Long-time Wheaton College philosophy professor Arthur Holmes, in his book All Truth is God's Truth, summarized Christian worldview when relating absolute truth to God:
1. To say that truth is absolute rather than relative means that it is unchanging and universally the same.
2. Truth is absolute not in or of itself but because it derives ultimately from the one, eternal God. It is grounded in his “metaphysical objectivity,” and that of his creation.
3. Absolute propositional truth, therefore, depends on the absolute personal truth (or fidelity) of God, who can be trusted in all he does and says.
Prolific non-denominational Christian author (and pastor) John McArthur writes of Weltanschauung (no, not wang chung, the false Chinese phrase for "go partying" made famous by the eponymous new wave band in the 80s) in his book Think Biblically!:
Weltanschauung. What is it? Everyone has one. It colors the way all people interpret life. It triggers the decisions one makes, not to mention driving one's responses. It comes in many varieties. Philosophy, science, culture and/or religion generally make the dominant contributions to it. What is it? It is the personal worldview of each living individual...What is a worldview? A worldview comprises one's collection of presuppositions, convictions and values from which a person tries to understand and make sense out of the world and life.
As is my standard operating plan for a Saturday morning, I started the coffee pot and padded out through the garage to the driveway to retrieve the daily record of human foibles (who says we don't need a Savior?), poured a cup, then sat down and began thumbing through the news of the world around me. The first section alone was chock full o' sermon fodder; here are the high(!)lights (leaving out, intentionally, the Superbowl hype):
JP’s refusal to perform same-sex marriage draws criticism (...this is reminiscent of the county clerk in Kentucky...you know, the one that sat in jail for refusing to sign same-sex marriage licenses as an elected official. Last October, I came across an an interesting article in Christianity Today in which the following excerpt reflects my sentiments: "A public Christianity is not about imposing Christian ethics on an unwilling citizenry. Instead, public Christianity is about marshaling God’s truth in service of our fellow image bearers, using the conscience and persuasion as our means." I mean to sound observant-- perhaps opinionated, but deeply convicted-- and not judgmental. I believe there is time and a place to stand up in the face of dire, man-made consequences for what one believes; however, the world provides us daily opportunities to show our faith to others-- on the OTHER side of the church-state line. God, ultimately, has a say in man-made laws and government...ref. Romans 13. If you have a few minutes, check out the article. It's pretty good: We Should Expect Non-Christians to Share Our Morals (Both natural and civil law, as God designed, tell us why.)
Gov. Greg Abbott says crosses are OK on law enforcement patrol vehicles, too (I'm most definitely not against an outward display of the very crux-- really, NOT a pun-- of my faith doctrine; however, I have to ask, somewhat rhetorically, what will the public at large think of a police car with a Star of David or Crescent and Star on the windshield of a taxpayer-funded vehicle? See comic strip above and last linked headline below for perspective...)Hormone therapy OK'd behind bars (HOW can this be OK'd?! Sigh sigh sigh.)
Zika is in saliva, urine, but transmission unclear (There's no Zika virus in heaven-- guess we'll just have to wait this one out, too, WITH COMMON SENSE, not plague-like panic.)
and
Pope, Orthodox leader to meet (500 years of being at odds with Protestants is nothing compared to a millennium of being at odds with the Orthdox-- this story smacks of reconciliation, but I'm skeptical; religious turf wars are the acne on the face of creation.)
Anyone-- people with or without faith-- can read the newspaper and snort derisively at the headlines, wonder about the whereabouts of God, and or stockpile weapons and rations just in case, but I choose to wade through it all with a sense of what is Good, what is Right, and what is Truth. I want to become a spiritual eye doctor. I want not to cry out (though I seriously feel like it sometimes), but to REACH out. To lend a hand. To lend an ear. To lend a heart.
I believe that God keeps His promises.
That's my Weltanschauung. What's yours?
[Tomorrow's post: An Undelivered Sermon for Transfiguration Sunday. Reserve your seat in the pew!]
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.