Christian Worldview and Culture

The word worldview means how an individual view the world around them. A worldview is a complete system of how we perceive the world and process it. According to Waddell (2014), “a worldview is a foundational set of assumptions to which one commits that serves as a framework for understanding and interpreting reality and deeply shapes one’s behavior.” The worldview of an individual is usually influenced by the person’s cultural background, life experiences, and upbringing. The Christian worldview is under the board umbrella of theism, which is “a worldview that entails belief in the existence of at least one personal and intelligent divine being” (Cosgrove, 2006). A person of a Christian worldview itself is someone who believes in the teaching of Jesus Christ and believes God created the world and everything in it. This paper would attempt to summarize and analyze the essential elements of the Christian worldview describing God, Humanity, Jesus, and Restoration. The writer will also reflect on his own worldview.

With the bible being the key to studies, the Christian faith holds a strong worldview in today’s society. Therefore,

IVP Books, publisher of Andy Crouch’s Culture Making: Recovering our Creative Calling, calls the literature a “rallying cry for a new generation of culturally creative Christians.” Named one of the best religion books of 2008 by Publisher’s Weekly, Crouch begins his preface stating that he “wrote Culture Making on a hunch that the language of “engaging the culture,” let alone the “culture wars,” fell far short of what we were really meant to do and be as Christians in the world. I also sensed that most churches were neglecting the centrality of culture to the biblical story and the gospel itself,” (p. 5). While the book is intended for a Christian audience, Crouch

Another prime part of foundation is how we base what is good and what is evil. This is the basis for morality. (Hayes, 2008) Moral law is at the core of our definitions of our worldview. The Bible does tell us that there is a moral law that is instilled into our hearts. At this core we have the one who created this moral law, God. This moral law is part of our nature and it is outlined very clearly in scripture. Most of the Sermon on the Mount, delivered by Jesus to the masses, outline in Matthew 5: 21-48, 6: 1-34, 7: 1-6 (Open Bible, 2015) This chapter in the New testament is really a moral code that we should be living our lives by. Jesus was also clear that he was not there to destroy the old law. But he was there to fulfill it. Most of the Gospels give further defining information on what is considered

Throughout this class we have discussed the different worldviews that an individual may have. This class has taught me that a worldview is how an individual understands the world and their place in it. “A worldview consist of what a person believes to be real and true, what a person values, how a person makes decisions, and what forms a person’s desires, longings, and goals” (Fuller, Lecture One). An individual’s worldview is the motivating force behind their every emotion, decision, and action. A worldview is what helps an individual make sense of life and this world. A worldview will provide answers for many different questions in life. A few of the questions that a worldview helps answer are questions of origin, human dilemma, hope, and destiny.

A worldview is one’s views and beliefs about the world and reality that impact how we think, live our lives, and perceive the world. “People have their own private worldviews with values and beliefs that have been shaped by culture, education, experiences, and relationships” (“Lecture 1,” 2015). There are many worldviews and outlooks in the world, but we are mainly focusing on the Christian worldview. In this paper, I will summarize and analyze the Christian worldview and describe their beliefs with regard to God, Humanity, Jesus, and the Restoration while reflecting on my own beliefs.

How did the earth and everything on it come into existence? This is a question, that for the Christian worldview is answered by the Bible, in Chapters 1 and 2 of Genesis. The Bible makes clear to it’s readers that God existed before anything else. The creation account in Genesis 1 splits creation into 6 days and a 7th day of rest. The first day God created the earth and Heaven as well as day and night. The second day God separated the earth from heaven to create the sky. On the third day God separated the waters on earth so there would be dry land. He created plants and trees that could bear fruit and seeds. God made theses plants so that they would be able to keep growing from the seeds that fell from them. On the fourth day God created the

My name is Asia Harvey. I am eighteen years old. I was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. I am a freshman in college majoring in communications. Worldview to me means how everyone in the world interprets reality. I believe everyone has a worldview and it is influenced by our ethics, morals, and family values. It can also be influenced by what we hear, what we read, what we see or who we associate with. Worldview is mostly influenced by religion and science even though, a worldview can and do change. I believe the Christian worldview deals with the belief in the Bible. It leads me to believe that God created the universe in six days and on the last day he rested and that I am God's creation put on earth to fellowship with him and govern

In Kingdom Triangle, J.P. Moreland’s goal is to galvanize and to rouse Christians forward to take a lead against the cultural crisis of our age. In Western society, Postmodernism and Scientific Naturalism have taken root in almost every aspect of our culture. The mass embrace of these worldviews have lead many to a sensate view of reality. One of Moreland’s central points in Kingdom Triangle is that western Christians need to band together to regain intellectual ground, as in today’s society Jesus has lost intellectual authority both inside and outside of the Church. In short, Christians must learn to think.

According to Amy Scott Hassenpflug, Aaron D. Traphagem and Jamaica Johnson Conner, authors of Breaking Ground: Keys For Successful Online Learning, “Because your worldview is all-encompassing, it affects your thinking on every aspect of life, from what you view as right and wrong to how you spend your money and your time to what you think politically; it even impacts how you treat others” (p. 82). While Buddhism worldviews focus a lot on karma and rebirth, Christian worldviews tends to turn to God as their higher power. In this paper, I will discuss the similarities and differences between Buddhism and Christian worldviews.

Due to the "highly subjective nature of most scientific theorizing... [we should] let the Bible speak for itself and modify our scientific view of origins accordingly." (as cited in Downey, D., & Porter, S., 2009).

Christianity, so long as it is shackled to the Bible, is completely inadequate for the needs of complex modern life. Its symbolism, though often beautiful as art, has become spiritually worn out and provides neither authentic inspiration, nor comfort, nor the provocation of intelligent conscience. And when it makes a statement that might cause discomfort, such as “It is as hard for a rich man to get into heaven as for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle,” it is conveniently overlooked or tortuously reinterpreted.

Culture is a way of life. It can be defined as a group of people linked by geographical location, ethnicity, gender or age. Culture can be reflected through language, clothing, food, behavior, spirituality and traditions. The behavioral patterns developed through culture are difficult to change.

In addition to such problem there are clear allusions to Christianity; take the founders of the Circle thought out the world they are known as The Three Wise Men. In biblical texts, the Three Wise Men are known as Magi who bestowed gifts on the day Jesus was born; typically the gifts were given in order to prompt a better lifestyle of Jesus. Although, in Dave Eggers novel, the Three Wise Men did bring gifts to the world—mainly the Circle and the programs they created—rather than creating a better world look at Mae, Annie, and Mercer. Mae becomes a dehumanized version of herself who ends up being alone at the end of the novel; Annie by being part of the PastPerfect project it caused for her to have a nervous breakdown resulting in a comma; and lastly, Mercer, Mercer ends up committing suicide by the hands of the Circle. Although the Three Wise Men in a religious view brought gifts to help Jesus, the Three Wise Men in The Circle brought chaos; they might have the same title of the Three Wise Men but in fact they are not the same. After seeing the affects the Circle has on people’s lives, it is interesting to note how “cult” like the Circle is in regards to their goals, thus leading to the final question, is the rise of technology going to lead us to a utopian society—“heaven”—or a dystopian

All institutions within society facilitate communication, and in that way, they all contribute to the creation, spread, and evolution of culture (Crouch, 2008). When Christians speak of engaging with culture it usually means consuming culture with discernment. We teach one another how to analyze and evaluate culture in its myriad forms. The only way to change culture is to create more of it” (Crouch, 2008, p. 66) This is right and important. We are to be transformed by the renewing of our minds so we are not