Underlying this brief history of Western civilization is a very basic reality . Without God , true knowledge is impossible . Without God , certainty loses to skepticism , truth claims devolve into power plays , and objectivity can never escape subjectivism .
Philosopher Richard Rorty put it this way , saying , “ I came to realize that the search of the philosophers for a grand scheme that would encompass everything was an illusion . Only a theism that combined a God with equal measures of truth , love , and justice could do the trick .” 5
I know what you ’ re thinking : I know Who that God is . But Rorty had already dismissed the possibility of God . And so that made any real attempt at discovering truth a dead end . But 1,000 years ago , Anselm of Canterbury offered a way forward , suggesting that the pursuit of truth could best be understood as fides quaerens intellectum , or “ faith seeking understanding .” 6
The Christian worldview acknowledges the frailty of the human mind but still grounds knowledge in the eternal , unchanging nature of a God outside of us . And , even better , a God who communicates to us . In this vision , our limitations are best understood not as dead ends but as invitations to ask questions and to seek answers from the One who has them .
Christianity offers something far better than the fallible traditions of ancient days , or the arrogant ideology of the modern era , or the socially constructed tales of our postmodern time . It offers the true description of the world — as it really is , the self-revelation of an omniscient God who not only loves us but created us with the ability to know . ■
THE
ViewFinder
A Biblical Worldview Discovery and Development Tool
A Biblical Worldview Discovery & Development Tool
®
John Stonestreet serves as president of the Colson Center for Christian Worldview . He ’ s a sought-after author and speaker on areas of faith and culture , theology , worldview , education , and apologetics . John is the daily voice of BreakPoint , the nationally syndicated commentary on the culture founded by the late Chuck Colson . He is also the voice of The Point , a daily one-minute feature on worldview , apologetics , and cultural issues .
Timothy D . Padgett Ph . D . is the Managing Editor of BreakPoint . org with the Colson Center for Christian Worldview . His focus is on cultural engagement , living out the Christian worldview , and the way Christians argue for diverse viewpoints while sharing a common biblical foundation — particularly regarding the relationship between church and state , Christ and culture , and war and peace .
ENDNOTES 1 . Tom Bevan (@ TomBevanRCP ), “ OR Governor signed law suspending the state ’ s proficiency standards for reading , writing and math in the name of equity ,” Twitter , August 10 , 2021 , 8:32 a . m ., https :// twitter . com / TomBevanRCP / status / 1425072478204870679 . 2 . John Stonestreet , “ What Does “ Demisexual ” Say about Christian Hope ?” BreakPoint . org , July 27 , 2021 , https :// breakpoint . org / what-is-demisexuality-and-the-better-christianvision-of-identity . 3 . Libs of Tik Tok (@ libsoftiktok ), “ Not a single word in this video makes sense ,” Twitter , August 2 , 2021 , 12:28 a . m ., https :// twitter . com / libsoftiktok / status / 1422051670792495108 . 4 . Katie Herzog , “ Med Schools Are Now Denying Biological Sex ,” Common Sense with Bari Weiss on Substack , July 27 , 2021 , https :// bariweiss . substack . com / p / med-schools-are-now-denying-biological . 5 . Millard J . Erickson , The Postmodern World : Discerning the Times and the Spirit of Our Age ( Crossway , 2002 ), 49 . 6 . Thomas Williams , “ Saint Anselm ,” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy , December 8 , 2020 , https :// plato . stanford . edu / entries / anselm .
Copyright © 2021 by the Colson Center for Christian Worldview . Reprinted from BreakPoint . org with permission .
How well-developed is your biblical worldview ?
The ViewFinder is a tool to help teenagers and adults understand what they believe about six areas of biblical worldview : God , the Bible , moral order , purpose , creation , and humanity .
Consisting of thirty questions about real-life moral dilemmas with multiple-choice answers , the ViewFinder allows individuals to consider not only what they believe but how they would respond if they found themselves in similar situations .
Digitally delivered results include explanations for each answer , and recommended reading lists further develop a biblical worldview . A biblical worldview certificate is included for those who achieve the highest marks .
Available digitally at renewanation . org / viewfinder for single or group use .
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