PHI- 311 Worldviews LifeSpring School of Ministry

1. PHI- 311 WorldviewsLifeSpring School of Ministry

2. Unit 1- Session 1What is a Worldview?

3. What is a Worldview? “Few people have anything approaching an articulate philosophy…Even fewer, I suspect, have a carefully constructed theology. But everyone has a worldview… In fact, it is only the assumption of a worldview…that allows us to think at all.” James W. Sire, The Universe Next Door

4. Differing worldview responses to a “STOP” sign • Christian Theism • If stopping fits within God’s will, then I will stop. If not, I will go. • Deism • Stopping is part of God’s design. I will stop. • Naturalism • Stopping makes sense in light of natural processes. I will stop. • Nihilism • Stopping or not stopping has no meaning. Nor does the outcome of the decision. • Existentialism • I become human when I choose whether or not to stop. • Pantheistic Monism • Stopping or not stopping is an illusion. I am one with the sign. • New Age • The sign is a projection of my inner Self. Stopping or not stopping is unreal. • Islamic Theism • If stopping is Allah’s will, I will stop. If not, I will go. • Postmodernism • Stop signs are linguistic devices designed to exercise control over others through the oppressive metanarrative of the traffic controllers. Stopping may be a story with meaning for you, but not necessarily for me.

5. What is a Worldview? “In the simplest terms, a worldview is a set of beliefs about the most important issues in life.” Ronald Nash, Worldviews in Conflict, 16

6. What is a Worldview? “A worldview (or vision of life) is a framework or set of fundamental beliefs through which we view the world and our calling and future in it. This vision need not be fully articulated: it may be so internalized that it goes largely unquestioned; it may not be explicitly developed into a systematic conception of life; it may not be theoretically deepened into a philosophy; it may not even be codified into creedal form; it may be greatly refined through cultural-historical development. Nevertheless, this vision is a channel for the ultimate beliefs which give direction and meaning to life. It is the integrative and interpretative framework by which order and disorder are judged; it is the standard by which reality is managed and pursued; it is the set of hinges on which all our everyday thinking and doing turns.” James H. Olthius, “On Worldviews,” in Stained Glass: Worldviews and Social Science

7. What is a Worldview? • James W. Sire’s definition of a worldview: • “A worldview is a commitment, a fundamental orientation of the heart, that can be expressed as a story or in a set of presuppositions (assumptions which may be true, partially true or entirely false) that we hold (consciously or subconsciously, consistently or inconsistently) about the basic constitution of reality, and that provides the foundation on which we live and move and have our being.” Sire, 20

8. What is a Worldview? • Breaking down Sire’s definition (20-22): • Worldview as a commitment • Expressed in a story or a set of presuppositions • Assumptions that may be true, conscious, consistent • The foundation on which we live

9. What is a Worldview? • To sketch the outline of a worldview we can ask eight basic questions: • What is prime reality- the really real? • What is the nature of external reality, that is, the world around us? • What is a human being? • What happens to a person at death?

10. What is a Worldview? • To sketch the outline of a worldview we can ask eight basic questions: • Why is it possible to know anything at all? • How do we know what is right and wrong? • What is the meaning of human history? • What personal, life-orienting core commitments are consistent with this worldview?

11. What is a Worldview? • List of nine worldviews we’ll survey: • Christian Theism • Deism • Naturalism • Nihilism • Existentialism • Pantheistic Monism • New Age • Islamic Theism • Postmodernism

12. Pictorial Representation of the Relationship of the Worldviews Eastern Pantheistic Monism Islamic Theism Christian Theism Post-Modernism Deism Naturalism Nihilism Existentialism New Age

13. What is a Worldview? • Questions to ponder: • How would I have defined the term “worldview” before this presentation? How would I define it now? • Are there additional questions beyond Sire’s list of eight that I think are vital to understanding someone’s worldview? • Could I answer the eight questions in regards to my view of the world? • Could I answer the eight questions in regards to the view of a Muslim, a Hindu, a secular humanist?

14. Unit 1- Session 2Why Study Worldviews?

15. Why Study Worldviews? “For any of us to be fully conscious intellectually we should not only be able to detect the worldviews of others but be aware of our own—why it is ours and why in the light of so many options we think it is true.” James W. Sire, The Universe Next Door “…achieving awareness of our worldview is one of the most important things we can do to enhance self-understanding, and insight into the worldviews of others is essential to an understanding of what makes them tick.” Ronald Nash, Worldviews in Conflict

16. Why Study Worldviews? • Three primary reasons to study worldviews: • Aids us in understanding reality- knowledge of the truth • Aids us in understanding what we believe and why we believe it- basis for faith • Aids us in communicating with others- relational apologetics and evangelism

17. Why Study Worldviews? • Aids us in understanding reality- knowledge of the truth • “All men desire to know the truth, that is, the way reality really is.” Sire, 76 • As Christians we believe that God has revealed what is true through His creation, His written Word and His incarnation. • As Christians we believe that a true knowledge and acceptance of reality is necessary to salvation and personal fulfillment.

18. Why Study Worldviews? • Aids us in understanding what we believe and why we believe it- basis for faith • Many people, Christian and otherwise, hold an undefined worldview. • Many people, Christian and otherwise, hold an unexamined worldview. • Studying worldviews allows us to define and examine our view, the views of others, and oftentimes the view we thought we held, but didn’t. • Believing what you believe you believe.

19. Why Study Worldviews? • Aids us in communicating with others- relational apologetics and evangelism • “He who knows only one language knows no language.” • Understanding the internal logic of others’ views…e.g. ethical basis within naturalism • Understanding motivation beyond straightforward rejection of God…e.g. hopelessness and Nihilism (Vonnegut)

20. Why Study Worldviews? • Questions to ponder: • How clearly have I defined my own worldview? • How closely have I examined my own worldview? • How much do I know about the worldviews of others? • What can I do to better understand my own worldview and the worldviews of others? • What do I hope to gain as a result of this increased understanding? • How can this increased understanding benefit others? • How can this increased understanding become a part of the kingdom of God being advanced?

21. Unit 2- Session 1Christian Theism

22. Christian Theism “For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Jesus Christ” The Apostle Paul, 1 Timothy 2:5 (NASB)

23. Christian Theism • Opening questions: • Who do I know who holds this worldview? • Where do I see this worldview being promoted within my culture? • How has this worldview influenced me? • Is this my worldview? This presentation is adapted almost entirely from James W. Sire, The Universe Next Door: A Basic Worldview Catalogue.

24. Christian Theism • Opening remarks • Defining terms • Christian = Follower of Christ • Theism = Belief in a god (Greek theos) • Background • Christian Theism is the fulfillment of Hebrew religion • Christian Theism is centered on Jesus Christ’s incarnation, life, death, resurrection and coming return • Christian Theism is historically diverse in expression but uniform in orthodox core • Focus on conservative evangelical orthodox view

25. Christian Theism • Remembering the definition of a worldview: • “A worldview is a commitment, a fundamental orientation of the heart, that can be expressed as a story or in a set of presuppositions (assumptions which may be true, partially true or entirely false) that we hold (consciously or subconsciously, consistently or inconsistently) about the basic constitution of reality, and that provides the foundation on which we live and move and have our being.” Sire, 20

26. Christian Theism • In order to describe the Christian Theistic worldview, we’ll ask Christian Theism the eight basic questions: • What is prime reality- the really real? • What is the nature of external reality, that is, the world around us? • What is a human being? • What happens to a person at death? • Why is it possible to know anything at all? • How do we know what is right and wrong? • What is the meaning of human history? • What personal, life-orienting core commitments are consistent with this worldview?

27. Christian Theism • Question 1: What is prime reality- the really real? • “Prime reality is the infinite, personal God revealed in the Holy Scriptures. This God is triune, transcendent and immanent, omniscient, sovereign, and good.” Sire, 28. • God is infinite • God is personal • God is triune • God is transcendent • God is omniscient • God is sovereign • God is good

28. Christian Theism • Question 2: What is the nature of external reality, that is, the world around us? • “External reality is the cosmos God created ex nihilo to operate with a uniformity of cause and effect in an open system.” Sire, 31 • Creation ex nihilo • Creation is ordered (not chaotic) and orderly (cause/effect) • Creation is an open system- free moral agency

29. Christian Theism • Question 3: What is a human being? • “Human beings are created in the image of God and thus possess personality, self-transcendence, intelligence, morality, gregariousness and creativity.” Sire, 32 • In the image of God • Personality (unique identity/personhood) • Self-transcendence (awareness and control over environment) • Intelligence (the capacity for reason and knowledge) • Morality (the capacity for recognizing and understanding good and evil) • Gregariousness (social/relational capacity for community) • Creativity (imagine new things or endow old things with new significance)

30. Christian Theism • Question 3: What is a human being? • “Human beings were created good, but through the Fall the image of God became defaced, though not so ruined as not to be capable of restoration; through the work of Christ, God redeemed humanity and began the process of restoring people to goodness, though any given person may choose to reject that redemption.” Sire, 39 • Creation • Fall • Redemption • Glorification

31. Christian Theism • Question 4: What happens to a person at death? • “For each person death is either the gate to life with God and his people or the gate to eternal separation from the only thing that will ultimately fulfill human aspirations.” Sire, 41 • Eternal life • Eternal separation from God (i.e. death)

32. Christian Theism • Question 5: How can we know anything at all? • “Human beings can know both the world around them and God himself because God has built into them the capacity to do so and because he takes an active role in communicating with them.” Sire, 36 • Capacity for knowledge and the imago dei • Revelation: General and Special

33. Christian Theism • Question 6: How do we know what is right and wrong? • “Ethics is transcendent and is based on the character of God as good (holy and loving).” Sire, 42 • Transcendence of ethics • Character of God as basis of ethics (holiness/love)

34. Christian Theism • Question 7: What is the nature of human history? • “History is linear, a meaningful sequence of events leading to the fulfillment of God’s purposes for humanity.” Sire, 43 • Linear • Meaningful • Divine Telos

35. Christian Theism • Question 8: What personal, life-orienting core commitments are consistent with this worldview? • “Christian theists live to seek first the kingdom of God, that is, to glorify God and enjoy him forever.” Sire, 44 • Ultimately, Christian theism is about God. • Human enjoyment/fulfillment results from glorifying God. • John Piper, “God is most fully glorified in us when we are most fully satisfied in Him.” • “So the greatness of God is the central tenet of Christian theism. When a person recognizes this and consciously accepts and acts upon it, this central conception is the rock, the transcendent reference point, that gives life meaning and makes the joys and sorrows of daily existence on planet earth significant moments in an unfolding drama in which on expects to participate forever, not always with sorrows but someday with joy alone.” Sire, 46

36. Christian Theism • Questions to Ponder: • Who do I know who holds this worldview? • Where do I see this worldview being promoted within my culture? • How has this worldview influenced me? • Is this my worldview?

37. Unit 2- Session 2Evaluating Christian Theism

38. Evaluating Christian Theism “Since Christian Theism is only one of many competing worldviews, on what grounds can people make a reasoned choice among the systems? Which worldview is most likely to be true? What is the best or most promising way to approach this kind of question?” Ronald Nash, Worldviews in Conflict

39. Evaluating Christian Theism • Ronald Nash, Worldviews in Conflict: Choosing Christianity in a World of Ideas, addresses the issue of defending Christian Theism from a philosophical perspective, not a theological perspective. • Some important terminology for philosophy: • Metaphysics- the study of first things/principles such as being, knowing and cause • Epistemology- the theory of knowledge, especially methods and validation • Logic- the science of reasoning, proof, thinking and inference • Ethics- the study of “oughtness”, morality, distinguishing between right and wrong, good and bad

40. Evaluating Christian Theism • Utilizes the following tests in concert with one another: • The Test of Reason • The Test of Experience • The Test of Practice • Given the subject matter, Nash is not attempting to prove Christianity as true through formal logic (2+2=4). • Rather, he is demonstrating the probability of the claims of Christian Theism. • Moral certainty can, and often does, result from probability, rather than proof. In other words, we make many moral and meaningful decisions in our lives based on what we believe to probably be true, rather than on what we can/do prove.

41. Evaluating Christian Theism • The Test of Reason • By reason Nash means logic, specifically the test of non-contradiction: • “A, which can be anything whatever, cannot be both B and non-B at the same time in the same sense.” • Contradiction = error • Worldviews with demonstrable contradictions fail the test of reasonand should cause us to suspect their veracity. • Is reason contrary to Christianity? Is Christianity full of contradictions? • Two major so-called “contradictions” within Christianity: • The problem of evil • The incarnation

42. Evaluating Christian Theism • The Test of Experience • “Worldviews should be relevant to what we know about the world and ourselves.” Nash, 57 • The Test of the Outer World • Does our worldview account for evidence from the world around us or does it contradict that evidence? • Are people innately good? Are miracles impossible? Are pain and death nothing but illusions? • The Test of the Inner World • Does our worldview account for what we know about ourselves as human beings? • Do I think, experience pain, have hopes, feel guilt? Am I conscious of past, present and future? Are my actions determined or undetermined? • “No matter how hard it may be to look honestly at our inner self, we are right in being suspicious of those whose defense of a worldview ignores or rejects the inner world.” Nash, 61

43. Evaluating Christian Theism • The Test of Practice: • “…can the person who professes that worldview live consistently in harmony with the system he professes? Or do we find that he is forced to live according to beliefs borrowed from a competing system?” Nash, 62 • Typically, this problem is seen most clearly in epistemological and ethical questions: • How can the skeptic know that we can’t know anything at all? • How can the moral relativist claim that anything is wrong?

44. Evaluating Christian Theism • Now we will apply the three tests (Reason, Experience, Practice) to the Christian Theistic worldview as presented by Sire. • We will look at each of the eight worldview questions and see if it fails any of the three tests. • We will not take time to do this with the other worldviews, but as we present them we will point out their failings at various points.

45. Evaluating Christian Theism • Question 1: What is prime reality- the really real? • “Prime reality is the infinite, personal God revealed in the Holy Scriptures. This God is triune, transcendent and immanent, omniscient, sovereign, and good.” Sire, 28. • The Test of Reason • There is nothing internally contradictory about this claim. • The problem of evil and the incarnation are the best critiques that have been offered, but neither actually produce a contradiction, only difficulties/paradoxes. • The Test of Experience • Neither the inner nor outer world render such a claim impossible. • The Test of Practice • Life can be lived consistently in accord with this belief.

46. Evaluating Christian Theism • Question 2: What is the nature of external reality, that is, the world around us? • “External reality is the cosmos God created ex nihilo to operate with a uniformity of cause and effect in an open system.” Sire, 31 • The Test of Reason • There is nothing contradictory in the internal logic of this statement. • The Test of Experience • Nothing in the inner or outer world of experience render this impossible. Big bang/evolution are the largest critiques and can both be incorporated into this worldview. • The Test of Practice • Life can be consistently lived with this understanding of the cosmos.

47. Evaluating Christian Theism • Question 3: What is a human being? • “Human beings are created in the image of God and thus possess personality, self-transcendence, intelligence, morality, gregariousness and creativity…through the Fall the image of God became defaced, though not so ruined as not to be capable of restoration; through the work of Christ, God redeemed humanity and began the process of restoring people to goodness, though any given person may choose to reject that redemption.” Sire, 32, 39

48. Evaluating Christian Theism • The Test of Reason • There are no inherent contradictions in the internal logic of the statement. • The Test of Experience • Both our knowledge of our inner and outer world indicate the existence of moral ambiguity, innate goodness, conscience, evil and redemption. • The Test of Practice • A person can live consistently in accordance with this view of humanity.

49. Evaluating Christian Theism • Question 4: What happens to a person at death? • “For each person death is either the gate to life with God and his people or the gate to eternal separation from the only thing that will ultimately fulfill human aspirations.” Sire, 41 • The Test of Reason • The statement, while it cannot be proven, is not self-contradictory and is not subject to falsification. • The Test of Experience • Nothing in the inner or outer world disprove this idea and some evidences seem to support it. • The Test of Practice • People can live their lives in accordance with this belief.

50. Evaluating Christian Theism • Question 5: How can we know anything at all? • “Human beings can know both the world around them and God himself because God has built into them the capacity to do so and because he takes an active role in communicating with them.” Sire, 36 • The Test of Reason • Nothing inherently self-contradicting or illogical. • The Test of Experience • Our knowledge of ourselves and the world around us indicates a capacity to know, perceive and learn. This capacity does appear to be enhanced in numerous ways when coupled with God’s revelation. • The Test of Practice • People can and do live in accordance with this view, resulting in countless advances in philosophy, science, medicine, technology, etc.