Nature of World Views (Chapter two)

• If you are looking at a worldview, any

assertion, or any challenge to your own
worldview, you have to evaluate it on the basis
of truth, the coherence of what is being
claimed, and then the implications of what this
means for your personal life. Ravi Zacharias
 Nature of World Views
• By the end of this lecture, students should be able to:
• Identify the major Worldviews and explain their
major elements
• Identify the major Worldviews/power blocks ( as
identified by Samuel Huntington and David Burnett
and explain the competition that exist among them.
• Explain some key terms and biblical passages in the
chapter related to the study of World Views.
 Key Terms
• Saving grace: It redeems or save, negative experiences e.g
Christ saves from sin.
• Common grace: Points out that God loves the whole world,
and exercises patience and kindness even to those who
ultimately reject him.
• Great Commission: Be Jesus ascended to Heaven, He gathered
the disciples together and said, “All authority has been given to
Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of
all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of
the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all
things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you
always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:18-20).
 Key Terms
• Cultural Commission: When God’s orders is simply defined as
God’s direction to us to bring His order into His creation. It was
given to Adam and Eve in the pre-Fall Eden and re-emphasized
to them by God as He banished them from the Garden. Genesis
1:26-30. It establishes that God has given man dominion and
responsibility for all aspects of the earthly creation:
• In Genesis 2:19-20, God teaches man to organize and create
order within the creation:
• “And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together”
(Col 1:17).
• Apologetics: is the religious discipline of defending religious
doctrines through systematic argumentation and discourse.
 Bible Passage
• 2 Corinthians 4:2b-6
• “not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God
deceitfully but by manifestation of the truth commending
ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God. But if
our Gospel be hid, it is hid to them who are lost. In whom the
god of this world has blinded the minds of them which believe
not, lest the light of the Glorious Gospel of Christ, who is the
Image of God, should shine unto them. For we preach not
ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants
for Jesus’ sake. For God, who commanded the light to shine out
of darkness, has shined in ur hearts, to give the light of the
knowledge of the Glory of God in the Face of Jesus Christ.
 Main Points
• Multitude of Worldviews
i. Understanding the first century milieu of religions &
beliefs
ii. Main elements of every Worldview
• Worldviews in competition
i. Major worldview “power blocks”
ii. The Western Worldview (Christianity vs Naturalism)
iii. The Western Worldview vs the African Traditional
Worldview
• The Cultural Commission & Common Grace
The four Questions used to describe your
identity
• Who
• What
• How
• why
 The Seven Major Worldviews Grouping/
Power Blocks
• Samuel Huntington • David Burnett
• Major Civilizations or • Major Worldview Groups
Power Blocks.
• Western (Western • Natural (natural character &
civilization) belief system)
• Islamic • Islamic
• Chinese • Chinese
• Japanese • Buddhist
• Hindu • Hindu
• African Religions • Traditional
• Orthodox • Christian
Five major elements of Every Worldview
Elements of a Description Burnett’s WV themes
Worldview (Analysis Tool)

Meta-physics The nature of the universe, & the Cosmos; Time.

relationship between God, self & the
world.

Theology The nature, character, &essence of Burnnett views God as a

God. Issues of life, death and component of each theme,
afterlife. therefore redundant to have
a separate category.

Anthropology The nature of mankind, self, family, Self; community

community, social ethnic group etc;
Culture
Five major elements of Every Worldview
continuation.
Elements of a Description Burnett’s WV themes
Worldview (Analysis Tool)

Epistemology What can we know? What kinds of Knowing

knowledge are trustworthy? How do we
know what we know? Truth

Ethics Values, morals, the nature of right and Value

wrong; social mores and behaviour; What is
good?
 Out Come of Worldview Encounters
• Qn. What happens when two World Views meet?
• Violence: Somalia, Northern Uganda, Afghanistan (Teliban’s)
• Mutual separation Impasse: When no further understanding or compromise is
possible, & agree to go their separate ways.
• Co-existence: Believing that either side is right or wrong but equally valid in
their understanding even if conflicting (Relativism).
• What you think is right for you, is right for you & what I think, is right for me, is
right for me even if what we think is different.
• Conversion: one side changes, being persuaded by the other that the other is
more truthful.
• Mutual exchange and understanding: sharing ideas and being open to learning
from the ways the other is different from oneself. It can take place without
conversion. Explaining & defending your own worldview your position is often
clarified or strengthened. Strengths you admire in competing worldviews may be
applied to your own.
 Naturalistic Worldview
• Naturalism is the understanding that there is a
single, natural world as shown by science, and that
we are completely included in it. Everything we are
& do is connected to the rest of the World & derived
from conditions that precedes us & around us.
• Each of us is unfolding a natural process, & every
aspect of that process is caused, &is a cause itself.
(we are caused creature, seeing just how we are
caused gives us power & control, while encouraging
compassion & humility
 Naturalism characteristics
• Every thing that can be known and explained is through nature.
• Anything out side the natural world is epistemologically unknown.
• Matter exists & only thing known to empirically exist.
• Natural world is experienced through senses (No divine revelation)
• Universe is a closed “system” not open to control from outside forces.
• Scepticism about the supernatural. If God exist is part of the cosmos,
& not separate from it.
• Scientific principles form our epistemlogical framework to understand
the world.
• The scientific method; cause & effects; lawas & gravity. Therefore,
miracles cannot occur, no witchcraft,no evil foorce,demonic or
angelic
 Seven common elements/ characteristics of
Traditional African Worldviews
i. Emphasis of life in community; identity &
meaning is found in the community.
ii. There is a relationship between the living &
the ‘living’ dead.
iii. The spirit world exists, it is related to the
physical World.
iv. The people live in a relationship oriented life:
People & relationships have a greater priority
than technology & material things
 Common Elements/ Characteristics of
Traditional African Worldview
v. The memory of colonial rule & its suffering,
& now the experience if independence are
both relevant.
vi. Life is viewed holistically. No watertight
compartmentalization but an integrated view
of life is encouraged
vii. Great emphasis is placed on the events than
on time and schedules
 Worldviews Tutorial session for chapter
two.
• Rousseau employed a general structure of worldviews he
had developed to view any problems as a special case of the
general problem, following the six components:
• 1. Ontology- what exists?
• 2. Metaphysics- What is the nature of what exists; what does
It do?
• 3. Epistemology- What can we know about what exists and
how?
• 4Cosmology- What is its origin and destiny?
• 5. Axiology- what is important & why?
• 6. Praxeology- How shoulk
 Case study of different worldviews: The
characteristics of Worldviews
• Examples, from your community to explain
how world views interact?
• Mato-oput
• Bagishu: Imbaru (ritual& culture)
• Baganda: Twin Ritual