Week 1 January 21, 2021 Some Reminders from last week: Books that we will navigate through (not required reading) in Conflict: Choosing in a World of Ideas by Ronald Nash The Battle for Truth: Defending the Christian in the Marketplace of Ideas by David Noe- bel Total Truth: Liberating Christianity from its Cultural Captivity by Nancy Pearcey The Universe Next Door: A Basic Worldview Catalog by James Sire

The reality of a worldview and how many people don’t hold a biblical worldview Christian University American Worldview Inventory 2020 with George Barna o 21% of people who attending evangelical protestant churches hold a biblical worldview. Which means 79% of people who attend evangelical protestant churches don’t hold to a biblical worldview. o “The largest segment of people who describe themselves as Christian is Notional Christians- Those who self-identify as Christian and who do not embrace eternal salvation through a personal confession of sin and accepting Jesus Christ as their personal savior.”1 The problem is that as they self-identify as Christians they distort the cultural perception of who a Christian is and what being a Christian means. (consider Joe Biden’s inaugural speech this afternoon, St Augustine, a saint in “my church”- meanwhile retired arch-bishop of Pennsylvania contends that Joe Biden should be barred from taking communion.) o Age plays a factor in whether or not a person holds a biblical worldview. 9% of Americans 50 and older hold a biblical worldview, 5% in their 30s and 40s, and only 2 % between the ages of 18-29. o I will always try to explain any term that seems to be overly philosophical or technical. o I will always try to keep the conversation tied to our everyday lives. I have no desire for this to be- come a theoretical class on subjects that don’t impact our lives as believers. -34 o The gospel shared through the preconceptions of the audience o Paul uses the poetry and the artifacts of the audience at hand

1 In the video I reference a statistic in the same paragraph but a later sentence. The missing sen- tence is as follows “Notional Christians constitute 54% of U.S. adults who describe themselves as Christian. Very few Notional Christians –only one-tenth of one percent- have a biblical worldview.” (American Worldview Inventory 2020- Initial Report)

Starting off with the foundation of a definition What is a worldview o Barna: “A worldview is the intellectual, moral, emotional, and spiritual filter through which a person sees and responds to the world. Because your worldview affects every decision you make, worldview also affects every area of influence in American culture such as education, the family, reli- gion and , government and politics, arts and entertainment, news and information media, and business and commerce.” o Noebel: As believers, we need to consider how our commitment to Christ and his Word affects not only our political and ethical convictions, but also the way we think about science, , philoso- phy, economics, and host of other areas of contemporary thought. This collection of convictions is what we call a worldview.” (Noebel, pg. vii) o Nash: “In its simplest terms, a worldview is a set of beliefs about the most important issues of life.” (Nash, pg. 16) o Sire: “A Worldview is a commitment, a fundamental orientation of the heart, that can be ex- pressed as a story or in a set of presuppositions (assumptions which may be true, partially true, or entirely false) that we hold (consciously or subconsciously, consistently or inconsistently) about the basic constitution of reality, and that provides the foundation on which we live and move and have our being.”

Week 1 Homework: Dallas Willard: Being a Christian in a Pluralistic Society o https://dwillard.org/articles/being-a-christian-in-a-pluralistic-society

Week 2 January 27, 2021 Some Reminders from last week: Worldviews in our culture are not predominantly Christian

Homework: Dallas Willard: Being a Christian in a Pluralistic Society What is a worldview: A worldview is a commitment, a fundamental orientation of the heart, that can be expressed as a story or in a set of presuppositions (assumptions which may be true, partially true, or entirely false) that we hold (consciously or subconsciously, consistently or inconsistently) about the basic constitution of reality, and that provides the foundation on which we live, and move, and have our being. Presuppositions: basic set of assumptions that we hold, often unconsciously, about God, our- selves (humanity), and the world in which we live. All other thoughts and beliefs are built upon these assumptions. Worldview exercise: What presuppositions are made when we think about… a tree the act of stealing Humanity God Eight Questions that help ups understand a biblical worldview - the really real? I did it, my way Yes, there were times the world around us)? I'm sure you knew When I bit off, more than I could chew But through it all, when there was doubt I ate it up and spit it out I faced it all, and I stood tall And did it my way I've loved, I've laughed and cried I've had my fill, my share of losing And now, as tears subside I find it all so amusing To think I did all that And may I say, not in a shy way Worldview exercise: Music and Worldview Oh no, oh no not me I did it my way I Did It My Way by Frank Sinatra For what is a man, what has he got? And now the end is near If not himself, then he has naught And so I face the final curtain To say the things he truly feels My friend, I'll say it clear And not the words of one who kneels I'll state my case, of which I'm certain The record shows, I took the blows I've lived, a life that's full And did it my way I travelled each and every highway Yes, it was my way And more, much more than this I did it my way Sound of Silence by Simon and Garfunkel Regrets, I've had a few Hello darkness, my old friend I've come to talk But then again, too few to mention with you again Because a vision softly creeping I did what I had to do Left its seeds while I was sleeping And the vision that was planted in my brain Still remains Within I saw it through, without exemption the sound of silence I planned each chartered course In restless dreams I walked alone Narrow streets Each careful step along the by-way of cobblestone 'Neath the halo of a street lamp I turned my collar to the cold and damp When my And more, much more than this eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light That split the night And touched the sound of vision Always had high, high hopes Had to silence have high, high hopes for a living Didn't And in the naked light I saw Ten thousand peo- know how but I always had a feeling I was ple, maybe more People talking without speak- gonna be that one in a million Always had ing People hearing without listening People high, high hopes (high, high hopes) writing songs that voices never share No one Mama said It's uphill for oddities Stranger dared Disturb the sound of silence crusaders Ain't ever wannabes The weird "Fools" said I, "You do not know Silence like a and the novelties Don't ever change We cancer grows Hear my words that I might teach wanted everything, wanted everything you Take my arms that I might reach you" But Stay up on that rise Stay up on that rise my words like silent raindrops fell And echoed and never come down, oh Stay up on that in the wells of silence rise Stay up on that rise and never come down And the people bowed and prayed To the neon god they made And the sign flashed out its Mama said don't give up, it's a little compli- warning In the words that it was forming cated All tied up, no more love and I'd hate And the sign said, "The words of the prophets to see you waiting They say it's all been Are written on the subway walls And tenement done but they haven't seen the best of me halls And whispered in the sounds of silence" So I got one more run and it's gonna be a sight to see High Hopes by Panic at the Disco Had to have high, high hopes for a living Had to have high, high hopes for a living Shooting for the stars when I couldn't make Shooting for the stars when I couldn't make a a killing Didn't have a dime but I always killing Didn't have a dime but I always had a had a vision Always had high, high hopes vision Always had high, high hopes Had to have high, high hopes for a living Didn't know Had to have high, high hopes for a living how but I always had a feeling I was gonna be Didn't know how but I always had a feeling that one in a million Always had high, high I was gonna be that one in a million Always hopes had high, high hopes Mama said Fulfill the prophecy Be something greater Go make a legacy Manifest destiny Back in the days We wanted everything, want- ed everything Mama said Burn your biog- raphies Rewrite your history Light up your wild- est dreams Museum victories, everyday We wanted everything, wanted everything Mama said don't give up, it's a little complicat- ed All tied up, no more love and I'd hate to see you waiting Had to have high, high hopes for a living Shooting for the stars when I couldn't make a killing Didn't have a dime but I always had a Week 3 February 3, 2021

Some Reminders from last week:

1. What is prime reality- the really real? 2. What is the nature of external reality (that is, the world around us)? 3. What is a human being? 4. What happens to a person at death? 5. Why is it possible to know anything at all? 6. How do we know what is right and wrong? 7. What is the meaning of human history?

What is a worldview: A worldview is a commitment, a fundamental orientation of the heart, that can be expressed as a story or in a set of presuppositions (assumptions which may be true, partially true, or entirely false) that we hold (consciously or subconsciously, consistently or inconsistently) about the basic constitution of reality, and that provides the foundation on which we live, and move, and have our being. Presuppositions: basic set of assumptions that we hold, often unconsciously, about God, our- selves (humanity), and the world in which we live. All other thoughts and beliefs are built upon these assumptions. Week 2 Homework: Acts 17:16-34 Using the 8 questions above discussed today, how does Paul answer worldview questions from the Christian worldview?

An Analogy for the rest of the study: How does the treasury department teach their agents to identify counterfeit currency?

Christianity: What is the prime reality- what is really real? Answer: The prime reality is God; all other reality is dependent on him. What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us. The history of mankind will probably show that no people has ever risen above its religion, and man’s spiritual history will positively demonstrate that no religion has ever been greater than its idea of God. Worship is pure or base as the worshiper entertains high or low thoughts of God. (A.W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy) Text: -31 John 1:1-5; 1:14-18

Some things we know about God: God is infinite:

God is transcendent

God is immanent