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Why Is the "Wisdom of the Ages" Still a Secret?

Since the wisdom of the ages, has been taught by thousands of wise beings over thousands of years, how can it still be considered a secret? It can be, simply because the vast majority of humans are unaware of these universal principles. Most don't disregard them out of contrariness, but just out of ignorance. To some degree we've actually regressed since the early 1800s, as our culture has become more and more secularized - meaning notions of God or universal spiritual principles have been downplayed and in many cases eradicated from centers of cultural influence (i.e., the media, the arts, science, and education).

In the twentieth century, this trend towards what's called "modernism" or "scientism" came to replace historical faith traditions as the dominant climate of American culture. As the existence of God was discounted and/or minimized, many universal principles stemming from the Creator likewise were disregarded. It was believed that all knowledge began and ended with man, who wasn't created in God's image, but rather was a purely accidental by-product of an impersonal evolutionary process. This belief marks man's beginning as simply a gas or protein that evolved to a higher life form with no true purpose beyond merely surviving.

It was imagined that, adrift in a meaningless universe, man's primary instinct for survival demanded that he be the smartest and strongest animal in the jungle (hence, "the law of the jungle"). Men therefore directed their resources at gaining power, whether intellectual, financial, or physical, so they could protect themselves or dominate others. It was commonly thought that education held the key to gaining an "edge" in the survival game, and science would further provide the means to explain our world by giving us the tools we needed to succeed.

Under this worldview, all morality was considered to be "relative," since no moral absolutes other than survival existed. As German philosopher Nietzsche postulated, if God was "dead," man was freed from all moral restraints. All that mattered was the "will to power." Then, God easily could be replaced by "super-man."

Both Hitler and Stalin fancied themselves to be such "supermen." They pictured themselves at the top of the food chain, seeing other humans as nothing more than evolved animals without souls or spiritual dignity. To "eliminate" these lesser beings meant no more than butchering cattle or sheep. The unthinkable outcome of their infamous regimes was the collective slaughter of nearly 50 million people, mostly women and children. Jews, Muslims, Buddhists and Christians were especially targeted for extinction.

Progress, as defined by "scientific socialism" (i.e. building a society free of any spiritual influence) comes at a high price, and both Stalin and Hitler were willing to pay it in blood. While these two and their imitators (from Mao Tse Tung to Fidel Castro, Pol Pot to Idi Amin) are at the extreme end of the secular/modernist spectrum, their ethic of ruthless immoral power at the expense of others is widely shared, even in "advanced" democracies. So what we have often ended up with are "leaders" who are very strong financially, politically, or intellectually, yet seem completely adrift in terms of purpose, integrity or morality.

Today, the dominant philosophical school known as postmodernism has thoroughly discredited the principal assumptions of modernism, Darwinism, and scientism. Even many evolutionists are presently admitting the possibility, or even the necessity, of "an intelligent designer" that set life and the universe in motion. Hundreds of scientists now point out that evolution is nothing more than an unproven theory that ironically takes at least as much "faith" to accept as traditional creation stories found in various faith traditions. Postmodernism, in denying that science alone can fathom the secrets of the universe or even tell us how to live, leaves the door open to rediscovering traditional spiritual paths, as well as God's universal life principles.

So far this discussion has offered a few hints as to why most people in the "secularized" Western nations no longer turn to the ancient wisdom books for life guidance. But what explains why contemporary Western religious traditions, particularly American Christianity, seem to be almost completely ignorant of these principles?

One would logically speculate that people closely associated with the Christian Bible or Hebrew "Old Testament" would be the foremost practitioners of these principles. Yet, many people of faith seem to practice very little, if any, of what we would term biblical wisdom.

Indeed, today's situation is so bleak that Christian scholars John Peck and Charles Strohmer say "Christians who awaken to their need for a truly coherent and thoroughgoing biblical wisdom, one that will penetrate the secular affairs of life consistently, are going to find it a desperate and daunting task , with few clues to follow and many vital signposts missing." ( Uncommon Sense , 76)

While this conundrum has a multitude of facets, the primary explanation we can give is this: Churches or temples gloss over the wisdom literature in their own scriptures, largely because each have their own particular agendas to promote - such as evangelism, social works, political action, healing, "signs and wonders," church-building, "spiritual growth," - and limited resources with which to do it.

Considering the more than 25,000 different denominations and sects competing with each other by emphasizing their own unique definitions of the Gospel, the problem simply becomes magnified 25,000 times. Most congregations become so involved with their own priorities (which in many cases involve commendable, albeit narrow, agendas ) that they simply don't have the time, energy, or interest to explore the more fundamental issues found in their own historic wisdom literature.

Consequently, God's universal principles for living a successful life remain a buried treasure in many Western religious institutions.

Evidence of this is found in the barrenness of the typical "Christian life." Various polls show that by and large, Christians in North America behave no differently than their secular counterparts. The majority believes that right and wrong are relative values with no universal "Archimedean" - or reference - point.

Of course, we must quickly add that we also can think of many examples, hopefully in our own families and churches, as well as the national and international scene, of people of faith who are in touch with God's universal life's principles and live accordingly. Prime examples include Billy Graham, Gandhi, Pope Paul or Mother Theresa, and still hundreds of thousands of others who have volunteered to serve in extremely difficult (and often very dangerous) environments throughout the world.

The point is that faith traditions in the U.S. have largely lost touch with the Ground Rules and Wisdom of successful living. That's why those Ground Rules and Wisdom Principles have become Life's Secrets.