The Christian World View

by Courtnee Aubain

In Living at the Crossroads, by Goheen and Bartholomew, the Biblical World view is analyzed and then paralled to the world views that have shaped out culture today. They show how Christian beliefs have been put aside and emphasis has been placed on the power of humanity and the earth rather than God. They do offer, however, ways to live out the Biblical World view in today's secular society.

The Biblical World View

According to Goheen and Bartholomew, a world view "expresses a set of beliefs that are foundational and formative for human thinking and life." Basically it is the story through which we see the world and base all of our decisions off of throughout our life. As Christians we should live our lives based off of a Christian world view. The story through which we live our lives is the Gospel. A Biblical world view encompasses Creation, sin, God as our father, salvation and eternal life. We live through the idea that God has present and has control over all aspects of our lives. He is in our lives personally and also has complete "sovereignty over it." The Gospel is at the center of it and highlights the fact that we are in "restoration" as Christians and are in progress moving back towards the inherently good creation that God planned. We have a specific power over our lives and recognize Him as our Lord.

Modernism - The Worldly World View

Modernity was developed out of the Biblical World view in structure including ideas progress, restoration and rebirth. This however, moved in to secularism and away from God as the creator and purpose of live. It was now all about humanity therefore acquiring the name "confessional humanism" in which reason can explain everything human and nonhuman. The modernist view of earth was that humanity was separate from God, the nonhuman world (nature) was separate from God and had its own machine like way of operating, and lastly the human world would become dominant over the nature. The purpose of mankind became not to be stewards of each other for God's mission, but to pretty much master and control the physical planet. Faith became rooted in other things besides God to create modernsism:

• progress 
• reason
• technology 
• a rationally ordered social world 

Living through the Biblical World View Today

The Christian world view is definitel present in today's society, but it take dedicaiton and commitment in our lives as Christians to live it in such a secular world. There is a definite elephant in the room between the Christian world view and secularism, but ignoring it and assimilating into society is not the way to address it. There will be persecution even today as we live out the Biblical world view, but one way Bartholomew and Goheen suggest going about this life style is not to simply write off other's beliefs and say thats wrong, this is right. It is important to look at a culture, see how the Biblical view fits there and then recognize where it has gone down in the wrong direction. There is always a place for the Christian story to fit in and it is our mission to find it where ever we are. 

Here are a few prominent areas in life that we can implement the Biblical world view:

1. Business - it is good and has biblical principles, but is easily misdirected dow the wrong path - find the loop hole
2. Politics - respect government, do not be a slave to it. Jesus is our only Lord 
3. Sports, Competition, Art & Creativity - these are all gifts to us given by God and he loves us to use them. We must first recognize our gifts and talents then concsiously find ways that they can glorify him in society.
4. Scholarship - Goheen and Bartholomew state "Christian scholars should work to uproot theories from their idolatrous soil, and replant them in the soil of the Gospel"
5. Education - Though it is being banned from school, teach in a way that is different from the secular way and offer a new light to replenish the one that is being taken away

To summarize Goheen/Bartholomew's book I would say that it presented some really interesting topics of what the world was and how our world and culture has transformed so dramatically in the last 200 years, even in the last 100 years. This book gives us all insite into what a real biblical worldview, a minority worldview, and a majority worldview look like, and how as Christians and followers of God, we can come together as a community (church family) and really learn to live and function and socialize in the world that we live in today.

The Christian worldview must begin with the gospel, the good news. We as Christians have to know that the bible is the story of the world and we have to find our place in it. The gospel is the truth of all our human lives. If we begin to believe in the bible, it will shape out life, and if not then other things that are of and in this world will shape our life. As churches are also a part of the good news, they need to keep making their home in the bible and make the kingdom known. The church is very essential to the gospel. The Christian worldview is sometimes called Christocentric-which is focused on the Christ and fulfillment of salvations history and embracing the Old Testament view of creation. We need to make the scripture and bible reference points in our Christian worldview, and apply scripture to our lives. Christians need to make it known that "Jesus is Lord." (Rom. 10:9) God has restored us so we need to live for him, and we were created by him to be like him and we are to have an intimate relationship with him. Salvation is the story of  a comprehensive restoration of our creation, and we need to understand that salvation is progressive and it goes throughout our entire life, as we progress in our faith, and this is also to be done by the church. Sin is what is corrupting God's creation and for us to have a biblical worldview, we must know that God's salvation is the one that restores this creation.

The worldview of the minortiy is one that i think everyone at one point in there life has seen through their eyes and felt one day or another. The worldview of the minority is a hateful one, one that sees nothing goiong for them and everything going for everyone else. The minorities know that they are minorities and live with that mindset, one that makes their worldview one that I hope I never have to live out. I think that Christians too often look out and see the minority but cannot understand the worldview that they have, and therefore think that they cannot help.

Although this century is based on material things and what feedback we do/do not get from people we as Christians have to do what is called in the book "double listening." This term means that we have to incarnate the gospel in our own time and place, listen to the scripture and Christian tradition, as well as what is going on in the surrounding culture. This is the only way to live for Christ in the 21st century because we are living in the postmodern world, where nothing is done the right way almost all the time. Since we are living in a world of consumerism, where everyting is derived from how much stuff we have, we as Christians have to keep away from that and make sure that we are idolizing God, and not "stuff." This is part of the reason that people are not happy because their needs are never met with consumerism, which is why we have to get and understand that our happyness comes from our personal relationship with God and nothing else. In this century we are living at a crossroads, as the book says, and we have to bear witness in life, word, and deed to the kingdom. We have to participate in the culture we are living in but we are not to be of the culture or reflect it. Christians have to struggle and fight for what God proclaimed in the bible. The term "against the world but fo the world" is really what we have to be like in this 21st century to be able to live, and we as his people need to be encouraging one another to do this.

Here are some areas in the public where a biblical worldview needs to be lived out better in this century: business-this is where we are called to serve the lord and we need to know how to be God-like and not have distored views and be fair, Politics-this is part of God's order and the government has been instituted by God for our own good and we as Christians should be model citizens of this government, sports and competition-these are God's gifts and we are to enjoy them because that is who God made us as, diverse and imaginative, creativity and art-this is the whole doctrine of creation, we are art and God made us all different, scholarship-vital place for Christians to be involved in, and education-we need to be part of it so we can minister, so we can learn skills for life and support ourselves/family, know the goal of education.

Carson Response on the Biblical Storyline

The God Who is There by D.A. Carson breaks down the bible to show the continual storyline throughout. When reading through the Bible it can be difficult to connect all the books, chapters and stories into a seamless storyline. Carson articulates this by highlighting the characteristics of God to show the next part of the story. These are placed in the title of each chapter such as chapter one, “The God Who Made Everything” and chapter seven, “The God Who Becomes a Human Being.” I like how Carson does this because the Bible is about what God has done for His Children. It shows whom He is to make us understand why we follow him. Each part of the storyline shows another part of God that we did not know before.

            Chapter one lays the foundation of how God made everything and why. He created Adam and Even in his image and created the earth in perfection. Carson says that Genesis one and two where he makes the Earth is the foundation for Genesis 3 where the sin takes place. This part of the story is “The God Who Does Not Wipe Out Rebels.” Yes, Adam and Eve let sin destroy the perfection of what God created, but God did not destroy Adam and Even because of it. He has unconditional love and punishes them for their sin bringing curses like pain in childbirth and the ground stating “through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life” (Gen. 3:17). The rest of Genesis shows “The God Who Writes His Own Agreements” through the covenants and promises he makes with the biblical persons. God promises to make Abraham into a great nation and to multiply and follows with this covenant: “I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants...” (Gen. 17: 6-7). The “God Who Legislates” and “The God Who Reigns” come next in Exodus through 2 Samuel. God leads and lays down rules in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy and Joshua. From this come the Ten Commandments and stories of the Israelites failing to follow and being punished for it. After this there is a time where God does simply “reign.” The people just want a physical king, so God gives them David as one who rules by God and has a close relationship with him. David is not perfect and does disobey, but his Kingdom was much better than that of Saul who ruled for him and power only. “The God Who is Unfathomably Wise” and “The God Who Becomes Human Being” takes us through the Gospel books. God’s wisdom is shown throughout the Bible, but specifically highlighted in Psalms, Proverbs and Job. I often go to Psalms when needing insight on something that is happening in my life and Proverbs as well. These scriptures show all the characteristics of God and how he is there for us in all walks of life. He even became one of us. The prophecies of Jesus coming begin after the wisdom books and go through the end of the Old Testament until the Gospel books tell the actual story.  At this point we get to the climax of the storyline. To sum everything up in a nutshell, we have God who created perfection, but that perfection rebelled and brought sin to the world forcing God to lay down laws and guidelines. He throughout shows his mercifulness, wisdom and care for us. The peak is in the Gospel books when the story of Jesus is told. This is “The God Who Gives New Birth” which Carson focuses on in John chapter three. He suggests that new birth is something different than most evangelicals would say. He defines it as “a powerful regeneration, by God himself, in the human life, such that those who have been born again are necessarily transformed” (125). “The God Who Gives New Birth,” “The God Who Loves,” and “The God Who Dies—and Lives Again” are all presented simultaneously in the Gospel books. Jesus did great miracles for people to show God’s love when mankind did not deserve it and then died and rose again to extend salvation to us all. The Gospel is the climax of the Bible and is really the main idea. The Bible begins with the sin, and then climbs to the death of Jesus and his rising again. He is “The God Who Declares the Guilty and Just,” “The God Who Gathers and Transforms His People” through the disciples spreading the Word, “The God Who is Very Angry;” but over all He is “The God Who Triumphs.” God does not let sin win. He knows his people and opens his arms for us when we do not deserve Him. That love is something that Satan can never compete with and never rise above. Jesus will come again and believers will live eternally in the Kingdom of God. 

 The last few chapters relay the good news in clear forms, although throughout the previous chapters, the information lead to what the gospel is and ho we get to the gospel. he author lays his book out in a way that flows with the bible, with much of its content going through the the books of the bible in order from beginning to end, dealing with the main concepts, and that really helps make clear the gospel and how we lead up to the gospel, how we use the gospel, and why we need to know what the gospel is. The main ideas of this book is to unpack the biblical storyline in a way that the author writes in context 14 chapters about what god is and what god is not, and how did all of these amazing things for us. This book really aimes to show people, christians/non-christians, how to read the bible in small segments that may make it easier for them to understand the main concepts of the bible and its passages, through the ideas of D.A. Carson. This book realy can help Christians go further in their faith and help people who are looking for God discover their biblical faith, through this great layout. Chapter 1, is called the God who made everything, and uses Genesis 1-2 to help us understand the beginning of creation. These verses tell us what God made and how everything on earth came into place. God says in these versus, let there be this and let there be that, and there was, that is how we know that he is the creator of our universe. This is also where we find out where we came from in Genesis 1: 27, God says " so God created human beings in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them." These versus tell us that God simply is, God made everything that is non-God, there is only one of him, God is a talking God, everything he makes is good, he rest after he creates, and the creations proclaim his greatness and glory. It also tells us something about ourselves; that we are made in God's image and as that we reflect him., we are made male and female, and we were made innocent. This vision is what shapes our world view. Chapter 2, is calle the God who does not wipe out rebels and deals with Genesis 3, which tells us how we are deceitful because of Satan but God does not just throw us aside, he says he will fix us. This chapter shows the repulsiveness of this rebellion, the first consequences of this rebellion, which are that he is going to turn people against one another, and the curses that God promises us in Genesis 3:14-19, and how this will effect everything and everyone that lives in God's creation. This descrives willfull rebellion against the creator. Chapter 3, is caled the God who writes his own agreements. We learn in Acts 17 that God cannot be manipulated, and states that "the God who made the world and everyting in it is the Lord of the heavens and the earth and does not live in temples built by hand." it also states God does not need us and we need God ultimaltely. The rest of the chapter goes through the rest of the book of Genesis showing us how God writes his own agreements and what he has set out for his people. Genesis 17 talks about the covenant between us and God. Chapter 4, is called the God who legislates, and goes through the book of Exodus.The biggest thing i got out of this chapter was in Exodus 3: 14 when God says "I AM WHO I AM." That is a God who legislates and shows that he is the only God and what he says is what people should follow. He is a God that answers to no one. He is the ultimate legislater over all the heavens and earth. Exodus 20 has the Ten Commandments which come straight from God and his legislation. Also, chapter 4 talks about the Most Holy Place in Leviticus 16, which is a place that is most holy and only on one day of the year do priests go there to sacrafice for their people. Chapter 5, is called the God who reigns, and says that God's kingdom over all. In Ps. 103:19 says that "the Lord has established his throne in heaven and his kingdom rules over all." It deals with God's people getting into their promise land. this is found in the book of Judges and 2 Samuel. 2 Samuel talks about how King David finally got settled and God told him that his kingdom would endure forever before him" in 2 Samuel 7:14. Chapter 6, is called the God who is unfathomably wise. This talks about Psalms and how he is a God who makes his people sing Psalms. This book talks about alot of experiences that went on during that time, and helps people connect with their own experiences. It breaks Psalms 1 down into three parts: the righteous, the unrighteous, and the contrast between the two. These are called the wisdom psalms. Several books make up wisdom literature and are; proverbs, jobs, and ecclesiastes. Chapter 7, is called the God who becomes human. This chapter shows us how God has his son, Jesus, live out like a human, even though he is also God, so that we can know him and understand him as one of us, along with him being God. this helps us understand that he is coming back, and now he has come by becoming human. this sometimes means judgment, but also forgiveness and hope.this chapter begins the new testement and talks about the Gospels; Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. they are called this because they all have something to do with the coming of Jesus, which is what the gospel is. John 1:1 says that "in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." this means the one who is coming. This starts in creation. The word becomes a human being or "flesh", the word creates us, it gives us light and life, and it confronts and divides us. Chapter 8, is called the God who Grants new birth. in this God uses Abraham to start a new humanity, making a new covenent, and this is show in Luke 1. The intro to the new birth is in John 3. this new birth means regeneration by God. John 3:3 says that "no one can see the kingdom of God without being horn again." Regeneration and new life will bring change in life. Chapter 9, is called the God who loves and shows 5 ways the bible shows love; there is love of God in te triune God, God's love can refer to his general care over his creation, God's love is sometimes inviting, commanding and yearning, and once God is in connection with his own people, the love is unconditional. Jude 21 says "keep yourselves in God's love." The biggest showing of love is in John 3:16-21, we all know this verse. Chapter 10, is called the God who dies and lives again. Jesus starts to talk about dying in Mattew 16 when he says "yes, and you know, i must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things and be crucified and the third day rise again." this is at the center of God's plan. In 1 Corinthians Paul talks about laying out the matters that mean the most; which are God dying for our sins and him being ressurected. Dealing with these things Jesus is a man who is mocked as a king but is a king, the man who is powerless is powerful, the man who cannot save himself saves us, and a man who cries in despair trusts God, in Matthew 27. Resurrection is dealt with first in John 20. Chapter 11, is called the God who declares the guilty just. God finds a way to grant us justification that is not self-justification Romans 3:21-26 is sometimes called the center of the entire bible: it says in verse 22 that "the righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe." Paul also says that we too have received a redemption, a leberation from our slaver to sin. we have been bought back, and as a result we ahve been freed from what would otherwise enslave us. God presented Jesus as a propiation (favorable) sacrafice. God left our sins unpunished so that he can demonstrate justice when he sends his son to the cross. Faith is a big part of how we receive our righteousness or justification from God. Chapter 12, is calle the God who transforms his people. Our hope is in God's grace, it changes everything. The gospel, when read the right way, should be God's way of transforming us. The gospel calls out people, gathers them together, and transforms them. This transformation and what and how it works is found all throughout the book of ephesians. There must be transformation, D.A. Carson says, this is God's purpose in salvation, and makes us do good works. God's spirit transforms us by bringing us back to the cross. the book of Galatians ( 5:13-26) talks about how people need changing. this has to do with the acts of sinful nature and the fruits of the spirit.without transformation, Christianity is not no Christianity at all. Chapter 12, is called the God who is very angry. This is from the last book of the bible, Revelations. Revelations 14:6-20 is divided into two, the heralds and the harvest. The harolds are angels who bring proclomation and the harvest is depicted as God's judgment on his people. God is the one who talks most about hell, there are hints that hell goes on forever, those in hell can no longer repent, and any christian who teaches about hell without tears is betraying Jesus. Chapter 14, is called the God who triumphs.This is dealing with Revelations 21-22, the last two chapters in the bible. first they talk about the sermon on the mount that basically says, your heart will follow your treasure, so choose your treasure right. In John's final vision in Revelations, he sees what is new (a new heaven and a new earth), what is especially symbol laden, what is missing (temple, sun and moon, impurity), and what is central (the water of life flowing from the throne of God and of the lamb and the vision of God).