Worldviews in Trouble: Answering the Eight Most Meaningful Questions Dean Hardy Charlotte Christian School

"This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time," declares the LORD. "I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.” Jer. 31:33 “O righteous God, who searches minds and hearts, bring to an end the violence of the wicked and make the righteous secure.” Psalm 7:9

What is a worldview? “Your worldview is simply a web of beliefs that allows certain information to flow through as “truth” and other statements to be rejected as false.” -Dean “…a set of presuppositions which we hold (consciously or subconsciously) about the basic makeup of our world.”- James Sire

Confusion about worldviews “Americans’ willingness to embrace beliefs that are logically contradictory and their preference for blending different faith views together create unorthodox religious viewpoints.” Born Again Christians 10% believe that people are reincarnated after death 29% claim it is possible to communicate with the dead, and 50% contend that a person can earn salvation based upon good works. naUpdate&BarnaUpdateID=150

More confusion: it’s not just Christians! Christians are not the only ones confused about what happens after death. Many of those who describe themselves as either atheistic or agnostic also harbor contradictions in their thinking. 50% all atheists and agnostics say that every person has a soul 50% say that Heaven and Hell exist, and that there is life after death. One out of every eight atheists and agnostics even believe that accepting Jesus Christ as savior probably makes life after death possible. age=BarnaUpdate&BarnaUpdateID=150

Here are the 8 questions: 1)What is real? Is reality real? (Metaphysics) 2) What is truth? Can I know it? (Epistemology) 3) Is there a God or any supernatural being? (Theology) 4) What is the state of man? Is he good or sinful? Does he have a soul? Is he merely an animal or more than that? (Anthropology) 5) What are the origins of man and the universe? (Cosmogony) 6) What is my meaning and purpose in life? (Teleology) 7) How do I know what is right and wrong? (Ethics, Axiology and Morality) 8) What is my destiny after death? (Eschatology and Immortality)

1. What is real? Is reality real? (Metaphysics) SPACE TIME & MATTER

THE FACTOID OF THE DAY (Your view of reality will influence your actions.)

1. What is real? Is reality real? (Metaphysics) Did you know that many people answer “no!”? Maya (Sanskrit: "illusion") is a fundamental concept in Hindu philosophy. Maya denotes the power of wizardry with which a God can make human beings believe in what turns out to be an illusion; it later came to mean the powerful force that creates the cosmic illusion that the world is real.

2. What is truth? Can I know it? (Epistemology) oToTruth is what “corresponds to reality” oIoIt’s NOT relative to each individual person (relativism) oIoIt’s objective- it doesn’t matter what we think! Truth is true! oCoCorrespondence is the theory of truth used in court systems "We are not to suppose that any truth concerning the natural world can be an enemy to religion, for Truth cannot be an enemy to Truth, God is not divided against himself." -- Thomas Burnet, The Sacred Theory of the Earth (1726)

3. Is there a God or any supernatural being? (Theology) SPACE TIME & MATTER Something Spiritual? If immaterial beings are possible, then souls are possible (and vice versa!).

#3 is the major division: o Something spiritual (#3) o Souls possible (#4) o Man was made in the image of God(now fallen) (#4) o Souls make afterlife possible (#8) o Judgment (#8) o Morals based on God (#7) o God created world (#5) o Man has a purpose given by God (#6) o Nothing Spiritual o Souls not possible o Man is merely an evolved animal. o No soul- no afterlife o No judgment o Morals made by man (relativism/cultural) o World is eternal or “popped” into existence o Man makes his own purpose NaturalismSupernaturalism

We need to be able to look in our world…and our culture…and distinguish if something is not merely “good or bad,” but rather, “Does this fit into the Christian worldview?” Take these movies for instance:

Does this have a Biblical Worldview?

4. Who or what is Man? o Man is a merely material substance, with no soul, that has evolved out of nature. (From goo to you - via the zoo) o Man is a soul/body unity, made in the image of God. (Having some of the attributes of the divine being.)

5. The origins of man There are only three options concerning the “cause” of the universe: The cosmos has always existed The cosmos “popped” into being An infinite being created it "the actual point of creation lies outside the scope of presently known laws of physics," Stephen Hawking

6. What is my meaning and purpose in life? (Teleology) o Purpose is defined as “something set up as an object or end to be attained” o How can something “set itself up”- or create it’s own purpose? o Can a tool create it’s own purpose? o Naturalists confuse purpose and passion. o As Christians, what is our purpose? Serve the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his…(Psalm 100:2-3)

“The drive for meaning can be a physicochemical process. The focus on ultimate meaning is a story told to us as we develop that ultimate meaning is more important than proximate meaning...I feel fine not having any need for ultimate explanations. It might be the key to my happiness in fact.” - Greg Graffin, lead singer of punk band Bad Religion, who has a ph.d. in zoology from Cornell. Quote taken from Preston Jones’ “Is Belief in God Good, Bad or Irrelevant?: A Professor And a Punk Rocker Discuss Science, Religion, Naturalism & Christianity”

Secular scientists’ answer to the question of purpose:

7. Ethics and morality arnaUpdateID=154 Your worldview effects your view of right and wrong! Secular Worldview drunkenness36%2% Homosexuality31%2% profanity37%3% Abortion46%.05% adultery44%4% Biblical Worldview

Modern view of God’s Laws

“It can be demonstrated that conscience is natural-not taught, not learned, but there from the start- then it is reasonable to treat it as we would treat any biological trait, like hemoglobin, and it is reasonable to assume that it is an evolutionary adaptation in some way to social life.” - Greg Graffin, lead singer of punk band Bad Religion, who has a ph.d. in zoology from Cornell. Quote taken from Preston Jones’ “Is Belief in God Good, Bad or Irrelevant?: A Professor And a Punk Rocker Discuss Science, Religion, Naturalism & Christianity”

7. Ethics and morality continued IF there is no higher power and no absolute moral law, then how can “right and wrong” be determined? Either by individual or by society. This is relativism… and it leads to narcissism and eventually anarchy. (If there are no absolute “rights or wrongs” then there is no concept of justice!) Morality MUST be cross-cultural!

8. What is my destiny after death?

Questions/Comments/Resources Visit me at My book Stand your Ground is available at my table. Youth Apologetics Conference July 12 th -16 th in Charlotte.