2.2 Naturalism Lesson notes

BIG IDEA: According to naturalism, 
nature consists of the physical world accessible through the five senses.

Summarize the three main worldview categories. 
Naturalism is the worldview that the physical universe alone exists with no supernatural influences. 
Pantheism is the worldview that everything is divine with no creator distinct from creation.
Theism is the worldview that one, personal God created everything.
(Polytheism: is the view that many gods and/or goddesses exist.)
https://crossexamined.org/8-major-worldviews-part-1/
https://crossexamined.org/8-major-worldviews-part-2/

How does Naturalism answer four
CENTRAL QUESTIONS? 
What is real?—According to naturalism, the only things that are real are those that can be tested by the five senses. 
Who is man?—According to Darwinism, humanity developed by a "cosmic accident
After death?—When you stop breathing, your life is done.  You cease to exist.
Right & wrong (Purpose)?—There’s no standard outside of mankind that determines right and wrong.

Misconception: A meaningful life can be found in the things of this world alone. 
Romans 1:28
Illumination: Without a relationship with God, life in this world is meaningless.   
2 Peter 1:3-4; Ecclesiastes 2:24-25
Application question:  What gives meaning to your life.  Why do you do things?

Solomon—Ecclesiastes 1-2
1. What are the repeated phrases in chapters 1 & 2?
vanity (futility)--1:2, 2, 2, 2, 14; 2:1, 11, 17, 19, 21, 23, 26
labor (toil, i.e. wearing effort; hence, worry)--1:3; 2:10, 10, 11, 18, 18, 19, 19, 20, 20, 22, 24
striving for the wind-- 1:14, 17; 2:11, 17, 26
wisdom (chokmah--wisdom, skill, shrewdness) 1:13, 16, 18; 2:3, 9, 12, 21, 26
under the sun--1:9, 14; 2:11, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22, 
under heaven--1:13; 2:3; 
“Under the sun,” used 29 times in Ecclesiastes and nowhere else in the Old Testament, simply means “on the earth,” that is, in terms of human existence (1:9, 14; 2:11, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22; 3:16; 4:1, 3, 7, 15; 5:13, 18; 6:1, 5, 12; 8:9, 15, 17; 9:3, 6, 9, 11, 13; 10:5; cf. 1:13; 2:3; 3:1). The phrase shows that the writer’s perspective was universal, not limited to his own people and land.  And it shows that Solomon was looking at life from the perspective of man on the earth without the aid of special revelation from God.   --Thomas Constable's Expository Notes

2. What kind of picture does Solomon paint of our existence? (1.3-8) (Does that surprise you?)

3. How does Solomon try to satisfy himself? Why didn’t it work?  (What have you tried?)
2.1-11  PLEASURE; (NET--indulgent pleasure; KJV, NKJV--mirth) 
2.12-17  "MATERIALISM" wisdom land madness and folly  (NET--wisdom, as well as foolish behavior and ideas)
2.18-21  "WORKAHOLIC"  labor (RSV, ESV--toil; HCSB, NLT--work)   

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14
"The order of the two points (fear … keep) is significant. Conduct derives from worship. A knowledge of God leads to obedience; not vice versa."  --Michael A. Eaton, in TOTC

The fear (H3372 yä·rā') of the Lord is
The awareness that God is watching, weighing, and rewarding all that I do, say, and think.

“The remarkable thing about fearing God,” wrote Oswald Chambers, “is that, when you fear God, you fear nothing else; whereas, if you do not fear God, you fear everything else.” --Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Satisfied

keep  (H8104  shä·mar': to keep, guard, observe, give heed)
1A (Qal).
1A1 to keep, have charge of.
1A2 to keep, guard, keep watch and ward, protect, save life.
1A2A watch, watchman (participle).
1A3 to watch for, wait for. 1
A4 to watch, observe.
1A5 to keep, retain, treasure up (in memory).
1A6 to keep (within bounds), restrain.
1A7 to observe, celebrate, keep (sabbath or covenant or commands), perform (vow).
1A8 to keep, preserve, protect.
1A9 to keep, reserve.

James Strong, Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon (Woodside Bible Fellowship, 1995).

"Now in the epilogue, almost as an aside, it is pointed out that such a life will have implications. It must not be restricted to the Mosaic law." --Michael A. Eaton in TOTC 

"The fear of the Lord must result in obedient living, otherwise that “fear” is only a sham."  --Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Satisfied

whole (H3605 - kol : all, the whole}

NET Bible tn Heb “This is all men”; or “This is the whole of man.” The phrase זֶה כָּל־הָאָדָם (zeh kol-ha’adam, “this is all men”) features rhetorical elision of a key word. The ambiguity over the elided word has led to no less than five basic approaches: 
(1) “this is the whole duty of man” (KJV, ASV, RSV, NAB, NIV); 
(2) “this is the duty of all men” (MLB, ASV margin, RSV margin); 
(3) “this applies to all men” (NASB, NJPS); 
(4) “this is the whole duty of all men” (NRSV, Moffatt); and 
(5) “there is no more to man than this” (NEB). 
The four-fold repetition of כֹּל (kol, “all”) in 12:13-14 suggests that Qoheleth is emphasizing the “bottom line,” that is, the basic duty of man is simply to fear and obey God: After “all” (כֹּל) has been heard in the book, his conclusion is that the “whole” (כֹּל) duty of man is to obey God because God will bring “all” (כֹּל) acts into judgment, including “all” (כֹּל) that is hidden, whether good or bad. See D. Barthélemy, ed., Preliminary and Interim Report on the Hebrew Old Testament Text Project, 3:596.

judgment   (H4941 - mish-pawt'; properly, a verdict (favorable or unfavorable) pronounced judicially)

Westminster Shorter Catechism
Question 1
Q: What is the chief end of man?
A: Man's chief end is to glorify God,1 and to enjoy him forever.2
1 Corinthians 10:31. Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. Romans 11:36. For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.
Psalm 73:24-26. Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. My flesh and my heart faileth: but God isthe strength of my heart, and my portion for ever.
John 17:22, 24. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one... Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.

Weaker Brother and the Free Brother

I have for some time wrestled with the description of a "weaker brother" in Romans fourteen.  It seems to point to someone who is feeble and deficient.  But it seems to me that someone who is principled and holds firmly to the convictions of his/her conscience is anything but weak and feeble.  And if this person has a fundamental shortcoming, why wouldn't the Scripture encourage them to strengthen themselves in their faith or understanding?  Paul does not rebuke the weaker brother here like he does legalism in other places.

One day after a wedding I was discussing the service with a strong believer who would not be described as "legalistic."  I commented on how lively and contemporary the recessional had been. It was a fun "tune" to end the wedding.  He responded that we probably should not have allowed that tune because it was associated with a particularly ungodly and heathen musical group.  

I thought to myself, it's nice that I don't know anything about that group so that I am able to enjoy the song.  Then it hit me that in a sense it was my ignorance or the absence of a special sensitivity, not my superior spirituality that made me the "stronger" (free) brother in this situation.  I imagine that if I had the same background and experience with that song, I would have been troubled the same way my brother was.

Knowing what I had learned about that piece, it would be my desire to not use it in another wedding, for my bother's benefit, not because it would trouble me.  There was nothing particularly objectionable about the tune to either of our sensibilities, but it had connotations for my friend that it just didn't for me.  He should not condemn me because my background leaves me free to listen, and I should not insist on using the song with him because I know it would trouble him.

Asian Responses the question about meat sacrificed to idols in 1 Cor 10.27-28.

G.E.—India

But what happens is this. Hindus [mostly] take some of the food and offer it to the idols. Now they offer it to people because that food offered to the idols is very precious and the belief is that it will invoke blessing.  But when they see a Christian or a Muslim come for a gathering or a function, most of them are sensitive not to give the food offered to the idols.  They bring the same food but the ones not offered to the idols.  Or I have in some contexts told them gently that I would love to eat but not the one offered to the idols.

What do you think a Hindu would think of you if you ate from the part of the food that had been offered to the idol?

Hmmm... that is good question. In some places that I have been, I have been able to witness that my God is much bigger than any other spirits or forces, and I am not afraid nor I am acknowledging their god.  Because as you said, they do think that I have accepted their god or see their god as mighty or worthy of worship. Where I have shared that it is the opposite. 

G.J.—India
Yes. It is an issue when we start addressing it. 

Most Christian parents always warn and keep their kids in check about those offering foods, and things we will encounter with friends at school.

Now Hindu's do the offering food stuff mostly during their festivals. Although, they have about 10-15 main festivals all through the year for different deities, the main 3-4 festivals are usually lengthy and the celebrations go on for about 7-10 days.  This is when they have stalls put up on the streets or neighbourhoods with large idols, and constant puja's (worship) and chanting of the recitals called mantras etc.  Families sign up for this worship with the priest and stuff.  They have stalls like this in all neighbourhoods through out the country, big and small, 5 feet x 5 feet to 20 x 20 feet.  So they have like 20 - 100 puja's everyday, and at the end of the each puja session, the priest just gives the prasad (food snack that has been offered to the idol and is kept in front of the idol) to everyone in the vicinity.

So first thing our parents train us and warn us is, when we're walking along that route, DO NOT even look at the stall.  It's nothing but Satan.  So we somehow get this fear in our hearts as children, that that is so evil and even looking at it can make the devil go after us.  Or that something bad will happen to us, if we lurch around there or see the idol and the stuff there. 
Secondly, to understand the concept of why Hindu's offer food, snacks and goodies to Christians and Muslims -  Being a country with several religions, the biggest way we share with our community and neighbours is that when its Christmas, Christians make big plates of goodies (Snacks, cookies, cakes and all kinds of sweet and salty, spicy snacks) and we visit our Hindu and Muslim neighbours or friends and give them and visit a little bit. An average family usually hands about 20-30 such packets or plates. Muslims do this to only very close neighbours or friends, and Hindu's do it too. 
So as far as I can remember, everybody that knows you and is close to a Christain knows that we don't eat the prasad.  We are trained to just tell our friends that we don't eat food offered to idols. So sometimes, when we are visiting a friend and their parent brings over a prasad before we leave to school and give an exam, the mother brings over some prasad, and we just have to say - no thanks aunty. I cannot eat prasad.  It's hard at first but soon, it becomes second nature. 

The best part is - Hindu friends that know you start taking off the snacks aside first for their christian friends and then put the whole bowl in front of the idol. They just bring over stuff and say, - we did not put it in front of the idol. we took some aside first. so you can have it. 

Even at work, on a big Hindu festival day, the whole office has a small puja and someone in the office goes around all the floors giving prasad to everyone. We just have to say, No I don't eat prasad or just be absent from the scene for a while. 

Yes, you can take it and not eat it and throw it away, but my mom always said, Do not take it. let them know that we are not supposed to eat it. 

No doubt, there will be people who laugh at us or talk about it behind us, but that's never bothered me. the only thing I would worry about is that I can tell them No, and that they will take No for an answer. Some people try to force you - Just this one time, yu know.

And also no doubt, there might be hindu's who say they didn't offer and bring you stuff from there. But we can't knnow that. 

L.B.—PNG
When I first went into the Dom Tribe the clan that I lived with to learn the language and culture and begin evangelism would often kill a pig as part of a bride price, to pay a debt etc.  Because I was part of that clan I was given a small portion of the meat.  I would always take the meat and eat it.

Then about every 5-6 years there would be a large pig killing ceremony where dozens of pigs would be killed and  because I was part of the tribal clan I was also given a small portion of this meat to eat .  It wasn't until I began to evangelize and had young Christians that this became an issue.  The Christians came to me and said "Don't you realize the pig that was killed during the pig killing ceremony was sacrificed to the spirit of our ancestors?".  They said I should not be eating this meat.  When I realized they were bothered by this I no longer took my share of  this meat.

C.M.—China/Thailand
This was never an issue unless we went to a village for a festival.  We would attend the “celebration” (used ever so loosely) and be observers.  It was good to fast and pray during those times.  However, in a day to day setting the markets are just that, markets where folks are trying to make some cash. 

P.K.H—India
Glory...really it is a nice topic to discuss. In India it is a everyday test for the christians. If you go to a store, the owner of the store every day morning without offering Pooja he won't sell anything. If you go to a meat shop we will get Hallal meat only. that means he offers that to God before he sells to us. If you get in to a Bus everyday morning without offering prayer to God and without breaking a coconut to God he won't start the bus. In some buses we can find neatly framed idol photos. Even in the Banks we can find idol photos in the corners. Even if you go to a hotel everyday morning without offering to the God and without keeping some portion of the food in front of the idols he won't serve the food. What we have to do? Knowingly we are eating that food, we are purchasing the things from the store knowingly, we are travelling in the buses knowingly, we are getting the meat knowingly :). By doing all these things Are we doing against to the Word? By doing all these things Are we falling in our faith? Firmly i can say NO. Then am i encouraging people to eat the food which was offered to Idols?..No.. It is good not to take food which was offered to Idols.  If anybody takes such food,then not to judge them by the food. It is good not to take such food when it is weaking fellow believers faith. For further clarifications refer to Mark 7:15-23.,Romans14:20-23.

Generally we avoid such places and funtions. If we go there we ask people not to serve such food for us. We are not worrying about taking food unknowingly because it won't weakens my faith in the God. In my experience i used to attend many functions and places, when they invites me i will clearly tells them that i won't eat food because you offers it to idols. Sometimes they prepares food for us separately. Sometimes by saying like that we avoids such functions.

Galatians 5:13-15 Thru Love Serve ONE ANOTHER

¹³ For you, brethren, have been called to freedom;

(QUICKLY point out other two used of “freedom” in Galatians)

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hmmmm… that could really be misunderstood!

only do not use freedom as an opportunity for the flesh,

but through love serve one another.

¹⁴ For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this:

“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

¹⁵ But if you bite and devour one another,

beware lest you be consumed by one another!

Go quickly through #1

1. BACKGROUND  For you, brethren, have been called to freedom;

Freedom from what?---From keeping the law in

Just allude to…Galatians 2.4- ⁴ Yet because of false brothers secretly brought in—who slipped in to spy out our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, so that they might bring us into slavery—  to them we did not yield in submission even for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you.

Freedom to eat non-kosher food with the gentiles

Galatians 3:2-3  ²  Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith?  ³ Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?

·       Saved by faith, walk in faith—not by keeping laws (rules)

Galatians 5:1

For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.

² Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you.  ³ I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law.  ⁴ You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace.  ⁵ For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness.

2. CAUTION AGAINST MISUSING “FREEDOM”

·       If we are “free,” what will restrain our behavior?

·       What is the meaning of this freedom? Freedom from what?  Free to do what?

·       How do we exercise this freedom?

A. NOT as an opportunity for the flesh,

Not to satisfy the desires of the flesh.

Eph 4.28  stole, but work to give

Eph 4:25 not corrupt, but edifying to build up

Eph 4:31-32  Not bitterness…malice, but kind, tenderhearted, forgiving

·       Freedom from the slavery to selfish desires and impulses to freedom to give.

·       Freedom from the rule our lower nature has over us.

·       “Christian freedom is freedom from sin not to sin.”  John Stott

B. but through love serve one another.

through love  This love is a higher level that brotherly love.

·       There is a difference between fulfilling the law of true love and keeping the laws through grudging obligation..

·       It is not another set of rules to keep.  Doing good deeds for the sake of doing good deeds. 

·       Allow God’s Spirit to fill you with His love to overflowing.

·       Even the fleshly old nature can serve thru compulsion or pride.

serve   douleo to serve (be a servant to).

·       We have gone (as in Eph 4:28) from using our resources to gratify our excess, but to love, to give to others.

·       There is an implication of humility in this expression.

·       “You can tell whether you are a servant, by how you act when you are treated like one.” 

·       “Frustration at lack of reciprocity or appreciation are warnings that we are serving others, not the Lord.  That we are acting from completion not love.”

·       (The answer is not to not serve, but ask God to change your heart in service.)

3. The Critical contrast …The law of love over against vicious destruction

Leviticus 19:17-18

 ¹⁷  You shall not hate your brother in your heart,

But you shall reason frankly with your neighbor,

lest you incur sin because of him.

¹⁸ You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge

against the sons of your own people,

but you shall love your neighbor as yourself:

I am the Lord.

·       How do you hate your brother?  By allowing offenses to go unaddressed

·       Live and let live is often (if not always) not a Christian sentiment.

·       What is the opposite of serving/loving?

But if you bite and devour one another,

watch out (beware) that you are not consumed (destroyed) by one another.

5:15. The ancients (especially in the Old Testament and Jewish sources, e.g., Prov 30:14) used the metaphor of being eaten by others as a grotesque description of a horrible fate or inconceivable wickedness  (literal cannibalism horrified ancient sensitivities even more than it does modern ones).^[1]

Mark 3    Jesus proving he did not cast out demons by Satan…

²⁴ If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 
²⁵ And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.

Even Satan knows that you can’t fight each other and win!

Being ugly to each other should strike us as grotesque and foolish.

How do these verses express the heart of the Gospel?

---

^[1] Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993), Ga 5:15.

Sean McDowell on the WORLDVIEW of NATURALISM

Sean McDowell on the WORLDVIEW of NATURALISM

A generation ago, one of the most popular shows on TV was Cosmos.[1]  The host, Carl Sagan, began each episode by saying, “The cosmos is all that is, or was, or ever will be.”  In a nutshell, Carl Sagan was describing a worldview known as naturalism, which is the view that all that exists is the physical, material world in which there is no supernatural realm.  Naturalism is clearly the predominant view in western culture-shaping institutions like the educational system, the university, and even the media.

Naturalism offers non-supernatural answers to our four big worldview questions:
First, what is real?  According to naturalism the only things that are real are those that can be tested by the five senses.  In other words, only those things that have height, weight, extension in space and other physical properties.  So essentially, if something can’t be weighed on a scale or seen through a microscope it doesn’t exist.  So things like God, values, purposes, objective morality, demons, and the soul are not real.   But, of course, things like grass,  water, and sand are real. 

So, what is man?  On naturalism, man is not the purposeful creation intended by a loving God meant to be a relationship with God and with other people.  In fact, the late atheist Victor Singer captured the naturalistic view of man well.  “Darwinism implies that humanity developed by accident, contradicting the traditional teaching that humans are special, created in God’s image.” (Victor Stenger, The New Atheism (2009)) So essentially what that means is that you and I and all of creation is a cosmic accident. 

Now the third question is, “What happens at death?”  There are really three options of what happens to you when you die.  One would be to face some kind of judgment and go either to Heaven or Hell.  The other possibility is to go through some kind cycle of reincarnation.  And the last possibility is –that when you die you cease to exist.  So from the naturalist worldview, since there is no God and no soul when you stop breathing your last breath, your life is done.  Death is final.  In the 1970’s the band, Kansas, had a famous song in which they described human beings as merely “dust in the wind.”[2]  That all our dreams are a mere curiosity.  So we are like a drop of water in an endless sea.  All that lasts forever is the earth below and the sky above. 

So then our fourth questions is, “What is the basis for right and wrong?”  Since naturalists don’t believe in God, there’s no standard outside of mankind that determines right and wrong.  While there are a variety of different attempts to explain morality from the naturalistic worldview, essentially it boils down to what benefits mankind and helps propagate the species. 

Naturalism is nothing new.  In fact centuries before the time of Christ, there were some Greek philosophers who believed that all reality could be described as these small tiny atoms.  While naturalism may not be new it is in direct contrast and conflict with the Christian worldview.  The question is, “Can it capture reality both as we experience it and know it to be?” 

---

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmos:_A_Personal_Voyage

[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tH2w6Oxx0kQ

2.1 WORLDVIEW Lesson notes

 TEACHING NOTES----------------------------------------------------------------------

Write YOUR definition of a worldview:

world·view    (wûrld′vyo͞o′)  n.

1. The overall perspective from which one sees and interprets the world.

2. A collection of beliefs about life and the universe held by an individual or a group. In both senses also calledWeltanschauung.

[Translation of German Weltanschauung.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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Worldview: a comprehensive view of the world and human life https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/world%20view

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world view  NOUN

·        A particular philosophy of life or conception of the world.

‘a Christian world view revolves around the battle of good and evil’

https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/world_view

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è How would you describe your worldview?

è How consistent do you think you are between what you say profess consciously and what how you react and what you do?

è What were the three theories of truth we discussed?

Pragmatic – Cohesive – Correspondent

Believing what corresponds with reality is critical

Having a cohesive worldview is also important and should happen if the first is true.

The pragmatic results can be a helpful assessment of our worldview but has limited value.

è Thinking about why we believe and act in certain ways can help us be more consistent in having a cohesive worldview that corresponds with reality.

Show Sean McDowell video---------------à

THE GRAND CENTRAL QUESTIONS: 

First, what is real?  What exists?  Is reality only the physical world that you can touch, taste, see, and feel?  Or is there a spiritual realm beyond the physical world.  Is the human being just a body, or is there also a soul?

Second, what is man?  What does it mean to be human?  Are we the product of blind evolutionary forces within nature?  Or are we part of the larger god consciousness and interconnected with all of reality?  Or are we a personal creation of the loving God who made us in his image?

Third, what happens at death?  Where do we go, if anywhere, when we die?  Maybe this is all there is, and death is final?    When your heart stops beating—that’s it and maybe you enter into some state of reincarnation until you finally reach Nirvana. Or maybe when you die you face judgment before God and go to either heaven or hell for eternity.  Every belief system has some claim about what happens when we die.

And fourth, what is the basis for right and wrong?  Where does morality come from?  Some believe that reality is relative—that there’s no absolute standard outside of us, and right and wrong comes from the individual or society.  Others would point to Karma, that we get rewarded or punished from actions we’ve done in the past, and they carry on into the future.  Whereas others believe that there is a standard outside of us, an objective standard that comes from either God’s character or God’s Command which determines right from wrong.

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What is a Christian worldview?

Question: "What is a Christian worldview?"

Answer: A “worldview” refers to a comprehensive conception of the world from a specific standpoint. A “Christian worldview,” then, is a comprehensive conception of the world from a Christian standpoint. An individual’s worldview is his “big picture,” a harmony of all his beliefs about the world. It is his way of understanding reality. One’s worldview is the basis for making daily decisions and is therefore extremely important.

An apple sitting on a table is seen by several people. A botanist looking at the apple classifies it. An artist sees a still-life and draws it. A grocer sees an asset and inventories it. A child sees lunch and eats it. How we look at any situation is influenced by how we look at the world at large. Every worldview, Christian and non-Christian, deals with at least these three questions:

1) Where did we come from? (and why are we here?)

2) What is wrong with the world?

3) How can we fix it?

https://www.gotquestions.org/Christian-worldview.html

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MISCONCEPTION: My worldview has NO BEARING on my everyday life.  Isaiah 22:13; Luke 12:18-19

Isaiah 22:12-14 New King James Version (NKJV)

¹² And in that day the Lord God of hosts

Called for weeping and for mourning,

For baldness and for girding with sackcloth.

¹³ But instead, joy and gladness,

Slaying oxen and killing sheep,

Eating meat and drinking wine:

“Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!”

¹⁴ Then it was revealed in my hearing by the Lord of hosts,

“Surely for this iniquity there will be no atonement for you,

Even to your death,” says the Lord God of hosts.

Luke 12:17-20  (NKJV)

¹⁶ Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. ¹⁷ And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’   ¹⁸ So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods.  ¹⁹ And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.” ’   ²⁰ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’

²¹ “So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

ILLUMINATION: A Biblical worldview TRANSFORMS the way we relate to all of life.  Romans 12:2; Deuteronomy 6:7; 2 Corinthians 10:5b-6

Deuteronomy 6:5-10 (NKJV)

⁵ You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.

⁶ “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. ⁷ You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. ⁸ You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. ⁹ You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

2 Corinthians 10:5b-6 (NKJV)

⁴ For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, ⁵ casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, ⁶ and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.

Colossians 2:

⁸ Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. ⁹ For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; ¹⁰ and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.

ROMANS 12:2

1. What CONFORMS you?                                                                                                    

41.29 συσχηματίζομαι: to form or mold one’s behavior in accordance with a particular pattern or set of standards—‘to shape one’s behavior, to conform one’s life.’ μὴ συσχηματίζεσθε τῷ αἰῶνι τούτῳ ‘do not shape your behavior to the standards of this world’ Ro 12:2. In order to express the concept of ‘conforming one’s life’ it may be necessary in some languages to indicate the factor of change, for example, ‘to change one’s life so that it will be like.’^[1]

2. What TRANSFORMS you?                                                                                                       

13.53 μεταμορφόομαι^a: to change the essential form or nature of something—‘to become, to change, to be changed into, to be transformed.’ ἀλλὰ μεταμορφοῦσθε τῇ ἀνακαινώσει τοῦ νοός ‘but be transformed by the renewing of your thinking’ Ro 12:2. In a number of languages the equivalent of μεταμορφόομαι in Ro 12:2 may be ‘become completely different’ or ‘become different from what you are.’^[2]

3. What is GOD’S WILL?                                                                                                        

WHAT TRUTH COSTS:

·         “The tendency to sacrifice COMFORT for TRUTH is practically hardwired into our psyches.”  (Abdu Murry p. 17)^1.

·        Luke 14:27-33 —”It is interesting that Jesus challenged the crowd of people who chose to follow him to reconsider in light of what they would have to LOSE.” (Abdu Murry p. 22)^1.

·        The best way I can think to expose someone’s underlying biases and barriers is ASK QUESTIONS.  ...this method gets them to understand the underlying assumptions they bring to the topic. (Abdu Murry p. 25)^1.  

^·             … Careful listening not only keeps us from making fools of ourselves, but also helps us to UNDERSTAND the COSTS others face in considering the gospel.  (Abdu Murry p. 26)^1.

Murray, Abdu. Grand Central Question: Answering the Critical Concerns of the Major Worldviews. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2014.

https://rzim.org/just-thinking/what-truth-costs/

JOSIAH—2 Kings 22-23:25

• What was Josiah’s first step toward living for God? 
• What big obstacle hindered King Josiah living for God? 
• Did Josiah’s discovery of the Law change his “religious affiliation?”
• How did his discovery impact his worldview?
• What were two key elements for Josiah to be renown for following God?  (2Ki 22:25)

Something to think about:

How can you be impacted by what you don’t even know?  What is filling your brain?

“Jeff Baldwin, a fellow at the Texas-based Worldview Academy, says worldview "is like an invisible pair of eyeglasses-glasses you put on to help you see reality clearly. If you choose the right pair of glasses, you can see everything vividly and can behave in sync with the real world. ... But if you choose the wrong pair of glasses, you may find yourself in a worse plight than the blind man - thinking you see clearly when in reality your vision is severely distorted." To choose the "right" glasses, you have to first understand and embrace the true worldview.”  —Tracy F. Munsil

https://www.focusonthefamily.com/faith/christian-worldview/whats-a-christian-worldview/whats-your-worldview

^1.Murray, Abdu. Grand Central Question: Answering the Critical Concerns of the Major Worldviews. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2014.

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BASIC WORLD VIEW QUESTIONS:

Basic Questions
If a worldview can be expressed in propositions, what might they be? Essentially, they are our basic, rock-bottom answers to the following questions: 

1. What is prime reality—the really real? To this we might answer: God, or the gods, or the material cosmos. Our answer here is the most fundamental. It sets the boundaries for the answers that can consistently be given to the other six questions. This will become clear as we move from worldview to worldview in the chapters that follow.
2. What is the nature of external reality, that is, the world around us?Here our answers point to whether we see the world as created or autonomous, as chaotic or orderly, as matter or spirit; or whether we emphasize our subjective, personal relationship to the world or its objectivity apart from us.
3. What is a human being? To this we might answer: a highly complex machine, a sleeping god, a person made in theimage of God, a naked ape.
4. What happens to a person at death? Here we might reply: personal extinction, or transformation to a higher state, or reincarnation, or departure to a shadowy existence on "the other side."
5. Why is it possible to know anything at all? Sample answers include the idea that we are made in the image of an all-knowing God or that consciousness and rationality developed under the contingencies of survival in a long process of evolution.
6. How do we know what is right and wrong? Again, perhaps we are made in the image of a God whose character is good, or right and wrong are determined by human choice alone or what feels good, or the notions simply developed under an impetus toward cultural or physical survival.
7. What is the meaning of human history? To this we might answer: to realize the purposes of God or the gods, to make a paradise on earth, to prepare a people for a life in community with a loving and holy God, and so forth. 
8. What personal, life-orienting core commitments are consistent with this worldview?

Within any given worldview, core commitments may vary widely. For example, a Christian might say, to fulfill the will of God, or to seek first the kingdom of God, or to obey God and enjoy him forever, or to be devoted to knowing God or loving God. Each will lead to a somewhat different specific grasp of the Christian worldview.

https://www.christianity.com/theology/other-religions-beliefs/8-questions-every-worldview-must-answer.html

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1. What is the Nature of Ultimate Reality?  This first worldview question relates to the very nature of reality in its entirety. The main focus of the issues it raises involve whether or not there is such a thing as the supernatural. If there is, what is it like. It deals with such questions as:  Is there a God or not? If there is, what is that he like? If there is no God, what is the origin of material reality?  Are there multiple gods? If so, what are they like?  Is there a personal element to ultimate reality? If not, what is the nature of impersonal reality?

2. What is the nature of material reality?
There have been those who have questioned whether or not the material world we live in really exists, and have posited that it is an illusion in one form or another. However, since it is the physical world that we live our lives in, most people assume that it actually does exist. That being said, not everyone agrees as to the nature of the material world. In fact, every worldview has a different perspective about it. Different worldview possibilities include: It is created or uncreated?   t is orderly or chaotic?  It is subjective or objective?  It is personal or impersonal?  It is eternal or temporal?

3. What is a human being?                       
The nature of worldview is such that it might seem strange to many people to even ask a question like this. We all have an underlying presupposition about what a human being is and we simply assume that everyone else understands it in the same way we do. That is simply not the case. Different worldviews hold entirely different understandings about it. And the reason it is important is because different understandings result in different ways of valuing and treating other people.

Some of the different possible answers posited by various worldviews concerning the nature of a human being include:  A highly evolved biological machine.  A god or potential god.C A form of energy which shifts forms through successive existences.  A person made in the image of God.

4. What happens to a person at death?
Every worldview has its doctrine related to the afterlife. While the practical implications of this may not, at first glance, seem to be that profound, those implications actually run very deep. For instance, if a person believes there is no after life, why is there any reason to refuse oneself anything in this life. Of if a person believes that they will get 72 virgins if they die as a martyr, why not go for it. Here are some of the answers that various worldviews give concerning life after death.

·        People cease to exist.  Individuals are transformed to a higher state.  People reincarnate into another life on earth. 

·        People depart to a shadowy existence on “the other side.”

·        Individuals enter into the spiritual realm (heaven, hell, or other place) based on how life was lived on earth.

·        People enter directly into heaven.

5. Why is it possible to know anything at all?  It is interesting to think that different people might actually have a different way of conceiving of human rationality. After all, we all have to use it even to discuss the topic of knowledge. In spite of that, the different worldviews actually do have different ways of understanding it – from considering it to be an illusion to thinking of it as an objective reality and places in between. These are some of the ways that various worldviews deal with the issue of knowledge.

·        Consciousness and rationality developed through a long process of evolution.

·        There is no “reason” that human beings are able to have knowledge. That is just the nature of our existence.

·        Knowledge is an illusion.

·        Humans are made in the image of God who, himself, has knowledge.

6. How do we know what is right and wrong?

As we look around the world at the differences in various cultures, one of the things that jumps out quickly is that there are certain moral principles that are almost universal. Questions related to honesty and integrity, sexual issues, how we should treat other people and so on are integral parts of virtually every society. Even when individuals or societies don’t seem to follow the principles, they will still tell you that they exist. The search to identify what is right and wrong and to give reasons for why morality should be dealt with certain ways is an integral part of every worldview. Here are some of the ways that various worldviews deal with this issue.

·        Right and wrong are strictly products of human choice.

·        Right and wrong are determined by what feels good.

·        A sense of right and wrong was an evolutionary development as a survival mechanism for the species.

·        Right and wrong are learned by experience as we learn what pleases the gods.

·        We are made in the image of God whose character is good and who has revealed what is right.

7. What is the meaning of human history?
Some may wonder why the issue of time is included in the questions about worldview. Actually, the focus is more on the issue of meaning than it is on time. It is just that the meaning is set in the context of time. The search for meaning may be the most profound issue that human beings deal with in life. It is so profound that some people even choose to end their lives because the cannot manage to find a reason to continue on. Different worldviews have different ways of addressing this question. Some of the various worldviews deal with this by asserting:

·        There is no innate meaning to human history. Meaning is what humans make it to be.

·        Time is an illusion.

·        Meaning involves realizing the purpose of the gods.

·        Meaning results from discovering and fulfilling the purpose of God.

Using the Questions
It is important to understand the nature of these questions so that they can be useful in helping you more effectively interact with people who believe differently than you. First, you need to understand that typically you will not just sit down with someone and ask them the seven questions. If you do have the opportunity to do that, there is certainly nothing wrong with that. But the questions are not ends in themselves. They are only tools of understanding. Getting the answers does not provide a witness.

http://www.marketfaith.org/the-seven-questions-that-define-a-worldview/

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Another way to start understanding your personal worldview to see how you answer key life questions. James Sire uses seven central questions to get to the heart of anyone’s worldview:

1. What is prime reality – the really real? To this we might answer God, or the gods, or the material cosmos.
2. What is the nature of external reality, that is, the world around us? Here our answers point to whether we see the world as created or autonomous, as chaotic or orderly, as matter or spirit, or whether we emphasize our subjective, personal relationship to the world or its objectivity apart from us.
3. What is a human being? To this we might answer a highly complex machine, a sleeping god, a person made in the image of God, a “naked ape.”
4. What happens to a person at death? Here we might reply personal extinction, or transformation to a higher state, or reincarnation, or departure to a shadowy existence on “the other side.”
5. Why is it possible to know anything at all? Sample answers include the idea that we are made in the image of an all-knowing God or that consciousness and rationality developed under the contingencies of survival in a long process of evolution.
6. How do we know what is right and wrong? Again, perhaps we are made in the image of a God whose character is good; or right and wrong are determined by human choice alone or what feels good; or the notions of simply developed under an impetus toward cultural or physical survival.
7. What is the meaning of human history? To this we might answer, to realize the purpose of God or the gods, to make a paradise on earth, to prepare a people for a life in community with a loving and holy God, and so forth.⁵

https://www.allaboutworldview.org/worldviews.htm

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 What's Your Worldview?

By Tracy F. Munsil

In my teaching of worldview and Great Books to homeschool students ages 12 to 18, I've used a series of seven questions to help them formalize their own worldview and to help them evaluate competing worldviews. These seven questions are common to many worldview resources and provide an effective tool for adults, as well as teenagers, particularly to evaluate the worldview of books, music and movies:

•          Is there a god and what is he like?

•          What is the nature and origin of the universe?

•          What is the nature and origin of man?

•          What happens to man after death?

•          Where does knowledge come from?

•          What is the basis of ethics and morality?

•          What is the meaning of human history?

A similar seven-question approach is found in the excellent worldview resource, The Universe Next Door: A Basic Worldview Catalog by James W Sire, and also in Worldviews of the Western World, a three-year worldview and Great Books curriculum for homeschoolers written by David Quine. Chuck Colson's How Now Shall We Live uses a four-question approach. It doesn't matter how many questions you use, just that you begin asking the big questions of life in four key areas-deity, origin, nature and rules- and then answer them based on Scripture.

https://www.focusonthefamily.com/faith/christian-worldview/whats-a-christian-worldview/whats-your-worldview

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^[1] Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Albert Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains (New York: United Bible Societies, 1996), 506.

^[2] Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Albert Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains (New York: United Bible Societies, 1996), 154.