Thinking Biblically

Mixing your faith with...VoodooRacismConsumerismSecularism

Syncretism

Answers the big questions of life:Ultimate reality: “What kind of God, if any,

actually exists?”Knowledge: “What can be known, and how

can anyone know it?”Identity: Who am I and where did I come

from?

1. What is a Worldview?

Morals: Who gets to decide what is right and wrong?

Values: What matters most in life?Purpose: What am I here for?Predicament: What is humanity's

fundamental problem?Resolution: How can humanity's problem be

solved?Destiny: Will I survive the death of my body

and, if so, in what state?

Big Questions...

UpbringingProv 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go;

even when he is old he will not depart from it.Friends

1 Cor 15:33 Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals

EducationDan 1:3-5

MediaIsa 5:20 - Woe to those who call evil good and good

evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!

2. Worldview Shapers

MoviesMusicAdvertsNews

Media & Worldview

Rom 12:2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould, but let God re-mould your minds from within (J B Phillips)

Gen 1-3: The foundations for a Biblical worldview

Developing a Biblical Worldview

Gen 1:1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.The Cosmological ArgumentThe heavens declare the glory of God, and the

sky above proclaims his handiwork. (Psalm 19:1 ESV)

A God who intervenes, acts, reveals himselfA God who loves, who is relational

Gen 3:8-9 they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day ... The Lord God called to the man ... “Where are you?”

What Kind of God, if Any Exists?

Gen 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

I am made in the image of GodDignity and sanctity of human lifeEquality of all people, male and female

I am God’s representative on the earthA steward of God’s creation (Gen 1:28)He has a will and purpose for my life

Who am I and where did I come from?

God is the standard of good“And God saw that it was good.”

God has the right to ruleGen 3:16 you may surely eat of every tree of

the garden,  but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat

What is right and wrong?

Our culture’s answers:“A few bad apples”“Lack of education”The government / economic inequality /

religionBible’s answer:

Sin, Disobedience, Rebellion, PrideGen 3:1 “Did God actually say”Gen 3:6 she took of its fruit and ate, and she

also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate

What’s wrong with the world?

Consequences of sin: ShameSeparationCurse (Judgement)

Proto-evangelium (the first gospel proclamation):Gen 3:15 I will put enmity between you and

the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.

Gen 3:21 the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.

What is the Solution?