Cincinnati Christian University
GPL 340 – Survey of World Views (3 hours)
Rick Cherok, Ph.D.
Spring Semester 2013
Email: rick.cherok@CCUniversity.edu
Home Phone: 513-244-8152
Office Phone: 513-244-8198
Office: Crouch Hall (lower level)
Course Syllabus
DESCRIPTION: This course will introduce students to the concept of “worldview” and provide an
overview of the basic philosophical components of the various worldviews that continue to influence
our thought and culture. The goal is to help students develop their own cohesive and functional
views of reality within a Christian learning environment.
RATIONALE: To understand the philosophical premises that structure modern thought and society,
students must be made aware of the differing “worldviews” that compete for primacy within the
marketplace of ideas.
OBJECTIVES: The student will…
 Be able to explain the concept of worldview and distinguish between various worldviews by
identifying the characteristic traits of the differing worldviews.
 Recognize and identify various worldview convictions as they are expressed in diverse cultural
forms of communication.
 Utilize their understanding of worldview as a tool for evaluating culture and society from a
Christian perspective.
 Develop analytical reading, writing, and listening skills.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
1. Attendance – Absences are strongly discouraged. Excessive absences will result in the
lowering of your grade (see the college catalog for attendance requirements).
2. Take notes on all class lectures and participate in classroom discussions and activities.
3. Read the assigned chapters of the course textbooks:
a. The Consequences of Ideas by R. C. Sproul
b. The Universe Next Door by James W. Sire.
4. Read the four required supplemental textbooks and prepare a two-page book analysis. This
analysis must (1) provide a brief overview of the book, and (2) explain and illustrate the
worldview expressed by the book’s author.
a. Night by Elie Wiesel
b. The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
c. The Stranger by Albert Camus
d. Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse
5. View assigned movies and prepare a two-page analysis of the worldview presented in each
movie (additional movies may be assigned later in the semester).
6. Complete weekly reading quizzes over philosophical ideas (Sproul book).
7. Portfolio – Prepare a portfolio containing at least two examples of each worldview discussed in
class. Use at least three mediums of communication (i.e., literature, music, movies/TV, art,
comic strips, advertisements, etc., etc.).
8. Complete a Final Examination.
9. EXTRA CREDIT OPTION – Watch and review the movie Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed
and/or read and review the book There is a God by Antony Flew.
“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you
know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are
serving.”
--Colossians 3:23-24 (NIV)
GRADING PROCEDURE: Letter grades will be determined in accordance with the percentages
listed in the college catalog. Individual grades will be based on the following criteria:
a. Final Examination
15%
b. Portfolio
25%
c. Reviews – Four Books and Four Movies
40% (5% each)
d. Reading Quiz Average (Lowest 3 quiz grades dropped)
15%
e. Class Attendance, Participation, and Preparedness
5%
Course Schedule
(The Professor reserves the right to make any changes to the Course Schedule that he deems necessary)
Section I: Philosophical Background
A. Orientation and Introduction
B. Video Series & Philosophic Readings
Section II: Analysis of Worldviews
A. Theistic Views
(1) Christian Theism
(2) Other Monotheistic Views
(3) Deism
B. Non-Theistic Views
(1) Naturalism
(2) Nihilism
(3) Existentialism
C.
D.
E.
F.
Mystical Views
(1) Eastern Pantheistic Monism
(2) New Age/Animism/Occult
Postmodernism
Choosing a Worldview
Final Exam Week – Portfolio Due
Sire
1
Reading/Review Assignments
-Video – How Should We Then Live?
-Book – The Consequences of Ideas
-Movie – To Kill a Mockingbird
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
-Movie – Instinct
-Book - Night
-Book – The Old Man and the Sea
-Book – The Stranger
-Movie – Dead Poets Society
-Book – Siddhartha
-Movie – Matrix
Class Guidelines:
1. Arrive in class prior to the start of class and be prepared for class work (have paper, pens, etc.).
2. Students who arrive in class late will mark “tardy” on the attendance sheet. Excessive tardiness will not
be tolerated, three tardies is equivalent to one unexcused absence (a student may be considered tardy only
if he/she arrives within the first fifteen minutes of class).
3. It is your responsibility to mark the attendance sheet. If you do not sign it on the day of the class, you
will be marked absent (do not come to me the next day and tell me you were present but have been
marked absent).
4. Students who leave class early (without permission from the professor) will be marked absent.
5. Be attentive in class. Sleeping, talking, and/or disturbances of any kind will not be tolerated (you will be
marked absent for the day). Excessive inappropriate activities will result in the lowering of your grade or
failure in the class.
6. Using computers (or other electronic devices) in class for anything other than taking notes will result in
automatic and immediate dismissal from the class and failure of the course.
7. Do not leave trash, papers, or debris in this classroom (keep the classroom clean!).
8. Turn in all papers on the assigned dates. In emergency situations, the professor may grant a one-week
extension, but only upon student request. No assignments will be accepted after the extension.
9. Take all exams on the scheduled examination dates.
10. Turn off all cell phones before the start of class
11. Contact the professor if you have problems, need additional clarification of information, require help with
the course requirements, or seek some other form of assistance.
“As a man thinks in his heart, so is he” – Proverbs 23:7