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Teaching students To Think from a Biblical Worldview “Making Sense of Your World” Houston, TX Aug. 28, 2001 Dear residents of Dayton, Tenn., I read about your town in the Sept. 2001 National Geographic. It seems as though everybody there believes in Jesus and Christianity. As a humanist, I see NO evidence of a god, heaven, hell, devils, angels, fairies or a soul that leaves the body. The story of Adam and Eve is a fairy tale. Noah’s Ark is an impossible dream. The “virgin birth” of Jesus by mother Mary is nonsense. The hundreds of religions around the world all believe they have the answer. Religions are nothing but people’s imagination. Men wrote the Bible, not an imaginary god. Humanists believe in nature and science. We know that people and animals and plants evolved over three billion years on planet Earth. We do not look for supernatural answers as to why we have thunder or why it rains or why we have tornados. This is all part of nature and physics. We’re proud of being capable of determining right from wrong by using our brains and not some book translated from ancient Holy scrolls. We do not thank Jesus for good fortune because our intelligence knows he has NOTHING to do with anything going on now. Best regards, Jimmy Dunne President, Humanists of Houston Dear Mr. Dunne: I was disappointed in your letter of August 28 to the people of Dayton. I do not think it accomplished what you intended. Your letter was more of a screed than a creed. People who read it either laughed at what they saw as arrogant pronouncements or clucked their tongues at the patronizing statements. I am enclosing another letter that you are free to use. This better represents your naturalistic worldview and might engender substantive discussion rather than defensive reactions. Best regards, William E. Brown Dear residents of ___________, As a humanist, I rely on the objective facts discovered by science. By the use of the scientific method, I see no proofs for the existence of God, heaven, hell, angels, or a soul that lives on after we die. If such evidence is discovered, I will gladly believe. I believe in people. I work hard to make this world a better place because this is all the existence we have. Because I believe the natural world is all that exists, I do not need to believe there are anything but natural causes for everything that occurs in the world, good or bad. We do not need a God or a holy book to tell us what is right and wrong. Most of morality is self-evident and we just need to use our reason to decide what is right and wrong. It is difficult to believe in the existence of a good and powerful God when the world He supposedly created is filled with evil and disasters. I would assume He would intervene in some way to correct these wrongs. Instead, the world seems to be getting worse. When we look at the thousands of religions in the world, which one is correct? They all have conflicting beliefs about God, scriptures, rituals, and morality. This only adds to the confusion. I hope you will consider the rationale I have given here in your quest for truth. Sincerely yours, Jimmy Dunne President, Humanists of Houston “I can honestly say I am a Christian, but my spirituality has been developed on the road and is based on my experiences with God.” - Justin Timberlake, Rolling Stone “I believe in the spiritual afterlife. I believe, in some shape or form, in past-life regression and souls coming back to Earth for unfinished business. You know, when you run into people and you're like, 'I know I've met you somewhere?' I think maybe you actually did. I think that's what soul mates means-that you were connected to that person in a past life.“ -Justin Timberlake responding to the question, "What do you think happens to you when you die?" from Blender magazine "My dad's been a Scientologist for thirty-five years . . . My grandfather was a Presbyterian minister, and my mother raised us Jewish, so I've had lots of influences. But whatever." - Singer/songwriter Beck, Spin, “I think a lot of people are losing their religion. Definitely. Even me, I know that when I grew up, I used to go to church every Sunday, and now it’s become holidays. But I think as long as you have your own thing, whether it’s meditation—anything that centers you in life is good. Do I pray? Yeah, I do.” - Actress Kirsten Dunst, Rolling Stone “First I was ‘angry’, then ‘spiritual’. Now I don't know what I am.” -Alanis Morissette from Rolling Stone’s daily e-mail Are we . . . thinking worldviewishly? We think . . . in fragments Are we . . . thinking worldviewishly? We think . . . in fragments in images Are we . . . thinking worldviewishly? We think . . . in fragments in images in sounds Cultivating Worldview Thinking 1. Educating What is a Worldview? “A worldview is first of all an explanation and interpretation of the world, and second, an application of this view to life.” W. Gary Phillips and William E. Brown Making Sense of Your World, p. 29. Your worldview Your view OF the world Your worldview Your view FOR the world Behavior Values Worldview Your worldview answers the ULTIMATE questions… ORIGIN: Where did everything come from? MEANING: Why are we here? MORALITY: How should we live? DESTINY: What happens when we die? ORIGIN MEANING MORALITY DESTINY ORIGIN E MEANING L MORALITY T DESTINY Cultivating Worldview Thinking 1. Educating 2. Integrating Transcendentalism Naturalism Ultimate Questions Theism NATURE NATURE = “GOD” NATURE NATURE THEISTIC RELIGIONS JUDAISM (2,000 BC) CHRISTIANITY (AD 30) ISLAM (AD 600) CHRISTUS NEXUS Christianity is Christ. . . Take Christ from Christianity, and you disembowel it; there is practically nothing left. Christ is the center of Christianity, all else is circumference. John Stott Cultivating Worldview Thinking 1. Educating 2. Integrating 3. Mentoring Elements of Worldview Thinking Explanation Focus: Biblical Instruction Goal: Think Biblically Interpretation Focus: Personal and Cultural Evaluation Goal: Discernment Application Focus: Personal Decisionmaking Goal: Christlikeness Examples of Worldview Teaching 1. Explore the distinctives of the Biblical worldview. Ask, “What if . . . “ 2. Explore the distinctives of other worldviews. Ask, “How would a ____ explain or interpret this?” 3. 4. Ask: “Why?” about everything. Collect worldview current events Examples of Worldview Teaching 5. “Enslave” yourself to everyone. Ask: “What are your favorite . . . songs/groups? Why? movies/celebrities? Why?” 6. So What? Ask: “What do these songs/movies/etc. tell us about ourselves? What is the underlying worldview? What values, actions, beliefs do they promote? How do these line up with a biblical view of life?” www.cpyu.org www.planetwisdom.com www.allmusic.com www.screenit.com www.rottentomatoes.com Teaching students To Think from a Biblical Worldview “Making Sense of Your World” THEISTIC RELIGIONS JUDAISM (2,000 BC) CHRISTIANITY (AD 30) ISLAM (AD 600)