Worldview and Theology

Worldview and Theology

Introduction

The book understanding the times, scripted Dr. David Noebel comprehensively evaluates the worldviews shaping our time in light of the eternal truths of scripture. He, in his book combines the biblical perspective of philosophy, science, psychology, sociology, law, economics, politics, and history. The book astutely discusses the ideas and forces shaping our lives, it talks about secular humanism to Marxism/Leninism, biblical Christianity to the new age movement. It emphasizes on the worldviews relating to most significant religions in the western civilization. The books aids in developing ones own worldview by contrasting and comparing the prevailing worldview of that time.

The first section (chapter) of the book accentuates the battle for hearts and minds. The chapter focuses on the battle in North American between varying world views: Christianity, secular humanism, Marxism/Leninism and the new age movement. The concept of worldview is crucial in this book and thus, it remains crucial to understand the context of worldview as laid by David Noebel. It is the largely intellectual perspective from which one views and perceives the world, a philosophy of life or contemplation of world. The key idea remains that worldview is of critical importance since; virtually all worldviews assure some sort of utopia or salvation.

Discussion

The author defines worldview using ten different disciplines and each of these disciplines is a portion of God's creative and redemptive order. At some point in lives, we do come across a query that how we were created and how did the first specie came on earth. We have recurrent questions about similar aspects; life's origins, how to know oneself, skepticism regarding right and wrong. Thus, worldview in broad perspective directs to the ideology, philosophy, theology, movement or religion that a base for understanding the existence of God, the world in its perspective and men's relation with God.

Of we look at worldview in the perspective of Christianity, we come across three fundamental views compelling minds and hearts of men i.e. Christianity, secular humanism, and Marxism. It accentuates that Christianity has increasingly become disturbed about permissiveness, pornography, the public schools, breakdown of family and abortions, this leads then to the danger of losing the war of ideas. Francis Schaeffer rightly puts in, that Christians have always viewed things in bits and pieces instead of looking at totality of it and the problem is prevailing from past eight years while failing to realize that all of this has come through the adjustment or shift in the worldview. The problem arises that how an American looks at the issue, it is observed that he has essentially failed to base his judgments on a rational and consistent system of right and wrong, but rather relies on what he personally feels about an issue. He believes that each individual's issue has a separate identity while there exists no relationship between the two, and each should be evaluated and examined by different criteria designed to a particular situation.

In the view of Noebel, the conflict between Christianity, Marxism and humanism begins at ...