📖 Biblical Definition
Philosophical (or Metaphysical) Naturalism is the metaphysical position that only natural causes and entities exist — there is no God, no soul, no supernatural, no spirit. It is the dominant unspoken worldview of the modern Western academy, science establishment, and entertainment industry. It is distinct from methodological naturalism (which only brackets the supernatural for the limited purposes of natural-science investigation). Scripture refuses the metaphysical version: "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth" (Genesis 1:1) requires a Creator before any natural cause exists. Romans 1:18-20 holds the naturalist responsible: God’s eternal power and Godhead are "clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made; so that they are without excuse." Suppression of the truth.
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
(Worldview.) Only natural causes exist; no God, no supernatural; the dominant secular worldview.
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Major modern proponents: Daniel Dennett, Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens (the ‘new atheists’); also analytic philosophers like Quine, Armstrong, more guarded versions in Plantinga's opponents.
Christian critique runs along multiple lines: (1) naturalism cannot ground reason if reason is the product of non-rational evolution (argument from reason); (2) cannot account for moral absolutes (moral argument); (3) cannot account for fine-tuning of cosmological constants (fine-tuning); (4) cannot account for first cause (cosmological argument); (5) cannot account for consciousness as something more than physical.
📖 Key Scripture
Psalm 14:1 — "The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God."
Romans 1:20 — "For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen."
Hebrews 11:3 — "Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God."
Acts 17:28 — "For in him we live, and move, and have our being."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
Modern academic culture often presents philosophical naturalism as the default rational position; Christianity argues it is itself a contestable worldview commitment, not a neutral starting point.
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Philosophical naturalism — the claim that nothing exists beyond the material — is marketed as "science" itself, conflating method with metaphysics. The corruption is pretending naturalism is the conclusion of evidence rather than the unprovable premise smuggled in before evidence is examined.
🔗 Greek & Hebrew Roots
Latin natura plus -ism.
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Latin natura — nature; that which is born or grows.
Note: secular (Latin saeculum, age) sometimes used as near-synonym; technically secular = of this age, which the saint also lives in but does not belong to.
Usage
"Naturalism is a worldview, not a default."
"It makes positive metaphysical claims requiring defense."
"Expose it as a worldview; show its borrowing from theism."