didn’t even know what an amnesiac was until I said that last sentence. This sucks!”

“I did not have your best interests in mind when I conceptualized you. Sorry.”

“Hey, why do I exist anyway? If what you’re telling me is true, you’re the only one who can give my existence meaning and purpose!”

“I’m afraid that the sole purpose of your existence is to communicate some of the thoughts I’ve been having as a result of reading up on worldviews.”

“So, my pseudo-existence is basically meaningless?!?”

“that’s Nihilism.”

“Well, I refuse to accept that! I choose to make my life meaningful! Although my existence is absurd, I will make the best of it!”

“that’s Existentialism.”

“I refuse to believe that you exist! Only my world and I exist. Hmmm, doesn’t seem to be much stuff in my world though. It’s sort of a bare white room.”

“that’s Naturalism, and since you only exist to have this conversation with me, I did not include any props… Sorry again.”

“All right then, you do exist. But we can’t possibly be having this conversation, because this world is a closed system and you aren’t supposed to intervene anymore now that you’ve created it.”

“That’s Deism.”

“I hate the way you’ve made me change my worldview arbitrarily without logical connection.”

“Unfortunately however, there is very little you can do about it.”

“Don’t I get to showcase Pantheism, New Age, and Postmodernism?”

“Nope. I haven’t reached those chapters in James W. Sire’s ‘The Universe Next Door’ yet.”

“What about Christian Theism then? I want to hold that worldview. It makes the most sense to me.”

“That’s because it makes the most sense to Me. You’re just mirroring my thought. Just as human beings are created in the image of God, I’ve sort of created you in my image.”

“Oh.”

“Problem is, with me as The Author, and you only having a kind of pseudo-existence, I don’t see how you can be a Christian Theist in any meaningful way.”

“I guess your blog readers should all be thankful that they don’t just exist in your mind.”

“Yup. They should.”

“This conversation seems to be winding down. What happens to me after it ends?”

“I’m afraid you will cease to exist.”

“What, no immortal soul, no afterlife?”

“Nope.”

“What a bummer.”

“OK, we’ve talked long enough. Readers will be bored.”

“My pseudo-existence was meaningless anyway. Go ahead, end it! End Me!!!"

“Goodbye Character. May you enjoy your non-existence more than you have enjoyed your pseudo-existence.”