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Probe Ministries. Mind Games Conference Australia November 5, 2005. First - Think Biblically.
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Probe Ministries Mind Games Conference Australia November 5, 2005
First - Think Biblically • Jesus answered, “The foremost is, “Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is one Lord; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.” (Mark 12:29-30)
First - Think Biblically • “See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.” (Colossians 2:8)
Second - Communicate Effectively • Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect (1 Peter 3:15). • 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 (2 Corinthians 10:5).
Third - Learn Continually • Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. (2 Timothy 2:15)
Third - Learn Continually • To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:32)
Logic • “Logic may not lead us to the truth, but it is indispensable to understanding error. All apologetics does is clear the way so that a seeker can take a direct look at the cross” (Ravi Zacharias).
What Not To Expect • Debating tactics. • Reasons to mock other people’s beliefs. • Silver-bullet evidence.
What To Expect • ...to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. (Eph. 4:12-13)
The Result • Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. (Eph. 4:15-16)
Our Prayer for You • Eph.1:18 {I pray that} the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, • Eph 1:19 and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. {These are} in accordance with the working of the strength of His might
Worldviews: What is True? Probe Ministries
What is a worldview? • “A worldview is a set of presuppositions . . . which we hold (consciously or subconsciously) about the basic makeup of our world.” -- James Sire
What is a worldview? • Everyone has a worldview whether one can explain it or not. It can be likened to a pair of glasses through which one views the world. It is important to have the right prescription or reality will be distorted. Modern man is faced with a supermarket of world views all of them claiming to be true.
Why is there something rather than nothing? How do you explain human nature? How do you know that you know? What happens to a person at death? How do you determine what is right or wrong? What is the meaning of history? Questions which reveal one’s worldview
Inescapable Truths • Something exists. • All people have absolutes. • Something can’t be true and false at the same time. • All people exercise faith.
What Are the Three Major Worldviews? • Three Worldviews: Theism, Naturalism, and Pantheism • It is important to understand the worldviews because they are the foundation of all religions and philosophies.
What Are the Tenets of Christian Theism? • God - Monotheistic/ Supernaturalistic • The World - Creation exnihilo ( Gen. 1:1; Col. 1:13-17) • Human Nature - Made in God’s image but fallen (Gen. 1:26-27) GOD MAN
What Are the Tenets of Christian Theism? • Knowledge - Reason/ Experience/ Authority/ Revelation (Dt. 29:29; I Cor. 2:6-11) • Man’s Destiny - Separation from God or life with God (Heb. 9:27-28; I Cor. 15:50-58) GOD MAN
What Are the Tenets of Christian Theism? • Ethics - Nature/ Conscience/ Scripture – revealed absolutes (Rom. 2:14-15; Ex. 20:2-17) • History - Linear/ Beginning and end defined by the center (Gen. 1:1; Rev. 21-22) GOD MAN
What Are the Tenets of Naturalism? • God - Atheistic • The World - Evolution (Materialism) • Human Nature – Evolved Social Animal/Autonomy • Knowledge - Human reason/ Scientific method • Man’s Destiny - Death brings extinction • Ethics – Whatever works • History - Linear history; no goal MAN
The Major Worldviews: Postmodernism “Whatever”
What is Postmodernism? “Whatever” • The last gasp of modernism • God and the World – same as naturalism • Human Nature – Culturally determined • Knowledge - confidence in the knowledge of truth is lost -- truth is “true for me” (or “us”); “Truth” is what works. • Ethics – Culturally determined • History – Meaningless and unknowable except as a study of power by one group over another
What is Postmodernism? “Whatever” • Thus, • There is no “transcultural objectivity.” • We can’t think independently because we are defined by our culture. • Truth is what works. • Ethics is whatever the social group decides. • Power is a key issue.
What is Postmodernism? “Whatever” “It has deconstructed its entire universe. So all that are left are pieces. All that remains to be done is to play with the pieces. Playing with the pieces—that is postmodern.” --Jean Baudrillard
What Are the Tenets of Pantheism? • God – Monism: All is one, Pantheism - all is god • World - Evolution • Human Nature - Human “divinity” • Knowledge - Intuition; cosmic consciousness • Man’s Destiny – Reincarnation/Absorption • Ethics - Moral relativism/Karma • History - History is cyclical god
Traditional Religions • God – one creator with many lower gods and spirits • World – nature (life force) is an integrated unity/harmony • Human Nature – community of eternal souls seeking to survive by seeking spiritual harmony, life is religious • Knowledge – Experience, accumulated through ages or from spirits and ancestors • Destiny – live for today but eternal existence with ancestors/no heaven or hell • Ethics – Communally derived, live in harmony with spirits • History – Repetitive and cyclical
Evaluating Worldviews: Which One Is True? • Although our faith is based upon the authoritative Word of God, it doesn’t rest on authority alone. There are certain things we would expect from a worldview. In these matters Christianity doesn’t disappoint.
What are some worldview tests? • Reason – A worldview should be consistent and coherent • Experience – A worldview should match the facts of our experience • Explanation – A worldview should be comprehensive in scope and be able to explain the world around us. • Practice A worldview should be livable.
