What is a Worldview?
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
A Christian Worldview and Today´s Youth!
By Lonnie Davis
During my studies in the area of Christian apologetics and philosophy, I came across what I consider to be a wonderful tool for grounding youth in a Christian worldview—it is William Lane Craig and Joseph Tang’s course, The Defense Never Rests. (See the store section at www.reasonablefaith.org if you’re interested in ordering.) The course was put together by Joseph Tang (Australia) for his Sunday school class (ages 8 and above) and is based on Dr. Craig’s work in the area of apologetics, philosophy, arguments for the existence of God, etc.—in other words, preparing youth at an early age to understand and defend the Christian worldview so as to meet the cultural challenges that they will face throughout their life.
A worldview has been defined as being “like a lens through which you see things, and you’re not really aware of the lens; you’re only aware of the things you see … so it becomes the glasses, the spectacles, the filter through which [you’re] actually seeing life and the whole universe and the world, and human life is understood through that lens…. Nobody is without a worldview. The only question is, is it a good one or a bad one? On the basis of your worldview, you make your momentary judgments in life. Everyone has a worldview, and I think it is the grid that forms the nature of reality for you and the judgments that you make for yourself and others in your life.” A well-rounded worldviewis also said to include beliefs in at least five major areas: God, ultimate reality (metaphysics), knowledge (epistemology), ethics, and humankind.1 (See the followingYouTube video, “What Is Worldview?” for a more in-depth synopsis of the Christian worldview— http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Txez9sJUtaE.)
I have been working through the course with my grandson (10 years old), and he really enjoys the classes and always looks forward to the next one, as they are very intellectually and spiritually stimulating. (I also supplement the classes with YouTube clips of Dr. Craig’s and other prominent philosophers and apologists’ lectures, debates, etc.) From our conversations during the classes, I can tell that there were some foundational pillars missing in his understanding of basic Christian beliefs, even of what would be expected to be understood at his age, which the course is helping to build up and strengthen. However, more importantly, I see the course as preparing him to think critically, in the sense of judging other worldviews that he will be faced with, and then coming to his own conclusion on which worldview he will find to be the most rational and intellectually sound. The course gives a very strong philosophical and theological argument for the Christian worldview, which gives the student the foundation on which to assess other worldviews and thereby come to his/her own conclusion when choosing their worldview as they mature.
I would highly recommend this course to all parents who have children in the 8–13 age range, regardless of their educational milieu—public, private, or home schooling. To teach the course effectively, the teacher will need to be familiar with Dr. Craig’s book,Reasonable Faith (also found at www.reasonablefaith.org), as this is what the course is based on. This is certainly a plus for the parent/teacher, as in the course of teaching the child, the parent and/or teacher is also taking the course, which will be a strength to them as well. Reasonable Faith is a tremendous book and is basically a summary of all that one needs to know regarding Christian apologetics/philosophy.
In the introduction of Reasonable Faith, Dr. Craig states, “In high school and college, Christian teenagers are intellectually assaulted with every manner of non-Christian worldview, coupled with an overwhelming relativism. If parents are not intellectually engaged with their faith and do not have sound arguments of Christian theism and good answers to their children’s questions, then we are in real danger of losing our youth. It’s no longer enough to teach our children Bible stories; they need doctrine and apologetics.” The goal and purpose of The Defense Never Rests course is to get a jump on the “intellectual assault” at an early age, before the child enters the higher grades, where the assault intensifies.
I was listening to a new podcast from Dr. Craig this morning—“Important International Influences”—and he mentioned something that I thought was very interesting regarding the organization Focus on the Family and how they are now expanding their focus to include apologetics, as they see the need for their youth membership to be more equipped in meeting the challenge of secular society, and more specifically, the naturalist, atheist, and scientism ideologies that are so prevalent in today’s world. Their new program is called “True You.” Dr. Craig will be one of the guest apologists that they will be filming for the course. Here’s the blurb from Craig about the program: “They have sensed the need of intellectual engagement with our culture and with worldview thinking, so they are sponsoring projects like this ‘True You’ project … [which is based on] interviews with scholars and addresses the pertinent issues today in regards to the Christian faith.”
He finished his podcast with this revealing testimony as to how the Christian worldview in the West is waning and the need for Christians to be actively and intellectually engaged in order to have an impact on the society in which they live:
“It’s unfortunate when organizations have to be reactive rather than proactive. Recently at our church, I heard a representative from the Southern Baptist Convention talking about statistical analysis of various generations with regard to the Christian faith. What he shared, if we really took it seriously we would be absolutely horrified and in despair. He said that among the Baby Boom generation, about 65% claim to be Christians. In the generation after that, the Gen-X generation, that drops to 20-some percent; I forget the exact figures. Then the Millennials, the young people today in their early 20s, it’s about 8%. Now if these statistics are really accurate and hold up, it means that we are literally watching before our very eyes the de-Christianization of the United States… It is clear that the churches have not been proactive in commending the faith intellectually to their people. So the incursions of secularism and the new atheism have gone largely unchecked. I think finally people are waking up to the need to give an answer of the hope that is in us. I just pray that it hasn’t come too late.”
1 Ronald H. Nash, The Problem of Evil, chapter from the book, To Everyone An Answer—A Case for the Christian World View, Intervarsity Press, 2004.
During my studies in the area of Christian apologetics and philosophy, I came across what I consider to be a wonderful tool for grounding youth in a Christian worldview—it is William Lane Craig and Joseph Tang’s course, The Defense Never Rests. (See the store section at www.reasonablefaith.org if you’re interested in ordering.) The course was put together by Joseph Tang (Australia) for his Sunday school class (ages 8 and above) and is based on Dr. Craig’s work in the area of apologetics, philosophy, arguments for the existence of God, etc.—in other words, preparing youth at an early age to understand and defend the Christian worldview so as to meet the cultural challenges that they will face throughout their life.
A worldview has been defined as being “like a lens through which you see things, and you’re not really aware of the lens; you’re only aware of the things you see … so it becomes the glasses, the spectacles, the filter through which [you’re] actually seeing life and the whole universe and the world, and human life is understood through that lens…. Nobody is without a worldview. The only question is, is it a good one or a bad one? On the basis of your worldview, you make your momentary judgments in life. Everyone has a worldview, and I think it is the grid that forms the nature of reality for you and the judgments that you make for yourself and others in your life.” A well-rounded worldviewis also said to include beliefs in at least five major areas: God, ultimate reality (metaphysics), knowledge (epistemology), ethics, and humankind.1 (See the followingYouTube video, “What Is Worldview?” for a more in-depth synopsis of the Christian worldview— http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Txez9sJUtaE.)
I have been working through the course with my grandson (10 years old), and he really enjoys the classes and always looks forward to the next one, as they are very intellectually and spiritually stimulating. (I also supplement the classes with YouTube clips of Dr. Craig’s and other prominent philosophers and apologists’ lectures, debates, etc.) From our conversations during the classes, I can tell that there were some foundational pillars missing in his understanding of basic Christian beliefs, even of what would be expected to be understood at his age, which the course is helping to build up and strengthen. However, more importantly, I see the course as preparing him to think critically, in the sense of judging other worldviews that he will be faced with, and then coming to his own conclusion on which worldview he will find to be the most rational and intellectually sound. The course gives a very strong philosophical and theological argument for the Christian worldview, which gives the student the foundation on which to assess other worldviews and thereby come to his/her own conclusion when choosing their worldview as they mature.
I would highly recommend this course to all parents who have children in the 8–13 age range, regardless of their educational milieu—public, private, or home schooling. To teach the course effectively, the teacher will need to be familiar with Dr. Craig’s book,Reasonable Faith (also found at www.reasonablefaith.org), as this is what the course is based on. This is certainly a plus for the parent/teacher, as in the course of teaching the child, the parent and/or teacher is also taking the course, which will be a strength to them as well. Reasonable Faith is a tremendous book and is basically a summary of all that one needs to know regarding Christian apologetics/philosophy.
In the introduction of Reasonable Faith, Dr. Craig states, “In high school and college, Christian teenagers are intellectually assaulted with every manner of non-Christian worldview, coupled with an overwhelming relativism. If parents are not intellectually engaged with their faith and do not have sound arguments of Christian theism and good answers to their children’s questions, then we are in real danger of losing our youth. It’s no longer enough to teach our children Bible stories; they need doctrine and apologetics.” The goal and purpose of The Defense Never Rests course is to get a jump on the “intellectual assault” at an early age, before the child enters the higher grades, where the assault intensifies.
I was listening to a new podcast from Dr. Craig this morning—“Important International Influences”—and he mentioned something that I thought was very interesting regarding the organization Focus on the Family and how they are now expanding their focus to include apologetics, as they see the need for their youth membership to be more equipped in meeting the challenge of secular society, and more specifically, the naturalist, atheist, and scientism ideologies that are so prevalent in today’s world. Their new program is called “True You.” Dr. Craig will be one of the guest apologists that they will be filming for the course. Here’s the blurb from Craig about the program: “They have sensed the need of intellectual engagement with our culture and with worldview thinking, so they are sponsoring projects like this ‘True You’ project … [which is based on] interviews with scholars and addresses the pertinent issues today in regards to the Christian faith.”
He finished his podcast with this revealing testimony as to how the Christian worldview in the West is waning and the need for Christians to be actively and intellectually engaged in order to have an impact on the society in which they live:
“It’s unfortunate when organizations have to be reactive rather than proactive. Recently at our church, I heard a representative from the Southern Baptist Convention talking about statistical analysis of various generations with regard to the Christian faith. What he shared, if we really took it seriously we would be absolutely horrified and in despair. He said that among the Baby Boom generation, about 65% claim to be Christians. In the generation after that, the Gen-X generation, that drops to 20-some percent; I forget the exact figures. Then the Millennials, the young people today in their early 20s, it’s about 8%. Now if these statistics are really accurate and hold up, it means that we are literally watching before our very eyes the de-Christianization of the United States… It is clear that the churches have not been proactive in commending the faith intellectually to their people. So the incursions of secularism and the new atheism have gone largely unchecked. I think finally people are waking up to the need to give an answer of the hope that is in us. I just pray that it hasn’t come too late.”
1 Ronald H. Nash, The Problem of Evil, chapter from the book, To Everyone An Answer—A Case for the Christian World View, Intervarsity Press, 2004.
Monday, June 4, 2012
The Miracle and Answered Prayer!
By Dennis Edwards:
Chapter 3: The Miracle and Prayer Answered!
A few days past and I still did not know what I would do about the draft. I knew my time was short and the FBI would soon find me in Marietta, as I was making no efforts to hide. At the end, I had decided to resist the draft and go to prison if need be. This is a stance which every young American youth could take; white, black, educated, uneducated, rich or poor. Therefore, I thought it was the most honest position, as it was open to every man and not just to the middle or upper class white boys who could find a deferment or escape to Canada or Sweden.
Two weeks after my mother´s call, I went for two days to Columbus, Ohio to attend a teacher´s convention. It was on the return to Marietta that I picked up the hitch hiking young couple on their way to Ellenville, New York. He was an American and she was from Mexican decent. They asked me what I believed. We soon got into a conversation with me sharing my philosophy of life developed from my four years at college and my search for the truth. Slowly, they began to talk to me about Jesus. At first, I remember thinking “Oh, no, I´ve got two Jehovah Witnesses.” But they were different. After a time talking, we stopped at a restaurant where I bowed my head and asked Jesus, if he really was the son of God, to come into my heart and life and show me.
Later as he drove further, Chris talked with me about the importance of the Holy Spirit. So, while driving my brother´s Volkswagen bug down the motor way, I prayed to receive the infilling of the Holy Spirit. Only a few more miles up the road was where I needed to drop them off to start on my decent back to Marietta, about 100 miles south of Columbus, if memory holds. Chris talked with me further. He encouraged me that it was no coincidence that I had met them. Now, he questioned, was God calling me to discipleship? I was already used to doing things on the spur of the moment, so I decided to take them to Ellenville and see this community for myself. Could there really be young Christian disciples living for God?
What impressed me the most about Chris and his partner was that they were just as much against the war as I was. This was the first time I had met “Christians” against the war. I had spoken with Christian youth on the college campus. Those dedicated to Christ were usually always very pro American and therefore willing to support the war effort in some way. I even had a very close friend who had been a conscientious objector and had served as an army medic in Vietnam. But as much as he had tried, he could not convince me that CO was the most righteous or moral stand.
During my search for conscientious objector, I had also gone and spoken to both Catholic Priests and Protestant Ministers. They had always told me it was my Christian duty to obey the government and done the army uniform and perform my duty for God and country. I had already come to the decision from reading Tolstoy and others, including Mark Twain´s famous War Prayer[1] and the New Testament, that this pro war stance was a compromise and not in accordance with the words of Jesus. I had finally met some Christians who believed as I did about the war and now was going to see what made them tick.
Next Chapter 4: Ellenville Christian Community College
[1] http://www.ntua.gr/lurk/making/warprayer.htmlThe War Prayer- by Mark Twain
by Mark Twain
It was a time of great and exalting excitement. The country was up in arms, the war was on, in every breast burned the holy fire of patriotism; the drums were beating, the bands playing, the toy pistols popping, the bunched firecrackers hissing and spluttering; on every hand and far down the receding and fading spread of roofs and balconies a fluttering wilderness of flags flashed in the sun; daily the young volunteers marched down the wide avenue gay and fine in their new uniforms, the proud fathers and mothers and sisters and sweethearts cheering them with voices choked with happy emotion as they swung by; nightly the packed mass meetings listened, panting, to patriot oratory which stirred the deepest deeps of their hearts, and which they interrupted at briefest intervals with cyclones of applause, the tears running down their cheeks the while; in the churches the pastors preached devotion to flag and country, and invoked the God of Battles beseeching His aid in our good cause in outpourings of fervid eloquence which moved every listener. It was indeed a glad and gracious time, and the half dozen rash spirits that ventured to disapprove of the war and cast a doubt upon its righteousness straightway got such a stern and angry warning that for their personal safety's sake they quickly shrank out of sight and offended no more in that way.
Sunday morning came -- next day the battalions would leave for the front; the church was filled; the volunteers were there, their young faces alight with martial dreams -- visions of the stern advance, the gathering momentum, the rushing charge, the flashing sabers, the flight of the foe, the tumult, the enveloping smoke, the fierce pursuit, the surrender! Then home from the war, bronzed heroes, welcomed, adored, submerged in golden seas of glory! With the volunteers sat their dear ones, proud, happy, and envied by the neighbors and friends who had no sons and brothers to send forth to the field of honor, there to win for the flag, or, failing, die the noblest of noble deaths. The service proceeded; a war chapter from the Old Testament was read; the first prayer was said; it was followed by an organ burst that shook the building, and with one impulse the house rose, with glowing eyes and beating hearts, and poured out that tremendous invocation
*God the all-terrible! Thou who ordainest! Thunder thy clarion and lightning thy sword!*
Then came the "long" prayer. None could remember the like of it for passionate pleading and moving and beautiful language. The burden of its supplication was, that an ever-merciful and benignant Father of us all would watch over our noble young soldiers, and aid, comfort, and encourage them in their patriotic work; bless them, shield them in the day of battle and the hour of peril, bear them in His mighty hand, make them strong and confident, invincible in the bloody onset; help them to crush the foe, grant to them and to their flag and country imperishable honor and glory --
An aged stranger entered and moved with slow and noiseless step up the main aisle, his eyes fixed upon the minister, his long body clothed in a robe that reached to his feet, his head bare, his white hair descending in a frothy cataract to his shoulders, his seamy face unnaturally pale, pale even to ghastliness. With all eyes following him and wondering, he made his silent way; without pausing, he ascended to the preacher's side and stood there waiting. With shut lids the preacher, unconscious of his presence, continued with his moving prayer, and at last finished it with the words, uttered in fervent appeal, "Bless our arms, grant us the victory, O Lord our God, Father and Protector of our land and flag!"
The stranger touched his arm, motioned him to step aside -- which the startled minister did -- and took his place. During some moments he surveyed the spellbound audience with solemn eyes, in which burned an uncanny light; then in a deep voice he said:
"I come from the Throne -- bearing a message from Almighty God!" The words smote the house with a shock; if the stranger perceived it he gave no attention. "He has heard the prayer of His servant your shepherd, and will grant it if such shall be your desire after I, His messenger, shall have explained to you its import -- that is to say, its full import. For it is like unto many of the prayers of men, in that it asks for more than he who utters it is aware of -- except he pause and think.
"God's servant and yours has prayed his prayer. Has he paused and taken thought? Is it one prayer? No, it is two -- one uttered, the other not. Both have reached the ear of Him Who heareth all supplications, the spoken and the unspoken. Ponder this -- keep it in mind. If you would beseech a blessing upon yourself, beware! lest without intent you invoke a curse upon a neighbor at the same time. If you pray for the blessing of rain upon your crop which needs it, by that act you are possibly praying for a curse upon some neighbor's crop which may not need rain and can be injured by it.
"You have heard your servant's prayer -- the uttered part of it. I am commissioned of God to put into words the other part of it -- that part which the pastor -- and also you in your hearts -- fervently prayed silently. And ignorantly and unthinkingly? God grant that it was so! You heard these words: 'Grant us the victory, O Lord our God!' That is sufficient. the *whole* of the uttered prayer is compact into those pregnant words. Elaborations were not necessary. When you have prayed for victory you have prayed for many unmentioned results which follow victory--*must* follow it, cannot help but follow it. Upon the listening spirit of God fell also the unspoken part of the prayer. He commandeth me to put it into words. Listen!
"O Lord our Father, our young patriots, idols of our hearts, go forth to battle -- be Thou near them! With them -- in spirit -- we also go forth from the sweet peace of our beloved firesides to smite the foe. O Lord our God, help us to tear their soldiers to bloody shreds with our shells; help us to cover their smiling fields with the pale forms of their patriot dead; help us to drown the thunder of the guns with the shrieks of their wounded, writhing in pain; help us to lay waste their humble homes with a hurricane of fire; help us to wring the hearts of their unoffending widows with unavailing grief; help us to turn them out roofless with little children to wander unfriended the wastes of their desolated land in rags and hunger and thirst, sports of the sun flames of summer and the icy winds of winter, broken in spirit, worn with travail, imploring Thee for the refuge of the grave and denied it -- for our sakes who adore Thee, Lord, blast their hopes, blight their lives, protract their bitter pilgrimage, make heavy their steps, water their way with their tears, stain the white snow with the blood of their wounded feet! We ask it, in the spirit of love, of Him Who is the Source of Love, and Who is the ever-faithful refuge and friend of all that are sore beset and seek His aid with humble and contrite hearts. Amen.
(*After a pause.*) "Ye have prayed it; if ye still desire it, speak! The messenger of the Most High waits!"
It was believed afterward that the man was a lunatic, because there was no sense in what he said.
Twain apparently dictated it around 1904-05; it was rejected by his publisher, and was found after his death among his unpublished manuscripts. It was first published in 1923 in Albert Bigelow Paine's anthology, Europe and Elsewhere.
The story is in response to a particular war, namely the Philippine-American War of 1899-1902, which Twain opposed. See Jim Zwick's page "Mark Twain on the Philippines" for more of Twain's writings on the subject.
Transcribed by Steven Orso (snorso@facstaff.wisc.edu)
