THEMATIC

Articles that focus on one or more of the various themes of mind, meaning, thought/action, finitude/humility, valuation, worldview

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The Works of James Sire

Introduction

Anyone who follows or by happenstance stumbles across this webpage know that it is dedicated to the Christian worldview. For that reason I want this month’s blog article to provide a general overview of several works authored by James Sire. Much of what I came to understand regarding the Christian worldview come from the writings of Francis Schaeffer and James Sire. Sire (1933-2018) was known mainly as a Christian writer, working for a number of years as the chief editor for InterVarsity Press (IVP). He obtained his Ph.D. in literature from the University of Missouri and held a professorship, teaching literature, philosophy, and the Christian faith. He authored 22 books covering those same areas of thought. He is known mainly for his book The Universe Next Door, which went through an evolution of six editions from 1976 to 2020. He delivered lectures at over two-hundred universities. Due to his focus on worldview and his defense of the Christian faith, he is known mainly as an apologist and his expertise in worldview analysis. Although Sire certainly excelled in the areas of apologetics and worldview analysis, he also wrote in many other areas that believers can read and study, finding a foundation for living out their faith in today’s postmodern world with its challenges to and attacks on, not only the Christian faith, but also on the notion of absolute truth.

Sire’s Focus on Worldview

As previously stated, Sire’s most well-known and probably most widely read work is The Universe Next Door. As the subtitle of the work indicates, this book is a catalogue of various worldviews, nine in all, surveying Christian Theism, Deism, Naturalism, Nihilism, Atheistic Existentialism, Theistic Existentialism, Eastern Pantheistic Monism, New Ageism, and Postmodernism. Sire doesn’t hold back from the fact that he writes as an evangelical Christian. His purpose is not to attack other worldviews, but to provide an overview of what they proclaim. I believe he provides a fair overview of each of the above delineated worldviews. More importantly, no one can write or discuss such ideas as these by totally surrendering or checking their worldview at the door. What one can do, however, is straightforwardly let his position be known and become aware of disagreements so as to write as balanced a presentation as possible. Sire accomplishes this task. The Universe Next Door went through six editions from 1976 to 2020. Through the years, Sire updated his discussions and added additional worldviews to the original work published in 1976. For the believer, this work provides a solid foundation for the different worldviews that he or she might encounter in day-to-day living, and since Sire taught at the university level, those believers who are ensconced in university life will find this work helpful in addressing the worldviews and philosophies that counter their faith in the classroom. The Universe Next Door is indeed Sire’s most popular work, selling over some 400,000 copies.

Sire’s catalogue of worldviews, however, is not his only work on worldview philosophy that believers in Christ can find helpful. He authored another study on worldview titled, Naming the Elephant (2004). He designates this work as a worldview analysis. He makes the case for the place of worldview and cultural analysis in this important work. He provides a historical overview of the various explanations of the concept of worldview, building on a similar work authored by David Naugle, Worldview: The History of a Concept (2002). Sire explains his expansion and philosophical nuances of his definition and understanding of what a worldview encapsulates. As such, this book will be of use to the student in humanities, whether he or she is studying literature, history, philosophy, or religious studies. The book is more philosophical and academic than Universe. Nonetheless, Naming the Elephant is accessible and will provide solid ground for university students who encounter worldviews opposed and even antagonistic toward their Christian beliefs.

Additional books by Sire that believers will find helpful in the areas of worldview analysis and apologetics include: A Program for a New Man: An Alternative to B. F. Skinner, Aldous Huxley, & Herbert Marcuse (1973); Scripture Twisting: 20 Ways the Cults Misread the Bible (1980); Chris Chrisman Goes to College: And Faces the Challenges of Relativism, Individualism, and Pluralism (1983); Why Should Anyone Believe Anything at All (1994; Sire eplores the philosophical realm of epistemology); Shirley MacLaine and the New Age Movement (1988); A Little Primer of Humble Apologetics (2006); Why Good Arguments Fail: Making a Persuasive Case for Christ (2006); Apologetics Beyond Reason: Why Seeing Really Is Believing (2006); Eclectic Apologetics: An Argument from Everything – Especially Literature (2014); Deepest Differences: A Christian-Atheist Dialogue (2009, co-authored with C. Peraino).

Sire’s Devptional Works

In addition to worldview analysis and apologetics, Sire authored some works that believers can read through as daily devotions. These include: Jeremiah Meet the 20th Century: 12 Studies in Jeremiah (1975); Beginning with God: A Basic Introduction to the Christian Faith (1981; As the title indicates, this short work by Sire is an excellent introduction to the Christian faith, particularly for new believers who want a solid springboard into their faith. Sire’s book comprises 13 chapters that can form an excellent group study format over a period of twelve to thirteen weeks. From understanding God’s name to coming grips with what it means to be in Christ, or relating to God as a personal God, this concise introduction to the Christian faith provides a foundation from which believers in Christ can begin their journey into the faith, moving toward sanctification and growth. Basic themes from the Bible are explored: God as the I Am; God as creator; human beings in the Imago Dei; the fall; sin; the believer’s life in Christ; believers as members of the family of God.); Meeting Jesus: 13 Studies for Individuals and Groups (1988); Discipleship of the Mind: Learning to Love God in the Ways We Think (1990; this work builds on what Christ proclaimed to be the greatest commandment); Jesus the Reason: 11 Studies for Individuals and Groups (1996; 2003); Habits of the Mind: The Intellectual Life as a Christian Calling (2000; 2022); Introducing Jesus (2001); a devotional study); Learning to Pray Through the Psalms (2005); Thirsting for God: Exploring Prayer Through the Psalms (2006); Praying the Psalms of Jesus (2007); Echoes of a Voice: We Are Not Alone (2014; Sire discusses those experiences that connects us with something that is beyond the realm of our immediate experience. He designates such experiences as echoes of a voice, drawing on Peter Berger’s nomenclature, signals of transcendence. As the title indicates, these are experiences that tell us in some way we are not alone. Such echoes may occur for us the first time we see an ocean, or our first encounter with a place such as Flathead Lake or Glacier National Park in MT. Sire distinguishes 4 different levels of theses echoes. Level 1 is simply a signal per se that leads us to think beyond its mere existence. Level 2 signals tell us that there is something about an experience that points to that which is beyond its mere material existence. Level 3 signals point to something that is personal that exists beyond ordinary reality, something that can bring peace or danger. Level 4 signals speak of the depths of the Thou, a Person who is ultimate being, and can be described only in terms of the holy and the divine – the mysterium tremendum. Sire explores these echoes or signals throughout this work, calling on us as readers to reflect and meditate on such experiences as signals of transcendence coming from the one true God as spoken of in the Bible.)

Sire’s Approach to Literature

Having received his Ph.D. in Literature, Sire also provides some thoughtful studies for believers and others in literary analysis. These include: How to Read Slowly: Reading for Comprehension (1978; Sire provides some poetic passages from Matthew Arnold, William Blake, and others on which to concentrate, learning to read and re-read slowly.); The Joy of Reading: A Guide to Becoming a Better Reader (1984). In the genres of biography and autobiography, Sire provides some insightful works: Vaclav Havel: The Intellectual Conscience of International Politics: An Introduction, Appreciation, and Critique (2001); Rims of the Sandhills: Why I Am Still a Christian (2012; An autobiography that traces Sire’s life from his early childhood, growing up in Nebraska through his journeys from his early school days to his stint in the military in Korea to his navigations as a college student, teacher, professor, and editor of InterVarsity Press. Along the way readers travel with him through his various lectures in the U.S. and Europe. One major theme that stands out is that Sire was always drawn towards ideas, wanting to be an intellectual in service to Christ and God’s Kingdom. In alignment with his interests with scholarship was his strong desire to understand various worldviews and how Christians could respond to a culture steeped in ideologies that contrasted with and were even antagonistic towards Christianity. This short book contains key bibliographic information regarding Sire’s works along with some of those that influenced him. While not exhaustive, they provide a solid beginning for those who would like to know more about Sire and who would want to read more of his works.)

Conclusion

The list of works above authored by James Sire provides believers in Christ a thorough foundation for dealing with worldviews that counter and/or are antagonistic toward their spiritual beliefs. Additionally, Sire provides some in-depth devotional studies that can offer a thorough foundation for believers in their day-to-day sanctification, whether they are university students or those who simply want to deepen their relationship with God. For students and connoisseurs of literature, he offers some insights on how to read slowly for comprehension. Finally, readers can learn much from Sire’s writings on Vaclav Havel, the dissident who stood against Russian communism that had invaded Prague. For Christians, readers can delve into Sire’s autobiography, Rims of the Sandhills, in which Sire discusses how he came to faith and maintained that faith through his life-long endeavors. For those Christians who seek to engage worldview analysis, one can’t find a better guide than the works of James Sire.

John V. Jones, Jr. Ph.D./ November 14th, 2025

CHRISTIAN THOUGHT/Worldview

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We Are Barabbas

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace, through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. (Romans 2:23-25)

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteous of God in Him. (2 Corinthians 5:21)

Introduction

All four gospels address Pilate’s acquiescence to the Jews in his releasing of Barabbas while condemning Jesus to be crucified. All four gospel writers mention that Barabbas was either an insurrectionist, a robber, or a murder. At the time of Jesus’ trial, Barabbas had already been imprisoned and was condemned to die. How is it, then, that the case and release of Barabbas represent the Christian understanding of humanity in the world? Our full understanding of Barabbas comes through our understanding of Jesus’ propitiatory work through His substitutionary atonement.

The Substitution

When Jesus came to him to be baptized, John the Baptist declared Jesus to be the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). As the perfect Lamb of God, Jesus lived perfectly the Law of God, so there was no sin in Him. Only a perfect sacrifice can remove our sin once and for all. The Book of Hebrews proclaims the preeminence of Christ. His sacrificial atonement completes – fulfills once and for all – the sacrificial shedding of blood. The sacrifices as detailed in the Old Testament are but foreshadowings of the perfect sacrifice of Jesus, the Christ. For it is impossible for blood of bulls and goats to take away sins (Hebrews 10:4). But through His fulfillment of the Law the blood of Christ ended the sacrificial system once and for all. Eternal life is granted to those who believe in the atoning work of Jesus Christ. As the epigraph above, (2 Corinthians 2:21), proclaims: our sin was imputed to Christ and His righteousness as a free gift has been imputed to those who are called to be in Christ.

We Are All Barabbas

Barabbas was imprisoned. He was a condemned insurrectionist, robber, and murderer. As the epigraph above (Romans 3:23-25) tells us, before knowing Christ as our savior, we were all Barabbas in his condemnation. We were imprisoned and enslaved by our sins, our fallen nature. We were guilty and condemned before God. We were dead in our trespasses. When Pilate pardoned and released Barabbas, he was freed from the just sentence he had received, awaiting execution. Jesus Christ took his place. For those who believe in the atoning work of Jesus Christ, we are now the freed Barabbas. In Christ, the gavel has sounded, echoing in the court room. The Judge makes the pronouncement: Justified. One step remained: the recognition of our guilt and that it had been paid – atoned – for. We have to receive the pardon, that is admit our need for God’s grace.

Receiving the Pardon

Barabbas could have very well rejected his pardon. He could have proclaimed to be a sworn enemy of Rome, wanting nothing from them. Yet, he did not reject his release and pardon for his crimes. We too, as believers in Christ, had to recognize our need for the atoning work of Jesus the Christ. We had to profess before God our need for His grace and receive the gift of salvation. This is not a work on our part anymore than Barabbas in some way earned his pardon from Pilate.

In 1892, a man by the name of George Wilson committed a crime for which he was sentenced to hanging. Being approached by friends of Wilson, then president Andrew Jackson granted Wilson a pardon from his death sentence. Wilson, however, rejected the pardon. His case reached the Supreme Court in which John Marshal wrote, a pardon is an act of grace, proceeding from the power entrusted with the execution of laws . . . delivery is not completed without acceptance . . . we have no power in the court to force it on him.

Our pardon before God is an act of grace. We must see our need and then believe in the atoning work of Christ. Scripture tells that faith too is a gift of God. In some manner beyond human fathoming, God’s providence and man’s responsibility before God are both Biblical truths. Those who do not recognize their need for Jesus’ atoning work reject it. They are in the stead of George Wilson.

Conclusion

We have no historical documentation that records for us what unfolded in Barabbas’ life following his pardon. We can hope that he came to know the teachings of Christ and took them to heart. After all his name, Bar-abbas, means son of the father, one who obtained his pardon because the Son of the one true living God the Father took his place. Our Christian worldview holds that we are Barabbas, justly condemned, but graciously pardon. We live in a world where we must recognize that every living soul is a Barabbas in need of a pardon, apart from which there is only condemnation. Hence, there is no meritorious difference among people when it comes to what God offers us through Christ. Those of us whom God has called to believe in Christ strongly and emphatically embrace the free gift that comes to us through His grace alone.

John V. Jones, Jr., Ph.D./October 14th, 2025

CHRISTIAN THOUGHT/WORLDVIEW

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Biblical Wisdom for Independent Thinkers: How Scripture Guides Us in Seeking Truth and Living Freely.

Guest Author : Ava Addams

[Unfortunately, we live in a culture that caricatures Christianity as a faith whereby one must leave his or her mind at the door while entering the sanctuary. Ava Addams takes aim at such thinking in her article: Biblical Wisdom for Independent Thinkers.]

Biblical Wisdom for Independent Thinkers: How Scripture Guides Us in Seeking Truth and Living Freely.

We live in a world that constantly tells us what to think, how to live, and what to believe. Whether it’s the news, social media, or even well-meaning voices in our church communities, it can feel like we’re being pushed in a hundred different directions. But what does the Bible say about thinking for ourselves?

A lot of people assume that Christianity is about blind obedience—that faith means shutting off your brain and just going with the flow. But that’s not true. The Bible actually encourages independent thinking. God doesn’t want robots; He wants people who seek truth, wrestle with tough questions, and ultimately find freedom in Him.

So, how do we balance faith and critical thinking? How do we make sure that in our pursuit of truth, we don’t end up drifting away from God? Let’s dive in.

Does the Bible Encourage Independent Thinking?

Absolutely. Jesus Himself challenged the religious leaders of His day, calling out traditions that had strayed from God’s heart (Mark 7:6-9). He constantly invited people to think deeper—to not just follow the rules, but to understand why they existed.

Then there’s the story of the Bereans in Acts 17:11. Paul came to preach, but instead of just accepting his words at face value, the Bereans “examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” They weren’t skeptics for the sake of skepticism; they were seekers of truth. And they were commended for it.

That’s the kind of independent thinking God calls us to—one that is grounded in truth, not just rebellion for the sake of rebellion.

Faith vs. Reason: Do They Have to Clash?

Some people are afraid that asking too many questions will shake their faith. But the Bible is full of people who questioned God—Moses, Job, David, even Thomas after Jesus’ resurrection.

Look at the book of Job. Job didn’t just accept his suffering—he asked why. He wrestled with it. And instead of punishing him, God engaged with him. Job didn’t get all the answers he wanted, but he got something better: a deeper understanding of who God is.

Faith and reason aren’t enemies. In fact, real faith requires thinking. If we never stop to question, to dig deeper, or to seek understanding, we risk building our faith on shaky ground.

Freedom in Christ: Independent Thinking vs. Spiritual Bondage

A lot of people think independence means doing whatever you want. But the Bible defines freedom differently. True freedom isn’t about rejecting authority altogether—it’s about being free from the wrong authorities.

Jesus said, “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32). That means freedom comes from knowing God’s truth, not just following the loudest voice in the room.

Paul warned against both legalism (being controlled by religious rules) and lawlessness (doing whatever we feel like). Instead, he pointed to a different kind of freedom—one that comes from living in the Spirit (Galatians 5:1, 5:13).

So, independent thinking isn’t about throwing off all authority. It’s about choosing the right authority—God’s truth over human traditions, His wisdom over the shifting opinions of culture.

Thinking for Yourself in a World of Misinformation

Let’s be honest: we live in a world full of noise. Everyone has an opinion, and not all of them are true. So how do we separate fact from fiction?

The Bible gives us a few tools for critical thinking:

  • Test everything. “Do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God” (1 John 4:1). Just because something sounds good—or even Christian—doesn’t mean it’s true.
  • Seek wisdom, not just validation. Proverbs 18:17 says, “The first to plead his case seems right, until another comes and examines him.” In other words, don’t just listen to one side of an argument—seek a fuller picture.
  • Pray for discernment. James 1:5 says that if we ask for wisdom, God will give it to us generously. When in doubt, pray for clarity.
  • Surround yourself with truth-seekers. Proverbs 27:17 reminds us that “as iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” Find people who challenge you in a way that leads to growth, not confusion.

The Role of the Holy Spirit in Independent Thinking

Here’s the thing: independent thinking is great, but we’re not meant to figure everything out on our own.

Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would be our guide: “When He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth” (John 16:13). That means we don’t have to rely only on our own logic—God Himself will help us discern truth.

The key is staying humble. There’s a danger in thinking that we always know best, but Proverbs 12:15 warns, “The way of fools seems right to them, but the wise listen to advice.”

Being an independent thinker doesn’t mean rejecting all authority; it means being careful about whose authority we trust.

What About Church? Can We Question Leadership?

This is a tough one. Some churches encourage open discussion, while others see questioning as a threat. So, where’s the line?

The early church leaders debated theology (Acts 15), and Paul even confronted Peter when he was in the wrong (Galatians 2:11-14). That tells us that even church leaders should be held accountable.

At the same time, Hebrews 13:17 reminds us to respect godly leaders who truly shepherd well. The key is discernment—if a leader resists all accountability or shuts down questions, that’s a red flag.

Healthy churches encourage dialogue. Unhealthy ones demand blind obedience.

So, what does it mean to think independently as a Christian?

Final Thoughts: Independent Thinking Done Right

It means:

  • Seeking truth, not just accepting what we’re told.
  • Balancing faith and reason instead of fearing questions.
  • Finding true freedom in Christ—not in rebellion or legalism.
  • Learning to discern truth in a world full of noise.
  • Trusting the Holy Spirit to guide us.
  • Holding leaders accountable while staying humble.

The Bible doesn’t ask us to shut off our brains. It calls us to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind (Matthew 22:37). Independent thinking, when done right, isn’t a rejection of faith—it’s a deeper pursuit of it.

Author’s Bio: Ava is an experienced writer and SEO specialist who excels at creating engaging narratives that deeply connect with audiences. Drawing from her expertise in Christian marketing, she has dedicated five years to refining her craft as a content creator and SEO strategist at a leading Christian Brand.

Guest Author: Ava Addams/August 14th, 2025

CHRISTIAN THOUGHT/Worldview

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Worldview/Mind: The Mind of Christ

For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 3:11).

Introduction

A worldview to some degree may be understood through an exploration of the categories that it comprises. In past blog articles, I have delineated five categories by which I seek to understand what goes into the formation of an individual’s worldview: 1)mind; 2)meaning-making; 3)ethics/valuation; 4)humility/finitude; and 5)thought/action. This month’s blog will focus on the over-arching category of mind. Because the goal of this blog is to proffer a Christian worldview, I will explore the category of mind by looking at how the Bible calls Christians to put on the mind of Christ. What exactly does that entail? As believers in Christ, how do we go about fulfilling that charge? And how does putting on the mind of Christ shape our worldview?

Mind, as a topic of exploration, is extensive with a plethora of research from such fields as neurology, neuroscience, cognitive science, just to name a few in addition to the centuries of philosophical approaches in the field of mind studies. Such a broad and in-depth research cannot be recapitulated in short blog articles composed on this sight. I have touched on some of this research [here] and [here]. But in this article I want to address how the Christian’s worldview is shaped when the believer adheres to the Biblical call to put on the mind of Christ. In addressing how mind, our deeply held beliefs and attitudes, shapes our Christian worldview, I specifically focus on two passages: 1 Corinthians 2:16 and Ephesian 4:23. Then I will speak to what Christ called the greatest commandment (Luke 10:27; Mark 12:29-31; Matthew 22:37-40) and how it shapes our view of God and, thereby, our worldview. Suffice it say upfront, to put on the mind of Christ is not something Christians fulfill by their own power. In line with justification, salvation, and sanctification, while human responsibility has its part, the growth and deepening of the Christian’s way of life occurs through the grace of God.

The Mind of Christ

FOR WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD THAT HE SHOULD INSTRUCT HIM? But we have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16).

Christians must build their worldview on one rock-bottom foundation, the truth of God. Such truth not only speaks to His existence, but to His power, His holiness, and His sovereignty. As believers in Christ, our worldview is built on God as the ultimate foundation, or it is built on nothing at all. In 1 Corinthians 2:16, Paul quotes Isaiah 40:13, addressing the holiness and power of God. Isaiah 40 establishes God’s power, holiness, and sovereignty, declaring that no one counsels God as to what He will do or how He will bring things about. Throughout the Book of Isaiah, the prophet warns Israel and Judah of God’s coming judgment upon them. But with His judgment, also exists His mercy. Isaiah 40 paints a beautiful picture of God’s sovereign power coupled with His lovingkindness, with the promise that He will gather His people as a flock of lambs and carry them in His bosom. Paul addresses both the sovereign power of God and yet another promise that believers have been given in the New Testament. We have the mind of Christ. As people who have been called to be in Christ by the sovereignty of God before the foundation of the world, we have this promise: we have been gifted with the mind of Christ. There is no Christian worldview if we do not stand on the bedrock promises of God. Mind, the way we think and believe, informs our Christian worldview only if we put on the mind of Christ. If we seek to establish a way of living in any other way, we are building a house on shifting sand.

What does it mean to have the mind of Christ? We have yet another promise as believers in Christ. We are sealed with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is a Person, not some Star Wars like force. He indwells us to teach us the ways of God. We come to understand who God is via His word, prayer, relationships within the Body of Christ, the church, and becoming aware of the way His sovereignty and providence works in our lives. The Holy Spirit gifts to us the ability to understand the ways and purposes of God. Such understanding is our sanctification, the living out of what God has planned for us. Although we cannot see or know that plan from beginning to end, we walk in it daily by His grace, and we work out our sanctification. Then, and only then, will our worldview unfold. Hence our worldview is not something we build by our own strength. It becomes manifest through our relationship with God.

God predestined us to become conformed to the image of His Son (Romans 8:28-30). Being gifted with the mind of Christ also means that we are empowered to be more and more like Him. In this life, we will always fall short of that reality on a daily basis. But we have been granted the strength that comes from the indwelling Holy Spirit and the strength of Christ that also indwells us (2 Corinthians 12:9). Our Christian worldview will become manifest if we, by the grace of God, pursue our sanctification, allowing the power of Christ and the Holy Spirit to shape our lives. Sanctification is a daily task. It begins anew each day, yet it through time deepens us in our understanding of the ways of God so that we live out our lives through those ways. We build our Christian worldview only on the bedrock truth of God that He has gifted us through His word. We do not build our worldview via our own power; it manifests itself through our relationship with God, unfolding through our sanctification.

The Greatest Commandment

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. . . (Matthew 22:37)

Our worldview becomes manifest through our alignment with what Jesus called the greatest commandment (Deuteronomy 6:4-5; Leviticus 19:18; Matthew 22:37-40; Mark 12:29-31; Luke 10:27). The necessity of God’s grace is witnessed yet again in that the only way we have the power to obey the greatest commandment is by the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit and Christ. How do we know if we are living out the greatest commandment? Jesus shines the light for us so that we know the way. We abide in Him (John 15:1-11). But how do we know that we are in fact abiding in Christ? Again, Jesus tells us. We abide in His love if we obey His commandments. Obeying the commandments of Christ is not a checklist experience; it is a way of living. Through God’s grace we pursue our sanctification and build our lives on His bedrock truth, Jesus being the chief cornerstone (Psalm 118:22; Acts 4:11-12). The constant need for the church is to stand on the word of God, His truth, so that we are manifesting what we believe in the eyes of the world. Over the centuries, the church has fallen drastically short of this charge in many ways. Nonetheless, our charge is to be the light and salt, a beacon on a hill for the world to see. We can only accomplish that spiritual reality by building our lives on the truth, which is Jesus Christ.

Conclusion

Only Christians, those who believe in Christ for their salvation, can build a truly Christian worldview. Those who claim to hold to the teachings of Christ, yet do not accept His teachings concerning the Father, Himself, and the Spirit are seeking to build lives on shifting sand. There is a second exhortation that makes up the greatest commandment: you shall love your neighbor as yourself. Our Christian worldview should reflect how we interact with others, those who are within the body of Christ, and those who are not. Throughout its history the church at times has fallen woefully short of that commandment. Our Christian worldview needs to evidence how we relate to others through the mind of Christ. Although the Imago Dei in human beings allow so much light for people to live, ultimately the truth of God resides only in the eternal logos, Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). He is the chief cornerstone, the only pathway for building our Christian worldview. Apart from the mind of Christ, we will fall short in manifesting the truth of God in our lives.

John V. Jones, Jr., Ph.D./June 14th, 2025

THEMATIC/Worldview – Mind

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Thought and Action

Galatians 5:22-23; 2 Peter 1:5-7; 1 Thessalonians 4:3a; James 1:22; 2:8, 14-26

Introduction

Over the course of this blog, I have delineated five categories that comprise a worldview: mind, meaning-making, valuation (ethics), humility/finitude, and thought/action. For this month’s blog article I want to focus on thought/action – do our actions align with what we claim to believe, do they provide evidence for the worldview that we espouse? I write from a Reformed Christian perspective, so I will speak to the building up of a Christian worldview (See Abraham Kuyper; Francis Schaeffer; James Sire; Os Guinness; Chuck Colson; Nancy Pearcey).

Thought and Action for the Believer in Christ

As Christians, we are called, not only to salvation, but to sanctification (1 Thessalonians 4:3). Sanctification entails our lifetime growth in the knowledge of God, the study of His word, and the building up of relationships with other members of the body of Christ, the church. To claim to be a Christian, but to neglect these areas in our lives demonstrates a misalignment with what we claim to believe and how we live out our claim. Although we are not saved by works, the epistle of James informs us that works should evidence our faith (James 1:22; 2:8, 14-26). No doubt none of us are perfect in living out the claims of our faith, but our lives should indicate a change in the way we live as a believer in Christ in contrast to the way we lived prior to our salvation.

The Fruit of the Spirit

Although there is no checklist for the purpose of merit, there is Biblical teaching regarding what our growth in Christ should look like. The apostle Paul in his letter to the Galatians speaks of the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). Interestingly, though nine characteristics are listed in those two verses, Paul uses the singular fruit of the Spirit. This passage is one indication of the change that should comprise our lives upon confessing Jesus, the Christ, as our savior. The apostle Peter delineates a similar list in his first epistle to believers in various churches (1 Peter 1:5-7). Again, these Christian virtues written for the purpose of our sanctification are not checklists that we mark off for the sake of merit or demonstrating our Christian beliefs. God works in our lives through grace in every way. The fruit of the Spirit manifests in our lives via the power of the Holy Spirit upon our inner being. Hence, the Christian worldview, although acknowledging that evidence for our faith is real, embraces God’s grace. Our relationship with God grows through grace and faith. The Christian worldview does not proffer any kind of meritorious action for our salvation or our sanctification. The fruit of the Spirit is God’s planting work within us.

Doers of the Word

As Christians, the alignment of thought (belief) and action should be evidenced by our being doers of the word rather than mere hearers of the word (epistle of James). Our worldview is not held merely intellectually, but we live it out consistently with what we claim to believe. The old adage, actions speak louder than words, indeed carry a truism that should inform us. Any mature believer in Christ knows that we fall short of this thought/action alignment everyday in someway. But such inconsistency should not be characteristic of our day-to-day lives. We should see that our way of living prior to our being called in Christ should diminish over time. Such a way of life should not characterize our lives now that we are in Christ.

Misalignment of Thought/Action

What does it mean (how should we explore the reality) when our actions do not align with our professed beliefs (when such a way of living becomes a marked characteristic of our lives)? Can we actually deceive ourselves as to what we claim to believe and value? I think it’s quite possible that we can. On the other hand, I believe people will be acutely aware that the way they are living does not align with what they claim to believe. They may not want to admit it, to themselves or to others. But the proof lies in what daily characterizes their way of living, what they consistently practice as a way of life. For the believer in Christ, this is one reason why it is important to be a member of a local body of Christ, a church. It is in this setting that other believers can approach us and admonish us. This is an important element for a Christian worldview. We all must take on the uncomfortable task at times of lovingly admonishing others in the body, as well as receiving admonishment ourselves.

Conclusion

We hold a Christian worldview not merely by intellectual assent. Such a belief system becomes demonstrable in the way we live day-to-day. God informs believers in Christ that His will for them is their sanctification. Hence our lives should evidence our growth in the knowledge of God, in the truth of His salvation to which He has called us, in a deeper understanding of God’s word, and in the evidence of the fruit of the Spirit in our lives. The Greek word, ginosko, means to know something so as to act on what we know. Biblical knowledge entails an experiential and intimate knowledge of what is claimed to be known. It is the opposite of mere mental assent. We know God relationally and experientially because He has called us to such knowledge. As believers we approach God’s throne as members of the household of God, crying out to Him as Abba Father. Likewise Scripture tells us to make sure of our calling. Do our actions (the way we live day-to-day) align with our thought (what we claim to believe)? This requires diligence on our part to be aware of those times when we fall short of such alignment. Hence, the place of confession in our growth and sanctification.

This blog article spoke to the life that a Christian lives in Christ. One who holds a Christian worldview should see an alignment in what one claims to believe and how one lives the calling of a Christian day-to-day. There are other important truths regarding thought/action for the believer in Christ as one looks not only to the body of Christ, but in all areas of life, exercising dominion as Christians are called to do. That is another blog article.

John V. Jones, Jr, Ph.D./May 14th, 2025

CHRISTIAN THOUGHT/THEMATIC/Thought-Action

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What Is A Worldview?

Our major task in life is to discover what is true and to live in step with that truth (Colson/Pearcey).

Introduction

The purpose or aim of this blog is to put forth the idea of a Christian worldview, and what that looks like in people’a day-to-day living as believers in Christ. (I approach my faith from a Reformed perspective, e.g. the Westminster Confession/1698 Baptist Confession of faith.) But exactly what is a worldview? When I speak of a Christian worldview, what do I mean? This blog over the years contains several articles pertaining to worldview [here], [here], [here], [here], [here]. Although I want to avoid unnecessary repetition, I think it is time once again to clarify how a worldview is formed, and specifically what makes up a Christian worldview. I want to build on the blog article I wrote nine years ago in 2016 [Thinking, Reading, and Living “Worldviewishly”]. Building on James Sire’s description of worldview in his work The Universe Next Door, I want to specifically stress the notion of commitment, as well as some of his updated thought in the most recent edition of that work. In addition to Sire, I will draw from Chuck Colson and Nancy Pearcey’s work, How Now Shall We Live? The very title of that work indicates the influence of Francis Schaeffer, his writings, and his work at L’Abri.

Worldview Explorations

So what is a worldview? To take it at its most simplistic level, a worldview is a way of life. But that description leaves many unanswered questions regarding a practical understanding of what a worldview consists. James Sire, in his work, The Universe Next Door, offers an extended definition of worldview. Chuck Colson and Nancy Pearcey talk in terms of worldview from the perspective of Francis Schaffer in their thorough work, How Now Shall We Live? While there are many other scholarly writings from a Christian perspective, both of these works provide a good starting point for understanding worldview in general and specifically a Christian worldview.

James Sire’s Catalog of Worldviews

Although I will not repeat Sire’s extended definition verbatim, I will highlight what he proffers as the major components of a worldview. First, Sire, draws on the work of James H. Olthuis who describes a worldview as a framework by which we live built on a set of fundamental beliefs. He calls such a framework a vision of life. Human beings draw on such fundamental beliefs to give direction and meaning to life. Hence a person’s worldview is both interpretive and integrative. Olthuis states becoming aware of one’s worldview is significant step toward self-awareness, self-knowledge, and self-understanding.

Sire, however, expanding on what Olthuis presented, believes that a worldview is more than merely a logical connection of a set of propositions. People may or may not fully and logically understand the implications of their worldview; nonetheless, they move through life according to their worldview, whether or not they can fully delineate it. Sire’s extended description of a worldview contains several components. First, a person’s worldview is a fundamental orientation of the heart. People, regardless of the level of their awareness, hold a set of beliefs about how reality is constituted. One’s worldview provides a foundation on which we live, move, and have our being. (See Acts 17:28).

Second, and most importantly, according to Sire, a worldview is a commitment. One’s worldview is a matter of the soul, a spiritual orientation. Biblically, the heart is the center of who one is and thereby, one lives from the heart. A worldview then is situated in the self. Whether or not people are fully aware of their worldview is superfluous to the reality that they nevertheless live out their worldviews in relation to self, reality, and others. Indeed, in his extended description of worldview, Sire holds that a worldview can be stated in a story or a set of propositions, which may or may not be consistent.

A third component of Sire’s extended description states that a worldview provides a foundation on which one lives. Sire highlights an important aspect of a worldview within this component. The simple fact is that not only may individuals be unaware of their worldview, but also what they state as their worldview may not align with how they live. Such a delineation recognizes the old adage that actions speak louder than words. How one lives belies one’s self-knowledge.

Sire indicates that one’s worldview is grounded in how a person answers eight basic questions: 1) what is prime reality – what is really real? 2) what is the nature of external reality? 3) what is a human being? 4) what happens to a person at death? 5) why is it possible to know anything at all? 6) how do we know what is right from wrong? 7) what is the meaning of human history? and 8) what personal, life-orienting commitments are consistent with one’s worldview? Sire delineated the first seven questions in his earlier editions of The Universe Next Door. I want to focus on the notion of commitment because Sire added this eighth question to the latest edition of his book. This question also gets at something Sire said earlier, and it also aligns with one of the categories I delineated for an understanding of a Christian worldview in particular, that is thought/action. Do people’s actions align with the worldview that they claim to hold? Sire explicated nine worldview: 1) Christian; 2) Deism; 3) Naturalism; 4) Nihilism; 5) Existentialism; 6) Pantheistic monism; 7) New Age Spirituality; 8) Postmodernism; and 9) Islamic Theism. Followers of each of these worldviews will live out question eight differently. Each individual has his or her own take on reality. People evidence their commitment to a worldview by the way they live out their lives in the world. Whether or not people realize it, or even want to admit it, they have and live by a worldview. They may believe that these eight questions are superfluous and/or cannot be answered. Such a stance evidences a worldview they already hold: skepticism that leads to nihilism. It was Socrates who said the unexamined life is not worth living. As Sire states, each individual is caught in a worldview. The question becomes do people care to examine what they claim to be their worldview and whether or not they are consistent in living it out.

Colson and Pearcey’s Challenge

Francis Schaeffer first authored the work, How Should We Then Live? Chuck Colson and Nancy Pearcey built on his thought in their How Now Shall We Live. In that work they challenge Christians to live out their worldview. This entails both Christians’ sanctification and their possession of Biblical wisdom in knowing how to live out their faith (thought/action). The authors challenge believers with the notion that the way they live out their moral and spiritual choices are realized in the world, whether or not they know or want to admit or embrace that truth. Every action a believer takes is either furthering the kingdom of God or not. The actions believers take either mesh with the fallen and broken world, or they align with God’s decree to transform the world in a manner that reflects His righteousness. Believers in Christ either live out their Christian worldview consistently, albeit not perfectly, or they live in a manner that is inconsistent with what they purport to believe. The dominion mandate, or what Colson and Pearcey call renewal, will occur when Christians are committed to living out their faith, seeing the world as God sees it, viewing reality through the lens of divine relation . . . Our choices are shaped by what we believe is real or true, right and wrong, good and beautiful. Our choices are shaped by our worldview. As with Sire, Colson and Pearcey believe that worldviews are intensely practical. People’s worldviews are the sum total of their beliefs about the world, and those beliefs direct their actions and all the decisions they make. Genuine Christianity is a way of seeing and comprehending all of reality. It is a worldview.

Conclusion

One of the chief aims of this blog is to explore what it means to live out the Christian worldview. What Sire, Colson, and Pearcey have explicated should help all Christians come to an understanding of what a worldview actually entails, that they have one whether or not they realize it, and that they are living either consistently or inconsistently with their purported faith. In terms of the categories I have delineated throughout this blog, the Christian mind should seek the wisdom that comes with knowing God as believers grow in their sanctification. Believers can find meaning and purpose in their pursuit of knowing God. Christians develop their values and morals according to God’s precepts. Morals are not simply chosen willy-nilly. Believers in Christ should develop the humility, becoming aware that they are in God’s hands, dependent on His providential care and guidance. Finally, for those who proclaim to be Christian, their actions should align with what they purport to believe. Thought and actions should be in alignment. Taken all together, such a way of life is a worldview. And as Sire, Colson, and Pearcey stated, Christianity is a worldview. Renewal or the dominion mandate will come about when Christians, by God’s grace, live out their proclaimed beliefs.

No doubt, this is a tall order. And all individuals are still products of the Fall. The challenge with which the above authors present Christians is to live the examined life, know that they have a worldview, and by God’s grace and strength seek to live out that worldview consistently, knowing that they will fail at times. But God’s lovingkindness is for everlasting (Psalm 103:18).

[References]: Colson, C. & Pearcey, N. (2004). How Now Shall We Live? Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.

Sire, J. (2020). The Universe Next Door: A Basic Worldview Catalog [6th edition] [originally published 1976]. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Press Academic Revised.

John V, Jones, Jr., PhD/April 14th, 2025

THEMATIC/ Worldview

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Pathways 2025

In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. (Psalm 3:6)

Introduction

On past blogs, I have explored to a limited degree what goes into formulating a worldview. There are several categories I considered that I believe must be taken into account for understanding all that a worldview entails. You can read my thoughts here, here, and here. I recently subtitled this blog, A Christian Worldview; consequently, I hope to shape this blog in the future, filling out what a Christian worldview entails. You can read my earlier thoughts on this notion here and here. For the coming months in 2025, the theme of a Christian worldview is what I hope to work out here on this blog. Such a path is not one I can forge on my own. I will draw on works of such authors as Abraham Kuyper, Francis Schaeffer, R. J. Rushdoony, Nancy Pearcey, and Chuck Colson, among many others, including early church fathers such as Augustine and Calvin.

A Word About Categories

Over time, I wrestled with thematic categories that I believe shape the way we think about the world. My earlier thoughts focused on mind, and how the human thought process shapes how we live in the world. Earlier categories included mind, meaning making, humility/finitude, and thought/action. I explored how the last three categories contributed to how we might view and understand the mind. Later I added valuation/values because what we value shapes our ethical and moral understanding of how we live. Still later I became convinced that all these categories shape the worldview by which we live. Hence, mind, meaning making, humility/finitude, valuation/values, and thought/action all contribute and speak to the worldview we hold. Worldview and mind are difficult to nuance, but I believe they should be deciphered because various worldviews hold different viewpoints on what makes up the mind.

Worldview

As I stated, the sub-title for this blog is A Christian Worldview. There are a plethora of worldviews that clash with Christianity, and over the course of time, I will explore those on this blog. Suffice it say, the general heading of secularism covers many isms that not only differ from Christianity, but also have been formulated to directly oppose Christian thought. Atheism, naturalism, materialism, reductionism, pragmatism, scientism, rationalism, and empiricism make up the wide gamut of worldviews that are in opposition to theism and Christianity. Philosophically, humanism, existentialism, romanticism, modernism, and postmodernism take aim at theistic worldviews. Politically, Marxism originated as a form of thought that set itself up as antagonistic to a Christian worldview. Many of the worldviews listed above can be integrated into a Christian worldview with a correct nuanced understanding of their propositions. For example, we live in a world that God created, so the material universe is real and external to us. But to hold that the material makes up everything, and the material is all there is to existence, is a self-defeating worldview. What I hope to discuss over time on this blog is that the Christian worldview is the only consistent worldview for understand ourselves as human beings and the universe in which we live. Some of the Christian writers I will draw on for this task include James Sire, C. S. Lewis, Francis Schaffer, and Os Guinness, among others.

Mind

Theories of mind have been proffered for centuries. What is mind? From a Christian perspective, we are commanded to to love the Lord your God with all your mind (Matt. 22:37-40). To live up to that commandment, we must understand what the Biblical understanding of mind entails. I hope to explore that question over the course of time on this blog. I will also look at some various worldviews that have a different take on what the mind is. The fields of cognitive science and neuroscience are on the cutting edge of a scientific understanding of the mind. However, much that comes from these fields are materialistic and reductionistic. What is a Christian view of mind, rationalism, and reason? What is the relationship of mind to body? Critical inquiry is an important endeavor for every Christian. Consequently, how we think about critical thinking, our thought process, logic, and reason must be clarified as much as possible.

Meaning Making

As human beings, we search for meaning and purpose in our lives. We want our work, relationships, family life, and even our R & R time to be meaningful. What is the relationship between worldview and meaning making? How does a Christian worldview shape the way in which we make meaning for ourselves? The greatest fear that many human beings experience is a wasted life. Near the end of their lives, people do not want to look back on their existence, believing they have accomplished little. A meaningful life, however, is not one big home run swing. Meaning exists in even those experiences we may think are trivial, small, and unimportant at the time. Human beings tend to set goals for themselves. Although they may not accomplish all the goals they set (time runs out for all of us), what gives many people purpose in their lives entail the goals they set for themselves, experiencing those goals as their lives unfold. From a Christian perspective, the sovereignty of God is a great comfort for the believer. How are we to understand God’s sovereignty in our lives as it relates to our meaning making and purpose for living? Christian writers such as Francis Schaeffer, C. S. Lewis. and Os Guinness have addressed these questions. Those outside the faith have also, e.g. Rollo May and Viktor Frankl.

Valuation/Values

Whether we realize it or not, we all have values that guide us through life. As a professional counselor, I used the process of valuation in my practice with clients, but have come to have a different take on what valuation entails. I don’t believe that people can simply choose their values and begin living by them. The thought process and life formulation for creating values for our lives is much more complicated and complex than that. I repeat, we all have values by which we live. Several questions emerge from that fact. First, are we aware of the values we hold? Second, are the values we hold helping or hindering how we want to live and fulfill the goals we have set for ourselves? If we come to understand that we are living in ways contrary to our values, what does that mean, either about making changes in our lives or making changes in our values? The atheistic philosopher, Frederick Nietzsche, talked about our re-evaluation of our values. However, his thought stood on the proposition that there is no God. From a Christian perspective what does it mean to hold and live by Christian values and virtues? (e.g. the fruit of the Spirit, Galatians 5:22-23; Christian virtues, 2 Peter 1:5-7). Do we truly believe that who we are is how we act in the world? Put another way, do we embrace the notion that how we act speaks to who we are, what we believe, and what values we hold? The values we hold and seek to live by form our worldview, framing our ethics and morality. None of us are perfect; consequently, from the Christian perspective those actions of confession before God must be real in our lives.

Humility/Finitude

We all have a limited amount of time on this side of life on this earth. Time impacts all the other categories – mind, meaning making, valuation/values, thought/action – in a powerful way. And we have a limited time and capacity to shape our worldviews. Scripture calls us to be humble before God, knowing our limitations and our finitude. As finite beings, however, we have an infinite and sovereign God whom we can approach and before whom we bow. The tension between sovereignty and human responsibility is one we must hold. Each day I am aware of the decisions I make for my life. I’m also aware of God’s sovereignty in my life. The latter is not an excuse or a copout for negating or short changing the former. Psalm 31:14-15 tells us that our times are in God’s hands; nonetheless, one of the most hard-hitting sins we can commit is slothfulness and the wasting of our time. Our humility before God allows us to place our lives in His hands so that we can learn to live in ways that are pleasing in His sight. What does Biblical truth mean for those of us who want to develop fully a Christian worldview? How should our humility be lived out in relationship to others? Humility is a concept easily misunderstood. It’s neither weakness nor groveling before others, but it is treating others in the way we want to be treated by them (Matt. 7:12; Luke 6:31). What will our Christian worldview look like as we live it out among others, both believers and non-believers.

Thought/Action

Our worldview will be nothing but inconsistent if our actions do not follow from what we claim to believe and value. To claim that we hold to a Christian worldview must manifest the life of Christ in our lives as we seek to live in the world but not be of the world. As a Christian, we will be challenged by others to live consistently with our worldview in a harsher manner than applied to others who hold different worldviews. Two keys to understanding this are important. One, we are not perfect and need not grovel before others on that account. However, we will need at times to ask others to forgive us while apologizing for our misgivings and actions that are contrary to our being in Christ. How we act in the world will say much more than what we say. If our actions are not consistent with what we claim to believe, then we need to reflect intensely on what we claim to believe. I’m not talking about sins here and there. We will commit those daily, if not by action surely by thought. I’m talking about a lifestyle that is directly contrary to what we claim to believe. We should have Christian brothers and sisters in our lives that will say to us how we are living doesn’t appear to align with what we claim to believe. A worldview that is lived out inconsistently is a worldview built on shifting sand or over an abyss of nothing.

Conclusion

Moving forward in 2025, these are the themes and topics I hope to explore on this blog. That doesn’t mean I will not take excursions into other areas, but I want the focus moving forward to be on the exploration of what it means to hold and live by a Christian worldview. The final word should be that building such a worldview is impossible apart from being in Christ, depending and leaning on the complete sovereignty of God. As Christians we are called to relate to God as Abba Father (Galatians 4:4-7). Our being in Christ should be witnessed by those whom we encounter in the world. I pray that the task I have set for myself on this blog will, by God’s grace, be accomplished. To Him be dominion, forever and ever. Amen.

Some Core Source References:

Baucham, V. T. (2021). Fault Lines: The Social Justice Movement and Evangelicalism’s Looming Catastrophe. Washington D.C.: Salem Books.

Chesterton, G.K. (2009). Orthodoxy. [originally published 1908]. Rockville, MD: Serenity.

Colson, C. & Pearcey, N. (1999). How Now Shall We Live? Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.

Lewis, C. S. (2002). The Complete C. S Lewis Signature Classics. New York: HarperOne.

McGinn, C. (1993). The Problem of Consciousness. Oxford, U.K.: Basil Blackwell.

Moreland, J. P. & Craig, W. L. (2017). Philosophical Foundations for a Christian Worldview. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic Press.

Pearcey, N. (2004). Total Truth: Liberating Christianity from its Cultural Captivity. Wheaton, IL: Crossway.

Pearcey, N. (2010). Saving Leonardo: A Call to Resist Secular Assault on Mind, Morals, and Meaning. Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing.

Pearcey, N. (2015). Finding Truth: Five Principles for Unmasking Atheism, Secularism, and Other God Substitutes. Colorado Springs, CO: David C. Cook.

Pearcey, N. & Thaxton, C. B. (1994). The Soul of Science: Christian Faith and Natural Philosophy. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.

Schaffer, F. (1985). The Complete Works of Francis Schaeffer: A Christian Worldview (5 Volume Set). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.

Sire, J. (2010). The Universe Next Door: A Basic Worldview Catalog. [originally published 1976] Lisle, IL: IVP Press.

Trueman, C. R. (2024). To Change All Worlds: Critical Theory from Marx to Marcuse. Brentwood, TN: B & H Academics.

John V. Jones, Jr., Ph.D./February 14th, 2025

CHRISTIAN THOUGHT/Christian Worldview

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Mind, Worldview And Ideology

Worship the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. (Matthew 22:37).

Introduction

For a number of years, this site, Contemplations, revolved around my counseling practice. Since I’ve retired and have also retired my license, I do not focus that heavily on the profession of counseling any longer on this blog. I will write a piece every once in a while about the field of counseling, but it is no longer the main theme of this blog. However, sometime back I delineated some themes (here)and (here) for this blog which I want to form the core of what I write here. Post-retirement I also changed the direction I want to take this blog (here) and (here) whereby I hope to discuss more than just the field of counseling, including such areas as philosophy, economics, history, the arts, and what I call analysis of power. Although my desire to change the emphases on this blog was generated by my retirement, much of it came about due to my recommitment to my faith as a Christian. Hence my faith in Jesus, the Christ, is the foundation for all I write on these pages.

Two of the themes that I come back to intermittently on this blog are mind and worldview. I will discuss the importance of these themes in this month’s blog in the context of today’s culture, particularly as an analysis of power (AOP) related to our political environment.

How We Think and Act Shapes Our Worldview

We live in a postmodern age where everything is relativized, but ironically everything is politicized and about power and control over others. Individuals cannot consistently live out a worldview that claims everything is relative while also becoming politically active, embracing the pursuit of power and control over others. Note the direction that wokeism has taken us in terms of its assault on freedom of speech, the right to bear arms, and the right to live out one’s spiritual beliefs as one sees fit. The first and second amendments to the Constitution are under constant attack. Business owners have been sued with the threat of losing their livelihood because they didn’t want to engage certain actions that contradicted their faith.

Living in a postmodern and politicized age means that we cannot help but experience a conflict of values when it comes to the way we want to live out what we believe in the world. Presently we see that the conflict of worldviews has led to violence, destruction of property, and loss of life. Such conflicts of basic core beliefs cannot be resolved by either embracing relativism or engendering the politicization of all things in life. Indeed, the Constitution and Bill of Rights aimed at severely restricting political power that could reach into peoples’ lives, whether that power be considered of the right or the left.

The conflict of worldviews we witness today, whether it be in our work environments, educational institutions, or on the streets is a conflict of ideologies. How we think about life and confirm our values shape our worldviews which contribute to our ideologies. Those who hold an ideology that they want established by political power over others may consider themselves relativists but they are absolutists in the most strict sense. Power makes right. Whether one considers him- or herself to be conservative or progressive, such a worldview is absolutist and totalitarian.

Can We Hold to Absolutes Without Being Totalitarian?

As one who holds to the Christian faith, I believe in absolute truth. Hence, I most definitely believe that it is possible to hold to the notion of truth as absolute without becoming authoritarian or totalitarian. Given human nature, it is easy to slide into desiring our worldview to be foisted on others. Yet that very desire is authoritarian in-and-of-itself. Simply because I do not hold to postmodern politicized precepts doesn’t mean that I think all worldviews are equally valid and worthy of being considered as true. I do believe that we should live and be at peace with others as much as that is possible. There are times when conflicting ideologies must be resolved where possible. There will always be those with whom we not only disagree, but with whom we also are at odds on the most core level. A civilized society finds ways for people to coexist with ideologies that are at odds. I will never embrace the acceptance a worldview that is opposed to my Christian faith that sees the Bible as the word of God. However, I will not call for political power to convert people to my faith. I will call on the Constitution that gives me the right to live out my worldview, fully knowing it is at odds with other belief systems.

The conflicting ideologies we face now are these. Many progressives call for an absolutist centralized power that sees individual liberty as suspect. Such an ideology, whether progressive or conservative, cannot allow individuals to live according to their own values and worldview. Thereby, such an ideology is authoritarian and totalitarian. Conservatives as well call on political power to have their way. We live in a political age that sees politics as an answer to life’s problems and dilemmas. Couple that with a postmodern age, then everything is about power, and power makes right.

Conclusion

As Christians what does it mean to live out what Jesus said was the great and foremost commandment (Matthew 22:37-40)? For too long the church has given over the culture to the designs of those whose worldview is antithetical to God’s word and who God is as the most Holy One. There has never been a time when it’s unimportant for us as Christians to live out our worldview. But it is of extreme importance today in an age of postmodernism that politicizes every area of life. We have to show others that for sure, there is a battle and conflict of ideologies that we face in everyday life in all areas of life. And we will not shrink back from such a battle. Simultaneously, we have to show we represent not political coerciveness toward those of antithetical ideologies until they cross such a line with us. That means that we have to know what those lines are. In addition to what Jesus called the great and foremost commandment, He also said that there is a second commandment like it: love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:37-40). This doesn’t mean that we condone the evil in the world. What it means, however, is that we must truly beseech God to revive the churches and awaken this country. Regeneration is the way to bringing about the peace among people for which we hold out hope.

John V. Jones, Jr., Ph.D./ September 14th, 2023

ANALYSIS/CHRISTIAN THOUGHT/THEMATIC/Mind and Worldview

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A Life of Reading: A Christian Perspective

Introduction

My pastor today made a point about how Christians should surround themselves with good books. I couldn’t agree more. Since my early twenties back in my college days, I have developed somewhat the good habit of reading. I say somewhat because one, I could read much more than I do. Two, I’ve fallen on the bad habit at times of reading works that I wish I hadn’t wasted my time pursuing.

This is the fourth of a series of articles in which I explore working as a counselor who holds a Christian worldview. In the first two articles I explored what a Christian worldview entails. In the third article, I discussed my preference for working with Christian clients although I work with clients who hold a variety of worldviews.

I end this series addressing a life of reading, and why I think it is important for Christians to be avid and good readers. With that in mind, I also offer a list of books I’ve read, mostly written by Christians that I think other believers might find useful in developing their thoughts about how we engage this world and what it throws at us everyday. Anytime we discuss reading various authors, it is important to note that our first attention must aim at reading God’s Word, the Scriptures, everyday. The Bible becomes our standard by which we measure and compare anything else we read and study.

Christians as Avid Readers and Thinkers

Why? Why should Christians become energetic readers and thinkers? Do not the Scriptures warn us not to succumb to the philosophies of the world? Did not the Apostle Paul claim that knowledge puffs up? Does not the Word of God challenge us that although we are in the world, we are not to be part of the world? The short answer to all these questions is yes. It is for this reason, however, that I believe it is important that believers become avid students and critical thinkers regarding the worldviews that surround them and can so easily capture them if they are not careful.

The Technological Age

As Christians we live in a world inundated by social media. We are all engaged on a daily basis not only with television, but also the Internet, alternative podcasts, and various websites that proffer readers and listeners to consider what they put forth. We are surrounded by what is touted as the Information Age. How are Christians to navigate the flowing rivers of information with which they face everyday?

I believe it is important that we engage this age of excess information with a well-honed critical eye. We take in information nearly every hour of everyday, whether or not we realize it. We surf the Web. We listen to various podcast lectures. We view a plethora of YouTube channels that flood us with a variety of worldviews, opinions, and sales pitches, touching on anything from for whom we should vote, what we should value, how we should spend our time, or what we should purchase. Our minds are constantly assaulted by the tons of airwave information bytes that flood over us like ocean waves.

Jesus Christ answered a young man’s question regarding what is the greatest commandment claiming we should love the Lord our God with all our heart, all our soul, and all our mind (Matthew 22:37-40). Note in that statement, all our mind. God created our mind. We are supposed to use to his glory. That means we are supposed to use it in the best way we possibly can, not wasting it on things that are unimportant. A well-honed mind is a critical mind, meaning we should develop the ability to weigh things and discern rightly about them.

I would not make this a legalistic rule, but I personally believe that the less time we spend on social media and television, the better. Turn off the television, shut down the computer, and open a good book. Good books are ones that are going to make us think about how we should live in this fallen world, as Christians believe it to be. Well written essays, treatises, and other forms of non-fiction should lead us to reflect upon our worldviews, beliefs, and values. Simultaneously, we bring to those works our thoughts and beliefs that we have already worked out as Christians to see how an author’s thought aligns or misaligns with what we believe spiritually. This is not to say that the only works we should read are ones with which we are fairly certain that we already agree. For sure, take on challenging works, never forgetting who is our foundation. We should engage the thought of the day, while making sure of our principles so that we can face the ideas that might counter what we believe.

Sharpening our minds begins, I believe, by drastically reducing the time we spend on social media.

Centuries of Works at Our Fingertips

One of the things the Information Age has going for it is the cataloguing of works that have been written over several centuries. As believers in Christ, we have the early Church Fathers who wrote theological treatises, early Church histories, and Christian devotionals, all of which we can engage for our personal edification. We can read about how early Christian churches developed their ideas around the great creeds. We can plumb the histories regarding how early Christians dealt with heresies, theological error, and outright false teachings. We can learn about saints from early Church history and how they dealt with persecution and attacks due to their faith. We can study the philosophical battles that Church practitioners had to face across the centuries. We have a plethora of works we can read and study, beginning right after the time of Christ, moving on into the Middle Ages, and into our modern era regarding the history of the Church, doctrine, and specific individuals that have impacted our faith in various ways.

We have no excuses when it comes to what is available for us to ready and study. The issue becomes is how we prioritize our time.

Where We Spend Our Time

When it comes to the specific works we read, we will get various opinions from the many solid believers out there as to what should be the focus of our time and study. If I wanted, I could create another series of articles about all the things we could read that would edify us as believers, including works that would challenge us in many ways.

Instead what I will do is simply list some authors that I think any believer will find helpful in the development of his or her faith. In so doing, I am just dipping a toe in water that contains fathoms more that I could discuss.

The Early Church Fathers

The Apostolic Fathers could keep one busy for some time to come. One couldn’t do much better than picking up some works by Clement of Rome, Ignatius of Antioch, Irenaeus of Lyons, Justin Martyr, Clement of Alexandria, or Origen of Alexandria. All of these authors contribute a Mother Lode to the history of the Church. The one early writer that one does not want to miss, however, is Augustine of Hippo, who authored The City of God, and Confessions. Augustine is foundational to what would eventually take place in the Reformation, and saints of Christ still read his works to this day. There are numerous others besides these that one can explore.

Reformation Writers

When it comes to the Protestant Reformation, believers for sure want to engage the writings of both Martin Luther and John Calvin. I know of a set that comprises fifty-five volumes of Martin Luther’s works alone. Don’t let this fact overwhelm you. The editors of Luther’s massive works are Jaroslav Pelikan and Helmut T. Lehmann. Anyone interested in reading some of Luther’s works can access this collection and choose the particular works one would like to read and study. His Freedom of the Christian is an excellent short work to read and a good solid beginning regarding his thought.

When it comes to John Calvin, the work in which to delve is his Institutes of the Christian Religion. One can find this work in a two-volume set, edited by John T. McNeill and published by Westminster Press. The Institutes is basically Calvin’s systematic theology, covering major theological subjects that are important to believers who want to be on sound footing regarding their theology.

Modern Writers

The theological treatises of the Early Church Fathers and the Reformation Fathers represent some intense reading indeed. I encourage any believer, however, not to shy away from delving into those works. You can glean from them if you put in the effort and time.

Works that reach back to the more modern era, say from the 17th to the present century are also available for our edification. Jonathan Edwards, Charles Hodge, and B. B. Warfield come to mind. Hodge’s Systematic Theology is a wonderful work to study regarding Reformed theology.

When it comes to the 20th century, personally, I would begin with writers such as Francis Schaeffer, James Sire, and C. S. Lewis. Both Schaffer’s and Lewis’ works can now be obtained in Collected Works sets. They are worth owning, and readers can survey them in terms of what they want to read. Both Schaffer and Lewis shaped my thinking as a young believer, helping me understand that being a Christian is a thinking individual’s life. We don’t turn off our mind when we become Christians. Lewis’s fictional works too are fun to read.

James Sire is a Christian author who for most of his life has written for Intervarsity Press (IVP). As a Christian thinker he explores philosophical avenues that deal with various worldviews. His work The Universe Next Door was instrumental in shaping my thinking about worldviews and how to think about and critique various philosophical frameworks to which people might hold and try to live out. Another work by Sire, Habits of the Mind, impacted my thinking heavily, especially as a believer who is interested in the place of scholarship in the Christian life. I have probably read just about everything Sire has written, so I highly recommend him for any believer who is interested in how we fulfill the Great Commandment to love the Lord our God with all our mind.

Os Guinness is another IVP writer who has branched out over the years who I highly recommend as well. His early work, The Dust of Death, is one I strongly suggest, even though it surveys the decade of the tumultuous 1960’s. I don’t think it’s dated, and it can be critically studied to think about what is happening today in our postmodern era. A work by Guinness that I passionately recommend is his book The Call. In this book, Guinness discusses how we come to understand our calling before God. It is not a work that sets out to answer specific questions, such as what my career should be as a Christian. It provides a framework, however, for us as believers to think and pray about such questions along with a host of other questions we may want to explore regarding our lives.

There are so many others I could list, but this short blog article cannot possibly cover them all. Garry Friesen, Mark A. Noll, John Lennox, Gene Edward Veith all come to mind. Readers can easily build a reading list, drawing from James Sire’s bibliography from his work, Habits of the Mind.

Conclusion

The main issue, believer, is that you should challenge yourself to read deeply, study thoroughly, and use your mind to God’s glory. This will look different for each believer, but the commandment to love the Lord our God with all our mind, is not a relative one. It is not one to be shirked.

For those believers, like myself, who are therapists, it is important that we engage our clients, particularly Christian clients, on a deep level that helps them build their Biblical knowledge, their theological study, and their personal relationship with God so as to navigate a postmodern world that is anything but friendly to a Christian worldview.

John V. Jones, Jr., Ph.D., LPC-S/September 14th, 2020

THEMATIC/WORLDVIEW

by

Counseling Christian Clients

Introduction

The last two articles on this blog focused on my worldview as a Christian, and how that worldview informs my work as a counselor. In this third article, I look at why I prefer to work with clients who are Christian. Although I enjoy working with anyone, helping individuals from all walks of life work through any concerns they may have, working with someone who holds the same or a similar worldview is highly satisfying work.

A Christian client and I stand on common ground when it comes to major core beliefs about life. We have a common view regarding morality and what is right and wrong, or good and evil. We have a common foundation as to who God is and what our need for a Savior entails. We have a common experience of the fact that we cannot set our lives right via our own will and power. Indeed, apart from Christ, we lack any power to change in ways that we would otherwise prefer. A Christian client and I will speak a common language. We have a common source for our understanding of God and his Son, which is Biblical Scripture. We share the necessity we have for prayer. Different and antithetical worldviews collide and in some cases do not mesh at all. Working with believers in Christ proves to be work that can be highly gratifying because a common worldview provides us with an approach to life that gives meaning to the struggles we face.

What are some of the struggles that Christians might bring into the counseling room?

Problems That Christian Clients Encounter

So what can a Christian client expect when he or she enters my office? One of the first things that I hope Christian clients experience is that they are stepping onto ground that is safe. Their Christian beliefs are not only welcomed in my counseling office, but they should know my office as a place where their faith in Christ can become front and center for our work. Unfortunately, many people hold Christianity and therapy to be antithetical. In many cases, no doubt the counseling field has placed itself at odds with a Judeo-Christian worldview. In my office, one’s Christian worldview and faith will form the foundation for our work together.

Struggling with Their Faith

For whatever reasons, right or wrong, some believers in Christ find it difficult to voice their doubts and struggles with their faith to other believers who make up their local church. My counseling office is a place where they can bring the doubts they might hold and open them up for exploration. Perhaps they have encountered some difficult times that have led them to question what they believe about God. Such doubts and questioning is not something to squelch, but an experience to explore so that things can be cleared up. As believers in Christ, we are children of God, members of the household, who can approach God as Abba Father, and enter into his rest (Hebrews 4:1).

Typically the fears and doubts a believer in Christ experiences are based on wrong information and understanding about God. I have a jaded past. Has God really forgiven me? The work we do can be about getting a right understanding of God and on what and whom forgiveness is based. A person who doubts whether or not God has forgiven him commonly is looking to himself to garner God’s forgiveness rather than God’s forgiveness standing on whom one believes. Our forgiveness is not based on what we do to get at God’s grace. It is based on the Person and Work of Jesus Christ. 1 John 1:9 tells us that if we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. This passage indicates that if God doesn’t forgive those of us who confess their sins as believers in Christ, he would be unfaithful and unrighteous. This is a rock bottom foundational truth because forgiveness is not based on us but on Jesus Christ. Many believers have a difficult time embracing the richness of God’s love and grace that awaits those who have placed their faith in his Son. It is something we must step into and hold onto because it’s easy to want to earn something before God.

Hurtful acts toward others in the past prove to be a common weight that believers in Christ carry on their shoulders. Again the richness of God’s grace is something to which we cling in faith. There are also truths about life that God has built into existence. Although God readily forgives those who are in Christ, other people might not be so forgiving. We simply may have to live with the fact that our actions have an impact on others in ways that we may not ever in this lifetime experience their forgiveness. The question becomes whether or not we value God’s grace more than what others may think and feel about us. We can ask them to forgive us. Whether or not they do is up to them, not up to us. What we do know is that God has forgiven us.

The world today holds an antagonistic view toward our faith in Christ. Christianity and the world do not mix. We are told this in Scripture over and over. We are in the world, but we are not to be of the world (John 17). Sometimes Christians have to face how difficult and tough it is to live out their faith in a world that is an enemy of Christ. Some clients will enter the counseling room because they have found that they lack the courage at times to live as God would want them to live. The heaviest pressure that anyone faces, believer or otherwise, is the call to conform to other’s beliefs rather than our own. Simply put in many cases, we liked to be liked. We want people to accept us. Nothing feels worse than rejection from others. Christ knows what that rejection feels like. He came to his own and those who were his own did not receive him (John 1:11). There is neither a temptation nor a pain that we face that Jesus Christ did not face. We have God’s promise that he will give us the courage, and even the words to say, when we face the antagonisms of the world. When we do fall short in that battle, God’s forgiveness is still there. The battle is not easy at all; but we have the panoply (Ephesians 6:11) to carry it out.

Living Out Our Christian Faith

From my perspective, some of the most satisfying work as a counselor is helping clients tap into their local churches so as to jump start their sanctification. How does a believer grow in his or her faith? Although therapists and clients can touch on the beginnings of this process in the counseling room, sanctification must take shape via one’s relationship to God and the body of Christ. The counseling room can never replace the fellowship that believers need with other believers. Nor was it intended to do so. I inform my believing clients that if they are not plugged into a solid Bible-believing local church, their struggles will continue to weigh them down.

It is equally true that unless believers find time for prayer, their struggles will continue to come at them in ways they don’t understand. We have the right to approach God’s throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16). We have the greatest gift of all in Christ to be considered children of God. That means we can talk to him, which is exactly what prayer is. Just as the counseling room is not meant to replace a local church, neither is it meant to replace one’s relationship to God as Father and the power of prayer that comes with that relationship. God gives us promises regarding prayers we place before him, promises that we need to understand on levels that come only in time of relating to him. It is easy to think of prayer as simply our wanting God to give us things to make us happy in the moment. I fall into that trap time and time again. Prayer, however, carries with it the power of knowing God on a deep level, which simply put, takes time. Although forgiveness is always there, and God is ready to take us places no matter what, we have to realize that if we’re not careful, we can waste the valuable resource of time that we can spend with God. Hours go by in flashes that turn into days that turn into years that turn into a lifetime. Don’t let the reality of being allowed to know God slip away.

The counseling office is not a replacement for fellowship with other believers within a local church. No form of therapy is a replacement for prayer and knowing God. Additionally, counseling though it can help us gain insight into our selves and struggles that we face, it is not a replacement for our study of the Word or God, or Scripture. In addition to prayer, one of the ways we come to know God and his will for our lives is through his Word. Just as I tell believing clients about the necessity of church as the Body of Christ and prayer, I also tell them that if they are not reading and studying the Word of God, their struggles will continue to kick them in the rear. It is interesting and fulfilling work in counseling to help a believer develop some understanding of how to read and study God’s word. However, such work only begins in the counseling room. It must be developed in a local church setting with other believers who are trained to teach others how to study God’s Word.

These three truths help ground our faith into an ever growing and strengthening foundation: the Body of Christ, prayer, and Scripture. They are the foundation to how we should live out our Christian faith. I firmly believe that many of the doubts and struggles that Christian clients bring into the counseling room stem from their lacking in or neglect of these three areas.

The Upper and Lower Stories

One of my favorite Christian authors to read is Francis Schaeffer. He penned several works that I like to review at different times. One in particular always hits home for me, How Should We Then Live? (In The Complete Works of Francis A. Schaeffer, Vol. 5, Crossway Books, 1982) In this work and others, Schaeffer described some faulty Christian thinking that he calls living in two stories. What many Christians tend to do is think of their Christian lives in some kind of upper spiritual story, while other aspects of their lives, e.g. finances, work, family, etc., are experienced in some kind of earthy lower story. Such upper/lower story divisions lead Christians to separate their spiritual beliefs from what some might call real-world beliefs, as though the two have no connection whatsoever. The upper and lower story division is a false one, and it can lead Christians into some dynamics that weigh them down.

God’s Calling

All Christians are gifted and called to do various forms of work and labor in this life. The upper/lower story division tends to place those who are in what is considered full time Christian work on a pedestal. Obviously, we think, pastors, evangelists, and other full-time Christian ministers are doing more important work than the rest of us. But think about for a second. Perhaps it’s easy to think that way about bankers, accountants, business owners, and those that do similar work of service. But would we think that way about doctors, surgeons, airplane pilots, and engineers who build things?

Many times Christians enter counseling because they think that what they’re interested and skilled in doing is not important to God. They truly, perhaps secretly, don’t have an iota of interest or desire to enter seminary, do full-time evangelism, or become a pastor. For various reasons, they may desire to talk to a counselor because they feel guilty about the kind of work they want to do. I enjoy working with Christian clients who need to explore these thoughts. I like having the upper/lower story conversation with them. God has gifted us all to do and enjoy certain types of work, whether that entails pursuing the pastorate, becoming a teacher, working in a medical field, or training for certain types of business endeavors. Would anyone truly believe that a local church doesn’t need an accountant? The body of Christ should not disparage any of these fields of endeavor. The important task for all of us is to make sure of our calling before God, and then pursue that calling. As a believer in Christ, you should feel no guilt because you do not want to work in some full time ministerial capacity. Simultaneously, regardless of how we make a living, all believers are priests, and we’re called to serve the body of Christ in some capacity. Serving God can take place through any type of work we do, regardless of what it is.

As believers in Christ, we are also to pursue what Scripture calls the spiritual gifts. We utilize these gifts to serve the body of Christ. It is important to remember that we are all members of the body of Christ. That doesn’t mean we all do the same thing and serve the same way. Analogous to the physical body, Paul claims that the eye cannot say to the hand I have no need of you (I Corinthians 12:21). Every member of the body of Christ has a place in the church. It is not the same place as all other believers. Other forms of work I enjoy doing with Christian clients is exploring how they might fit into the body of Christ. It is important, however, for them to do this work in relation to their local church as well.

There are a lot of traps that believers can fall into when trying to decide what God has called them to do. It is not the purpose of this particular blog article to delve into that topic. It is, however, an important topic that believers need to explore. Such work is fulfilling work for me when I can help other believers work through these concerns.

Relationships

As believers in Christ, our relationships with our brothers and sisters in Christ are of the utmost importance. Although I’m not a pre-marital or marriage counselor, I can help individuals work through their concerns with various kinds of interpersonal relationships. I firmly believe that our understanding of how our relationships to others should work begins with our relationship with Triune God. If we are not developing our relationship with Christ who allows us to approach the throne of grace before the Father, then our interpersonal relationships can and will suffer.

As I stated above, forgiveness of and from others is one the main sources of personal pain we may suffer. Consequently, I work with believers to focus on what forgiveness means, and how it serves us. Others may withhold their forgiveness of us, but it is key to our wellbeing that we learn to forgive others, whether or not that leads to a restoration of friendships.

The ultimate foundation on which we all stand is grace. We must learn to develop and apply that notion to every area of our lives, including how we relate to others.

Conclusion

Sometimes believers can find it difficult to talk with others in their church about any concerns they are trying to navigate. The counseling room is a safe place where Christians can explore such navigations. My aim is not that counseling replace what they should find in the body of Christ. Instead I want to support what the body of Christ offers all its members. Working with other Christians who face the difficulties that life can and will throw at us is fulfilling work. I hope that any believer in Christ can enter my office and find the grace, safety, and encouragement to take on whatever challenges that life offers. 

John V. Jones, Jr., Ph.D, LPC-S/August 14th, 2020

THEMATIC/WORLDVIEW