Christian Apologetics

Class Notes Quiz on Worldviews

1.

What is the difference between the three kinds of modern naturalists?

Skepticism – no one can every know there is a God

Agnosticism – I am not sure where there is a God.

Atheism – there is no God.

2.

Be generally familiar with the naturalist worldview critique in the notes.

In naturalism knowledge is impossible. No foundation for knowledge only one who knows everything could establish scientific laws, but no one know everything. No reason to believe human reason will lead to truth. Supposing there was intelligence behind the universe, no creative mind. In that case, nobody designed my brain for the purpose of thinking.

In naturalism ethics is impossible. Humans know a natural ethich, and naturalism cannot explain its origin. Based on the metaphysic of naturalism, human ethics should be orientated solely to survival.

In naturalistic ethis, no one is accountable for their actions, since there is no freedom of the will.

Naturalism cannot explain metaphysics. Why there is something rather than nothing? Naturalism, entropy, and the 2nd law of thermodynamics. How can personal arise from impersonality?

3.

Know what deism is, why it arose and flourished, why it died, and know its biblical critique

It is theistic because it claims there is a God.

It is naturalistic, because it claims that God no longer involved in His creation.

They claimed God created the world with its natural laws and stepped away from it, allowing it to run without His assistance.

It arose because of the scientific revolution. Most of what had been explained as the direct intervention of God was now being explained as the natural order.

It flourished because the sin nature of man will latch onto any concept that will drive them away from the sovereign God of Scripture.

It died when deism claimed that God was unnecessary to explain the continuation of the natural order, it was only a matter of time before someone would show that the concept of God was altogether unnecessary to explain the existence and continuation of the world.

4.

Know what Open Theism is, what doctrines it holds, and the biblical critique.

Open theists claim that God does not know the future and is not immutable. Open theism is and openly accepted belief within the Evangelical Theological society. Scripture shows that God changes, which indicates that He is unaware of some aspects of the future.

Contains a totally restructured belief in God. Once omniscience is denied, the other attributes begin to fall quickly.

Impossibility of predictive prophecy. How could God accurately predict the future in light of His free creatures?

In the Scripture, God is distinguished from the gods by His ability to accurately predict the future.

Does not answer the problem of evil.

Makes the problem of evil worse.

Destroys the authority of Scripture.

5.

Be generally familiar with the section on Islam.

Revelation – Quran and Hadith.

Prophets – Jesus. He was born of virgin – but this does not mean from God. He did not die on the cross instead he was whisked away to heaven. Judas was crucified. There is a prophet for every people group. Trinity - nonexistent. All men sin because they deceive themselves or are deceived by Satan. Salvation – based works.

Muslims argue that the Scripture cannot be corrupted, yet they claim the Old and New Testament have been corrupted.

Satanic verses

Their Scripture teaches that God is holy and just, yet is simply willing to overlook sin.

The monistic concept of God does not account for the existence of unity and diversity. It eliminates the Trinitarian relationship, which provides the means for understanding God’s relation to creation.

The accumulated historical evidence for the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ counts against Islam.

6.

What is the difference between normal worldview studies and meta-worldview studies?

While normal worldview studies seek to find the expressions of individuals or specific groups, meta-worldview study seeks to have a comprehensive grasp of the general direction of societies’ worldview beliefs are heading.

7.

Why is it important for us to be aware of the current meta-worldview?

Knowing the general trends inherent to our generation allows us to be vigilant to weed out every thought that is not subject to the Lordship of Christ. Knowing the worldview shifts also allows for better apologetic engagement. Being aware of the general worldview prepares us for the unique obstacles our present world presents.

8.

Be familiar with the various characteristic of premodernism.

No or very little cultural and religious diversity. Very primitive scientific knowledge. Have prescribed social roles. Experience little that challenges their social, cultural, or religious values.

Relatively free from the ‘culture shock’ experiences of coming into contact with people with entirely different values and beliefs – the kind of experience in contemporary urban life, you’re likely to have a couple of times before lunch.

9.

How did the governmental system work in premodern West?

The most common form of government was the monarchy. People believed there should be one person in complete authority. While the monarchs held much power, they were never separated from the power of the church. Even the monarch was limited in his work by the church, because the church represented an even higher Monarch.

10.

What 2 events led to the eventual downfall of premodernism, and how did these lead to the downfall?

The renaissance was the first seismic shift that broke the unity of pre-modernism. The reformation brought the second seismic shift that finally unsettled the pre-modern foundation.

11.

What does enlightenment mean, and how did it affect science and philosophy.

“To give knowledge to” Man gave itself to rational inquiry into every matter – especially the things which had been taken for granted in previous generations.

12.

How should we engage with those who are still in modernism?

Therefore, we must show him that his own philosophy is erroneous. The Christian must show that the unbelieving modernist is irrational at many levels. Further, we must ask the unbelieving modernist to think biblically. That is, challenge him to think with Christian presuppositions. Having done so, he will see that Christianity makes the most sense and is indeed the most rational explanation in life.

13.

How is truth viewed in postmodernism?

Truth is not fixed and objective, but variable and relative. Something can be true for one but not for another. Truth is determined by society, not by individuals.

14.

How does modernism relate to postmodernism?

Some elements are reactions against modernism. Some scholars do not believe postmodernism should be separated from modernism. In all reality, some elements of our culture have retained modernism and other elements have embraced postmodernism. Postmodernism in religion and ethics is intricately tied to modernism’s deicide.

15.

What is deicide and what role did it play in the shift of religion to postmodernism?

Postmodernism in religion and ethics is intricately tied to modernism’s deicide. Eliminating the spiritual realm allowed that every thought and belief could be understood from causal effects.

16.

What is the major societal motivation towards postmodernism?

It is a reaction against pure rationalism; an attempt to express the artistic side of humanity.

17.

How does Imperial Rome serve as an encouragement as we look to the future of our postmodern culture?

The encouragement we can derive from a return to Rome’s worldview is that Christianity exploded in a postmodern culture. As such, there is much hope and trust that the Lord will do the same today.

18.

How should our apologetic engage postmoderns?

Weed out the unbiblical elements of postmodern in ourselves. The Scripture and early church history is a guide here. As much as possible, avoid difficult concepts and focus on narratives when expressing the gospel. Be a true neighbor to a postmodern.