Notes Module 1 Christian World Views Chapter 6 - Notes Module 1 Chapter 6 Testing Worldviews Christian World Views For entirely too many Christians

Notes: Module 1 Chapter 6 Testing Worldviews Christian World Views November 16, 2012 For entirely too many Christians, reason is seen somehow as an enemy of the Christian faith. I disagree strongly with that widely held but self-destructive thesis. RONALD H. NASH  The worldview we hold should not be a matter of personal preference. We must test our beliefs with evidence and logic.  Since different worldviews are being proposed all around us, we need to know whether we have the accurate picture of reality as we build our lives.  Skepticism too is a worldview belief. We can test it and show that, while the ultimate questions in life may be difficult to answer, it is not impossible to draw sound conclusions from the evidences we gather.  All worldviews need testing through the world of learning. The ultimate questions of life may be beyond purely empirical study, but that does not mean that faith matters should be removed from the world of thinking and learning.  Faith without learning ends up unquestioned, and as a result anyone’s faith becomes okay, and truth in faith matters becomes relative to each individual.  In developing and testing a worldview, we must admit with humility that we have a limited ability to know about some things with a high degree of certainty, but let us not become skeptics about this business of holding some beliefs confidently. I Have a Question:  Isn’t it an insult to God to try to test our faith worldviews? Faith is believing, not doubting. And real faith happens when you don’t have any special evidence other than the Word of God. o This is a good question to ask because a lot of Christians may feel this way. There is a difference between doubting God and being uncertain. There is nothing wrong with not knowing everything in life or in the Bible. Doubt refers more to not going along with what you know to be true. To ask who wrote the epistle to the Hebrews, or whether the charismatic gift of speaking in tongues is appropriate today, or whether women can become pastors are not questions asked by people of little faith. To not know what a biblical passage means is not the sin of doubt. Uncertainty in biblical