Introduction: Write an essay where you identify and evaluate a presupposition or set of presuppositions in your discipline in light of the worldview of Christian theism. To accomplish this purpose, complete the following tasks:
Identify specific beliefs or ideas (presuppositions) in your discipline.
Choose one presupposition or a set of presuppositions to examine in detail.
Identify the worldview that the presupposition represents.
Examine its validity in light of Christian theism.
Directions:
View: How to write a documented worldview essay http://www.kaltura.com/tiny/iz1k7 [28 mins.]
Read: C.S. Lewis, “The Poison of Subjectivism,” pp. 163-171
Read: Worldviews by Jerry Solomon http://www.leaderu.com/orgs/probe/docs/w-views.html
Read: Comparing five worldviews by Dennis McCallum https://www.xenos.org/essays/five-worldviews
Organize your essay by dividing it into three parts:
o In your discipline of Ministry and Leadership with a concentration on Evangelism and Outreach, examine a specific worldview and its underlying presuppositions. You may select more than one. Remember to refer to a worker in the discipline using the third person (doctor, teacher, accountant…). Choose a worldview that is antithetical (or at least is not accommodating) to Christianity; a worldview with which you disagree. This can be determined by asking the following questions:
§§ What do the presuppositions say about meaning?
§§ How is evidence approached and evaluated?
§§ Should the presuppositions and the subsequent theory or assertion be rejected by the
Christian theist?
§§ Should the belief or theory be accepted by the Christian theist at all? If so, in what
manner?
§§ Can the theory or position be modified to fit a Christian theistic worldview? Describe
the worldview in detail; you must use the correct philosophical terms (metaphysics,
epistemology, axiology).
o Show how and why the worldview is flawed.
§§ Use the tests of reason, experience, and practice to analyze the presuppositions of the worldview.
§§ Use presuppositional apologetics as a means to evaluate how a particular worldview stands on its own merits. In other words, examine the validity of the basic assertions of an argument.
§§ Discuss the ramifications for the discipline if the worldview is carried to its logical conclusion.
o Assert the correct worldview as it relates to Christian theism.
§§ Indicate the reasons this worldview and its presuppositions are valid.
§§ Discuss the ramifications of this worldview in the discipline you have chosen.
§§ Explain how the Christian perspective would direct the theories or ideas espoused as
well as guide the activities of the researcher or scientist. How would the field change?
§§ In what ways could your faith in Christ enrich your discipline?
§§ How could Christianity ensure the validity and correctness of the actions taken as a