Major Worldviews

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Major Worldviews

• Theism
• Atheism/Agnosticism

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Theism

• Christianity
• Deism
• Judaism
• Islam

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CHRISTIANITY

• God
• Is Spirit
• Triune
• Transcendent
• Infinite
• Creator
• Personality
• Acts and thinks
• Character
• Provides basis for morality

• Prime Reality

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• External Reality

• God created an orderly universe
• The universe was created as an open, cause and
  effect system.
• Decisions have an effect.

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• Who is man?

• Man is created in the image of God.
• Value because God loves us
• Creativity to imagine new things
• Personality to make decisions
• Sense of right despite the Fall

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• Knowledge
• Morality, right and wrong?

• Based upon Gods character
• There is something to know
• Absolute standard based on Gods character

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• Most personal element
• Exercise of free choice
• Existence with God
• Aloneness apart from God

• Death?

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• Meaning of History?

• History is linear.
• History is purpose of God in concrete form.
• Has meaning because God is in charge.

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Deism

• Prime Reality
• External Reality
• Who is man?
• Knowledge

• God is not currently involved in the world
• Closed system, change is not possible
• Has no relationship with God
• Human reason is sufficient

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• Morality, right and wrong?
• Death?
• Human history?

• God does not speak to man, morality is limited to
  what is revealed in nature
• Creation is not fallen, man is good and goes to
  heaven
• Little interest, history is a closed system

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Atheism/AgnosticismPrime Reality

• God does not exist.
• Matter is creator

• We cant be certain if there is a God.

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External RealityAtheism Agnosticism

• Matter is all there is, all there was and all
  that ever will be.Carl Sagan

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Who is man?Atheism/Agnosticism

• Mankind evolved
• People are complex machines
• Personality is made of interactions of chemical
  and physical properties

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Knowledge?

• Reason is sole criteria for truth
• Thoughts come from the properties of matter

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Morality, right and wrong? Atheism/Agnosticism

• Man is judged on achievements, actions,
  aspirations
• Culture determines values
• Values relate to human needs and interests
• Ethics are autonomous and situational

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Death?Atheism/Agnosticism

• No afterlife
• Laws of matter apply and man becomes disorganized
  and disappears
• Personality and individuality become extinct

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Meaning of History? Atheism/Agnosticism

• History is linear stream of events without
  purpose.
• Goal of history is perfect humanity
• Economic factors determine history
• Humans work to satisfy human needs.

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ISLAM
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What is the prime reality?

• Allah
• Maker
• Lord and Master
• With us all the time
• Controls everyone and everything
• Has always been
• Is One
• Has no son

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Who is man?

• We are Allahs Servants
• We are made from clay
• We are made to worship and obey Allah

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What is the reason for morality?

• Allah gave us everything we have
• We thank Allah when we obey him
• We must always try to follow Allahs guidance so
  that we can go to heaven
• Five basic duties of Islam (pillars)
• Declaration f faith
• Daily prayers
• Contribute to welfare
• Fasting
• Pilgrimage

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What happens to man at death?

• The day of judgment
• Obedience rewards (heaven)
• Disobedience punishment (hell)

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What is the meaning to human history?

• Tell the message there is no god but Allah
• Prophets Adam, Abraham, David, Jesus, John
• Angels made from light, record our actions
• Mohammed final prophet, wrote the Quran for
  Allah

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Worldview Tests

• A worldview should be rational.
• It should not ask us to believe contradictory
  things.
• Law of Non-contradiction.
• A proposition can not be both true and false at
  the same time and in the same sense.

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• It should give a satisfying, comprehensive
  explanation of reality
• It should be able to explain why things are the
  way they are.

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• It should provide us with a satisfactory basis
  for living.
• We should not have to borrow elements from
  another worldview to live in this world.

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• It should be supported by evidence.
• It should be consistent with what we observe.