Wednesday Night Bible Study | 12.02.2020
Audio
*This audio has been edited for publication. If you have any questions or would like the full audio recording, please contact Reid.
Notes
| Christianity | Naturalism (Secularism) | Moral Therapeutic Deism | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prime Reality | Triune God of Scripture (Gen. 1:1, John 1:1ff, Heb. 2:10, Rom. 11:36, 1 Cor. 8:6) | The prime reality is the external reality, the natural world. | God is the prime reality, but God is transcendent and impersonal. |
| External Reality | The cosmos is (1) real, (2) created, and (3) destined for redemption. (Gen. 1:1ff, Rev. 21, John 3:16, 1 John 2:2) | The "spiritual" world is a product of the human mind, which is little more than a set of chemical reactions. | The physical world is created and "less real" than the spiritual. (This is gnostism, but it's on a wide spectrum.) |
| Nature of Man | Man (1) is body and soul, (2) dead in sin and radically evil, and (3) possesses a constrained will. (Prov. 16:9, Ezra 1:1, Acts 4:27-28, 1 Cor. 15:10) | Man (1) is totally physical, (2) morally neutral, and (3) possesses a constrained will. | Man (1) is body and soul, (2) basically good, and (3) possesses a free will. |
| Afterlife | Believers go in spirit to be with the Lord (2 Cor. 5:6-8). Unbelievers go in spirit to the Lord's judgment (Luke 16:22-24). All will be resurrected bodily and judged on the last day (Rev. 20-21, 1 Cor. 15:50-54). | There is no afterlife of any substance. | Good people go to heaven; bad people go to hell. |
| Source of Knowledge | (1) We are created in the image of God (Gen. 1:27, 1 John 3:20). (2) God reveals truth to us through natural revelation (Ps. 19:1) and Scripture (Heb. 1:1, 2 Tim. 3:16). | Knowledge comes from observation. We use our senses to gain information and process it scientifically. | Observational knowledge is primary, followed by personal, experiential knowledge. Religious texts like the Bible are the result of this second kind of knowledge. |
| Source of Morality | God's law in all of its forms (Rom. 2:14-15, Ex. 20, Gal. 6:2) | Minimization of harm | Balance harm minimization and self-actualization. |
| Meaning of Human History | Generally, human history serves to glorify God (Rom. 11:36). Specifically, God intends to redeem the whole created under under the kingship of Christ (Phil. 2:9-10, 1 Cor. 15:20-28). | Self-preservation and harm mitigation | Human history has no meaning on a grand scale besides the ultimate happiness and self-actualization of individuals. |
Key Scriptures
"In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." -- Gen. 1:1
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him." -- John 3:16-17
"The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps." -- Prov. 16:9
"I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: 'Death is swallowed up in victory.'" -- 1 Cor. 15:50-54
"The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork." -- Ps. 19:1
"Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world." -- Heb. 1:1
"For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus." -- Rom. 2:14-16
"Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." -- Phil. 2:9-10
Notes
Worldview: A worldview is simply the way that a person views the world. In other words, a worldview is the sum of all of the presuppositions and assumptions that inform a person's perception of all things in life. It's like the pair of glasses between my eyes and you.
A Christian worldview must be a biblical worldview; that is, a Christian must look at the world through "Bible glasses." Often, Christians will borrow presuppositions from other worldviews. The result is that far too many Christians today are operating on assumptions that are faulty and unbiblical.
You'll notice that I've combined "naturalism" and "postmodernism" into one. The reason for this is that postmodernism looks at life through a naturalistic lens; postmodernism is naturalism carried out to more of its logical conclusions. Postmodernism goes beyond naturalism in saying that although our spiritual and religious beliefs are manufactured by man, they are not fictional. A postmodern person may say, "God is real for me because I believe in him." In other words, my beliefs are real only insofar as I believe them.
Anderson (see book below) lists many worldviews. I've chosen these three because these are the worldviews that you will most likely encounter in your everyday life. I would also point to two others that are on the rise, New Age and Islam.
Recommended Resources
1. James N. Anderson, What's Your Worldview?
2. Greg Bahnsen, Against All Opposition
3. Francis Schaeffer, How Should We Then Live?
4. John Frame, We Are All Philosophers
5. James Sire, The Universe Next Door
Ten Thing About Gen Z
Gen Z is generally regarded to run from about 1997 to 2009. Our college students are very different from what you'd expect, and, in many ways, they have reacted negatively to the impact that millennials have had on the world. They see themselves as doing "damage control" for their millennial parents.
1. Far more polarized culturally than earlier generations.
2. More comfortable with conflicting opinions and values.
3. Place high value on culture, tradition, and "family values."
4. Are "digital natives;" don't remember a time before the internet.
5. Interested in building local, face-to-face relationships.
6. Opposed to globalization.
7. Thirty-six percent evangelical (in America).
8. Highly pragmatic.
9. Less interested in traditional job pathways, opting for gig economy.
10. Dissatisfied with the impact of social media.