Christian worldview
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Christian worldview (also called Biblical worldview) refers to the framework of ideas and beliefs through which a Christian individual, group or culture interprets the world and interacts with it. Different denominations of Christianity have varying worldviews. There are varieties of particulars within the Christian worldview, and disputes of the meaning of concepts in a Christian worldview, but certain thematic elements are common in the Christian worldview.
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[edit] Definition
According to Leo Apostel,[1] a worldview is an ontology, or a descriptive model of the world. It should comprise these six elements:[original research?]
- An explanation of the world
- An eschatology, answering the question "where are we heading?"
- Values, answers to ethical questions: "What should we do?", What would Jesus do?
- A praxeology, or methodology, or theory of action.: "How should we attain our goals?"
- An epistemology, or theory of knowledge. "What is true and false?", John 18:38
- An etiology. A constructed world-view should contain an account of its own "building blocks," its origins and construction.
[edit] Differing Christian worldviews
Different denominations of Christianity have varying worldviews. There are varieties of particulars within the Christian worldview, and disputes of the meaning of concepts in a Christian worldview. Certain thematic elements are common within the Christian worldview. For instance, Northrop Frye indicated as the central clusters of the system of metaphors in the Bible - mountain, garden, and cave. A similar thematic representation of Christian worldview in the Reformed tradition has been formulated as Creation, Fall, Redemption and Consummation.
[edit] Language factors: the case of Palestine in Jesus' day
Another worldview factor has to do with language. It is the Greek Septuagint that is quoted in the Pauline epistles in the New Testament, not the Torah in any of its differing canonizations. Aramaic by this time was spoken mostly among the poor of Palestine. The Greek-speaking synagogues of Jerusalem and other large cities were well attended by Christians like Stephen the Martyr, Jews native to Jerusalem and other parts of Palestine and pilgrims and converts who spoke mostly Greek.
[edit] Worldview vs. doctrine
The U.S. use of the term "worldview" in Christian rhetoric can be traced to the evangelical Reformed philosopher H. Evan Runner of Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan.[dubious ] Runner used the term in his evangelical Reformed community in North America, promoting the worldview concept from a philosophical concept to a synonym for "doctrine."
[edit] Key people and literary works
[edit] Original worldview thinkers in Protestant evangelicalism [2]
- Gordon H. Clark. A Christian View of Men and Things: An Introduction to Philosophy. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans (1951); reprint, Grand Rapids, MI: Baker (1981).
- Herman Dooyeweerd. A New Critique of Theoretical Thought. Jordan Station, Ont.: Paideia Press (1984) online summary with excerpts
- Carl F. H. Henry. God, Revelation, and Authority. Waco, TX: Word (1976).
- Abraham Kuyper. Lectures on Calvinism. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans (1931) online version
- James Orr. The Christian View of God and the World. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons (1893) online version
- Francis Schaeffer. The Complete Works of Francis A. Schaeffer: A Christian Worldview. Wheaton, IL: Crossway (1982).
[edit] Notes
- ^ Aerts, Diederick, Apostel, Leo, De Moor, Bart, Hellemans, Staf, Maex, Edel, Van Belle, Hubert, Van der Veken, Jan. 1994. "World views. From Fragmentation to Integration". VUB Press. Translation of (Apostel and Van der Veken 1991) with some additions. – The basic book of World Views, from the Center Leo Apostel. See also Vidal C. (2008) Wat is een wereldbeeld? (What is a worldview?), in Van Belle, H. & Van der Veken, J., Editors, Nieuwheid denken. De wetenschappen en het creatieve aspect van de werkelijkheid, p71–85. Acco, Leuven. http://cogprints.org/6094/
- ^ *Naugle, David, Worldview: A History of the Concept. Grand Rapids, MI:Eerdmans (2002), pp. 4-32.
[edit] Other relevant sources
- Jürgen Habermas, The Theory of Communicative Action, Volume II (1981) - see sections on Worldviews and Worldpictures
- Arthur F. Holmes, All Truth Is God's Truth. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans (1977).
- David Naugle, Worldview: A History of the Concept. Grand Rapids, MI:Eerdmans (2002) on line table of contents
- Nancy Pearcey, Total Truth: Liberating Christianity from its Cultural Captivity. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books (2004) on line table of contents
- Nancy Pearcey, Saving Leonardo: A Call to Resist the Secular Assault on Mind, Morals, and Meaning Broadman and Homan Publishing Group (2010), ISBN 978-1-4336-6927-9
- James Sire, The Universe Next Door: A Basic Worldview Catalog. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press (1997) on line table of contents
- Ninian Smart, Worldviews: Crosscultural Explorations of Human Belief (New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2000)
- Albert M. Wolters, Creation Regained: Biblical Basics For A Reformational Worldview. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans (1985).
- Leslie Stevenson, David L. Haberman, "Ten Theories of Human Nature" Oxford University Press (2004) - book examines each one of four points—the nature of the universe, the nature of humanity, the diagnosis of the ills of humanity, and the proposed cure for these problems. Good introduction to where main worldviews originate and how to begin to think about them in context of human nature.
[edit] External links
- McKendree R. Langley, "Abraham Kuyper: A Christian Worldview." From the Orthodox Presbyterian Church web site, retrieved September 16, 2006.
- The Christian Worldview Radio Show
- "Christian Worldview" A Christian Worldview and Apologetics mega-site.
- "Worldviews" Website portal dedicated to Christian Worldview and comparative worldviews.
