Christian Religion as Philosophy

Get Complete Project Material File(s) Now! »

CHAPTER THREE BIBLICAL WORLDVIEW

This chapter will delineate the biblical, or Christian, worldview in summary form. A worldview based on the content of the Bible, the Holy Scriptures of the Christian faith, is considered to be the Christian worldview. For the Christian, the Bible gives not only religious doctrine to be believed and religious ritual to be practiced, but it also gives a religious picture of the whole world, and all of time, that formulates into a Weltanschauung. This chapter is not concerned with the tenets, dogmas or doctrines of the Christian religion. It is concerned with how the Bible answers the worldview questions that we all ask, and how those answers are formulated into a Christian philosophy of life or worldview. The next chapter is concerned with how African Traditional Religion answers the same questions and how those answers are formulated into an African worldview.

Christian Religion as Philosophy

The discipline of philosophy and its relationship to the religion of Christianity has a history that follows the thesis >antithesis> synthesis pathway. Christianity began in a culture greatly influenced by Greek philosophy and the question since its beginning has been: Christianity vs philosophy or Christianity as philosophy? Tertulian (155-222), one of the earliest church Fathers, taught that philosophy has no place in religion. He reportedly said that he believed Christianity because it is absurd. Two hundred years later, Augustine (354-430), Bishop of Hippo, assimilated Platonism into his Christian theology. Anselm (1033-1109), Archbishop of Canterbury, formulated his now famous version of the ontological argument for the existence of God. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274), a Roman Catholic philosopher, brought Aristotelian philosophy into the Christian faith believing that philosophy and religion compliment each other, with reasoning pointing us toward faith. John Wesley (1703-1791) considered philosophy to be separate from Christianity but something that ministers needed to acquire knowledge of. In his “Address to the Clergy” delivered February 6, 1756, Wesley (1872:492) challenged the ministers to be a ‘tolerable master of the sciences’ by entering through the gate of logic. And he asked them to ask themselves: ‘Do I understand metaphysics; if not the depths of the Schoolmen, the subtleties of Scotus or Aquinas, yet the first rudiments, the general principles, of that useful science?’
By the late nineteenth century, the concept of worldview had firmly established itself within the discipline of philosophy. James Orr (1844-1913) delivered his famous Kerr Lectures, which were published in book form, to justify the rationality of the Christian view of the world. He noted the recurrent use of Weltanschauung in philosophy and German theology and saw the need to expound a Christian Weltanschauung. However, he does not equate Weltanschauung and philosophy. Orr (1948:8) writes:
Christianity, it is granted, is not a scientific system, though, if its views of the world be true, it must be reconcilable with all that is certain and established in the results of science. It is not a philosophy, though, if it be valid, its fundamental assumptions will be found to be in harmony with the conclusions at which sound reason, attaching its own problems, independently arrives. It is a religion, historical in its origin, and claiming to rest on divine Revelation. But though Christianity is neither a scientific system, nor a philosophy, it has yet a world-view of its own, to which it stands committed….It has, as every religion should and must have, its own peculiar interpretation to give of the facts of existence; its own way of looking at, and accounting for, the existing natural and moral order; its own idea of a world-aim, and of that “one far-off Divine event,” to which, through slow and painful travail, “the whole creation moves.” As thus binding the natural and moral worlds in their highest unity, through reference to their ultimate principle, God, it involves a “Weltanschauung”.
Although Orr did not believe that the Christian view of the world constituted a philosophy, he used the field of philosophy to structure his work. Throughout his lectures he pits Christianity and the Christian worldview up against the philosophies and philosophers of his day and prior.
The second half of the twentieth century witnessed a synthesis of opinion among Christian theologians and educators that the religion of Christianity does contain its own worldview and it also constitutes a philosophy of life. Moreland and Craig (2003:3) state: ‘Since the late 1960s Christian philosophers have been coming out of the closet and defending the truth of the Christian worldview with philosophically sophisticated arguments in the finest scholarly journals and professional societies.’ The movement actually began a decade or so earlier. In the early 1950s two philosophy textbooks were published by professors at well-known evangelical seminaries which have been used by many Christian colleges and seminaries over the years. Edward John Carnell published A Philosophy of the Christian Religion and A Christian Approach to Philosophy was published by Warren C. Young. Carnell’s book limits itself to reason reaching its perfection in faith in the person of Jesus Christ. Carnell (1952:53) states: ‘Biblical Christianity outlines an epistemological and metaphysical framework which gives cosmic support to the virtue of love.’ His philosophy results in a religion of love but not in a total worldview. Young’s book on the other hand is an introduction to Christian philosophy for Christian colleges. It deals with the principles of philosophy and concludes with what he calls, ‘The Christian realistic world-view.’ Young (1954:200) writes:
The Christian realistic faith is founded, not on human speculation, but on divine disclosure. …if “philosophy” be understood to mean a world-view or a way of life, as it has been used throughout this work, and as it is most generally understood today, then Christianity is a philosophy. If philosophy is…the attempt to see life steadily and to see it whole, or as others have suggested, to give a coherent account of all of one’s experience, then certainly there is a Christian philosophy. The basic question of human experience is not philosophy verses no philosophy, but good philosophy versus bad philosophy. Everyone has a philosophy of life, a world-view, no matter what form it may happen to take. Our problem is not to get rid of philosophy, but to find the right philosophy, and having found it, to present it to others with a conviction that grows out of the assurance that one has found the truth.
After Young came Francis Schaeffer (1912-1984) who wrote prolifically from the late 1960s to the early 1980s. In one of his early works Schaeffer (1982:178) writes: ‘The Christian system (what is taught in the whole Bible) is a unity of thought. Christianity is not just a lot of bits and pieces—there is a beginning and an end, a whole system of truth, and this system is the only system that will stand up to all the questions that are presented to us as we face the reality of existence.’ If we look at a definition of ‘philosophy’ as given in The New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, 4th ed.: ‘A set or system of ideas, opinions, beliefs, or principles of behaviour based on an overall understanding of existence and the universe’, then Christianity would certainly be a philosophy. Most of Schaeffer’s writings use metaphysics, ethics/morality, and epistemology to present the Christian system and to defend it against other philosophies.
J.P. Moreland and William Lane Craig represent a large contingent of present day Christian philosophers teaching in Christian colleges and universities. They are well educated in philosophy from prestigious universities in the U.S. and Europe and they teach Christianity as philosophy. Moreland and Craig co-wrote a mammoth textbook titled Philosophical Foundations for a Christian Worldview in which they present Christianity as philosophy and show how philosophy is used in constructing systematic theologies and as tools in apologetics and polemics.
From its early years in which Christianity was seen as antithesis to philosophy (The Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Colosse recorded in Col 2:8, ‘Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit…’), to Christianity and philosophy being seen as separate but friends, Christianity has now been recognized by Christian scholars as a philosophy that can compete with and conquer other philosophies. Christian philosophy is lived out in a Christian or biblical worldview which has its foundation built upon the first eleven chapters of the first book (Genesis) of the Christian holy book, the Bible.

 Use of Genesis 1-11 in Establishing the Biblical Worldview

The Bible, as Francis Schaeffer stated, contains a whole unified system of thought that constitutes a biblical worldview. Converts to Christianity must look to the Bible as their rule of faith and practice and therefore, must live by and with the biblical worldview. The value of using Genesis 1-11 in establishing the biblical worldview is given by Hans Weerstra (1997d:56):
Epistemology asks how do we know what we know, and how valid and true is what we know, and what is the source and limitations, if any of the knowledge we have. Genesis 1 -11 gives true, reasonable and reliable answers to these ultimate questions. Without God’s revelation given in the first chapters of Genesis no true reliable knowledge of ultimate reality, including the visible and invisible existence, (empirical and non-empirical reality) is possible. One cannot obtain the deep answers concerning life, its origin, meaning and purpose without this fundamental basic reality as God has given it in Genesis 1-11.

 Genesis as First Principles

The Book of Genesis was written in the Hebrew language and the first word of the book is bereshith which means ‘in beginning.’ The first word of a book customarily was used by the Hebrews as the title for the book (Wood 1975:9). The earliest translation of the Hebrew Scriptures into Greek used the Greek word genesis (meaning origin, source, generation) as the title for the first book. First principles of the biblical worldview are expressed as origins. Henry Morris (1976:17) explains why:
The Book of Genesis gives vital information concerning the origin of all things—and therefore the meaning of all things—which would otherwise be forever inaccessible to man. The future is bound up in the past. One’s belief concerning his origin will inevitably determine his belief concerning his purpose and his destiny. A naturalistic, animalistic concept of beginnings specifies a naturalistic, animalistic program for the future. An origin at the hands of an omnipotent, holy, loving God, on the other hand, necessarily predicts a divine purpose in history and an assurance of the consummation of that purpose. A believing understanding of the Book of Genesis is therefore prerequisite to an understanding of God and His meaning to man.
John Philips (1980:38) has this to say about origins: ‘Genesis 1 is a statement of origins, and science knows nothing of origins. Science is concerned with how things go on and has nothing to say about how they began. Science can measure the laws that now govern in the material universe, but those laws do not explain how the whole process started….that kind of information is not to be obtained by reason but by revelation.’
Among the first principles of the biblical worldview as given by Morris (1976:18-21) are these:
1. Origin of the universe – The Book of Genesis stands alone in accounting for the actual creation of the space-mass-time continuum which constitutes our physical universe.
2. Origin of order and complexity – Man’s universal observation…is that orderly and complex things tend naturally to decay into disorder and simplicity. Order and complexity never arise spontaneously – they are always generated by a prior cause programmed to produce such order.
3. Origin of the solar system – The Book of Genesis tells that the earth, sun, moon, planets, and all the stars of heaven were brought into existence by the Creator. Modern scientific cosmogonists have been notably unsuccessful in attempting to devise naturalistic theories of the origin of the universe and the solar system.
4. Origin of life – How living systems could have come into being from non-living chemicals is…a total mystery to materialistic philosophers. If the laws of thermodynamics and probability mean anything at all, the almost-infinite complexity programmed into the genetic systems of plants and animals, are inexplicable except by special creation.
5. Origin of man – Man is the most highly organized and complex entity in the universe, so far as we know, possessing not only innumerable intricate physio-chemical structures, and the marvellous capacities of life and reproduction, but also a nature which contemplates the abstract entities of beauty and love and worship, and which is capable of philosophizing about its own meaning. Man’s imaginary evolutionary descent from animal ancestors is altogether illusory. The true record of his origin is given only in Genesis.
6. Origin of marriage – The remarkably universal and stable institution of marriage and the home, in a monogamous, patriarchal social culture, is described in Genesis as having been ordained by the Creator.
7. Origin of evil – The origin of physical and moral evil in the universe is explained in Genesis as a temporary intrusion into God’s perfect world, allowed by Him as a concession to the principle of human freedom and responsibility, and also to manifest Himself as Redeemer as well as Creator.
8. Origin of languages and nations – All scholars today accept the unity of the human race. Only the Book of Genesis adequately explains how distinct nations, races, and languages could develop if all men were originally of one race, one language, and in one location.
9. Origin of culture – The Book of Genesis describes the beginning of the main entities which we now associate with civilized cultures – such things as urbanization, metallurgy, music, agriculture, animal husbandry, education, navigation, textiles, and ceramics.
10. Origin of religion – Many religions take the form of an organized system of worship and conduct. The origin of this unique characteristic of man’s consciousness, as well as the origin of true worship of the true God, is given in Genesis.
This connection between origin and worldview is expressed by van Dyke (2001:156): ‘…, all these questions pertain directly to our worldview and ultimately to our concept of origins.’ Morris (1976:21) sums up the importance of The Book of Genesis to the first principles of the Christian worldview by stating: ‘The Book of Genesis thus is in reality the foundation of all true history, as well as true science and true philosophy.’

CHAPTER ONE – INTRODUCTION 
1.1 Research Thesis
1.2 Limits of Research
1.3 Relevance of Thesis
1.4 Methodological Approach to Research
1.5 Review of Pertinent Literature
1.6 Why Use ‘Worldview’?
1.7 Value of Genesis1-11
1.8 Value of Africans
1.9 Design of Thesis
CHAPTER TWO – WORLDVIEW 
2.1 Definitions
2.2 History of the Worldview Concept
2.3 Religious Dimensions of Worldview Analysis
2.4 Philosophical Elements of Worldview
2.5 Which Worldview(s) Reflect Reality?
CHAPTER THREE – BIBLICAL WORLDVIEW 
3.1 Christian Religion as Philosophy
3.2 Use of Genesis1-11 in Establishing the Biblical Worldview
3.3 Genesis 1-11: Tales or Truth?
3.4 Revelation as Postulating Christian Philosophy
3.5 Delineation of the Christian Worldview
3.6 Philosophical Elements of the Christian Worldview
3.7 Religious Dimensions of the Christian Worldview
3.8 Culture in Genesis 1-11
3.9 Conclusion
CHAPTER FOUR – AFRICAN WORLDVIEW 
4.1 Is there an ‘African’ Worldview?
4.2 ATR as Philosophy
4.3 Vital Force as Postulating the African Worldview
4.4 Delineation of the African Worldview
4.5 Philosophical Elements of the African Worldview
4.6 Religious Dimensions of the African Worldview
4.7 African Worldview and Culture
4.8 A Worldview in Transition
CHAPTER FIVE – TWO WORLDVIEWS: CONFLICT OR CONFORMITY?
5.1 The Two Worldviews as Philosophy
5.2 Basic Postulates of the Two Worldviews
5.3 Philosophical Elements Compared
5.4 Religious Dimensions Compared
5.5 Relationship of Christianity to ATR
CHAPTER SIX – CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 
6.1 Religious Conversion
6.2 Paths of Divergence in Worldview Beliefs
6.3 Effects of Holding Both Worldviews on the Christian Church in Africa
6.4 Recommendations to the Church in Africa
6.5 Conclusionn
BIBLIOGRAPHY
GET THE COMPLETE PROJECT