Hidden Worldviews

by Wilkens, Steve

• ISBN13: 9780830838547
• ISBN10: 0830838546
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-11-30
• Publisher: Intervarsity Press

Summary

Why do we buy what we buy, vote the way we vote, eat what we eat and say what we say? Why do we have the friends we have, and work and play as we do? It's our choice? Yes, but there are forces, often unseen, that shape every decision we make and every action we take.These hidden, life-shaping values and ideas are not promoted through organized religions or rival philosophies but fostered by cultural habits, lifestyles and the institutional structures of society. Steve Wilkens and Mark Sanford shine a spotlight on the profound challenges to Christianity and faithful Christian living that come from worldviews that comprise the cultural soup we swim in.The authors show how to detect the individualism, consumerism, nationalism, moral relativism, scientific naturalism, New Age thinking, postmodern tribalism and salvation as therapy that fly under our radar. Building on the work of worldview thinkers like James Sire, this book helps those committed to the gospel story recognize those rival cultural stories that compete for our hearts and minds.

Author Biography

Steve Wilkens (Ph.D., Fuller Theological Seminary) is professor of theology and ethics at Azusa Pacific University. He is the author of Good Ideas from Questionable Christians and Outright Pagans, Christianity Western Thought, Volumes 2 and 3 (coauthored with Alan Padgett}, and Beyond Bumper Sticker Ethics. Mark L. Sanford (M.Div., Nazarene Theological Seminary) is instructor in practical theology and facilitator of discipleship groups at Azusa Pacific University.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. 9
Worldviews over Coffee at Starbucks	p. 11
Individualism: I Am the Center of the Universe	p. 27
Consumerism: I Am What I Own	p. 44
Nationalism: My Nation, Under God	p. 61
Moral Relativism: The Absolute Truth About Relativism and Something Like Relativism	p. 79
Scientific Naturalism: Only Matter Matters	p. 100
The New Age: Are We Gods or Are We God's?	p. 120
Postmodern Tribalism: My Tribe/My Worldview	p. 139
Salvation by Therapy: Not as Good as It Gets	p. 160
The Contours of a Christian Worldview	p. 183
Developing a Christian Worldview	p. 206
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