Episode 24E02c – How to Defend your Faith Session 2: Worldview & You (Part 3 or 4)
(Written by Dr. Kip Wehrman 01/14/2024)
Okay, we are going to be build the puzzle pieces for our Christian worldview throughout this series but I want to give you quick formulation of our Christian Worldview.
#1 What is real? God Created Everything. Genesis chapter 1. Now I’m not going to get into the debate over old earth or young earth. The Bible says God created everything. It’s not explicit how or time, so let’s focus on the main thing. What is Real? God is real and God created everything.
#2 Who am I? I am made in image of God for Relationship. God made each and every one of us. We are all beautifully and wonderfully made according to Psalm 139. God loves us and was willing to die for us, so we could have a relationship with him. Be called children of the living God. Now I know many will challenge us about being exclusive. And yes we do believe God is exclusive. But anyone can choose to follow God, it is only limited by our choice.
#3 Where did I come from? God Created Everything. We are made in the image of God Genesis 1:27.
#4 Why am I here? To love God & Love others. Jesus told us our purpose. To love God with all our heart, and with all our soul, and with all our mind, and with all our strength (Mark 12:30-31) But we love God by loving other people the way God wants them loved, the way Jesus loves them which is what Jesus said in John13:34-35.
#5 Right & Wrong? God’s word defines Truth. Jesus said I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the father except through me. (John 14:6) God defines right and wrong. Jesus is the truth because what ever He says is the truth. He defines it.
#6 Death? Soul is eternal We have to choose in this life. Jesus or not Jesus. No grey areas, no other options. It is heaven or hell.. Forever in the presence of Jesus or forever without the goodness of God. Hebrews 9:27 says, People die once. After that , God will judge them) And just as people are appointed to die once, and then to face judgment. There is only one way and that is Jesus.
#7 Mind or consciousness? God created us for relationship with Him. We believe God created us in His image. That includes our emotions, mind, thoughts, etc. We are aware of things we cannot see, feel, smell, taste or touch. We can reason and understand logical arguments, We can make choices that are not supported by our five senses.
#8 History? We can trust what God has said in the Bible. As Christians, we believe in history. We believe we can learn from the past. We believe there was a beginning and there will be an end to this world as it is. Eventually, God will be done waiting and all the little kingdoms of this world will be wiped away.
Now I know that was really fast. Most seminaries teach semester classes just on the Christian worldview. So there is a lot more we could say but time does not allow it. We will address these more later in our series.
Listen to how one of my favorite theologians describes this.
This is NT Wright.
Are you ready to look at how these different worldviews actually answer these worldview questions?
Reality What is real?
Monotheism says God exists. God Created & is involved with all things, both material & spiritual. Reality can be observed in nature & religious writings. This is generally true for all three major monotheisms Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. And I’m not going to specifically differentiate between the three until the end but think about how they are the same and different as we go through these questions.
Deism says God exists. God Created the orderly universe but is not involved with it or in it. God is either unable to affect what goes on in the universe or God is uninterested. God simply does not care about the universe or how it works or what people do in it. Remember this is like the watchmaker universe model. God got everything going, now it is one its own. No further interference from God.
Naturalism or something like the atheistic materialism. Only Matter Exists. Matter can be understood with certainty by the Scientific Method. Or we can put it this way. Everything can be understood or explained by natural means. Natural reasons. Nature, the world, the cosmos is only matter and energy. No spiritual realm.
Nihilism Nothing can be known for certain. This worldview is very hard to understand because it doesn’t explain anything. If only denies we can know anything. Which seems like they know that, so I’m confused if they know this for certain or don’t know it for certain.
Existentialism The cosmos exists but is ultimately meaningless. Individuals must find their own meaning. This is another of the worldview which is very hard to understand because whatever you think you know does not matter. It’s just meaningless. Purpose is defined by opinion which changes with every shifting tide of culture and emotion.
Pantheism Pan means “all or everything” and Theos means “god”. Everything is god. Matter is an illusion. I know this has been on the rise in the western world. Okay, if matter is an illusion, then if someone hits you with a stick, why does it hurt. Most of these are hard to live out in our lives.
Let’s look at a summary of how each answered the what is reality question. Monotheism says reality is created by God and for God.
Deism God made everything but the ultimate reality is reason or our ability to navigate an orderly universe.
Naturalism reality is matter only. Matter is all there is. No spiritual realm. Some even deny we have a consciousness beyond the chemistry and physics of our minds.
Nihilism says nothing. Everything is nothing. Nothing. Nothing nothing. So why do they say anything if everything is nothing?
Existentialism says reality is meaningless. We have to make our own meaning out of the meaninglessness in order to understand that it is meaningless. Are you confused yet. So, why do they share this opinion if it’s so meaningless. Do they get meaning from saying it is meaningless?
And pantheism is all about spirit. Everything is spirit or life force or karma. Modern Sci-Fi movies love this world view. This is Star Wars “the force” or Avatar movie Eywa. These everything is part of everything. And effectively everything is god.
Now let’s apply the livability test. Well for the most part, each of these beliefs can be lived in at least some sense.
What about Self. Who am I?
Monotheism says Humans are made in the image of God. Humans are flawed and in need of redemption.
Deism says Humans are just a natural part of the created universe. Humans are as they are meant to be. Humans are not special.
Naturalism. Humans are highly developed, self-conscious and reasonable animals. But just animals like any other life form. Nothing special.
Nihilism Humans have no lasting identity. Any applied identity should be rejected.
Existentialism Humans identify themselves individually and subjectively.
Pantheism. Humans’ souls are part of the “Big Soul” of the universe. Oneness with the universe is achievable through meditation..
What about the livability. Deism just part of nature. I guess you can live that out. Monotheism. God’s creation. Definitely livable. Naturalism. Just a biological machine. I don’t think anyone actually lives this out. Nihilism. No one or nothing. Obviously no one lives this way truly. Existentialism. I get to decide. Well sadly many try to live this way. And pantheism a small soul. It’s pretty hard for a prideful, selfish creature like us to truly live this out. Those that try are actually not doing it because they are trying so hard.
This is the end of How to Defend your Faith Session 2: Worldview & You (Part 3 of 4)
