One's world view is the perspective one uses to process and interpret information received about the world.
One's world view is the perspective one uses to process and interpret information received about the world.
James W. Sire put it this way, "A world view is a set of presuppositions (ie. assumptions) which we hold about the basic makeup of our world."
James W. Sire, The Universe Next Door (InterVarsity Press, 1997)
A. It is true.
A. It is true.
It is consistent with reality.
It is consistent with what we know to be true from experience. It works.
B. It answers satisfactorily the questions people really want answered.
What is prime reality/the ultimate cause/the nature of God?)
What is the nature of external reality-the world around us?
What is a human being?
What happens to a person at death?
Why is it possible for us to know anything at all?
How do we know what is right and wrong?
What is the meaning of human history?
What is my purpose?
What is the nature of my relationship, with the "prime reality?"
C. It causes those who hold to it to be better people than they would otherwise have been if they held to competing alternative world views.
Animism: Anima = spirit. A religious system which includes the belief that spirits inhabit inanimate objects and phenomena.
Animism: Anima = spirit. A religious system which includes the belief that spirits inhabit inanimate objects and phenomena.
Polytheism: Poly = many. A belief that the universe is governed by many gods.
Pantheism (monism): Pan = all. A belief that a spirit fills the universe. God is the universe, and we are part of God.
Panentheism: God is in everything (stoicism)
Dualism: A belief that the universe is governed by nearly equally matched forces of good and evil. (Zoroastrianism, Manichaeism, Taoism)
Deism: A belief in a distant, uninvolved God who is creator, but does not interact with his creation. (Epicureanism)
Deism: A belief in a distant, uninvolved God who is creator, but does not interact with his creation. (Epicureanism)
Monotheism: A belief that the universe is created/governed by a single omnipotent/omniscient/omnipresent spiritual being.
1. The physical world is: a. real b. created out of nothing (ex nihilo) and c. essentially good.
1. The physical world is: a. real b. created out of nothing (ex nihilo) and c. essentially good.
2. There exists an unseen spiritual reality which is not limited to or defined by the physical reality. Human beings have a spiritual aspect to their nature.
3. The creator of both the physical and spiritual realm is the God who reveals himself in the Bible.
4. Human beings have both a physical and a spiritual nature, The spiritual nature is more essential as it is eternal.
5. God is not easily defined but he can be characterized by certain qualities. God is a person. God is love, God is just, God is holy, God is omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent.
6. Although all God’s creation, including the physical world is good, evil does exist. Such evil is the result of freedom of will given to created beings and their subsequent decision to use that freedom to rebel--to “sin”
6. Although all God’s creation, including the physical world is good, evil does exist. Such evil is the result of freedom of will given to created beings and their subsequent decision to use that freedom to rebel--to “sin”
7. Because of God’s justice and his holiness, those who choose to rebel against him will ultimately be judged and separated from God for eternity.
8. The solution to evil, to sin and its eternal consequences is provided by God through the atoning substitutionary sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
If Genesis 1:1 is true, then animism, polytheism, pantheism, dualism, naturalism, deism, postmodernism and every other ism is false.
If Genesis 1:1 is true, then animism, polytheism, pantheism, dualism, naturalism, deism, postmodernism and every other ism is false.
Conflicting world views cannot be accommodated with one another. Biblical theism is incompatible with all these other world views.
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Genesis 1:1
By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. Hebrews 11:3
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son….
Maya. The physical world is an illusion.
Maya. The physical world is an illusion.
Brahman. Universal soul.
The goal: Nirvana; oneness with the universal soul which is within yourself.
The Hindu world view has man looking inward, not outward.
Suffering is not getting what one wants.
Suffering is not getting what one wants.
The cause of suffering is desire which leads to rebirth.
The way to end suffering is to end desire.
The way to the end of desire and of suffering is the eight-fold path.
You are God, I am God, the trees are God, we all are God!
You are God, I am God, the trees are God, we all are God!
New Age is Western pantheism
New Age is a syncretistic blend of Gnosticism, Hinduism, Spiritualism, Mysticism, Buddhism and Paganism.
New Age is Monism! God is everything I am God!!!
“Once we begin to see that we are all God, then I think the whole purpose of life is to re-own the God-likeness within us.”
Islamic Theology
Islamic Theology
“Surely good deeds take away evil deeds” (11:114).
Salvation by own effort
(40:9, 39:61, 7:43)
Charity atones for sins
(2:271,277)
Earn grace.
Earn favor of Allah.
Earn salvation.
Earn paradise.
Salvation by own effort
Salvation by own effort
(40:9, 39:61, 7:43)
Charity atones for sins
(2:271,277)
Earn grace.
Earn favor of Allah.
Earn salvation.
Earn paradise.
Human approach Truth
Human approach Truth
God God
Mankind Mankind
The physical world is real and it is good. Genesis 1:31
The physical world is real and it is good. Genesis 1:31
Only Islam agrees with this conclusion.
This world is not our home.
But, compassion… James 1:27 Micah 6:8
Christian groups are responsible for virtually all the world’s efforts to deal with poverty and human suffering in general and to work for social justice.
The theologies of world religions are fundamentally and diametrically opposed to one another. Many paths to the same God is a ludicrous philosophy.
The theologies of world religions are fundamentally and diametrically opposed to one another. Many paths to the same God is a ludicrous philosophy.
The world view of Christianity is radically different from any other religion. They cannot both be right!
The truth of the Bible is confirmed by
Clear evidence of inspiration (fulfilled prophecy, types and foreshadows, historical accuracy, scientific evidence, etc…)
Public miracles worked by Moses, Elijah and others, and especially by Jesus Christ (Hebrews 2:3,4).
Find common ground.
Find common ground.
Give respect where respect is due.
Acknowledge the good and do not make personal attacks—especially toward revered people.
Highlight distinctions in world view/theology and introduce them to Jesus Christ.
This is EXACTLY what Paul did in Acts 17:22-34
Acts 17:16-34 Paul shares the gospel by arguing for the Christian World View.
Acts 17:16-34 Paul shares the gospel by arguing for the Christian World View.
v. 22-23 Paul finds common ground.
v. 24-28 Paul argues for the superiority and the truth of the Christian world view as opposed to Epicureanism/pantheism and Stoicism/deism
v. 28 Paul quotes from Aretas a Stoic philosopher. “ For we are his offspring.”
v. 29-31 Having laid the groundwork, Paul points them to Jesus.
v. 32-34 Some, but not all were converted.
God is Creator. He exists outside creation.
God is Creator. He exists outside creation.
Disproves pantheism/Stoicism.
God is close to us.
Disproves deism/Epicureanism.
God is personal and has given us an individual purpose.
God will bring all of us to judgment. Evil will be defeated
Apologetics: Response to Greek philosophical criticism
Apologetics: Response to Greek philosophical criticism
Logos (Justin Martyr)
Heresy: Orthodox response to heterodox theology
A stumbling block to the Greeks.
A stumbling block to the Greeks.
God distant, unchanging, impassive
A major stumbling block to Muslims.
Tritheism/Polytheism
A problem for unbelievers in general.
Not logical/not rational
Question: What is the trinity?
Do you believe in the trinity doctine?
Most, if not all of these heresies were attempts to rationalize the relation between Father and Son and the nature of Jesus.
Most, if not all of these heresies were attempts to rationalize the relation between Father and Son and the nature of Jesus.
Ebionites: Jesus a mere man.
Adoptionism: God adopted the man Jesus at his baptism
Gnosticism:
Jesus a spiritual emanation which occupied a human. Cerinthus, Valentinus
Docetism Jesus only appeared to be human
Arianism Jesus was not divine—he was a created demigod
Modalism The “Father” the “Son” and the “Holy Spirit are different aspect of a single entity, appropriate to the situation.
Modalism The “Father” the “Son” and the “Holy Spirit are different aspect of a single entity, appropriate to the situation.
Monophysitism Two natures before, one nature after the union. “God in a bod.”
Nestorianism Jesus virtually two persons: one human and one divine. Sought to emphasize the humanity of Jesus.
Use of Greek terms, modes of argument
Use of Greek terms, modes of argument
Polemical Writings
Against Heresies Irenaeus
Appeal to apostolic (later church) authority
Creeds
Councils
Tertullian AD 160-220
Tertullian AD 160-220
The Father and the Son are different “not in condition, but in degree; not in substance, but in form; not in power, but in aspect”
A second century Roman creed (said at baptism)
A second century Roman creed (said at baptism)
I believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, and in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord, and in the Holy Ghost, the holy church and the resurrection of the flesh.
Nicaea AD 325
Nicaea AD 325
Arianism Jesus homoousios With the Father
Constantinople AD 381
Nicene Creed Holy Spirit also homoousious
Ephesus AD 431
Nestorianism condemned, Pelagius anathematized.
Calchedon AD 451
Define the “two natures” of Jesus
Constantinople II AD 553
Monophysitism
Constantinople III AD 680
Monothelitism
Nicaea II AD 787
Bottom line, the trinity is a mystery. We cannot defend it as a logical concept.
Bottom line, the trinity is a mystery. We cannot defend it as a logical concept.
It is not rational, but it is also not irrational.
The “apologetics” of the trinity is that God became a man so that he could reach out to us—so that we could know Him.
How can God be a baby?
How can God be a baby?
Who was taking care of the universe while God was a baby?
Did Jesus know he was God when he was 3 years old?
Did Jesus have the ability to work miracles at 5 years?
To what extent was the omnipotence/omniscience of the Son limited while he was incarnate?
What happened at Jesus’ baptism?
When Jesus prays to the Father, is he talking to himself?
“In agreement with the holy fathers we all unanimously teach that we should confess that our Lord Jesus Christ is one and the same Son; the same perfect in Godhead and the same perfect in manhood, truly God and truly man, the same of a rational soul and body; consubstantial with the Father in Godhead and the same consubstantial with us in manhood; like us in all things except sin; begotten of the Father before all ages as regards his Godhead and in the last days the same, for us and for our salvation, begotten of the Virgin Mary, the theotokos (as opposed to the Christotokos of the Nestorians) (the God-bearer, the mother of God) as regards his manhood; one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, only-begotten, made known in two natures without confusion, without change, without division, without separation…
“In agreement with the holy fathers we all unanimously teach that we should confess that our Lord Jesus Christ is one and the same Son; the same perfect in Godhead and the same perfect in manhood, truly God and truly man, the same of a rational soul and body; consubstantial with the Father in Godhead and the same consubstantial with us in manhood; like us in all things except sin; begotten of the Father before all ages as regards his Godhead and in the last days the same, for us and for our salvation, begotten of the Virgin Mary, the theotokos (as opposed to the Christotokos of the Nestorians) (the God-bearer, the mother of God) as regards his manhood; one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, only-begotten, made known in two natures without confusion, without change, without division, without separation…
Augustine!!!!!
Augustine!!!!!
The City of God
Total depravity
Monoergism
Predestination
Original Sin
Infant baptism required for salvation
Sacramentalism
Transubstantiation
City and State
Opposed Donatists
Strong emphasis on depravity of man.
Strong emphasis on depravity of man.
The Sovereignty of God: “The City of God”
Monergism.
Very logical!
Augustine: “An infant who dies unbaptized is damned even where no baptism is possible.”
“Rightly, therefore, by virtue of that condemnation which runs throughout the mass [of humanity] is he not admitted into the kingdom of heaven, although he was not only not a Christian, but was unable to become one.”
“A man’s free will avails for nothing except to sin.”
“A man’s free will avails for nothing except to sin.”
Augustine of Hippo AD 354-430 “The City of God”
Augustine of Hippo AD 354-430 “The City of God”
Martin Luther (1483-1546): an Augustinian monk.
Ulrich Zwingli (1484-1531) Reformed Theology.
John Calvin (1509-1564) “Institutes of the Christian Religion”
The key: A profound belief in the sovereignty of God
Double Predestination and TULIP
Separation of Church and State
Separation of Church and State
Opposed strict predestination
Opposed infant baptism
Believed in baptismal regeneration
Total depravity
Total depravity
Unconditional election
Limited atonement
Irresistable grace
Perseverence of the saint (once saved, always saved)
Q: What is the nature of “the Fall” of mankind? What happened in the garden?
Q: What is the nature of “the Fall” of mankind? What happened in the garden?
Puritans: “In Adam’s fall we sinned all.”
Romans 5:12-19 What “death” is this in v. 12
Q: Scriptures which appear to support the doctrine of predestination?
Q: Scriptures which appear to support the doctrine of predestination?
Q: Scriptures which prove free will and refute predestination?
Romans 8:28-30
Romans 8:28-30
Romans 8:31-39 Nothing can separate us (except we ourselves because we have free will)
John 10:27-29 No one can snatch them out of my hands…
Romans 9:10-21 (read v. 14-18)
Deuteronomy 30:19-20 (and many others) God calls us to make a choice.
Deuteronomy 30:19-20 (and many others) God calls us to make a choice.
1 Kings 8:27 Even the highest heavens cannot contain you.
Jer 23:23-24 He fills heaven and the earth.
Acts 17:27-28 He is not far from each one of us.
Hebrews 4:12 Nothing is hidden from God’s sight.
Psalm 139:1-16 Where can I flee from your presence?
1 Cor 2:10 The Holy Spirit searches all things.
2 Chron 20:6 You rule over all the kingdoms…
2 Chron 20:6 You rule over all the kingdoms…
Ephesians 1:19-21 ...far above all rule and authority, power and dominion and every title that can be given, not only in the present age, but in the age to come.
Job 42:2 You can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted.
Isaiah 46:9-10 My purpose will stand. I will do what I please. Romans 9:10-29.
Are there any things God cannot do? Yes!
He cannot behave in an ungodly way.
He cannot lie, he cannot commit an unloving act.
God can do all things which his nature allows him to do.
1 John 1:5 God is light. In him there is no darkness at all.
1 John 1:5 God is light. In him there is no darkness at all.
Psalm 119:137 Righteous are you O Lord.
God is righteous, pure, blameless, unmixed, without fault
God cannot dwell with wickedness.
1 John 4:7-12 This is Love… God is Love
1 John 4:7-12 This is Love… God is Love
God is not just loving, he is love.
1 John 3:16 This is how we know what love is.
Eph 4:14-19 Four dimensions.
Romans 3:21-26 God’s righteousness and justice are connected.
Romans 3:21-26 God’s righteousness and justice are connected.
Justice is consequences for rebellion and reward for good.
Hebrews 6:10 God is not unjust.
Romans 9:14 What shall we say, then, is God unjust?
Jeremiah 12:1 You are always just.
Romans 8:1 The Law of sin and death.
Ezekiel 18:20 God’s ways (justice) are not our ways (justice).
God’s justice and God’s love met at the cross.
God’s justice and God’s love met at the cross.
Why did Jesus die? Because God’s justice and his love were at cross purposes. Romans 3:25-26.
Because of the cross, God is just and the one who justifies.
Who would have thought of this?
If God is good, if God is loving and if God is omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent,… why is there evil in the world?
If God is good, if God is loving and if God is omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent,… why is there evil in the world?
Is it real?
Is it real?
Is it a “thing”?
Is it simple “the absence of good” or “the absence of God?
Did God create evil?
Is God responsible for evil?
About Augustine: “Evil arises from the corruption of a nature which is essentially good. What is called evil is good corrupted; if it were not corrupted it would be wholly good; but even when it is corrupted, it is good in so far as it remains a natural thing, and bad only in so far as it is corrupted.”
When accordingly it is inquired, whence is evil, it must first be inquired what is evil, which is nothing else than corruption, either of the measure, or the form or the order, that belong to nature. Nature therefore which has been corrupted, is called evil, for assuredly when incorrupt it is good; but even when corrupt, so far as it is nature, it is good, so far as it is corrupted it is evil.
Sin is not the striving after an evil nature, but the desertion of a better, and so the deed itself is evil, not the nature which the sinner uses amiss. For it is evil to use amiss that which is good.
Dualism: Good and Evil in an unending more or less equal balance
Dualism: Good and Evil in an unending more or less equal balance
Pantheism: The physical world is evil. Evil is being tied down to the physical—it is missing the god-likeness in you. Physical things are an illusion (maya) and therefore are ultimately not real. Therefore, evil is not ultimately real.
Naturalism: There is no evil. It is not real.
Postmodernism: Evil???
Determinism/Fate God is the cause of evil.
Evil is very much real. Quite indirectly, it is the product of God’s love. God loved us so much that he loved us and that he gave us a choice. We chose evil, and thus evil came into the world.
Evil is very much real. Quite indirectly, it is the product of God’s love. God loved us so much that he loved us and that he gave us a choice. We chose evil, and thus evil came into the world.
Remember your alternatives:
Predestination/Determinism God is the cause of evil.
Deny evil exists
Physical creation is evil, but you are God
An unending battle/balance between good and evil.
Because God loves us.
Because God loves us.
That is why the tree was in the garden.
What does love do?
Can love exist without free will?
Who created Satan?
Who created Satan?
Was Satan created evil? If not, how did he become evil?
Are demons real?
If demons are real, how did they become demonic? Are they “fallen angels?”
Note: Isaiah 14 and “Lucifer” is problematic
Does demon possession still happen today? Why or why not?
Does demon possession still happen today? Why or why not?
How does demon possession relate to free will?
Will there be free will in heaven?
An apologetic/intellectual problem
An apologetic/intellectual problem
A human problem
Agnostic:
Agnostic:
God of the Bible is completely good and loving.
God of the Bible is all-knowing and all-powerful.
Conclusion: Given all the pain and suffering in the world, the God of the Bible is not real.
Are they truly bad/evil?
Are they truly bad/evil?
Are they God’s fault?
Physical pain: acute and chronic
Physical pain: acute and chronic
Disease: acute and chronic
Broken relationships
Poverty, hunger, etc.
Violence; terrorism, genocide, violent crime, etc.
Chronic fear (rape, natural disasters, abuse, etc.)
Disappointment, feelings of failure, loss of hope
Death of a loved one, mourning
Free Will
Free Will
Sin
Natural Disasters
Foolishness
Deuteronomy 30:15-20
Deuteronomy 30:15-20
Joshua 24:15
John 7:17
Question: What is the alternative?
Question: Is this a sign that God does not love us?
God took a huge risk…
The great majority (but not all) of suffering is the result of sin
The great majority (but not all) of suffering is the result of sin
Addiction, lack of self-control
Sexual immorality, perversion and abuse
Anger, violence
Greed
Pride, arrogance, jealousy, desire for control
Selfishness
Exodus 20:5-6 You shall not bow down to them (the idols you have made) or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to thousands who love me and keep my commands.
Exodus 20:5-6 You shall not bow down to them (the idols you have made) or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to thousands who love me and keep my commands.
God is love and God is just.
Bear in mind Ezekiel 18:19-20
Job: Why did he suffer?
Job: Why did he suffer?
John 9
Is AIDS God’s punishment for homosexuality? No!
Plate Tectonics
Plate Tectonics
Weather
Bacteria
These are all very good things.
Touch a burner on the stove
Touch a burner on the stove
Broken Bone
Overeating
Emotional Pain
Pain is Good. Pain is from God
But… Not all pain is explained so easily.
For plants and animals, death is a positive good.
For plants and animals, death is a positive good.
Isaiah 57:2
Philippians 1:21
For humans, death is a transition, not an end.
If the atheist is right, then maybe death is evil, but if the atheist is right, there is no evil.
Psalm 30:5 For Humans, without suffering there is no joy.
Psalm 30:5 For Humans, without suffering there is no joy.
John 9:1-3 Suffering, if received correctly, glorifies God.
Romans 8:28 All kinds of suffering can be used for good (but be careful how you use this passage)
Romans 5:3, James 1:2-3 Suffering produces good character. No pain, no gain.
1 Peter 2:20-22, 2 Tim 3:12. Suffering is the natural result of doing good.
Coll 1:24-29, 1 Pet 4:12-17 Suffering is how we come to know Christ and to fill up his suffering.
Through shared suffering is how we become close to one another.
Most suffering is the result of free will and our choice to sin. It is because God loves us, not because he does not care or is not powerful enough to stop us from suffering.
Most suffering is the result of free will and our choice to sin. It is because God loves us, not because he does not care or is not powerful enough to stop us from suffering.
Pain is not evil, death is not evil, suffering is not evil. All of these are gifts from a loving God.
Our response to suffering depends on our world view.
Our response to suffering depends on our world view.
The Christian response: Compassion! Micah 6:8, James 1:27
Julian “the apostate.” (332-363)
Julian “the apostate.” (332-363)
“Atheism (i.e. Christian faith) has been specially advanced through the loving service rendered to strangers, and through their care for the burial of the dead. It is a scandal that there is not a single Jew who is a beggar, and that the godless Galileans care not only for their own poor but for ours as well; while those who belong to us look in vain for the help that we should render them.”
God is ready and willing to hear our complaints.
God is ready and willing to hear our complaints.
Habakkuk 1:2-4, Jeremiah 12:1
Even Jesus cried out in his suffering. “My God, my God…
Jesus can relate fully to our suffering.
Hebrews 2:17-18, Hebrews 4:15.
This ought to affect our response to others’ suffering. 2 Cor 5:14-15
Look at Jesus’ response to suffering: John 11:35 Jesus wept. Matthew 23:37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem… Compassion.
The most difficult questions:
The most difficult questions:
The Question of Evil
The Problem of Suffering
The Trinity
Violence for God in OT
The Problem of Hell
Would a loving God send one of those he loves to eternal torment in hell?
Would a loving God send one of those he loves to eternal torment in hell?
We understand discipline….
But hell is not about discipline. It is not an improvement program. It is a final state.
Romans 3:10f There is no one righteous, not even one.
Romans 3:10f There is no one righteous, not even one.
Revelation 20:15 If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. Rev 21:8 …the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death. Rev 20:10 … They will be tormented day and night for even and ever.
Does God choose to send us to hell? No! We choose hell and God, in his justice, accepts our decision.
Is suffering in hell literally eternal? Is joy in heaven literally eternal?
Eternal
Eternal
Omnipresent
Omniscient
Omnipotent
Righteous, Holy
Love
Justice
God is not merely loving, he is love
God, in his awesomeness is fully love and fully just
For God so loved the world…
For God so loved the world…
The wages of sin is death Rom 6:23
The law of sin and death Rom 8:2
We like God’s love, but we are not so fired up about his justice.
When we reach heaven, we will understand and fully appreciate, on an emotional level, God’s justice.
When we reach heaven, we will understand and fully appreciate, on an emotional level, God’s justice.
Rev 11:17-18 Rev 16:5-6 The elders are thankful that God’s judgement has finally come. You are just, O God.
Psalm 94:1-3 David How long, O Lord
God’s love met God’s justice at the cross. As far as we are concerned, love won.
God’s love met God’s justice at the cross. As far as we are concerned, love won.
