Outsider Perspective On Christianity : Overview

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.

How does the Christian world look to the outsider? David Kinnaman along with the Barna group attempt to answer this question in UnChristian. Oddly enough the five most common adjectives used by people literalistic, anti-intellectual, self-righteous, judgmental, and bigoted. Us Christians might object, rather defensively to try an sway the crowd, playing the card off, “that 's unfair to draw sweeping conclusions based upon the report of one person in the church.” If you think that way, you 'd be right in your logic, but wrong in your conclusion, and Kinnaman 's research only proves the latter. The Barna group has used objective research to only come to the strong conclusion that an overwhelming percentage of sixteen to twenty-nine year olds view Christians with hostility, resentment and disdain. Has the good news become bad news? What are we doing wrong as Christians?

Jesus was contradicting many of the Jewish teachings and proclaiming himself to be the son of God. They wanted to stop the spread of his message and a potential uprising of the Jews. Jesus’s talents of miracles, parables, and speaking to crowds made him a powerful influence on the people and a great threat to the

“ You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great moral teacher. He has not left it open to us. He did not intend to.” (Lewis 78.) In Mere Christianity, Lewis talks about the silliness of accepting Jesus as another great moral teacher. According to Lewis, we must all make a choice to call Jesus liar, lunatic, or Lord.

God originally sent Jesus down to earth to spread the word of God and his religion. In the article Chapter 4: The Birth of Christianity by Dorothy Kavanaugh it says, “Jesus was a Jew who had grown up in the small town of Nazareth, and when he was about 30 years old he began to preach a message of reform and repentance.”

Jesus ministry was to save mankind from their sins, to destroy the works of the devil and to fulfill the Old Testament. Luke 19:10 tells us that the Son of man has come to seek and save that which was lost.

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.

From what I know, Planet Earth consists of seven continents. Collectively, those seven continents are home to approximately seven billion humans. And each human has their own unique worldview. Defined as, the bias or presumption a person holds as a result of the environment, culture, or faith they live in, worldview influences how everyone responds to life’s pertinent questions. (A Christian Worldview?) Throughout this paper, I intend to give a description of my own worldview, answering what I believe about God, creation, humankind, epistemology, and ethics. Whilst comparing my worldview to that of O. Henry's illustrated in the short story "The Ransom of Red Chief".

“Where there is no guidance the people fall, but in abundance of counselors there is victory” Proverbs 11:14 (Dake’s Annontated Reference Bible). God is the greatest leader of all times and through his guidance we have learned and developed our values and beliefs based on his teachings so that we understand right from wrong. These beliefs and values, we have developed is what we base our assumptions and expectations about others and how they should act. We use these VABES in our personal life as well as our professional life every day. This paper will elaborate on what VABES are, how they affect stages of decision-making, and how they relate to the Christian worldview.

In the year 30, Christianity mainly consisted of Jews who accepted Jesus as the Messiah. The belief that Jesus was a savoir was the break from Judaism. Jesus was appealing to people because he was real; lived on Earth. His teachings were appealing to people and the main ideas was that Christ was a savior. Jesus taught using parables, he talked to people who had been shunned, and welcomed the poor into society. The four Apostles are the telling of Jesus with different emphasis. They traveled spreading the teachings of Christ throughout the Roman Empire and beyond. John started to preach good news and John the Baptist told the people that the kingdom of god was near. The teachings included that sins could be forgiven through Gods orders. God was a loving and forgiving father, and believed in life after death. Jesus could perform miracles, raise the dead, and cure blindness. Christianity was seen at first as a part of Judaism, and the early believers were comprised of an apocalyptic Jewish sect. It was thought that the Lord may return at any time and the end must be close.

In addition, there were prominent figures and leader during this time that also aided in the growth of Christianity. The most prominent figure of Christianity was Jesus who started this new religion. Around the age of thirty when Jesus began his teaching ministry, Jews of various classes heard Jesus’ message, and he soon had a small group of followers that believed that he was the Messiah who would deliver the Jews promised by God to the prophets. “Performing

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).

“What is a worldview? A worldview comprises one 's collection of presuppositions, convictions and values from which a person tries to understand and make sense out of the world and life. A worldview is a conceptual scheme by which we consciously or unconsciously place or fit everything we believe and by which we interpret and judge reality. A worldview is, first of all, an explanation and interpretation of the world and second, an application of this view to life.” (Dr. John MacArthur, May 2006).

Even in the Internet, there are lots of sites of anti-Christianity. The sites talk about slanders toward churches and Christians. However, they do not talk any bad things about Jesus. So from this, we can know that the perspective of the world towards Christianity is based on churches and believers, how we act. Which means, if we believe in Jesus and serve Him in a right way, there is a hope in this world as Christians.

This composition will give you information on why I chose the topic Christianity. What is compelling about this issue and why is it important in the study of religion? This assignment and the content within it will explain the significance of Christianity across all religions studied. The information in this composition will show in what ways Christianity is significant for religious beliefs. I will give you, the reader an example of how this religion, have a profound effect on my life, and the area I reside. What impact does Christianity have on the everyday lives of people who practice Christianity in my area?