Framing a Christian Worldview: Lesson 1 I John 2:15-17

15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

What is a “Worldview”? "The term ‘worldview’ refers to any ideology, philosophy, theology, movement, or religion that provides an overarching approach to understanding God, the world, and man's relations to God and the world. Specifically, a worldview should contain a particular perspective regarding each of the following ten disciplines: theology, philosophy, ethics, biology, psychology, sociology, law, politics, economics, and history.” David Noebel, Understanding the Times (Harvest House Publishers: Eugene, Oregon, 1991), 8.

Framing your worldview- questions to ask yourself: 1. Do you believe the Bible is the inspired - ( theopneustos -‘God breathed’) word of God? 2. Do you believe it is without error, and infallible? 3. Do you believe the Bible is the sole basis of the believer’s walk, faith and practice?

Framing your worldview- questions to ask yourself: 4. Do you believe God’s word is fully relevant to the issues we face in life? 5. Do you think it is possible to believe the Bible intellectually, but not practically apply it to your daily life? 6. Is there a difference between the failure to obey due to weakness of the flesh, which we all do, and the evident, repeated pattern of consistently disobeying God’s word?

Assumptions For the sake of brevity and time, the following points will be assumed and accepted as factual: 1.God is sovereign in the affairs of men and history 2.The Bible is God-breathed, or inspired 3.The Bible is true and without error 4.The Bible is the sole basis of faith and practice, and is THE authority in life 5.The Bible is relevant, indeed inseparably so, to this life Should you have questions about these points, Jeff will be happy to speak to you about these after class.

The Intersection of Our Faith and the World 1.Theology 2.Philosophy 3.Ethics 4.Biology 5. Psychology 6.Sociology 7. Law 8. Politics 9.Economics 10.History

Worldview Sources and Applications Type:Secular HumanismMarxism/LeninismBiblical Christianity Source of Worldview  : Humanist Manifesto I and II Writings of Marx and Lenin Bible TheologyAtheism Theism PhilosophyNaturalismDialetical Materialism Supernaturalism Definitions: Atheism:Belief that no God/god exists Theism:Belief that God/a god exists Naturalism:In philosophy, naturalism is the "idea or belief that only natural (as opposed to supernatural or spiritual) laws and forces operate in the world." Dialectical Materialism: materialism: the material world, perceptible to the senses, has objective reality independent of mind or spirit. Truth is also not deduced by the actual course of events from any “principles of dialectics” (dialectics in this sense refers to process of being and ceasing to be); the principles must be inferred from the events. In other words, there is no absolute basis of truth, only experiential basis of truth. Supernaturalism: Belief in the existence of a non-material world that cannot be perceived by the senses Table adapted from the book “Understanding the Times” by David A. Noebel, 1991

Theology ‘Theo’ (God) + ‘ology’ (knowledge/study of) How/what do we believe about God? >Islam, atheism, postmodern Christianity, ecumenicalism

Contrasting Views of God Worldly View of GodvsBiblical View of God UnknowablevsUnderstood by scriptures Created by manvsEternal and not created Morally ambiguous/relative, mutablevsHoly, Unimpugnable Not righteous or justvsRighteous and Just LimitedvsOmni: -present/-scient/-potent Unmerciful (Example: allows suffering)vsMerciful Unkind, hateful toward creationvsKind UnlovingvsLoving UnfaithfulvsFaithful ContradictoryvsNon-contradictory Multiplicity in His naturevsTriune NonexistentvsEternally existent One

Does Our View of God Matter? Yes! Why? Because our view of God directs our actions, behaviors, ethics, religion, and EVERYTHING ELSE in life. If we say we have a Biblical view of God, do our actions and life line up with that view? Is there a consistent pattern of obedience to God?

Competing Views of God Worldly View of GodvsBiblical View of God UnknowablevsKnown by the scriptures Created by manvsEternal and not created Morally ambiguous/relative, mutablevsHoly, Unimpugnable Not righteous or justvsRighteous and Just LimitedvsOmni: -present/-scient/-potent Unmerciful (Example: allows suffering)vsMerciful Unkind, hateful toward creationvsKind UnlovingvsLoving UnfaithfulvsFaithful ContradictoryvsNon-contradictory Multiplicity in His naturevsTriune NonexistentvsEternally existent One

A few (75) verses that refer to God’s nature, or the nature of one of his attributes or gifts: Genesis 17:7; Genesis 17:8; Genesis 48:4; Exodus 15:18; Numbers 18:19; Deuteronomy 32:40; Deuteronomy 33:27; 1 Chronicles 16:34; 2 Chronicles 5:13; Nehemiah 9:5; Isaiah 24:5; Isaiah 35:10; Isaiah 40:28; Isaiah 40:8; Isaiah 41:4; Isaiah 45:17; Isaiah 51:11; Isaiah 54:10; Isaiah 55:3; Isaiah 61:7; Jeremiah 31:3; Jeremiah 32:40; Lamentations 5:19; Daniel 4:3; Daniel 7:14; Daniel 9:24; Hosea 2:19; Habakkuk 1:12; Job 36:26; Psalms 100:5; Psalms 102:12; Psalms 102:26-27; Psalms 103:17; Psalms 105:10; Psalms 106:1; Psalms 111:3; Psalms 112:3; Psalms 117:2; Psalms 119:142; Psalms 119:89; Psalms 145:13; Psalms 146:6; Psalms 16:11; Psalms 45:6; Psalms 48:14; Psalms 66:7; Psalms 9:7; Psalms 90:2; Psalms 90:4; Proverbs 8:23; Mark 13:31; John 10:28; John 17:5; John 5:24; John 6:47; John 8:58; Romans 1:20; Romans 11:29; Romans 2:7; Romans 6:23; 1 Corinthians 2:7; Ephesians 1:4; 2 Timothy 3:15; Hebrews 1:11-12; Hebrews 13:8; Hebrews 5:9; Hebrews 9:12; 1 Peter 1:20; 1 Peter 1:24-25; 1 Peter 5:11; 2 Peter 1:11; 2 Peter 3:8; Revelation 1:8; Revelation 11:17; Revelation 22:13

Philosophy From philo (love) + sophia (wisdom) What do we use as a basis of our belief, or more specifically, wisdom? >Method of thought- humanistic vs theo/biblio-centric

Competing Philosophies Worldly PhilososophyvsBiblical “Philosophy” Evidence BasedvsFaith (not ‘blind faith’) based PointlessvsEternity with God is the goal No explanation of cause or designvsGod is the Cause and Designer No basis of right or wrongvsBible forms what is right/wrong No moral absolute, no sinvsGod’s Holiness is the standard Scientism (only science source of truth)vsBible is the sole source of truth Materialism/NaturalismvsFaith, not sight Material World is all the existsvsThere is a spiritual world Denial of the Supernatural vsFaith in The Supernatural Creator Morality capability within manvsMan is utterly depraved Bible is not adequate for modern timesvsBible is eternally applicable Faith is meaningless and not neededvsFaith is required to please God Denies the need for GodvsBy Him (Christ) all things consist

Does Our Philosophical Approach Matter? Yes! Why? Because our philosophy is a direct result of our view of the Bible and the God of the Bible, and our understanding and perception of the material world. If we say we have a Biblical philosophical worldview, how do we view ourselves?

Questions to Ask Ourselves Colossians 2:8-10 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. (9) For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. (10) And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power: What is our perception of what faith is ? Do we require evidence to believe? Do our lives mean anything? Is there a design, and thus a designer? What do I base my morality on? My sense of right and wrong? Are there absolutes? What is the source of truth, the Bible or science? Is there existence beyond the material plane? Is there a supernatural realm? Is man capable of good? Is he inherently good or inherently bad? Is the Bible sufficient for today’s world? Does faith have a role today? Has it ever truly had a role in life? Do we need God?

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