Book Review: The Secret Battle Of Ideas About God - Overcoming The Outbreak Of Five Fatal Worldviews

Introduction: What Is Meant By A Biblical Worldview?

I just finished reading a marvelous book by author Dr. Jeff Myers entitled: "The Secret Battle Of Ideas About God - Overcoming The Outbreak Of Five Fatal Worldviews", which aids greatly in thinking through current events in 21st century Western culture. So what is a worldview? A worldview is a systematic model that each person constructs in answering life's most important questions. The concern of the book in this review is to equip readers with not just any worldview, but a Biblical one. Dr. Jeff Meyers' mentor, George Barna, is cited in the book with the following definition of what makes for a Biblical worldview: 

"(A) means of experiencing, interpreting, and responding to reality in light of a Biblical perspective."

So who is Dr. Jeff Myers? He is President of a worldview training ministry called: "Summit Ministries". The goal of the ministry is to equip people with the tools they need to construct a Biblical way of thinking (i.e., "a Biblical worldview). 

The Big Questions That Any Worldview Ought To Address

In his book: "The Secret Battle Of Ideas About God - Overcoming The Outbreak Of Five Fatal Worldviews", Meyers utilizes the metaphor of a virus to describe how bad worldviews can "infect our thinking". Whenever we talk about worldviews, we are looking at how a given set of beliefs address life's most important questions. 

So, what are the questions Meyers is interested in seeing answered? The following headings in several chapters of the book summarize the big questions, which he also spells out on page 22 of the book:

1. Chapter 3, "Am I Loved?"

2. Chapter 5, "Why Do I Hurt?"

3. Chapter 7, "Does My Life Have Meaning?

4. Chapter 9, "Why Can't We All Just Get Along?"

5. Chapter 11, "Is There Any Hope For the World?"

6. Chapter 13, "Is God Relevant?" 

The Worldviews Covered In "The Secret Battle Of Ideas About God"

As Dr. Jeff Myers deals with the subject of evaluating various worldviews, we find him focusing on five particular religious/philosophical belief systems and their comparison to Biblical Christianity. As a way of getting a handle on what each of the following worldviews espouse (Secularism, Marxism, Post-modernism, New Spirituality and Islam), Meyers suggests a four step process of both defining and preventing infestation by the worldviews just listed:

A. Identify.

On the subject of life's meaning, we find Secularism asserting that life is about control. With respect to Marxism, it defines life's meaning as having to do with redistribution of wealth and bringing change by social revolt. With concern to Post-modernism, the main point of life is that there is no "main point", since truth and moral absolutes are defined by individuals or culture. New-Spirituality (formally known by its older moniker, "The New Age"), states that life is about human consciousness rising to find unity with the universe. Then lastly, Islam's definition of life's meaning has to do with submission to Allah. The Gospel asserts that meaning, value and purpose in life is found in God as decisively revealed in the incarnation of the Son of God as Jesus of Nazareth.

B. Isolate.

Just as a virus needs identified before prescribing treatment, so it is with any worldview that has mixture of truth with harmful error. The next step is then to isolate the worldview and see how it "ticks". As mentioned already, the six big questions (see above) are used to audit each of the five worldviews covered in the book. Just to take one of the questions as an example, ("Is There Any Hope For The World?), the five worldviews answer the question, per Meyers' summary, as follows:

1. Secularism believes, in the words of philosopher Paul Kurtz, who also authored the Humanist Manifesto II, "No deity will save us; we must save ourselves".

2. Marxism suggests we raise taxes and confiscate property until wealth is redistributed. Only then can a future human utopia be realized.

3. Post-modernism declares that: "there is no meaning".

4. New Spirituality asserts that, "when we act as though we're one with the universe, only then can hope be discovered".

5. Islam emphasizes that hope is only discovered through submission to Allah. Dr. Meyers offers two references from the Quran to demonstrate his summation (Quran 16:36; 35:24). 

The last remaining two steps in arresting the influence of bad ideas in our minds is to inform and then invest in other people. Meyers certainly does a great job of informing people about how each worldview handles the major questions of life. The investment part deals with how we communicate the Gospel in a winsome way and demonstrate how it alone answers all the big questions of life.

Declarations To Live By

To bring the reader to a better understanding of the Gospel, Dr. Jeff Meyers utilizes what he refers to as "declarations" that set us free from idea viruses:

1. "I am loved". Deep unconditional love exists, and I can have it. 

2. "My suffering will be overcome." 

3. "I have an incredible calling."

4. "I'm meant for community". This declaration points to the place of the local church and community of believers in Jesus Christ.

5. "There is hope for the world". This of course is found in Christ alone. 

Answering The Big Question: "Is God Even Relevant?"

The final chapter of Dr. Meyer's book raises the question: "Is God even relevant?" The particular interest of this final chapter is demonstrating not only why Christianity best addresses the big questions of life over against its rivals, but also why any of the foregoing discussion is relevant to today. Meyers begins with a wonderful quote from C.S. Lewis:

"I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen; not only because I see it; but because by it I see everything else."

To reinforce the relevance of the Gospel to worldview thinking and practical everyday life, the five affirmations mentioned at the beginning of the book are repeated once more:

A. "I am loved". Meyers refers to the Greek noun "agape", which speaks of self-sacrificial love.

B. "My suffering will be overcome". Meyers mentions the Greek verb used in the New Testament to describe victory, "nikao", from whence is derived the sneaker brand "Nike". 

C. "I have an incredible calling." Here Meyers calls to mind the Greek word "kaleo", a verb often used to describe Jesus' calling of His disciples to follow Him.

D. "I'm meant for community". Here Meyers uses the Hebrew Old Testament term "shalom", which speaks of attainment of inner-peace, contentment, relational balance, as a result of living life according to the will of God. 

E. "There is hope for the world". In this final affirmation, Meyers references the Greek word "elpis", which is often used to translate the word "hope" in the New Testament.

All in all, Dr. Jeff Meyers' book is a call to focus one's worldview on the Biblical God revealed in Jesus Christ. He approvingly quotes A.W. Tozer:

"What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us."

By evaluating the five fatal worldviews of new spirituality, secularism, post-modernism, Islam and Marxism, Jeff Meyers wants to make clear the message of the Gospel. In one of the most memorable quotes of the book, Meyers writes on page 189:

"The Gospel isn't just good news for those who have never heard; its good news for those who love Jesus but wrestle what this means for everyday life."

Closing Thoughts:

I would highly recommend Dr. Jeff Meyer's book: "The Secret Battle Of Ideas About God - Overcoming The Outbreak Of Five Fatal Worldviews" for anyone desiring an introduction on how to communicate, live and defend the Gospel in today's culture. 

What is God Like?

Acts 17:24-27 "The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; 25 nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things; 26 and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, 27 that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us."

Introduction:

What is God like? Who is God? Why is God's nature and identity important to you? The first of these questions will be the focus of our post today. Such questions occupy an area of theological study we call "theology proper". Theology proper focuses particularly on the highest, the first and the greatest subject of theological inquiry - God Himself. Theology proper is the first main area of a larger discipline of theological study that is associated with God's special revelation of Himself in the Bible ("Systematic Theology"). 

One other type of theology, natural theology, is a human attempt to infer what God is like from observations of the natural world, the sciences and philosophical reflection. Oftentimes, whatever observations that are gleaned from either systematic theology or natural theology end up being factored into tracing out one's understanding of theology proper. 

The late author A.W. Tozer once noted that whatever a person thinks about God at a given moment uncovers what is most important thing about or to that person. A person's understanding about God will shape what they believe about the remainder of life and how they will live their lives. 

What is God like?

Dr. Norman Geisler has aided the Christian in many ways by his numerous theological and apologetical insights. Many other writers have benefited from Geisler's charting-out of seven major worldviews that are based upon seven different conceptions of God's nature or what God is like, as seen below:

 

When we speak about what defines ultimate reality or where does the "buck-stop" when we arrive at the ultimate explanatory reference point for everything, this is where the question "what God is like?" becomes very important. 

Atheism will tell us there is no God, or that such a being as God is an irrational concept. Atheists such as the late Carl Sagan would quip that the universe is "all there is, all there was and all that ever will be". Thus, physical time and space is the ultimate reality - on the atheistic worldview. 



Yet, both scientific inquiry and philosophical investigation confirm that the universe began to exist at a point in the finite past. Moreover, the above opening Biblical passage in Acts 17 clearly tells us "The God who made the world" is the Ultimate Cause of all things. The physical universe could not had caused itself, nor existed eternally, nor had been caused by a bigger material cause. Such notions result in the notion of something creating itself out of nothing or an infinite chain of causes and effects - both of which contradict reason, science and no doubt the Bible. The cause of the universe had to be immaterial, intelligent and eternally existing before the universe began to exist. Hence, atheism most certainly fails, since God is not even factored into its worldview.

So what about the second major worldview, polytheism, which asserts many gods, many deities, as defining God? Such representative religions as Hinduism and Mormonism subscribe to polytheism. Polytheism exists in one of two flavors: the finite variety and infinite variety. Finite varieties of polytheism express their various deities as being like mostly divine supermen and superwomen, sharing the power and carrying on their individual purposes upon the arena of human life. The other variety of polytheism has the various deities less well defined. 

The problem with polytheism is the conflict of wills and incoherence that plagues it. Again, when we consider the ultimate cause and origin of the universe, One Mind, One will and thus One God makes much more sense than a multitude of wills (compare 1 Corinthians 8:6). One only need to review the ancient forms of polytheistic thought from Greece, Rome, Babylonia, Assyria and Egypt. All those systems suffered from incoherence and ultimately collapsed in on themselves. 

So in having reviewed atheism and polytheism, we come to the next set of worldviews that limit the nature of God in one degree or another. Panentheism locates God within the world and identifies Him with it. Just as a human being is a soul with a physical body, the analogy carries forth in panentheism with God being the soul and the universe His body. The next worldview is what is termed "finite godism". Limits are placed upon God's knowledge of the future or His power. A modern example of "finite godism" is "open-theism", which suggests that God runs the world by taking risks, since He cannot know for certain what decisions we will make. 

Do the worldviews of "panentheism" or "finite-godism" square with the Bible, philosophical reflection or scientific inquiry? To answer this from strictly the Biblical evidence, we find again and again that God is omniscient (Psalm 139; Isaiah 41:21ff), omnipotent (Psalm 145; 1 Timothy 6:16), omnipresent (Psalm 139), eternal (Psalm 90), all-good (Psalm 136), immaterial (John 4:24), One in being (Deut 6:4-6). None of the above worldviews fit the mold traced out by the Bible. In short order, we've evaluated and found wanting atheism, polytheism, pantheism, panentheism and finite godism as properly answering the question: what is God like? So then, what can be said of the remaining worldviews?

Pantheism identifies God with the world, meaning that in every tree, rock, plant and us is God, and all of creation is God. The popular movie franchise "Star Wars" mimic pantheism by positing "the force". Deism portrays God as setting everything in motion and then letting creation to its own devices. The last worldview, "theism", states God is beyond the universe (transcendent) and interacts within it (immanent). So what can we note about these three remaining worldviews? 

Pantheism's weakness is that it tries to have an infinite Deity that is impersonal. The God of the Bible is unquestionable personal - possessing intellect, emotion and will. In the Bible, God is loving, merciful and concerned about the salvation of human beings (2 Peter 3:9) and in directing the affairs of governments, our world and all that is in it (Romans 11:33-36). 

When considering the observations we glean from philosophical reflection and observations of the natural world (i.e natural theology), in order for a finite effect like the universe to derive from an infinite, transcendent cause - that cause had to possess a mind and a will to execute His choice to bring the universe into being. Thus, panetheism most certainly cannot be the right answer to the question: "what is God like?" 

Deism gets somewhat closer to the truth. In Deism, one has an all-powerful, all-knowing Deity that is the cause of the universe and yet - this deity has taken His hands off to let the universe be governed by natural laws. Deism's deity is not the Savior of the scripture. Although we've not mentioned it in today's post, the Bible's central event: the incarnation of the Son of God as the man Jesus of Nazareth - who lived, died, raised from the dead and ascended - tells us that God Himself came into our world to do something about this mess we call sin. Deism's conception of deity allows no incarnation, no cross and no resurrection. Deism has by-and-large fallen into great disfavor due to the fact it is ineffective in dealing with other questions like the problem of evil and suffering, salvation and final judgment. Furthermore, the Bible does not conceive of God as not being involved with His creation.

So we then arrive at the seventh worldview - theism. Theism gives us One God, with all the eternal attributes, that is intelligent, transcendent or beyond the universe and also capable of directly impacting every point within time and space. The Baptist Faith and Message 2000 states:

"There is one and only one living and true God. He is an intelligent, spiritual, and personal Being, the Creator, Redeemer, Preserver, and Ruler of the universe. God is infinite in holiness and all other perfections. God is all powerful and all knowing; and His perfect knowledge extends to all things, past, present, and future, including the future decisions of His free creatures. To Him we owe the highest love, reverence, and obedience." 

Closing thoughts:

Today we explored the question: what God is like? We considered seven worldviews: atheism, polytheism, panentheism, pantheism, finite godism, deism and theism. We saw various weaknesses in the first six, concluding that only theism (and if we had more time, Christian theism) best answers the question. By chiefly considering what the Bible has to say about God, as well as considerations of natural theology, the conclusion was drawn that God is, His His nature and attributes, all knowing, all-powerful, everywhere present, all-good, immaterial, One in being, possessing all wisdom and deeply involved in the affairs of our world. 

The Importance Of Developing A Christian Worldview

1 Corinthians 8:6-7 "yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him."

Introduction

What is meant when we speak of a worldview? A worldview is how one views the world. To be more specific, a worldview is a narrative one has for explaining the answers to five main questions: 

1. Where did I come from (hence the origins question)?

2. Why am I here (hence the meaning question)?

3. What kind of world is the world (hence, the nature of reality question)?

4. What explains the problems I see around me, and is there a solution (hence, the problem of suffering)?

5. Is there a point to life? Where are we heading? (hence, the ultimate purpose of life question)

Everyone in the world has a worldview. There are no "neutral" observers. How we evaluate which worldview is the most reliable one relies upon whichever one best handles the above "big questions". Certain methods that measure how probable one worldview is over another in handling and processing the "big questions" are usually employed when judging between competing worldviews. 

As a Christian, it is vital to have a Christian worldview that can give good reasons as to why one believe what they believe. 1 Peter 3:15 gives the charge: "but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence."

Peter was one of the original followers of Jesus (i.e a disciple). When Jesus commissioned him to be one of the original early leaders sent forth to carry His message (i.e, an apostle), Peter would some 35 years later pen his first letter to a group of Christians scattered throughout the Mediterranean world. Peter understood the importance of having a Christian worldview.

In like manner, another Apostle by the name of Paul, had been called by Jesus in a vision while on his way to persecute Christians in Acts 9. As Jesus confronted him and called him to be an "apostle to the nations", Saul changed on the inside and became a vocal witness for Jesus Christ. In Acts 13 and Acts 17 we find records of Paul's preaching and early defenses of the Christian faith as he articulated a Christian worldview. In later letters to churches such as the church at Corinth, Paul would summarize the salient points of the key components of a Christian worldview (see 1 Corinthians 8:6-7; 15:1-6).

The basics of a Christian worldview

Both Peter and Paul demonstrated the need for every generation of Christian to be equipped and ready to operate with a Christian worldview. With that said, what could we say comprises the basics of a standard Christian worldview? In considering both Paul and Peter's writings in the New Testament, as well as considering the history of Christian thought over the past 2,000 years, theologians have identified what are called the "common places" or key points of Christian doctrine that comprise the essentials of the Christian faith. These "common points" or "common places" (called by older writers: "loci communes") are usually listed as follows:

1. Doctrine of God
2. Doctrine of Creation
3. Doctrine of Sin
4. Doctrine of Christ
5. Doctrine of Last things

Such a list could also include are key doctrines as "doctrine of man", "doctrine of revelation" and "doctrine of redemption". For our purposes we will stick to the five above, likely including the "doctrine of redemption" in with what we already have listed, namely "the doctrine of Christ", as well as "doctrine of man" under the larger heading of "doctrine of creation". 

How the Christian worldview addresses the five "big questions"

So how can the five key essential doctrines be used in formulating a Christian worldview? Again, a Christian worldview aims to answer the big questions of life. I will list those again, and then plug in the doctrinal essentials so that the reader can see how a Christian worldview can work.

1. Where did I come from (hence the origins question)? 
Doctrine of God & Doctrine of Creation
(we could include doctrine of man)


2. Why am I here (hence the meaning question)?
Doctrine of God & Doctrine of Creation


3. What kind of world is the world (hence, the nature of reality question)?
Doctrine of Creation & Doctrine of God

4. What explains the problems I see around me, and is there a solution (hence, the problem of suffering)?
Doctrine of sin & Doctrine of Christ (we could also include the doctrine of salvation, since this connects the work of salvation to the Savior, Jesus Christ)

5. Is their a point to life? Where are we heading? (hence, the ultimate purpose of life question)
Doctrine of last things

So why does it matter whether or not we have a Christian worldview ready to answer these big questions?

These so-called "big questions" are the ones raised all the time by philosophers, scientists and people of other religions. It does not take long to see these questions being discussed and debated on the internet, You Tube and on the major news networks. As a Christian develops his or her worldview, eventual introduction and even study to other disciplines will aid in sharpening up the specifics. We find that in studying the Bible, we can not only find such questions raised and answered, but more specifically, we can better understand how to approach such questions from a Biblical perspective. It would be the contention of this writer that only the Christian worldview can successfully handle all five "big questions". 

Tips for improving one's understanding of the Christian worldview

Knowing Bible backgrounds will aid greatly when explaining the fall of Adam and Eve into sin, as well as how God could allow such an event to occur. It has been this author's experience in worldview discussions that opponents of Christianity and the Bible have rarely read, let alone thoroughly studied the Bible. Moreover, in as much as reason and education can access the contents of the Bible, only a converted heart and mindset committed to Jesus Christ can grasp and appreciate the meaning of those contents. 

Memorizing scripture is the greatest weapon of course, since one never knows when they may need to bring up the Bible in the appropriate setting. Most of all, prayer and a patient heart are crucial in a worldview discussion. One could very well win the argument and still lose their testimony as the result of a misplaced attitude or word.

Closing thoughts

May we be ever ready to make a defense for the Christian faith and arm ourselves with the tools we need for developing a Christian worldview. Below I have included links to resources that can help the reader achieve that very thing:

1. https://www.amazon.com/Guard-Students-Thinkers-Guide-Christian/dp/0781412994/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1471622728&sr=8-10&keywords=william+lane+craig

2. https://www.amazon.com/Guard-Defending-Faith-Reason-Precision/dp/1434764885/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1471622803&sr=8-1&keywords=william+lane+craig

Explaining a Christian Worldview from a Southern Baptist Perspective

1 Peter 3:15 "but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence."

Introduction
Yesterday we offered a brief explanation of a Christian worldview.  We noted first that any worldview addresses the so-called "big questions", with appropriate headings from the Christian worldview:

1. Where did I come from (hence the origins question)? 
Doctrine of God & Doctrine of Creation


2. Why am I here (hence the meaning question)?
Doctrine of God & Doctrine of Creation


3. What kind of world is the world (hence, the nature of reality question)?
Doctrine of Creation & Doctrine of God

4. What explains the problems I see around me, and is there a solution (hence, the problem of suffering)?
Doctrine of sin & Doctrine of Christ

5. Is their a point to life? Where are we heading? (hence, the ultimate purpose of life question)
Doctrine of last things

Thus we used the following five main headings to summarize what we mean by this subject:

1. Doctrine of God
2. Doctrine of Creation
3. Doctrine of Sin 
4. Doctrine of Christ
5. Doctrine of last things 

Today we want to consider what the Baptist Faith and Message 2000 has to say with regards to these main headings. Doctrinal confessions and creeds provide summaries of what Christians believe and teach about the Bible. Such statements are designed to equip Christians to engage with the culture from a Biblical worldview. The Baptist Faith and Message 2000 functions in this capacity. The Introductory section of the Baptist Faith and Message 2000 explains this function as follows:

"Baptist churches, associations, and general bodies have adopted confessions of faith as a witness to the world, and as instruments of doctrinal accountability. We are not embarrassed to state before the world that these are doctrines we hold precious and as essential to the Baptist tradition of faith and practice."

We then read on: "As a committee, we have been charged to address the "certain needs" of our own generation. In an age increasingly hostile to Christian truth, our challenge is to express the truth as revealed in Scripture, and to bear witness to Jesus Christ, who is "the Way, the Truth, and the Life."

Below I will simply list the five main headings with the appropriate quote from the Baptist Faith and Message. 

1. Doctrine of God
"There is one and only one living and true God. He is an intelligent, spiritual, and personal Being, the Creator, Redeemer, Preserver, and Ruler of the universe. God is infinite in holiness and all other perfections. God is all powerful and all knowing; and His perfect knowledge extends to all things, past, present, and future, including the future decisions of His free creatures. To Him we owe the highest love, reverence, and obedience. The eternal triune God reveals Himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being."

2. Doctrine of Creation
We find three statements as follows:
"God as Father reigns with providential care over His universe, His creatures, and the flow of the stream of human history according to the purposes of His grace. He is all powerful, all knowing, all loving, and all wise." (Article 2)

"Man is the special creation of God, made in His own image. He created them male and female as the crowning work of His creation. The gift of gender is thus part of the goodness of God's creation. In the beginning man was innocent of sin and was endowed by his Creator with freedom of choice." (Article 3)

"God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society. It is composed of persons related to one another by marriage, blood, or adoption. Marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime. It is God's unique gift to reveal the union between Christ and His church and to provide for the man and the woman in marriage the framework for intimate companionship, the channel of sexual expression according to biblical standards, and the means for procreation of the human race." (Article 18)

3. Doctrine of Sin 
"In the beginning man was innocent of sin and was endowed by his Creator with freedom of choice. By his free choice man sinned against God and brought sin into the human race. Through the temptation of Satan man transgressed the command of God, and fell from his original innocence whereby his posterity inherit a nature and an environment inclined toward sin. Therefore, as soon as they are capable of moral action, they become transgressors and are under condemnation. Only the grace of God can bring man into His holy fellowship and enable man to fulfill the creative purpose of God." (Article 3)

4. Doctrine of Christ
"Christ is the eternal Son of God. In His incarnation as Jesus Christ He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. Jesus perfectly revealed and did the will of God, taking upon Himself human nature with its demands and necessities and identifying Himself completely with mankind yet without sin. He honored the divine law by His personal obedience, and in His substitutionary death on the cross He made provision for the redemption of men from sin. He was raised from the dead with a glorified body and appeared to His disciples as the person who was with them before His crucifixion. He ascended into heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God where He is the One Mediator, fully God, fully man, in whose Person is effected the reconciliation between God and man. He will return in power and glory to judge the world and to consummate His redemptive mission. He now dwells in all believers as the living and ever present Lord." (Article 2, section "B")

5. Doctrine of last things
"God, in His own time and in His own way, will bring the world to its appropriate end. According to His promise, Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly in glory to the earth; the dead will be raised; and Christ will judge all men in righteousness. The unrighteous will be consigned to Hell, the place of everlasting punishment. The righteous in their resurrected and glorified bodies will receive their reward and will dwell forever in Heaven with the Lord." (Article 10)

Briefly explaining the essentials of a Christian worldview

Jude 1:3 "Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints."

Yesterday we considered what is entailed in a Christian worldview. We noted first that any worldview addresses the so-called "big questions":

1. Where did I come from (hence the origins question)? 
Doctrine of God & Doctrine of Creation


2. Why am I here (hence the meaning question)?
Doctrine of God & Doctrine of Creation


3. What kind of world is the world (hence, the nature of reality question)?
Doctrine of Creation & Doctrine of God

4. What explains the problems I see around me, and is there a solution (hence, the problem of suffering)?
Doctrine of sin & Doctrine of Christ

5. Is their a point to life? Where are we heading? (hence, the ultimate purpose of life question)
Doctrine of last things

A Christian worldview aims to offer answers to the same questions. The reader may had noticed the "green" headings I placed along with the five "big questions". Those various headings comprise what are usually referred to as the "essentials" of a Christian worldview:

1. Doctrine of God
2. Doctrine of Creation
3. Doctrine of Sin 
4. Doctrine of Christ
5. Doctrine of last things 

Today's post aims to briefly explain each of these essentials, so that readers can better understand why they are essential to our overall understanding of a Christian worldview. 

1. Doctrine of God
Who is God? What is God like? How can we know what God intends, says and wills? Such questions are answered by Christians as they assert God as the proper starting place in the Christian worldview. God is One God, revealed in three Persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. God has made known or "revealed" His presence and power by way of general revelation in creation and the conscience. He has revealed His identity and will in the special revelation of the Bible and the fullness of revelation in Jesus Christ. God by nature is all-powerful, all-knowing, every-where present and all-good. God is Sovereign and achieves His plans by various means - including free-will actions of his creatures, historic events and so-called natural laws. 

2. Doctrine of the Creation
The doctrine of creation asserts that the universe is finite - that is to say - the universe had a beginning. The cause of the universe lies outside of it and before it. Roughly 60 Bible passages speak about God's creation of the universe. The idea of a "creation" includes the notions of there being a "purpose", "meaning" and "value" to life as we know it. The created order is distinct and separate from God while ever being acted upon and within by God. Its movements and development are regulated by God's Providence. The created order is both physical and non-physical, material and immaterial. There are minds and bodies, men and angels, the second heaven populated by stars and planets and the third heaven populated by the heavenly host. God is far and above the heavens and the earth while ever pervading all the cosmos with His infinite power, presence and knowledge.

3. Doctrine of Sin
Man by nature is a sinner - fallen short of the glory of God. Originally, mankind was not created that way. Man was originally created with the ability to not sin. Man could choose whether to sin or remain ever in the right with God. God gave every means of grace necessary for man to remain originally righteous. Mankind rejected God and chose to embrace his own reason and opinion informed by Satan. Communion with God turned to running away from God. The Bible uses various terms and ideas to describe sin: trespassing, falling short, darkness, deadness, alienation, morally corrupt. Mankind cannot save Himself. Salvation is an act of God to man. Lest man by grace alone through faith alone receive Christ - there is no salvation. 

4. Doctrine of Christ
God as the Person of the Son had agreed with the Father and the Spirit as a matter of unified Divine Will and purpose to come to earth to assume true and total humanity. In His incarnation as Jesus of Nazareth, the Eternal Son chose to express His existence in a second way - a humanity that entailed all the limitations of any man, except that of sin. The Son would be virgin born, would live, be crucified, raised from the dead, ascended into heaven and exalted. His soon return will mark the culmination of this age and the beginning of the age to come. 

5. Doctrine of Last Things
The doctrine of "last things" touches not only upon "how it will all end", but often times includes the topics of "life after death", "final judgment", "heaven', "hell" and "eternity". The first four essentials all lead to this final part of the Christian worldview. God's glory is the centerpiece, creation finds it completion and renewal (details not withstanding), Christ will rule and reign and then hand the Kingdom over to the Father and then "all things" will be completed. The Christian worldview sees a two-fold goal: God's glory and the completion of God's redemptive purposes. In the mane, the Christian worldview rejects the notion of everyone being finally and fully redeemed. Only those who by grace truly love God and who have responded to His overtures of grace in saving faith per His legitimate offer of the Gospel will be saved. Those who tragically, freely and truly choose to reject God's legitimate offer of salvation will experience God in His justice and wrath. Heaven and Hell, Mercy and Judgment are all included in such a discussion.

Closing thoughts:
The five above headings and their brief descriptions give the reader a "wide-angle" lens by which to view the Christian worldview. Such a worldview can be used to interact across disciplines (such as science, philosophy, literature, education) and deal with the major issues of life (the problem of pain, finding hope, grounding of objective morality). It is hoped that these last two posts have given people an introduction to what we mean when we say "Christian worldview".   

The essentials of a Christian worldview

1 Corinthians 8:6-7 "yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him."

Introduction
What is meant when we speak of a worldview? The simplest response to this question is to reverse the words contained in the term "worldview" and assert that it is how one views the world. However, to be more specific, a worldview is a narrative one has for explaining the answers to five main questions: 

1. Where did I come from (hence the origins question)?

2. Why am I here (hence the meaning question)?

3. What kind of world is the world (hence, the nature of reality question)?

4. What explains the problems I see around me, and is there a solution (hence, the problem of suffering)?

5. Is there a point to life? Where are we heading? (hence, the ultimate purpose of life question)

Worldviews function as a set of glasses that we use to address, understand and process questions like the ones I just listed. Everyone in the world has a worldview. There are no "neutral" observers. How we evaluate which worldview is the most reliable one relies upon whichever one best handles the above "big questions". Certain methods that measure how probable one worldview is over another in handling and processing the "big questions" are usually employed when judging between competing worldviews. 

As a Christian, it is vital to have a Christian worldview that can give good reasons as to why one believe what they believe. 1 Peter 3:15 gives the charge: "but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence."

Peter was one of the original followers of Jesus (i.e a disciple). When Jesus commissioned him to be one of the original early leaders sent forth to carry His message (i.e, an apostle), Peter would some 35 years later pen his first letter to a group of Christians scattered throughout the Mediterranean world. Peter understood the importance of having a Christian worldview.

In like manner, another Apostle by the name of Paul, had been called by Jesus in a vision while on his way to persecute Christians in Acts 9. At the time he was known as "Saul of Tarsus". As Jesus confronted him and called him to be an "apostle to the nations", Saul changed on the inside and became a vocal witness for Jesus Christ. His change of nature led to a change of name (i.e Paul). In Acts 13 and Acts 17 we find records of Paul's preaching and early defenses of the Christian faith as he articulated a Christian worldview. In later letters that he would write to churches such as the church at Corinth, Paul would summarize the salient points of the key components of a Christian worldview (see 1 Corinthians 8:6-7; 15:1-6).

The basics of a Christian worldview
Both of these apostles demonstrated early on the need for every generation of Christian to be equipped and ready to operate with a Christian worldview. With that said, what could we say comprises the basics of a standard Christian worldview? In considering both Paul and Peter's writings in the New Testament, as well as considering the history of Christian thought over the past 2,000 years, theologians have identified what are called the "common places" or key points of Christian doctrine that comprise the essentials of the Christian faith. These "common points" or "common places" (called by older writers: "loci communes") are usually listed as follows:

1. Doctrine of God
2. Doctrine of Creation
3. Doctrine of Sin
4. Doctrine of Christ
5. Doctrine of Last things

Such a list could also include are key doctrines as "doctrine of man", "doctrine of revelation" and "doctrine of redemption". For our purposes we will stick to the five above, likely including the "doctrine of redemption" in with what we already have listed, namely "the doctrine of Christ", as well as "doctrine of man" under the larger heading of "doctrine of creation". 

How the Christian worldview addresses the five "big questions"
So how can the five key essential doctrines be used in formulating a Christian worldview? Again, a Christian worldview aims to answer the big questions of life. I will list those again, and then plug in the doctrinal essentials so that the reader can see how a Christian worldview can work.

1. Where did I come from (hence the origins question)? 
Doctrine of God & Doctrine of Creation
(we could include doctrine of man)


2. Why am I here (hence the meaning question)?
Doctrine of God & Doctrine of Creation


3. What kind of world is the world (hence, the nature of reality question)?
Doctrine of Creation & Doctrine of God

4. What explains the problems I see around me, and is there a solution (hence, the problem of suffering)?
Doctrine of sin & Doctrine of Christ (we could also include the doctrine of salvation, since this connects the work of salvation to the Savior, Jesus Christ)


5. Is their a point to life? Where are we heading? (hence, the ultimate purpose of life question)
Doctrine of last things

So why does it matter whether or not we have a Christian worldview ready to answer these big questions?
These so-called "big questions" are the ones raised all the time by philosophers, scientists and people of other religions. It does not take long to see these questions being discussed and debated on the internet, Youtube and on the major news networks. As a Christian develops his or her worldview, eventual introduction and even study to other disciplines will aid in sharpening up the specifics. We find that in studying the Bible, we can not only find such questions raised and answered, but more specifically, we can better understand how to approach such questions from a Biblical perspective. It would be the contention of this writer that only the Christian worldview can successfully handle all five "big questions". 

Tips for improving one's understanding of the Christian worldview
Knowing Bible backgrounds will aid greatly when explaining the fall of Adam and Eve into sin, as well as how God could allow such an event to occur. It has been this author's experience in worldview discussions that opponents of Christianity and the Bible have rarely read, let alone thoroughly studied the Bible. Moreover, in as much as reason and education can access the contents of the Bible, only a converted heart and mindset committed to Jesus Christ can grasp and appreciate the meaning of those contents. 

Understanding a little bit about the basics of philosophical argumentation can aid in presenting the Christian worldview to people who are greatly opposed. Memorizing scripture is the greatest weapon of course, since one never knows when they may need to bring up the Bible in the appropriate setting. Most of all, prayer and a patient heart are crucial in a worldview discussion. One could very well win the argument and still lose their testimony as the result of a misplaced attitude or word.

Closing thoughts
May we be ever ready to make a defense for the Christian faith and arm ourselves with the tools we need for developing a Christian worldview. Below I have included links to resources that can help the reader achieve that very thing:

1. https://www.amazon.com/Guard-Students-Thinkers-Guide-Christian/dp/0781412994/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1471622728&sr=8-10&keywords=william+lane+craig

2. https://www.amazon.com/Guard-Defending-Faith-Reason-Precision/dp/1434764885/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1471622803&sr=8-1&keywords=william+lane+craig

Contrasting Hindu and Christian views of God and spirituality

Isaiah 43:10-11 “You are My witnesses,” declares the Lord,“And My servant whom I have chosen,
So that you may know and believe Me
And understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, And there will be none after Me. 11 “I, even I, am the Lord, And there is no savior besides Me.

Titus 2:13-14 "looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, 14 who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds."

Introduction and Review:

Yesterday we considered a suggested way of sharing the Gospel with a Hindu. Today is a continuation of yesterday's discussion, aimed at dealing with specific doctrinal truths one can share to help their Hindu friend see the difference between Christianity and Hinduism. In my experience of talking with Hindus, their underlying belief is that all religions can be tacked onto Hinduism, regardless of the differences. It is vital that in sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with Hindus that we stress the exclusivity of salvation by grace alone, through faith alone in Christ alone in a compassionate, winsome way. 

God is immanent and transcedent, but not Pantheistic

First of all let's define some terms. Pantheism is the belief that God is all and all is God. Hinduism is partly pantheistic, meaning that all life, humanity and their concept of deity are all rolled up into one. In Pantheism, to look at a flower, a tree or the air is to experience god as much as I am god and you are god. The Bible makes it plain that God is to be regarded in a complete category by Himself apart from His creation. Bible teachers use the term "transcendence" to describe this feature of the God of scripture. Passages such as Jeremiah 23:23-24; Isaiah 44:6; 1 Corinthians 8:6-7 and Romans 11:36 describe God is high and exalted above His creation. However at the same time God is also immanent, that is to say, He is everywhere with His creation. Thus in Acts 17:278 we do live and move and have our being in God and Colossians 1:16-17 describes Jesus Christ as holding all things together by the Word of His power. 

Madasamy Thirumali writes the following about God's transcendence and immanance in contrast to Hinduism in his book: "Sharing Your Faith with a Hindu", page 82: "Hindus think that becoming one with God is their ultimate salvation, calling it super-spirituality. According to the Bible, this is not acceptable. It is an idolatrous position to put God and creation as one. We are to abide in Him in the sense of fellowship, but we don't become one with Him in the sense of being equal. Christians respect and love nature as the creation of God, but we do not worship it as a god or spirit." Thirumali later writes on the same page of his book: "Christians also hold that while God is seperate from creation, He is active throughout the world and throughout history in the lives of human kind and all He has made."

Contrasting the spiritual goals of Hinduism versus Biblical Christianity

When we think about the spiritual goals set by the Gospel versus Hinduism, the difference is quite profound. Bringing out God's Transcedence and Immanence is vital, being that it avoids the trap of idolatry that is at the heart of pantheism and Hinduism in particular. Paul Carden in his video series on "Christianity, Cults and Religions", notes the following contrasts that relate to our discussion in today's post:

"In Hindu meditation, absorption into the Ultimate is the goal. In Buddhism, detachment from reality and absorption into the void is the goal. Christian meditation aims at attachment to the living God." Paul Carden then cites Psalm 48:9 as an example of how the Christian relates to the True and Living God: "We have thought on Your lovingkindness, O God,In the midst of Your temple."

Christianity alone is based in both miracles and history

The Christian faith is based around five definite miracles: Creation, a Divinely Inspired Bible, Christ's Incarnation, Christ's Resurrection and Christ's 2nd coming. All five miracles involve the all-powerful, Triune God that, being above history and creation is nonetheless involved with it. He made it. Furthermore, God speaks through a book - the Bible. Thirdly, the Son, being God, came to this world to take on human flesh and is thus the Unique Revelation of God in history and salvation. Jesus' resurrection from the dead is a documented, historical event. Then the final miracle that determines history and salvation as spelled out by Christianity is Christ's second coming. 

Hinduism does not have any reliably documented miracles upon which to build its faith. Myths - yes. Narratives - yes. Truth - No. The writings of Hinduism, called the Vedas and Upanishads, are collections of Philosophy, fables and sayings that contain no examples of fulfilled prophecy. In Hinduism, there is no concept of resurrection - only reincarnation. History and life is an endless cycle, with no ultimate purpose other than an undefined one. Meanwhile Christianity asserts life and history to be a one-time time line with a beginning and an end, Creation, the cross and 2nd coming. 

Salvation described by the Gospel has no comparison from Hinduism

Finally, Biblical salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. (John 3:16; Ephesians 2:8-9) Hinduism suggests different methods of salvation that aim at working harder and doing better but never hoping to achieve any sense of certainty about one's future, reconciliation or forgiveness. 

A suggested way to share Jesus with a Hindu

1 Corinthians 8:4-6 "Therefore concerning the eating of things sacrificed to idols, we know that there is no such thing as an idol in the world, and that there is no God but one. 5 For even if there are so-called gods whether in heaven or on earth, as indeed there are many gods and many lords, 6 yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him."

Introduction

Over the years I have had opportunities here and there to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with adherents of the Hindu religion. One time I had the opportunity to sit down with a man who is a devout Hindu. In all the conversations I have had over the years with people of non-Christian religions, none have been kinder than the beautiful Indian people who adhere to the Hindu religion. However, God's issue with all unbelievers is not their niceness, or lack thereof, but that they are not right with Him through Jesus Christ. 

Today I want to share a method of sharing the Gospel that God could use in the event you ever come in contact with any devotees of Eastern religion or any worldview for that matter. I used this method with the dear man above. To my knowledge, he has not yet responded to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. My prayer is that the Holy Spirit would lead him and other people in the Hindu world to a saving knowledge of the truth through faith and repentance in Jesus Christ. Christian apologist Dr. William Lane Craig's definition of evangelism is an excellent reminder of Who is the true evangelist in all our conversations: "Evangelism is where we communicate Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit and leave the results up to God."

Laying out four words for sharing the Bible's Gospel message with Hindus

When my friend came to me and we sat down, the very first thing I did was to outline for him the entire Bible in four words. Now before I give you the four words, I must say that when dealing with Hindus or any other adherent of any non-Christian religion, it is more important for you to know the Gospel of Jesus Christ than it is to know details about the opposing religion. As valuable as apologetics (defending the faith against non-Christian belief systems) can be and as vital as it is to have a familiarity with the tenets of the opposing belief system, it must be remembered that the Holy Spirit's effective work through the Gospel will win the soul to Jesus. 

With that said, I will list out the four words that I used with my Hindu friend in summarizing the Bible, and then briefly break them down as I did to him:

1. Creation

2. Fall

3. Cross

4. 2nd Coming

Why emphasize creation, fall, cross and 2nd coming?

Why begin with these four fundamental truths? Simply because we Christians living in America are under the mistaken assumption that everyone knows what they are and mean. Lack of spiritual vitality in our churches ought to be evidence enough to show that not everyone is as familiar with the Gospel as claimed. Furthermore, my Hindu friend had never read a Bible, nor even knew what a Bible was. Understand that this young man is highly educated and successful business owner. We all need to be reminded of and re-exposed to the four truths above everyday. 

Breaking down the Bible's salvation message in four words to show Hindus the Savior Jesus Christ

1. Creation. 

I began with Genesis 1 and creation because in the Hindu religion, there are many gods, not one Supreme, All-Powerful Creator who alone is God. Hinduism as a belief system has several versions of how the world began and in many cases, their view of the universe is that it is an endless cycle of birth-rebirth. Knowing that my friend was not familiar with the Bible, I tried to keep Bible references to a minimum. The ones I used for this first point were:

a. Genesis 1:1 This is to assert that God is the Creator of all reality.

b. Genesis 1:26 This was to assert that the God of the Bible is the Creator of humanity as well as reality

c. 1 Corinthians 8:6 This passage reaffirms the Monotheism (belief in One God) of the Old Testament and the fact that Jesus the Son shares equally in that Divine nature and is God. 

Now why did I include Christ's Deity? Because in Hinduism, there is the belief that their many gods have the ability to appear in the forms of men and animals. Nothing is unique. However my aim in sharing this with my Hindu friend was to show that the God of the Bible is unique, and that Jesus Christ is the Unique revelation of God and thus the Creator. So point one of outlining the Bible with a Hindu is: Creation.

2. Fall. 

My next point with my Hindu friend dealt with the fall and rebellion of man in the Garden of Eden. Mind you that this intelligent man had never heard of the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve nor the account of the Creation and Fall. 

To the Hindu, the whole point of their religion is to escape the endless cycle of Sanasara (some spell it "samsara") or Karma. In Hinduism, people are endlessly born, dying and being reborn as different life forms. Depending upon how morally one lives in this life and how much ritual one participates in will, in the Hindu mind, determine whether one has "good Karma" or "bad Karma". Karma is a Hindu word referring to "works or deeds" and is essentially a debt-based system of works salvation. Sansara is likened to a wheel of sorts, wherein a person keeps literally going around in circles. "Sansara" and its related concept "karma" portray a person trying to live good enough in this life to have a better spot in the next. The ultimate goal of Hinduism is to escape "Sansara" (which my friend readily affirmed in our conversation) and to achieve "Moksha" or union with the Universal Soul.

In Hinduism, the underlying principle is that you are never good enough, never will be good enough and thus you need to keep working harder and living better to escape that iron-clad law. The whole concept of "Karma" then is how Hinduism explains the evil in our world, even though in the final analysis the evil we see is not the true and ultimate reality, but what the Hindus call "maya" or illusion.

The Bible of course paints a different picture. There was a literal Adam and Eve and a serpent named Satan who came to tempt them. Passages such as Romans 5:12 summarize for us the events of the fall, namely that through one man sin entered into the world, and through sin came death upon us all. The point of bring up this detail was to show my Hindu friend that evil and sin are not illusory, but realities that intruded into the perfect creation made by God. At this point it is useful to bring out that this life is the only life you got, and that there is no "sansara" or endless wheel of Karma, birth, death and rebirth. Salvation is not escape from an endless cycle of nothingness but escape from wrath and reconciliation to the Creator. This leads naturally into the third main point of the Bible and sharing Jesus with a Hindu...

3. Cross

Why call this point "cross" rather than "salvation"? Hindus need to know that salvation is historical, personal and one-time achieved. The same God who created all things and Whose name and love was rejected by Adam and Eve in favor of a Tree is by nature obligate to show wrath but desires to show mercy. In tying together this point, I began with God's response to Adam and Eve, judgment, followed by mercy. Without going into too much detail, Genesis 3:15-21 demonstrates that Adam and Eve both looked to God in faith for their salvation. His killing of two innocent animals in their place and covering their nakedness and shame set the pattern for salvation: the shedding of innocent blood on behalf of grace led believing, repenting sinners. 

The slaying of innocents in the Garden of Eden would serve to point to the ultimate slaying of the innocent Son in His humanity. For my friend, Romans 5:8 served quite well for this point: "God demonstrated His own love for us in this that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." In Hinduism, the many deities they worship view human beings a pawns on the chessboard of fate, sources for their amusement. The many deities of Hinduism range from being impersonal forces to deities that are as subject to failure as we are. A major "honor/shame" theme runs through all the many varied forms of the Hindu religion. The Gospel is unique in that it is underscored by a "Grace/forgiveness" theme, meaning that God chooses to save whomever He wills based entirely upon His desire to love. God wants to save as many people as possible. Nothing we can do can earn His favor. Period.  

All who believe on Jesus do so because of grace, calling them and keeping them until they are in Heaven with Him. All who persist in unbelief and die and go to hell do so because of their own doing. 

The cross utterly smashes the Hindu system because it asserts that God who made everything became nothing so that we who are nothing could by grace through faith become more valuable than everything He made. So we have creation, fall and cross, but there is one more point in this suggested way of sharing the Gospel with a Hindu...

4. 2nd Coming. 

My Hindu friend at this point is listening very intently and as I am sharing with him I am praying the whole time. At points along the way when I did mention something about Hinduism, I would ask him if what I shared was correct. This is done for two reasons: to make sure he knows I am trying to get to know him and secondly, to make sure I am operating in the realm of truth rather than lies. 

One of the things we have repeated in this post is how much Hindus view reality and life as an endless cycle. 

It has been noted that when Jesus came to this world, he took mankind's cyclical view of life and stretched it out to be one line with a beginning, middle and end. The beginning is creation, of which Jesus is the very embodiment thereof. The middle is the cross, upon which He died and then conquered death in His resurrection. Why? Due to the fall that took place near the beginning and to be the redeemer of all men, especially those who believe. (1 Timothy 4:10). The end point is of course Jesus' second coming. Hinduism knows of no end to history or life. However Jesus' second coming underscores the fact that He who is the Author and Finisher of faith (Hebrews 12:1) is the Author and Finisher of everything. How you are related to Him (faith or unbelief) will tell you your destination. 

My friend of course was unfamiliar with Heaven and Hell, judgment and heaven. To ensure that such truths were not just abstract ideas, centering the end of the conversation on Christ's second coming enables the conversation to end where it really began: upon Jesus Christ.

Final thoughts:

I wish I could tell you that the Hindu man to which I had spoken readily responded to the Gospel. For five minutes he sat in stunned silence. I gently said to him: "I can tell you are thinking over what was said, what are your thoughts?" The man told me that for him, we are all the same. The only response I could give him was: "dear friend, your response and the look upon your face tells me you believe otherwise. We are indeed quite different". Politely he got up and shook my hand and I never saw him again. I would ask you to pray for that man and for the Hindu world of over 1 billion Hindus. Let me close with Isaiah 55:10-11 “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven,And do not return there without watering the earth And making it bear and sprout, And furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater; 11 So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it."