Two Important Books on Christian Worldview
The following two books are great for developing a Christian worldview, especially for those entering or already in college.
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Lectures on Calvinism - Abraham Kuyper Kuyper, Abraham. Lectures on Calvinism. 1931. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans,
1970. This is perhaps the best starting place to read the works of Kuyper
for they represent a summary of his thought, with each lecture covering
briefly an area in which he published extensively. Kuyper presents Calvinism
as a life-system of comprehensive and far-reaching effect, discussing
its relationship to religion, politics, science, and art, and inquiring
into its prospects for the future. Though based on lectures delivered
in 1898, Kuyper's book retains its relevance even today. Kuyper developed his perspective in response to 19th-century secular
liberalism in The Netherlands that had become oppressive and intolerant.
Kuyper countered it with a type of thorough-going pluralism that would
allow full scope to all groupings in society to blossom on their own
terms, even the secularism that he considered demonic. This was starkly
different from secularism that denied others the freedom to define themselves
and sought to force them to live by its definition. Specifically, secularism
invariably seeks to force religion into a straightjacket of private
spirituality and individualism that restricts its expression to a so-called
sphere of religion, that is, church or mosque. It seeks to reduce the
scope of religion to the sphere of the subjective, while it regards
secular knowledge as objective and neutral and exclusively suitable
for the public square. Kuyper's form of pluralism would allow for the
unfettered development of all religions or worldviews--note the plural--on
their own terms, not as defined by secularism, though including secularism.
Kuyper posited the primacy of the religious impulse in human life. The human race is, first of all, a religious race, a race of believers. This is in contrast to Rationalism, which emphasizes the rational as the centre piece of human life. Everything is based on objective, neutral reason. Reason is the neutral platform on which all people can meet and reason with each other. It is not a matter of "religion within the bounds of reason," as Kant would have it, but, rather, of "reason within the bounds of religion," as Wolterstorff of Yale put it so aptly in the title of his book. Marxism, another strong contender for human loyalty, emphasizes the economic aspect as foundational and sees all culture evolving on basis of economic interests. Empirically, Marxism is probably closer to the facts than is rationalism. There is a close affinity between the influence of economic and religious factors. There is a strong mutual influence on each other. One can argue that there is even a kind of confluence of Kuyper and Marx here, for when people give priority to their economic interests, that interest has in fact become the centre of their religion and life, a new idol. Their religious life imperceptibly changes to accommodate their economic status. I have seen it happen in my own denomination. Kuyperianism focuses on religion as the basis of all human life, with religion seen as the point of ultimate loyalty and value in the lives of individuals and communities. . All the other aspects are shaped by the basic categories of the dominant religion, faith, beliefs or worldview in a given society. Of course religion and the other aspects mutually influence each other, but when all is said and done, the foundation of it all is the religious or, if you prefer, faith or worldview. Religion is not only the basis of a life, but it is also comprehensive or wholistic in nature. Again, this is an insight that Kuyperians share with Muslims. Both traditions emphasize that religion is a way of life, not merely a slice of life or a sector that belongs to the realm of church and mosque. Kuyperians ... produce books and articles exploring the relationship between economics, politics, and other cultural aspects to their religion and regard the latter as basic to it all. They reject secularism because it seeks to compartmentalize religion and restrict it to a small area of life, to the personal and private. It squeezes religion into a narrow mold that does not fit its genius. Humanity represents God in this world and is expected to develop it. Christians know this command as the "cultural mandate." Most varieties of Christianity have unfortunately downplayed this Biblical teaching and separated this cultural mandate from the great commission, a separation that has also encouraged the trivialization of their religion. In fact, though almost all Christians know about the commission, few are aware of the mandate. Kuyperianism recognizes ...an antithesis between the Christian ...
and all other worldviews. There is a basic foundational difference between
these religions and competing worldviews that drive them into different
directions and account for the different national and regional cultures
of this world. This is an antithesis between the Spirit of God and all
other spirits. Both religions are keenly aware of this antithesis. Both
are also aware of the fact that this antithesis can run right through
the heart of so-called true believers, for all experience this battle
of the spirits in their own lives when, for example, serious inconsistencies
occur between their official religion or worldview and their behaviour.
However, Kuyperianism also recognizes common grace, a term referring to the Spirit of God working in and shaping truth even in philosophies and religions that reject Christianity. The basic antithesis between them remains active deep down in the foundation, but it is relativized at the surface level due to the fact that the Spirit of God reveals important truths to all religions and cultures. Because of this common grace, Kuyperianism gratefully recognizes many aspects of truths in other worldviews or faiths and is thus ready to cooperate with them. Evangelicals and Charismatics are very much steeped in individualism and concentrate on individuals, while their Liberal and Ecumenical counterparts have tended to be more concerned with communities and structures. The Kuyperian tradition will have none of these one-sided perspectives and gives both their due, individuals and communities, people and structures. The tradition has created structures in various cultural sectors that were to be guided by basic Christian perspectives. Christian newspapers, universities and colleges, labour unions, housing co-operatives, political parties have all been part of the history. The reason for these was the insight that all of these organizations are expressions of different worldviews, faiths, sets of beliefs and values. When the underlying worldview is secular, this does not render them neutral but makes them pursue their goals along secular lines that excludes many Christians principles. A major motivation for much of the above was Kuyper's concern for the poor. His was not merely an abstract philosophical or academic concern. The vision was surely marked by such abstractions, but underneath it all lay his passion for the poor and the oppressed. This is one aspect that has largely gotten lost in the subsequent Kuyperian movement. As the constituency moved up the economic and political ladder, the passion for the poor largely gave way for more middle class concerns. In North America most adherents of Kuyperianism are found in academic and ecclesiastical institutions where the philosophical and theological aspects claim the major attention. Though Kuyper formed, among other institutions, a Christian labour union in order to empower the poor, today Christian labour unions have rough sledding among most North American Kuyperians...The focus of interest is now on correct ideas more than on passion for the poor. After all, the homes for the aged are owned by members of this constituency and organizing their employees is now seen as a threat to their economic interest. Every ideology, even the best, is subject to tinkering and emasculation when the economic status of its adherents has changed upward. Not only is Carpenter's quote above useful as a summary of major Kuyperian thoughts, it is also illustrative of this changed focus in that it avoids any reference to Kuyper's passion for the poor. I am not suggesting that Kuyperians are the only Christians with this passion. Of course not! However, in his own day, Kuyper was definitely ahead of most of his fellow contemporary Christian leaders in providing structures that were effective in overcoming poverty in the long run. His was not the individualistic ameliorative soup kitchen approach; he dealt with the structures needed to overcome the problem itself. - John H. Boer To learn more about this book click here: |
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Total Truth : Nancy Pearcey
Nancy Pearcey is a gifted writer, and one of the brightest minds serving evangelical Christianity. Raised in a Scandinavian Lutheran home, she grew to know about Christianity as a child without coming to faith in Christ. She eventually became an adult convert to Christianity, but only after an intellectual and spiritual pilgrimage that took her from one side of the Atlantic to the other--including time at Francis Schaeffer's L'Abri, a study center for young people asking big questions. Pearcey now serves as the Francis A. Schaeffer Scholar at the World Journalism Institute and as a Visiting Scholar at the Torrey Honors Institute at Biola University. She is also well known for her work as a Senior Fellow at the Discovery Institute in Seattle. An articulate opponent of evolutionary theory and one of the church's most gifted authors, Nancy Pearcey brings a wealth of credibility and passion to this book. Total Truth serves as a basic introduction to Christian worldview thinking, but its depth and clarity of thought sets it far above the usual fare. Throughout the volume, the influence of Francis Schaeffer is apparent. One of the twentieth century's most significant apologists, Schaeffer was an eccentric and magnetic figure who helped an entire generation of struggling young evangelicals find their way into biblical Christianity. Schaeffer served as a prophet of cultural engagement during an age of rebellion among America's youth, and he shaped the thinking of an entire generation of theologically-minded Christian young people. Nancy Pearcey's conversion came when she recognized that "God had won the argument," and that her response must be to "give my life to the Lord of Truth." In other words, she came to believe that the gospel is true, and that its truth demanded obedience. "Once we discover that the Christian worldview is really true, then living it out means offering up to God all our powers--practical, intellectual, emotional, artistic--to live for Him in every area of life. The only expression such faith can take is one that captures our entire being and redirects our every thought. The notion of a secular/sacred split becomes unthinkable. Biblical truth takes hold of our inner being, and we recognize that it is not only a message of salvation but also the truth about all reality. God's word becomes a light to all our paths, providing the foundational principles for bringing every part of our lives under the Lordship of Christ, to glorify Him and cultivate His creation." One of Francis Schaeffer's key insights was the split in the modern mind that separated "religious" truth from all other truth. This "two-story" division of truth into secular and sacred spheres ultimately undermines the Christian truth claim and leaves believers with nothing more than a claim to "spirituality" and "meaningful experiences" rather than objective truth and biblical authority. Nancy Pearcey conducts a thorough autopsy on these deficient patterns of thought, demonstrating throughout her book that all too many Christians fall prey to this kind of thinking. She tells a story of a theology teacher in a Christian high school who drew a heart on one side of his blackboard and a brain on the other. He told his class that the heart is what we use for religion, while the brain is what we employ for science. What this teacher was insinuating is that Christianity is a matter of feeling and emotion, while science is a matter of fact and objective truth. As Pearcey laments, "Training young people to develop a Christian mind is no longer an option; it is part of their necessary survival equipment." Too many believers, Pearcey insists, "have absorbed the fact/value, public/private dichotomy, restricting their faith to the religious sphere while adopting whatever views are current in their professional or social circles." She continues: "We probably all know of Christian teachers who uncritically accept the latest secular theories of education; Christian businessmen who run their operations by accepted secular management theories; Christian ministries that mirror the commercial world's marketing techniques; Christian families where the teenagers watch the same movies and listen to the same music as their nonbelieving friends. While sincere in their faith, they have absorbed their views on just about everything else by osmosis from the surrounding culture." In Total Truth, Nancy Pearcey offers a solid theological engagement with the critical intellectual issues of our times. While she presents a devastating critique of secular philosophies ranging from scientific materialism and Darwinism to rationalism, she also gives a constructive and biblical theological framework for establishing the structure of the Christian worldview. She lays this out in terms of three great themes: Creation, Fall, and Redemption. Every worldview, she explains, must provide a theory of how the world came to be, explain what has gone wrong with humanity, and point to some hope of redemption. By using such a theological grid, Pearcey suggests that "we can identify nonbiblical worldviews and then analyze where they go wrong." Furthermore, Pearcey explains, the first great affirmation of her worldview grid underlines the importance of asserting the truth of Christianity at the very point of creation. "If the grid of Creation, Fall, and Redemption provides a simple and effective tool for comparing and contrasting worldviews, it also explains why the biblical teaching of Creation is under such a relentless attack today. In any worldview, the concept of Creation is foundational: As the first principle, it shapes everything that follows. Critics of Christianity know that it stands or falls with its teaching on ultimate origins." In other words, we cannot create a synthesis of biblical truth and evolutionary theory. This is absolutely correct and urgently important--for to surrender the Bible's truth claims on the origin of the universe is eventually to abdicate the totality of the Christian truth claim. After all, Christian truth does not come as isolated claims linked together by an underlying spirituality. To the contrary, Christian truth is a comprehensive and unitive whole that produces transformed lives precisely because the Gospel is true. If believers allow Christian truth claims to be pushed into an "upper story" of mere opinion, while suggesting that science and other forms of knowledge deal with "facts," we surrender the integrity of faith itself and are reduced to offering Christianity as a form of spiritual therapy rather than as a message of transforming truth. As Pearcey explains, "To be loyal to the great claims of our faith, we can no longer acquiesce in letting Christianity be shunted aside to the value sphere. We must throw off metaphysical timidity, be convinced that we have a winning case, and take the offensive. Armed with prayer and spiritual power, we need to ask God to show us where the battle is being fought today, and enlist under the Lordship and leadership of Christ." So, why are evangelicals so vulnerable to intellectual timidity? Nancy Pearcey has a quick answer. While theological liberals were busy denying cardinal doctrines of the faith, evangelicals were simply retreating into an upper story faith where Christianity was reduced to an experience. Furthermore, many evangelicals bought into various philosophical movements that undermined clear-headed thinking. Others are simply blinded to their own intellectual, moral, and spiritual compromises by the pervasive seduction of contemporary culture . Total Truth is one of the most promising books to emerge in evangelical publishing in many years. It belongs in every Christian home, and should quickly be put into the hands of every Christian young person. This important book should be part of the equipment for college or university study, and churches should use it as a textbook for Christian worldview development. Why does all of this matter? As Nancy Pearcey remarks, "These are not merely abstract intellectual matters fit for philosophers and historians to debate in the rarefied atmosphere of academia. Ideas and cultural developments affect real people, shaping the way they think and live out their lives. That's why it is crucial for us to develop a Christian worldview--not just as a set of coherent ideas but also as a blueprint for living. Believers need a roadmap for a full and consistent Christian life." Serious Christians ought to be developing an entire library of books intended to apply the Christian worldview to every area of life, thought, study, and culture. Total Truth will be an important part of that library, and may also be the catalyst for other good books that will follow. In the meantime, quickly get a copy for yourself and send another to a young college student. In so doing, you just might be sending an intellectual life preserver to someone about to drown in a sea of secularism. Never underestimate the power of the right book put in the right hands at the right time. ___________________________________________ R. Albert Mohler, Jr. is president of The Southern Baptist Theological
Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. For more articles and resources by
Dr. Mohler, and for information on The Albert Mohler Program, a daily
national radio program broadcast on the Salem Radio Network, go to www.albertmohler.com.
For information on The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, go to
www.sbts.edu. Send feedback to [email protected]. To learn more about this book click here: |