1. Session 2: Chapters 3&4 World View Instructor: David M. Hasz Feb. 4, 2008

2. What divides the world? “ Not so much geographic boundaries but religious and cultural traditions.” – Samuel Huntington. IE: Iraq, Afghanistan, Yugoslavia Huntington predicted a clash between the worldviews of what three major traditional civilizations?

3. THE BIG CLASH The Western World (Who is that?) The Islamic World (Who is that?) The Confucian East (Who is that?) The other clash?? James Kurth predicted what?

4. The other clash Clash between those who adhere to a Judeo-Christian framework and those who favor postmodernism and multiculturalism.

5. Why? Western Culture may soon dominate the globe: Technology Fall of the Iron Curtain (What is that?) US Cultural Invasion

6. Our Responsibility As American Christians we affect the globe!! What is the major challenge we face today? Theism vs. Naturalism What is Theism?

7. Theism The belief there is a transcendent God who created the universe.

8. NATURALISM The belief that natural causes alone are sufficient to explain everything that exists.

9. The Fundamental Questions Is ultimate reality God or the cosmos? Has God spoken and revealed His truth to us or is truth something we find and invent for ourselves? Is there a purpose to our lives or are we cosmic accidents?

10. The walk down the road – know this!! Naturalism leads to Moral Relativism. Moral Relativism – every principle and “moral” is relative to the person… why? Relativism leads to Multiculturalism. Multiculturalism – cultures are also then relative to the people.

11. The Walk Cont. Multiculturalism leads to Pragmatism. Pragmatism – Whatever works best is right. The Christian by contrast is an idealist, judging actions not by what works but by what ought to be, based on objective standards.

12. The Walk cont…. Pragmatism leads to Utopianism Utopianism- Enlightenment is embraced… human nature is good. If only we create the right social and economic structures, we can usher in an age of harmony and prosperity.

13. Ultimately - This world perspective – Naturalism leads to only considering what happens in this world, this age, this life. Christians see things from an eternal perspective.

14. Post Christian Meaning most American’s no longer rely on Judeo-Christian truths as the basis of the public philosophy or their moral consensus. Not the worst of it…

15. Post Modernism Postmodernism rejects any notion of a universal, overarching truth, and reduces all ideas to social constructions shaped by class, gender and ethnicity.

16. Existentialism Existentialism proclaimed that life is absurd, meaningless, and that the individual self must create his own meaning by his own choices. Choice was elevated to the ultimate value.

17. Multiculturalism and Existentialism Multiculturalism is not the celebration of folk cultures, it is about the dissolution of the individual into the tribal group. Page 23

18. The New Demographics Cultural Creatives: embrace “trans-modernist” set of values, including, “environmentalism, feminism, global issues, and spiritual searching.”

19. Cultural Creatives Skeptical of moral absolutes See nature as sacred

20. Blue Like Jazz “It isn’t that I didn’t love my Christian friends or that they didn’t love me, it was just that there was something different about my hippie friends, something, I don’t know, more real, more true.” (pg. 210)( Of the hippie friends, “They certainly smoked a lot of pot. They drank a lot of beer. And man did they love each other, sometimes too much, perhaps, too physically, you know, but nonetheless they loved; they accepted and cherished everybody,…”( Pg. 207)

21. Blue Like Jazz “I liked them very much because they were interested in me. When I was with the hippies I did not feel judged, I felt loved.” (pg. 208)

22. Donald Miller “It isn’t that the Christians I had been with had bad community; they didn’t. I just liked the community of the hippies because it was more forgiving, more, I don’t know, healthy.” (214 The problem with the Christian community was that we had ethics, we had rules and laws and principles to judge each other against

23. Donald Miller Pg. 216: “I wanted to love everybody, I wanted everything to be cool I realize this sounds like tolerance, and to many in the Church the world tolerance is profanity, but that is precisely what I wanted. I wanted tolerance. (He has stated clearly what he wants – he does not want sin, ethics or principles, he want everything to be OK – live and let live.)

24. Traditionalism “ Heartlanders”, “Country Folk”, holding to a nostalgic image of small towns and strong churches. 29% of adults in 1997

25. Modernism 47% adults in 1997 Value technological progress and material success, tend to be politicians, military leaders, scientists, business people. Pragmatic, less concerned with ideology and social issues.

26. The Battle is on.. The most significant class is between classic Christian theism and naturalism TRUTH wins so we Christians need to stand strong in our Faith.

27. Chapter 4 – WHY we must understand worldviews Pre evangelism Minister of Justice in Bulgaria Different responses Response to the common charge that Christians want to impose their views on others….

28. The common charge answered Christians vigorously defend the persecuted because they believe human rights are God given. Knowing how to be salt and light in our communities without offending. Story of Ron Greer…

29. Why were you not upset Ron? “I had not more reason to be angry with them than I would with a blind man who stepped on my foot.”

30. The Christian Calling We are called not only to save souls but also to save minds… We must understand the faith and reason go together! It is crucial to cultivate the mind in order to avoid the snares and expose the false values of modern culture.

31. The Christmas Tree Example Page 35. THE CHARGE Page 36