The Connections between “Roots” and “Fruit”
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Uproot for analysis…
Branches and “fruit” =
outward behavior
Roots = inward beliefs
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Points to consider
 Definitions of worldview
 What is the connection
 Why should I be
between worldviews &
values?
 What is the Christian
worldview?
 What is the importance
of all of this to the
individual Christian?
interested?
 Major elements of a
worldview
 What are the basic
worldviews?
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Definitions of Worldview
 Sum total of propositions a person believes (Jay
Wegter)
 A set of presuppositions (or assumptions) which we
hold (consciously or subconsciously) about the basic
makeup of our world (James Sire)
 An explanation and interpretation of the world… an
application of this view to life (Phillips and Brown)
 A developed worldview supplies answers to questions
of origin, purpose, and destiny (James Orr)
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Definitions continued…
 A set of assumptions that people make about the
nature of reality (Freddy Davis)
 A faith position which is the organizing principle for
an individual’s understanding of how the real world
operates (Freddy Davis)
Every Worldview IS a FAITH position.
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Why should I be interested?
 Personal development and self-reflection provides the
quality of the foundation for professional development
ERI
Ethical Professionals
Responsive Professionals
Informed Professionals
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Recall the basics…
 A worldview (ROOTS) guarantees adherence to some
system of thought and so outcomes (FRUIT)
 A worldview provides an overarching approach to
understanding God, the world, and the relationship of
people to God and the world. (David Noebel)
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Seeing clearly…
Worldview is like an invisible pair
of eyeglasses-glasses you put on
to help you see reality clearly.
If you choose the right pair of
glasses, you can see everything
vividly and can behave in sync
with the real world.
But if you choose the wrong pair
of glasses, you may find yourself
in a worse plight than the blind
man - thinking you see clearly
when in reality your vision is
severely distorted. (Jeff Baldwin)
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Commonalities of all Worldviews
reference: Jay Wegter
Ultimate
reference point
or
authoritative
vantage point
Worldviews
Law of noncontradiction
(not
relativistic)
Presupposes
certain things
to be true
without
absolute proof
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Major Elements of a Worldview
One organizational structure
anthropology
theology
ethics
epistemology
metaphysics
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Theology
What is God’s
relationship with
nature?
Is God personal?
Can He be known?
If so, how may He be
known?
What are God’s
attributes?
What does the person believe
about the existence of God?
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Metaphysics
Is the universe created?
What is God’s relation to
the universe?
Is the universe coeternal with God?
Is the universe
mechanistic, solely
material, nonpurposeful, closed?
What is the nature of
ultimate reality?
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Epistemology
Can man trust his senses?
Does man’s abstract reason
correspond with the physical
universe so that meaning is
possible?
Is all truth relative and none
absolute?
What is the proper role of
reason?
What is the source of man’s
innate ideas?
Can God reveal Himself?
What is the ultimate authority in
the realm of knowledge?
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Ethics
Are moral laws the same
for all people?
Are moral laws to be
discerned by
investigation?
Are moral laws
constructed by humans?
Are moral laws always
changing?
Do morals transcend culture,
history, and individual boundaries?
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Anthropology
Is man material only, or
does he have a soul?
Does man’s existence
end at death or is there
an afterlife?
Is there a heaven and a
hell where individuals
are conscious and
physically present?
Are humans “pawns”
controlled by deterministic
forces?
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Naturalism
Animism
Basic
Worldviews
Far Eastern Thought
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Theism
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Worldview
Basic Assumptions
Associated Belief
Systems
Naturalism
There is no supernatural
existence. Only matter
exists which is eternal &
evolving.
Secular Humanism,
Atheism, Existentialism,
Marxism, Agnosticism
Far Eastern Thought
Essence of all existence impersonal life force.
Pieces of the life force are
consistently working
towards merging with
main body.
Hinduism, Hare Krishna,
Transcendental
Meditation, Buddhism,
Taoism, Jainism, Sikhism
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Worldview
Basic Assumptions
Associated Belief
Systems
Theism
Infinite & transcendent
(supernatural) GodCreator & Sustainer of the
material universe
Christianity, Judaism,
Islam, Jehovah’s
Witnesses, Mormonism
Animism
Universe contains both
material & immaterial parts.
Spirits exist in separate places
from physical human beings;
interaction in a symbiotic
relationship
Astrology, Spiritism,
Native American
Religions,
Witchcraft/Wicca,
Japanese Shinto
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Implications of the different
worldviews on resultant values?
Power
Tradition
Achievement
Worldview
Benevolence
Selfdirection
Hedonism
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Seeing clearly: Roots & Fruit
Recall: A developed worldview supplies answers to
questions of origin, purpose, and destiny (James Orr)
Colossians 2:6-8
So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in
him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were
taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. See to it that no one takes
you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends
on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than
on Christ.
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II Corinthians 10:5
We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets
itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take
captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
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What is the Christian Worldview?
“The Christian worldview stands or falls on the accuracy of the Bible”
(Noebel, 2002, p. 15)
God made the world, ordered man’s place in it, and redeemed it.
God is Creator
The Gospel Message
Christ’s return and End times
God’s ultimate authority - Scripture
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Consider…
All branches of knowledge are connected together,
because the subject matter of knowledge is intimately
united in itself, as being the acts and the work of the
Creator. (John H. Newman)
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How does the Christian worldview
answer the following…
 Theology: Is there a God, and what is God like?
 Philosophy: What is real, and what is true?
 Biology: What is the origin of life?
 Psychology: What is the basic nature of man?
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Additional disciplines…
 Ethics: What is right?
 Sociology: How should society be structured?
 Law: What is the basis for law?
 Politics: What is the purpose of government?
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Finally, consider how the Christian
worldview answers the following…
 Economics: What produces a sound economy?
 History: How should we interpret human events?
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Importance for the Individual Christian?
 Worldview is a FAITH
position
 The organizing principle for
an individual’s understanding
of how the world operates
 We think & act based on these
beliefs.
 Personal faith life
 Our Witness
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