Tawa J. Anderson - An Introduction to Christian Worldview: Pursuing Gods Perspective In A Pluralistic World

This book offers a refreshing update of Christian worldview teaching for students of Scripture. It is rigorous and deep for serious students, yet accessible for the popular reader who wants to live a muscular Christian faith in our pluralistic marketplace of world-and-life views. One of my favorite aspects of this book is its real world examples of worldview thinking and analysis from Scripture, life, entertainment, and cultureespecially movies!

Brian Godawa , author of Hollywood Worldviews

Its all here: a stellar introduction to (1) the concept of worldview, (2) the contour, content, and defense of the Christian worldview, and (3) explanation and critique of alternate secular and religious worldviews. There is little new here, but new notions of basic Christian belief and practice are often misleading and sometimes profoundly false. Here the truths of Christian faith gleam with clarity and conviction. Im impressed.

James W. Sire , author of The Universe Next Door and Apologetics Beyond Reason

Its become fashionable in some circles to downplay the importance of worldview. An Introduction to Christian Worldview counters this tendency by offering a clear apologia for the value of thoughtful worldview construction and evaluation to Christian faith. Moreover, it provides a concrete comparison of a Christian worldview to alternative models found in philosophical systems and world religions. The authors make their ideas readily accessible to readers, and it is a valuable resource for all Christians who desire a deeper understanding of the conceptual foundations of our faith.

Steve Wilkens , professor of philosophy and ethics, Azusa Pacific University

APOLLOS (an imprint of Inter-Varsity Press)

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Tawa J. Anderson, W. Michael Clark and David Naugle 2017

Tawa J. Anderson, W. Michael Clark and David Naugle have asserted their rights under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as Authors of this work.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher or the Copyright Licensing Agency.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version (Anglicized edition). Copyright 1979, 1984, 2011 by Biblica (formerly International Bible Society). Used by permission of Hodder & Stoughton Publishers, an Hachette UK company. All rights reserved. NIV is a registered trademark of Biblica (formerly International Bible Society). UK trademark number 1448790.

First published 2017

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN: 9781783595976

eBook ISBN: 9781783595983

Typeset in the United States of America

Printed in Great Britain by Ashford Colour Press Ltd, Gosport, Hampshire

eBook by CRB Associates, Potterhanworth, Lincolnshire

I nter-Varsity Press publishes Christian books that are true to the Bible and that communicate the gospel, develop discipleship and strengthen the church for its mission in the world.

IVP originated within the Inter-Varsity Fellowship, now the Universities and Colleges Christian Fellowship, a student movement connecting Christian Unions in universities and colleges throughout Great Britain, and a member movement of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students. Website: www.uccf.org.uk . That historic association is maintained, and all senior IVP staff and committee members subscribe to the UCCF Basis of Faith.

Tawa Anderson

To Mataeo, my beloved son, Gods giftmay you always seek to know and live by Gods perspective, whatever the world throws your way

Michael Clark

To Jenny, Scout, Brooks, Tayte, and Sonora

David Naugle

To Deemie, Courtney, Mark, and Kuyper

Coauthoring a book is like playing in a string quartet: its a wonderful interplay of talented artists who depend on a number of additional folks who make the whole work possible. We would like to thank some of the numerous teachers, guides, partners, friends, and encouragers who have helped bring this project to fruition.

First, we are indebted to the worldview influence of academics who have gone before us. The writings of Abraham Kuyper, Al Wolters, James Sire, Michael Goheen, and many others have transformed our thinking. The classroom impact of Ted Cabal, James Chancellor, Jim Parker, and Mark Coppenger has helped refine our study of worldview comparison and analysis.

Second, this book project began with the encouragement and prompting of the retired dean of the Hobbs College of Theology and Ministry at Oklahoma Baptist University, Dr. Mark McClellan. Mark encouraged a group of young faculty to explore writing their own material for a January term worldview course on campus. Without his leadership and prompting, the project would never have been conceived.

Third, we thank Dr. Louima Lilite, tenor extraordinaire and theological guru, for his partnership in the project. Louima has spilled blood, sweat, tears, and considerable ink to help make this book a reality.

Fourth, we thank external reviewers and commentators: Jamie Dew, James Sire, and other anonymous contributors. Our work has been strengthened by your insights and critiques.

Fifth, we thank many students and colleagues who have provided private feedback, pointing out errors, inconsistencies, and areas for improvement; of those, a special mention to James Walters, Heidi Mann, Gunner Briscoe, Nicholas Hoffsommer, and Jonathan White for their valuable contributions.

Sixth, we thank the editorial and artistic team at IVP Academic, who have been a thorough (and professional) pleasure to work with throughout this lengthy project. To Andy Le Peau (now retired)thank you for taking on the project and buying into the vision of what we were trying to accomplish! To Dan Reidthank you for taking over the project mid-stream and shepherding us through to the finish line.

Finally, we thank our families, who have proven to be long-suffering during the many nights, days off, and vacations that have been consumed with research, writing, revising, reconceiving, rewriting, and revising again. Your love and patience (especially that of our wonderful wives, Vanessa, Jenny, and Deemie) has been a tremendous example of the patient and gracious love of God. We thank you for standing alongside us throughout.

Everybody operates upon a philosophy in life, a worldview that defines for them the way the world works and how they know things and how they ought to behave. So philosophy is ultimately a practical reality for all of us. In this sense, everyone is a philosopher ; some are just more aware of it than others.