Biblical Truth vs. Human Truth: Why God’s Ways Outrank Ours

Editor’s note – The author spent decades chasing Abraham Maslow’s promise of self-actualization before recognizing that no self-improvement ladder can deliver what Scripture offers as a gift. We’re running this piece because it traces, in detail, the difference between a life oriented toward Self and a life oriented toward God, and because its survey of Naturalism, Humanism, New Age thought, and Transhumanism names counterfeit gospels many readers will recognize from their own history. The Scripture collection that follows deserves slow reading. Read it as one long meditation on where our confidence actually rests, and weigh a few claims along the way rather than taking them as settled fact.

Why God’s Truths Outrank Human Truths

God’s TRUTHS inspire “Orientation towards God,” whereas Human Truths promote “Self-oriented Pursuits.”

During the 1960s and 70s, 83% of adult Americans pursued “self-actualization,” influenced by Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Human Needs. I was one of them – because I believed it was true that I could self-develop Being and Behaving characteristics to become self-actualizing. I was lured by this promise, like millions of other seekers of self-fulfillment.

Back then, few seekers knew Maslow’s Hierarchy:

• began as A Theory of Motivation (1943),
• became a “model” to emulate,
• was taught as a “fact” by professors and countless textbooks,
• until many believed it was “true.”

Few knew that Maslow made self-transcendence the highest need, mainly because only 12-15 persons in all of human history were self-actualizers. [Jesus was one of them.]

I’m writing about this now, in my 83rd year, to explain why God’s TRUTHS are far superior to Human Truths.

God’s Omni-presence, Omniscience and Omnipotence cause God’s TRUTHS to be superior [Omni] to human truths:

My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts. [Isaiah 55:8-9]

Human truths are not “omni” in any way but focus on worldly matters that really don’t matter. These truths are based on unconscious incompetence—unaware of what truly matters and unable to live more abundantly – unlike the Way and the Truth and the Life that Jesus taught and role-modeled (John 14:16).

To experience God’s TRUTHS, you must “repent and believe in the gospel” that Jesus repeatedly proclaimed. (Mark 1:15) Repent in Greek is metanous. “Meta” means “transform,” and “nous” means “your perspective of the world.” Jesus calls His followers to transform/convert their current worldview to a Biblical Worldview, as well as repent your sins/transgressions/rebellion against God.

The Gospel is the “Good News” about Jesus:

• He taught with unmatched authority,
• He lived as the Son of Man to role-model how to serve His Father and fellow man,
• He died as the Lamb of God to pay the penalty for all mankind’s sins as only the sinless Son of God could,
• He rose from death so that His followers can rise from death to follow Him into eternal life in Heaven,
• He sent the Holy Spirit to dwell in us, equip and empower us, to proclaim this “Good News” to all nations,
• He sets captives free from worldly enslavements,
• He intervenes with Our Father as our High Priest.

Overview of Worldviews Promoting Human Truths

Think of God as Prime Reality, the Creator/Intelligent Grand Designer/Sustainer of everything in External Reality – and the Intervenor in His Creation – to fulfill His Purpose.

God is the only Prime Reality that causes order to exist in External Reality in Heaven and on earth, so that God’s invisible qualities are revealed everywhere and in everything God created [as General Revelation].

But the wicked suppress God’s TRUTH:

Wickedness of people… suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. [Romans 1:18-20]

Non-Biblical Worldviews propose contrasting truths about prime-and-external reality. The “cause-and-effect” they propose are also visible everywhere. Think of them as “five wicked thieves” who came “only to steal and destroy.” This has occurred in five successive ways:

Naturalism => Self-actualization => Self-Transcendence => “Self-is-god” => Transhumanism

Naturalism claims a spontaneous Big Bang without any design or purpose, followed by random chance evolution over billions of years, caused Eternal Reality to come into existence. But neither the Big Bang nor evolution can cause the order and organization that is visible everywhere in the heavens and on earth, nor explain this empirically or logically. Charles Darwin’s influential book, On the Origin of Species (1859), launched an “earthly big bang explosion” that now dominates science and what many people believe – despite being mis-titled. Origin of Species only explains “survival” of existing species [micro-evolution], NOT the origin of new “arrivals” [macro-evolution]. Despite trying since 1859, Evolutionists cannot agree on where these “vertically evolved new arrival species” are located on Darwin’s “Tree of Life.” Neo-Darwinists claim mutations evolve vertically into more complex organisms. But 99% of mutants have less genetic information than their predecessors, according to Human Genome Project findings. This is downward devolution, not vertical evolution.

Humanism’s focus on self-actualization—and the Human Potential Movement – influenced 83% of adult Americans during the 1960s and 1970s, to “seek self-fulfillment” by embracing “New Rules” instead of God’s RULES. Millions were lured by humanistic promises that were not fulfilled. Including me (see God Nods on His Story About Me).

Humanism is inwardly self-focused, so other-directed actions are neglected. This causes a male and a female with a “Me-first focus” to have great difficulty merging two “Me-firsts” into one “We.” This has increased the divorce rate from 20% to 50% for first marriages and higher for second, third, and fourth marriages.

New Age’s main truth claim is this: “Transcendent peak experiences” enable a New Ager to imagine “Self-is-god.” This somehow “happens” inside their minds, inside their own subjective reality, where “Self-is-god” is BOTH the “Universe-maker and Universe.” This “cause-effect” relationship was influenced by Maslow’s concept of transpersonal psychology, which promotes transcendence [the revised highest level in his hierarchy of human needs]. He initially named this self-transcendence because it is a personally unique experience.

Maslow launched a new journal in 1969 to promote a smorgasbord of unverifiable transcendent possibilities: “The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology is concerned with … metaneeds, ultimate values, unitive consciousness, peak experiences, ecstasy, mystical experience, B-values, essence, bliss, awe, wonder, self-actualization, ultimate meaning, transcendence of the self, spirit, sacralization of everyday life, oneness, cosmic awareness, cosmic play, individual and species-wide synergy, maximal interpersonal encounter, transcendental phenomena, maximal sensory awareness, responsiveness and expression, and related concepts, experiences, and activities.”

What “cause-effect” relationships can “Self-is-god” really cause in external reality? How can empirical science verify this when it “happens randomly in one’s subjective reality”?

Postmodernism deconstructs and reconstructs nearly everything that premodernism and modernism promoted—to promote “relativism” based on subjective preferences and feelings. This worldview promotes transhumanism, which tries to transform human beings. [Trans means beyond ‘what is’.] But sexual reassignment can NOT transform every human cell to alter these biological facts: human males are designed with an XY chromosome in every cell, and females have a YY chromosome in every cell. These God-designed facts are visible everywhere there is a human being.

God’s TRUTHS

Recent critiques by artificial intelligence—like Grok 4.0 – have validated the Bible reveals God’s TRUTHS, communicated as one consistent message, even though it was written over 1,400 years ago by forty authors, on three continents, in three different languages, which don’t translate with the exact same meanings.

The Holy Spirit inspired the written-down Word of God [The Holy Bible]:

All Scripture is inspired by God and beneficial for teaching, for rebuke, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man or woman of God may be fully capable, equipped for every good work. [2 Timothy 3:16-17]

Thousands of Scriptures affirm God’s TRUTHS. Some are indicated below:

God’s Transcendence and Presence

Jesus’ followers reverently worship “Our father who art in Heaven” because of His Transcendence and so that we can experience God’s Presence [love and amazing grace] and receive the Presents [Divine Providence] that only He can provide.

God’s transcendence commands our love and reverence to Him only:

I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me… I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments. [Exodus 20:2-6]

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. [Proverbs 9:10]

[Fear means respect and reverence for God – not being afraid of Him.]

God’s Love and Grace provide the only way to eternal salvation [eternal life]:

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. [John 3:16]

God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. [Romans 5:8]

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. [Ephesians 2:8-9]

If you declare with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. [Romans 10:9-10]

Because of Christ and our faith in him, we can now come boldly and confidently into God's presence. [Ephesians 3:12]

God’s Divine Providence is provided for those who love Him:

We know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. [Romans 8:28]

The LORD directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives. Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the LORD holds them by the hand. [Psalm 37:23-24]

Many are the plans in a person's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails. [Proverbs 19:21]

Sanctified by the Holy Spirit to be more Christ-like

Jesus’ followers are guided by the Holy Spirit’s promptings, through a sanctification transformation, to be-and-behave more Christ-like (think-and-act like Jesus):

• Stage 1. Initial sanctification occurs immediately when we respond to God’s call to believe in Jesus and what He did for us, and to ask forgiveness for our sins and repent (transform your perspective from a non-Biblical worldview to Biblical Theism).
• Stage 2. Progressive sanctification occurs as we live Holy Spirit-filled lives to combat our sinful nature, and repent of inevitable sins we commit, so that progressively we become more like Jesus – and can be who Jesus calls us to be and can do what Jesus calls us to do.
• Stage 3. Final sanctification (glorification) occurs when we enter Heaven and become like Jesus completely, never more to sin, because we are like Him.

In My Utmost for His Highest, Oswalld Chambers says: [emphasis mine]

“Sanctification is Christ in you…. It is His patience, His love, His holiness, His faith, His purity, His godliness, that is manifested in and through every sanctified soul…. Sanctification is an impartation, not an imitation [of Jesus].” (July 23)

“In someone who has been born again, the source of the will is Almighty God…. With focused attention and great care, you have to work out what God works in you— not work to accomplish or earn your own salvation, but work it out so you will exhibit the evidence of a life based with determined, unshakable faith on the complete and perfect redemption of the Lord. As you do this, you do not bring an opposing will up against God’s will— God’s will is your will. Your natural choices will be in accordance with God’s will, and living this life will be as natural as breathing… God not only expects me to do His will, but He is in me to do it.” (June 6)

“We are apt to forget that a man is not only committed to Jesus Christ for salvation; he is committed to Jesus Christ’s view of God, of the world, of sin and of the devil, and this will mean that he must recognize the responsibility of being transformed by the renewing of his mind.” (September 9)

Here’s how God helps us to mature spiritually because of the Holy Spirit’s involvement:

THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO BRING GOOD NEWS TO THE POOR. HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO CAPTIVES, AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED. [Luke 4:18]

[This was Jesus’ first public assertion about Himself— to set captives free from what enslaves them, so they can enjoy Present Salvation here.]

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. [Galatians 5:22-24]

Blessed are the poor in spirit [who recognize their spiritual lack and complete dependence on the Holy Spirit], for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. [Matthew 5:3]

I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. [John 15:5]

The Holy Spirit sanctifies Jesus’ followers to Be the people Jesus calls us to Be so we can Do the things Jesus calls us to Do – so we become more like Christ.

In contrast, Self-oriented individuals are totally “on their own” – inwardly focused on becoming self-fulfilled.

Editor’s note – Oswald Chambers’s distinction between imitation and impartation deserves careful attention: sanctification isn’t behavior modification, it’s Christ’s own life working itself out through a believer. That is a much larger claim than most self-help language can carry, and it is why the three stages the author lays out end in glorification rather than in a finished project of self-improvement.

Restored as an Image-bearer of God

God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) created human beings in “Our Image” [imago deo] to be God’s Image-bearers, here and hereafter, in God’s Kingdom that Jesus came to Earth to proclaim. Because humans rebelled, God the Father sent His Son Jesus to reconcile us and become restored Image-bearers:

God created man in His own image… male and female He created them… God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. [Genesis 1:27,31]

And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man [Adam], so shall we bear the image of the heavenly man [Jesus]. [1 Corinthians 15:49]

He [God] has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation—if you continue in your faith. [Colossians 1:22-23]

The God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. [1 Peter 5:10]

The kingdom of God has come near; repent and believe in the gospel. [Mark 1:15]

We become God’s Image-bearers so we attract new followers into God’s Kingdom, here and hereafter. There are potentially two billion image bearers on planet Earth today.

Humanism, New Age, and postmodern worldviews provide no comparable role models like God’s Image-bearers.

God’s Love & Fellowship

In order to truly belong to Jesus as His follower/disciple/learner, you must love one another as He commanded:

I am giving you a new commandment, that you love one another; just as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all people will know that you are My disciples: if you have love for one another. [John 13:34-35]

When we obey, the Holy Spirit helps us “love one another” in “unity” and with “humility.” Over 100 New Testament verses describe this. (See the one another infographic and associated Scriptures.)

One third of the “one another” verses focus on “loving one another” – such as:

• “Love one another.” (John 13:34, 15:12, 17; Romans 13:8; 1 Thessalonians 3:12, 4:9; 1 Peter 1:22; 1 John 3:11, 4:7, 11; 2 John 5)
• “Through love, serve one another.” (Galatians 5:13)

One third focus on “unity within the church body” – such as:

• “Be at peace with one another.” (Mark 9:50)
• “Bear with and forgive one another.” (Colossians 3:13)

About 15% encourage an attitude of humility and deference among believers – such as:

• “Regard one another as more important than yourselves.” (Philippians 2:3)
• “Serve one another.” (Galatians 5:13)

Here are examples of other verses:

• “Speak truth to one another.” (Ephesians 4:25)
• “Encourage and build up one another.” (1 Thessalonians 5:11)

Only Biblical Theism promotes Others more than Self. Our God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) intervenes in the lives of humans to help us serve Him by serving others:

Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me. [Matthew 25:40]

You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone. [James 2:24]

Trust the Good Shepherd for Safety & Security Needs

I spent some 37 years discovering that “trusting religious rules” and then “trusting humanistic promises” did not, and could not, ever provide comfort during life’s valleys. (See Trust and Obey: The Wrong and Right Way.)

Corrie Ten Boom’s imprisonment in Nazi concentration camps [her valley] taught her to rely on Jesus:

“Look around and be distressed.
Look inside and be depressed.
Look at Jesus and be at rest.”

Such comfort and “fearing no evil”—and never “feeling alone” but “being at peace”—can only occur by having a personal relationship with Jesus and, through Him, with Abba Father and the Holy Spirit. Here’s why:

I am the good shepherd, and I know My own, and My own know Me, just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. [John 10:14-15]

Fear of the Lord leads to life, bringing security and protection from harm. [Proverbs 19:23]

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. [1 Thessalonians 5:16-18]

The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom should I fear? The Lord is the defense of my life; Whom should I dread? [Psalm 27:1]

God wants our orientation—not our perfection—as Psalms 23 and 51 so vividly illustrate.

King David describes his orientation towards God when he talks about the Good Shepherd [“He”] during the good times:

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. [Psalm 23:1-3]

David’s orientation is even more intimate during the bad times as he talks with God [“You”]:

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever. [Psalm 23:4-6]

Despite his heart-deep orientation towards God, David was a sinful human being who lacked perfection. This was most notably demonstrated when he disobeyed three of God’s Ten Commandments:

• He coveted the wife of Uriah.
• He committed adultery with her (Bathsheba).
• He arranged for Uriah to be murdered to cover up these prior sins.

Psalm 51 illustrates how David’s constant orientation towards God enabled him to repent to God – so that God forgave him:

For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight. [Psalm 51:3-4]

For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His love for those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. [Psalm 103:11-12]

What’s described above is absent in all non-Biblical Worldviews.

Editor’s note – David’s murder of Uriah and adultery with Bathsheba are named plainly here, and that plainness matters. Psalm 51 shows that repentance, not a clean record, is what keeps a believer oriented toward God, which is worth remembering the next time your own failure feels disqualifying.

God’s Divine Providence for Physiological Needs

This has risen in importance during the current economic uncertainties that many face: businesses closing, lost jobs, mortgage defaults, increased taxes of all kinds (about 45% of what you earn), increased costs of food, shelter and clothing. But, don’t worry, for God’s Divine Providence is intervening in your life in ways you cannot ever know:

When bad things happen, don’t ask “Why me?”—but, “What is your purpose in this, Lord?”

We know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. [Romans 8:28]

Jesus told us:

Do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on… seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided to you. [Matthew 6:25,33]

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came so that they would have life, and have it abundantly. [John 10:10]

Jesus’ followers are content with inner joy – His joy imparted to us – instead of depending on fickle happiness that happens because of external happenstance:

If you keep My commandments, you will remain in My love; just as I have kept My Father's commandments and remain in His love. These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full. [John 15:11]

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. [James 1:2-4]

I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with little, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. [Philippians 4:11-13]

My wife (Marilynne) and I understood this during the 2008 Financial Crisis. We stuck the Post-it below where we could readily see it – to affirm our faith in God’s Divine Providence to help us pass through this valley. HE DID!!!

Editor’s note – The author’s 2008 story about trusting God through a financial crisis is a small, concrete example of the larger argument. Divine Providence isn’t a doctrine to admire from a distance – it’s what you lean on when the mortgage is due and the answer isn’t obvious yet.

References

Other References: Chambers, Oswald. My Utmost for His Highest. (Uhrichsville, OH: Barbour and Company, 1935, 1963). Maslow, Abraham. A Theory of Human Motivation. (1943, McGraw-Hill). Maslow, Abraham. Toward a Psychology of Being. (1962, Van Nostrand Reinhold Company). Yankelovich, Daniel. New Rules: Searching for Self-fulfillment in a World Turned Upside Down. (1981, Random House, NY).

A Word from the Editor
Orientation, not perfection, is the thread holding this whole piece together, and it’s the mercy most of us need to hear again. David wrote Psalm 23 in confidence and Psalm 51 in ruin, and the same God met him in both. That is the promise underneath every quoted verse above: not that we arrive fully sanctified, but that the Holy Spirit keeps working while we keep turning back. If you have spent years, like the author, looking for fulfillment somewhere other than the Shepherd, Psalm 23:1 says what changes when you stop: “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.” That is worth remembering whether you are in a green pasture or a valley this week.

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Editor Comment: You trace the difference between chasing self-actualization and resting in God's Orientation with real clarity, and that same distinction is exactly what Psalm 51 teaches about grace covering imperfection. Closing with your family's story from the 2008 financial crisis shows readers what Divine Providence looks like in an actual crisis, not just in theory.