Worldviews and the Myth of Neutrality

If I were to look back over the past year and identify the most important and useful thing I've learned, it would without a doubt be the lesson on "worldviews." The concept is by no means difficult to grasp or even foreign to a lot of us, but once you start exploring the notion with a little more intentionality and focus, it can drastically improve the way you relate to others and (as the name implies) add clarity to the way you make sense of everything around you.

First, a brief overview of what a "worldview" is. For those of you who enjoy trans-lingual etymology (and hey, who doesn't), the term is derived from the German Weltanschauung, which basically translates to "world perception," or a comprehensive conception or apprehension of the world especially from a specific standpoint. 1 Perhaps the easiest way to think of a worldview is to just imagine it as a pair of tinted glasses that we all wear, which filters what we see based on what we want or expect to see. The problem is that we all have a worldview, even if you can't describe it or haven't given it much thought. 

The Myth of Neutrality
So if everyone has a worldview, can anyone be truly neutral in any given situation? The simple answer is "no." In any given debate on morality or ethics or even something simple as what you want for lunch, your worldview is going to affect your decisions. This doesn't have to be a bad thing though. If you have a well formed and well examined worldview, this can actually help you in making sure the answers you arrive at are sound and coherent. In the rest of this post, I'd like to illustrate what having a well formed worldview can mean to yourself and the way you see others. First though, I feel it should be noted that I am not implying that objective information or morality can't be known, merely that in order to discover this takes a careful consideration of the filter through which you are seeing.  For instance if you know that your "glasses" have a red tint, then it can help you identify that the "orange" you're seeing is really a yellow. As analogies go, I admit it's not the best, but hopefully you get the point. If you haven't given your worldview some thought, you may not even stop to think about what you're really looking at. 

Importance of Identifying Your Own Worldview
As stated, everyone has a worldview, whether you've examined it or not. Unfortunately, not everyone has given theirs much thought, and as a result, there may be holes or ideas that don't really hold up under scrutiny. When you feel pressured on something that you haven't thought through carefully, the tendency is to lash out with abuse or quote a favorite rhetorical phrase meant to halt conversation. "When a cherished view is at stake, it's not unusual for people to raise empty objections - objections that initially sound worthwhile, but simply can't be defended once examined. 2" This not only puts a stop to any meaningful conversation, but it's also embarrassing (believe me, I've fallen into this problem myself more than once). If you develop a solid ground for why you hold to what you believe, you won't feel the need to resort to this sort of reactionary defense. You'll become much more presentable and be better adept at conveying truth in a more understandable way.  Also, by constantly re-evaluating your own worldview, you'll avoid the danger of becoming too dogmatic in your beliefs and not considering the positions held by others. One of the most important things you can admit to yourself is "I could be wrong."

Importance of Identifying the Worldviews of Others
Perhaps the best reason to focus on the concept of worldviews is because it will aid you in understanding the positions of other people and better empathize with their beliefs and why they believe what they do. This is the most important lesson we can learn as compassionate human beings seeking to make a difference in the world, one that's often called the "Principle of Charity".  By understanding what a person really thinks and maybe the reasons why, we can avoid creating "straw men" of easily defeated beliefs that no one really holds. Proverbs 18:13 If you take the time to understand the filter through which someone is seeing, it should give you a better understanding of where that filter has holes or falls apart. If you can identify where the worldview of someone else doesn't hold up, you can help them see it as well. More often then not, it can be a simple belief or preconceived notion that the person has never really looked at closely themselves. 

Worldview Quick-Tips and Checklist
At this point, you may be wondering how to identify a solid worldview or how to examine your own. Since a worldview involves a sum total of held beliefs about the world, it's very hard to examine as a whole. The best thing I can suggest is that you take a look at the individual arguments for a particular belief and see if they hold together. In this regard, I'm afraid I'll just have to refer you to better resources than just me. Kenneth Samples of Reasons to Believe has a great 5-Point Checklist for making a sound argument that any well developed worldview should also have. The characteristics of any good argument should be clear, concise, cogent, considerate and compelling. 

In closing, I would however like to offer a quick-tip summary of worldview concepts for everyday use. 

• Recognize that everyone has a worldview, whether they've developed it or not.
• Take a close look at your own worldview and see if it meets the criteria of being clear, concise, cogent, considerate and compelling (refer to Kenneth Samples 5-point checklist for details)
• Be honest with yourself and accept the phrase "I could be wrong about what I believe."
• Avoid "Straw Men" fallacies and learn the "Principle of Charity"  
• If you see an inconsistency in someone's worldview, help walk them through it rather than simply pointing it out triumphantly. 
• Worldviews are not limited to one-on-one conversations. Every book, movie and story is told through a worldview perspective. 
•  Don't fall for the myth of neutrality. It's impossible to avoid one's worldview. Make sure yours is solid. 

As I'm sure you've noticed, my own worldview is that of a classical Christian theist. It is my belief that this worldview still remains the most coherent and convincing worldview above any other (otherwise I wouldn't be a Christian).  If you hold to a Christian worldview, take comfort in the fact that much of the bible attests this claim that faith in God is reasonable and makes the best sense of the world (2 Samuel 7:22 Ephesians 4:17-19 Psalm 18:30 Romans 1:20-22 to name a few). If you haven't given this worldview a closer look, I would challenge you to do so and see if you're own worldview holds up as well.

1 - Weltanschauung - Meriam Webster Dictionary Online
2 - Tactics, Greg Koukl - Page 87

 Today's Recommendations

Recommended Reading
A World of Difference, Kenneth Samples  
Sadly, I have not had a chance to read this book, however I have listened to Kenneth Samples speak on the subject often (if you couldn't tell from the blog by now) and it comes highly recommended from many other sources. 


Recommended Listening
Worldviews Throughout History, Probe Ministries  
A brief podcast on the history of the christian worldview and influences.  

 
Recommended Research
Though Shalt Not Commit Logical Fallacies 
An informative site on the most common logical fallacies to avoid. A good tool for examining solid worldviews and identifying faulty arguments.

Today's Challenge
Watch a movie, read a book or engage in a conversation with someone. See if you can identify the worldview that the author is coming from. Locate any inconsistencies in that view and then scrutinize your own belief in that area. Does your own worldview hold up or do you need to re-evaluate your own take on the subject? 

The Greatest Commandment We Forgot.

"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" And He said to him, "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the greatest and foremost commandment." Matt  22:36-28 It's a very familiar verse to most people, many of you may have finished quoting it on your own. Despite this fact however, It seems like many of our churches and fellow Christians have neglected a key part of this verse, and as a result the affect of our ministry has suffered greatly. 

To be sure, we have a great focus today on the first two parts of the passage. Many churches are packed with believers who follow God completely with all their hearts and their souls, but the command doesn't stop there. In this post, I would like to address the notion of loving God with your mind, not just your heart. Not only is this important for us on a personal level, but if we as a Church turn our back on this, the consequences become quite serious. Unfortunately, there seems to be a real lack of emphasis within the Christian community on the development of our intellectual lives, an emphasis which the Bible, however, sometimes goes out of it's way to stress throughout it's entirety. Although I could never address such an important and widespread issue in a single post like this, I hope to at least whet your appetite for the great amounts of material finding it's way back into the Christian community. My goal is to get us all seeking to rekindle the life of the mind and once again establish Christianity as the unique body of thinkers that it has had the privilege of being throughout most of history.

Why is it Important?
As I already stated, there are many consequences to forgetting what God has asked of us. Whenever we neglect such a straightforward command from God, we go against His natural order. That kind of confrontation always has consequences (think of trying to push your hand through a strong current). Intuitively, by refocusing on Him, we begin to flow with creation and your whole life becomes more in sync which benefits not only you, but others around you. To make my point, here are two just two of the many areas that focusing on the mind can make a huge difference in.

The Gospel
"I can tell from from experience that when people learn what they believe and why, they become bold in their witness and attractive in the way they engage others in debate or dialogue. 1 "  What I'm about to say may seem like common sense, but I'm going to say it anyway. You can't tell people about what you don't know. A deep, thoughtful study of Church doctrine and theology may not seem like an appealing notion to many people, but it is foundational to getting the gospel to everyone who needs it. After all, Jesus told us that the only way to come to God is through him and him alone. John 14:6 The most important question in the gospel then becomes "Who is Jesus?" When we fervently spread the word to as many people as we can without explaining this core concept (or even understanding it ourselves), we run the risk of exciting people and getting them "fired up" only to have them run in all wrong directions, starting forest fires in their wake. How many religious sects and cults have sprung up over the years because of our emphasis of quantity over quality. Alternatively, the more we understand of our faith, the better equipped we are to present it clearly, simply and to great effect. For this reason, it's vital that we have a solid understanding of Christianity's core concepts before we try and inform others.


Our Own Relationship
Throughout the scriptures, there's an impressive repetition of the idea that we should be cultivating our minds.  We are constantly told to renew our minds daily Rom 12:2, seek wisdom and understanding Prov 3 and to teach others properly so the Word may be defended accurately Titus 1:9 . This command however is not simply a pursuit of knowledge for knowledge's sake (there are several verses warning against just that 1 Cor 8:1 Eccl 1:17), but has a purpose in mind, mainly that of building relationships with God and others. In John 10:27 Jesus tells us that by heeding his words, we can know Him. The greek word used for know in this passage is ginõskõ and carries with it a relational aspect 2 . It is same word often translated in the phrase "knew his wife" to denote an intimate understanding of someone. That's the same level of knowledge and understanding that God is calling us to pursue Him with. This actually makes perfect sense when you think about the nature of God, being that of wisdom and truth (so much so that he is called the only wise God Rom 16:27). In light of this, seeking true knowledge and understanding is a process of sanctifying our lives to the Imagio Dei and drawing closer to Him. In other words “Ignorance is not a Christian virtue if those virtues mirror the perfections of God's own character. 3 ” 

What Does This Mean For You?
For the Christian, this means that there is in fact a high calling on all of us to cultivate our minds and really understand God's word. He has not allowed us the option of following Him with just our hearts or our souls. The scriptures are clear that we are called to love Him with our minds as well. For the non-Christian, what this means is that despite the prevailing notion, Christianity is a religion that has a special place for the intellect and is not simply an abandonment of reason in pursuit of good feelings. There are in fact many good reasons why Science and Logic find their home in the Christian worldview far more comfortably than anywhere else (which I plan to address later).  

Because of this, I would encourage everyone to start thinking about a deeper pursuit of your knowledge and wisdom and to not be afraid to cultivate a Christian intellect. We have everything to gain by doing so: a stronger witness, a deeper relationship and a world set apart for Christ. So go ahead and feel free to turn up your mind a little bit and increase God's brightness in you just a little. The more you do, you more you set yourself apart and become the light that people see. If however we forget God's command and let our impact in the world grow dim, Christianity will just fade into the large crowd of other religions making claims on people's hearts. Mat 5:13

1 - Love Your God With All Your Mind, J.P. Moreland : Page 31
2 - Strong's Greek Lexicon: Number G1097   
3 - Love Your God With All Your Mind, J.P. Moreland : Page 45


Today's Recommendations

 Recommended Reading - Love Your God With All Your Mind, J.P. Moreland 
 I cannot recommend this book enough. It has truly changed my entire outlook on the christian life of the mind and I doubt I could ever be as close to God as I am today without it's influence.  Check it out for a much more in-depth look at this topic.

Recommended Website - marc5solas Blog - Top 10 Reasons Kids Leave the Church 
Great blog on why it's important we re-evaluate what are currently doing with our youth groups and a few great things to say about the importance of sound teaching and Apologetics.

Recommended Listening -  Four Reasons Christianity is Reasonable - Straight Thinking Podcast - Reasons to Believe

Today's Challenge
Stretch yourself to learn something new. Whether it's picking up a book that's slightly above your level or searching for articles on questions you've always had but never looked for the answer. If you're not sure where to start, just check out one of the resources above. Don't feel like your not an intelligent person or that study is only for pastors and teachers. Remember, God commanded us all to love Him with our hearts, souls and minds. 

 

"... so I started a blog"

Thanks for visiting!

I thought I would open up my first blog post with some information on who I am, why I'm bothering with this whole blog thing and what my plans for it are.


Who am I?
To be honest, no one in particular. I don't have a doctorate, a seminary degree or really any formal training of any kind, but I do love to study. I readily admit the immense setbacks that come from a lack of structured teaching, but I also hope that this puts me in a unique position to be more accessible to the everyday crowd.

What do I do?
Right now, my life mainly revolves around three major aspects: Work, Church and Music. If I'm not at work, I'm usually at a small group or praise band practice. If I'm at work, I'm usually listening to podcasts or audio books.

Why a Blog?
The main reason is... I needed to do something. I've been immersing myself into Apologetics and study so much recently, that I began to feel to a desperate need to let it out somehow. My hope is that my semi-coherent ramblings about my Christian worldview might just enlighten some of your own. Also it gives me a platform to put myself on the front line, so to speak, and really put these ideas to the test.

Why Apologetics?
Because I love Apologetics and it's what I'm good at. I realize that not everyone is called to be a hardcore Apologist, but we are all called to defend our faith (1 Peter 3:15). I feel a strong conviction that this an area God has put me in and I'm seeking to pursue it as best as I can. Also I can think of no other field within Christianity more vital to the faith and yet more disregarded in recent history (more on that later).

Plans for the Blog?
I have a few topics in mind that I would like to touch on, the first few in particular may be hard to plow through, but necessary to set the stage for later ones. Beyond that I hope also to use these topics as a springboard to get people interested in many of the rich resources out there for the Christian faith. I hope to include a book recommendation, additional audio link and website reference for each topic covered.

Topics to Cover?

Here's a quick list of topics I plan to touch on at some point (in no particular order):

The Greatest Commandment We Ever Forgot

Why Do You Believe What you Believe?

The Thin Ice of Faith Without Fact

Why Apologetics?

The Two Books of God

The Trouble with Tolerance

The Worldview Dilemma and the Myth of Neutrality

The Faith of Science

The Dualistic Nature of the Silence of God

The Death of Discernment

The Need for Novelty

Contact?
Yes, please. I always enjoy feedback and constructive criticism. Also feel free to e-mail me at jeremyadrake@gmail.com with any questions or topic suggestions that you think would be good to cover.  

So that's it in a nutshell. I hope to have some actual blog posts up here soon, so please check back often. Hope to have some great discussions with you in the future!