Understanding the Times/Faith Worldviews Understanding the Times/Faith

What is going on in the world? Current status of society:____________, _____________, ______________, and _____________ What is Pluralism? Why does it matter? Pluralism - the belief that there are _______ paths to God and that they are all ________ to salvation. What are some truth claims that Christianity makes that are being cast off?

Worldviews What is a worldview? The _________ through which we _________ at the world. A worldview asks these ?s: Is there a ______? Is so, what is he _______?x How did ____ get here? _____ am I here? What is the _________ and _________ of life? Is there a difference between _________ and ________?

The Rule of the World We live in a ______________ world. When rules are ________or __________, __________ emerge.

Ideas Flow in Complex Patterns Ideas – a __________ or ____________as to a possible course of action. Ideas _______ our ________ and influence our __________. Ideas spread like ___________. Discuss: What have been some bad ideas throughout history?

Differing Worldviews, are any of them true? ____________ religion, attempts to explain what the world is like and how we should ________. ________ worldviews are __________.

6 Major Worldviews 1. ______________ 2. ______________ 3. ______________ 4. ______________ 5. ______________ 6. ______________

What does the Bible say about Worldviews? Romans 12:1-2 The pattern of this world does not _________ to God’s will. Christians must be able to _________ and ________ the world’s patterns. We are transformed by the __________ of our minds.

How do you and I defend ourselves from bad ideas? 6 possible ways: 1. ____ preparation 2. Reinforcement of ________ preparation 3. Warning of Attack 4. Inoculation 5. Inoculation plus ___________ 6. Inoculation plus ___________ plus _____________

How do you and I defend ourselves from bad ideas? Most effective strategy: Inoculation plus refutation plus preparation. Why? This one involves telling the truth and exposing the lies, shows us how to refute those lies and prepares them with skills in order to refute and resist falsehoods. Least effective strategy: Reinforcement of previous preparation. Why?

Religious vs. Secular Worldviews Religious Worldviews: Christianity Islam New Spirituality (Buddhism, Hinduism, Confucianism, New Age) Secular Worldviews: Secularism Marxism Postmodernism

Ten Basic Academic Disciplines 1. _____________ - study of God 2. Philosophy – study of __________, ___________, and ______________. 3. ________ - study of moral conduct, duties, and values 4. Biology – study of _____________. 5. ___________ - study of the ________ and what makes us _________.

Ten Basic Academic Disciplines 6. _____________ - study of human societies and how we live in community. 7. Law – how do we ___________ ourselves in order to ____________ _____________ a citizens. 8. ______________ - study the best ways to __________ community. 9. Economics – study of how to best use and manage ____________. 10. History – study of how people thought and lived in the past.

How to test the truthfulness of a worldview? Look at your book 1.12: 1. Test of Reason: Can it be stated and defended______________? 2. Test of the outer world: Is there some ____________ evidence to support it? 3. Test of the inner world: Does it ___________ address personal experience? 4. Test of the real world: Does it lead to __________ or ___________ consequences?

Does Christianity Hold up to these tests? Apply the Christian worldview to these four tests.

The Parable of the Elephant Examine 1.13 in your book. What is the moral of this parable is? Different worldviews have valid interpretations of reality. No single worldview has the whole picture Each is correct in its own way, based on limited knowledge

The Problem with the Parable. What is fundamentally wrong with this parable? This parable says that all worldviews are true, but ____ worldviews can’t be true because they all make ________________ claims. Each worldview is limited to a ___________ portion of the universe. The parable assumes that no one can have a birds eye view of the _________ elephant, but contains this elusive and unique bird’s eye view of the elephant. The only way to understand the moral of this parable is to see all the parts of the elephant _______________. This parable states that everyone is limited to only a small part.

The Problem with the Parable Christians believe that it is possible to see the entire elephant (i.e. the world as it is) because God has given us unique knowledge of himself and creation.

Why can’t all worldviews be true? They have contradictory claims that can’t all be true Law of Non-Contradiction = two contradictory propositions cannot both be true at the same _______ and in the same __________ For example, New Spirituality claims God is impersonal, while Christianity says God is personal. Postmodernism is unknowable while Christianity teaches that we can know him.

What’s the major dividing line? The person of Jesus Christ.