Theism - the worship of, and belief in the supremacy of God - with the Abrahamic religions posits a dualism of God and his creation. Heaven and Hell realms, a poluted human world of original sin and corruption, a creator God outside of this Universe, and an eschatology of destruction and annihilation.
Scientism - the worship of, and belief in the supremacy of Scientific Knowledge - a dualism since Descartes, Cartesianism, established a detente with Religion whereby the Mind and Body are separated. Where the Mind is the realm of Religion, and the Body, or Matter, is the realm of Science. Now however this dualism is in opposition to that of Religion, wherein the Mind is now seen as false and merely a projection of human confusion, an epiphenomena of the Brain. This is a Materialist Monism (Physicalism), all is matter, nothing else exists; if it can not be measured by science, it is pure fantasy.
Like Religion, Scientism has its own eschatology, that of “heat death.” In Scientism, the universe is dominated by mass and gravity, a chaos of interacting particles proceeding from the Order of the early Universe to the disorder of Galaxy clusters, like so many dust bunnies in the corner of your room. The complexity of the Cosmic Web that we see is not seen as creative self organization, nor is the electric and magnetic fields accepted as driving the “creative evolution” of the Universe. Gas and dust clouds collapse (despite the gas laws of thermodynamics), and stars are born with a bang of Nuclear Fusion, then isolated at birth. And with time their death occurs in a collapse into a larger Nova explosion, and eventually if it is large enough it will collapse into a black hole. This is a Universe of Entropy, the 2nd law of Thermodynamics - all closed systems evolve towards thermodynamic equilibrium. Heat Death is the eschatology of Scientism, the final death, where Black Holes dominate the Universe, and their evaporation brings a return to order and equilibrium. This is not a creative Universe.
Both are manifestations of Western thought, and at odds with both Eastern thought, a thinking of Darkness. Whether that of the Dualist Mind Body split of Cartesianism, or the Atheistic Materialist Monism of current times, Scientism and the Lambda-CDM Model of Modern Cosmology is poisoned with this Western Darkness.
The Lambda-CDM Model and its Big Bang cosmology (cosmogony), like Creationism, is troubled by a Nothingness prior to the manifestation of the Universe that we experience. Much like the Creation story of Abrahamic Religions, it has an unverifiable (unfalsifiable) story of a singularity (God) manifesting the material universe out of Nothingness, without anything cause beyond what can only be called “divine fiat.” In order to hold up this model in the face of data that does not fit their Physics, the red-shift of distant star light, a further “expansion” of Space is posited beyond the initial theory of a Big Bang, a universe racing into oblivion at faster and faster speeds. The Big Bang itself a manifestation of a destructive mentality of the Nuclear Physics of Weapons technology prevalent at the creation of this theory, by a Jesuit priest no less. Its Creation, the Universe of Spacetime out of an initial Singularity (a God by any other name).
How similar these Cosmogonies are. The Void and Nothingness, God and Singularity, Creation and the Big Bang, Chaos and Chaos, a Demiurge responsible for the Darkness of “Evil” Matter vs. the Nuclear Physicist creating Hydrogen Bombs. Or the unseen Dark Energy and Dark Matter predominant in the universe of the Cosmologist, and unseen Devils and Demons lurking in the minds of the religious. Explosive Novas, and destructive Black Holes (which some say are impossible based on bad math surrounding singularities; or impossible if stars are predominately condensed matter) swallowing what exists in its purgatory of information, and annihilation of matter being the culmination of Astronomy. The Apocalypse, and the burning annihilation of this world and the souls of the sinners, being the culmination of the “believer”.
Both philosophies rely on faith as well, theists declaring Gnosis or spiritual insight, while scientists (or rather theorists) put forward mathematics and empirical knowledge, but it is faith required to accept a beginning state that can never be observed. Here as well is a dilemma, how do we know that our observations are always accurate and the final result? Before the telescope Galileo had no possible conception of other worlds, so to with Moderns and Galaxies, or our contemporaries problem with the JWST, showing galaxies too early in the Universe? And it is this faith that leads to the blindness of those who follow this thinking, always finding a way to justify what can not be justified, when their belief is shown to be hollow of truth. Since the beginning of the Big Bang theory, which has failed in its ability to predict anything, there have been at least 30 parameters/problems which have required adjusting for theory to fit observation (Lerner critique).
What is “evil” with the world, with the flesh? Is this not based on moralism, and a hatred of the human condition? Concepts poisonous to living at peace with the world. But now, what of atheism and the denial of Mind, Consciousness, or Soul? If all we are is a bag of meat, a brain simulating what we confuse as something more than material causation, Mindedness and Consciousness merely epiphenomena of brain chemistry, what point is there? How does one not fall into a nihilism?
Religion puts forward a world created by God, and dependent on God, everything predetermined by God, all that occurs being of fate. In science this is called the “block universe,” and while not accepted by all, it is the dominate “metaphysic.” A universe of Spacetime, fully determined by causation, reduced to matter, devoid of actual conscious action, of a Mind, or Soul, and thus devoid of “Free Will,” and choice. Again one asks, why not nihilism in the face of a “life” devoid of choice or actual conscious action. In such a world are not then creative acts, feelings, love, joy, play all just absurd energy drains on the brain? I would ask, why would there be such a need? Why would a universe even exist that was all determined? Some solopsistic movie?
Whether one is a theist or an atheist, the current cosmology/cosmogony is agreed upon. Even in spiritual groups outside Western Abrahamic religions this cosmology is assumed to be correct. This is despite the outcome one must arrive at with its conclusions, the Cosmological story is accepted as ‘Truth.” Those of Eastern Religions point to Quantum Physics and say, “see, we told you of emptiness,” despite the protestations of scientists who deny such claims. As is the “Big Bang” seen as the creative effort of a Demiurge.
In the West and Latin America, as well as much of the world outside of Asian countries this two pronged attack on reason, life, consciousness, and creative evolution acts as a Mind Virus, William S. Burroughs spoke of a “word virus” and he was right. And even without Abrahamic religions so to is the East infected by this virus. Perhaps the Gnostics were correct that the World was ruled by an Evil Demiurge, one who might spread such a virus. In contemporary times people speak of a “meaning crisis,” and for good reason when science and religion seem to be in agreement that the world is a fraud, and life meaningless. Nietzsche said that “we have killed God” and so we have, but we have gone on to kill any remaining notion of creativity, or life of Mind, and Beauty - not even “qualities” being afforded realness.
This is what I call a “Death Cult Cosmology.”
I think that as the Existentialists proclaim, it is up to each of us to create meaning for our own lives, and avoid the nihilism that Nietzsche warns us against. Personal responsibility is the key. But there is also a way for the two substances (mind and body) to interact, which is important to contemplate. David Patterson relates this brilliantly in a relatively brief YouTube video that inspired a blog article for my blog. I hope by reading this, you'll go directly to his video: https://pauljosephrovelli.blogspot.com/2023/09/the-universal-function.html