Course Sample for Our Introduction to Worldview and Philosophy Homeschool Bible Course
Introduction to Worldview and Philosophy, Part I
By Stacy Dorais
Lesson 1: Introduction to Worldview and Philosophy
This course will introduce you to Biblical and current worldviews and philosophies and help you to recognize your own worldview and philosophy. You will be able to compare, develop, and defend a position that is reasonable, realistic, and theologically sound. You will also be able to trace the history of western philosophy from its Greek origins.
In order to better understand the difference between worldview and philosophy, read the article from Market Faith Ministries entitled “Worldview and Philosophy”: http://www.marketfaith.org/worldview-and-philosophy/
In these first lessons, we will be focusing on worldview, especially from a Biblical standpoint. A worldview is simply the way you view the world, the basic assumptions you have about life and how it works. A worldview is your understanding of reality. Often, people don’t even realize they have a worldview, or that others may have a differing worldview. Understanding your own view of the world will help you to recognize flaws, both in your own thinking and in the information you study. Philosophy is the study of the way the world works. As you study these ideas, you will need to think, reflect, write, and discuss the information you gather. Plan to discuss what you are learning with your parents, pastor, youth leader, or other Godly adults whom you respect, even if you aren’t specifically directed to do so.
Research and Reflection
Obtain and examine the statement of faith for your church to find out what is believed regarding origins, meaning of life, morality, and destiny. Highlight the sections you think discuss a general idea. Discuss this with your pastor and your parents.
- What is your worldview? Find out by downloading and taking the Worldview Survey at http://www.marketfaith.org/ (Click on Worldview Survey in the menu bar.)
- What did you discover? How does your worldview compare to the statement of faith your church and parents hold? Make a list of the similarities and differences. Leave room for notes and changes. Hold on to this list to use throughout this course.
Questions and Activities
- Why is there something rather than nothing?
- Read Genesis 1-2. Use commentaries and other Biblical resources to find out as much as you can about the character and nature of God based on these two chapters.
- Research three popular views on the origin of life. Compare them, along with their views of a creator, to the information you found from the Biblical account.
- What is the significance of Jesus? What does His life tell us about who God is? Add these observations to your worldview list if they aren’t already there.
Lesson 2: Cause and Effect, Reason and Order
Read and Discover
Read Genesis 1-2. Think about it. You know it all, but did you miss something important? What work did God do during creation that is implied? Answer this same question for each section of Scripture below:
- Genesis 1:1-2
- Day 1 (Gen. 1:3-5)
- Day 2 (Gen. 1:6-8)
- Day 3: (Gen. 1:9-13)
- Day 4: (Gen. 1:14-19)
- Day 5: (Gen. 1: 20-23)
- Day 6: (Gen 1:24-31)
In creating the world, God established laws to govern both living and nonliving processes. Is God bound by these laws? What is the role of the Christian in relation to scientific study?
Watch
Put It Together
Add any new understanding to your worldview list. Think about the reasonability of what you have studied. Begin a chart on which you draw conclusions from the information about science and worldview that you have looked at so far. How does the Bible address the issues discussed so far? Read the following questions. Use them to help guide your research.
- What evidence indicates God as Creator? Some other creative process?
- What evidence indicates order in the universe? Chaos?
- What evidence indicates God continues to relate to this world? Could you conclude He no longer or has never related to it?
- What evidence indicates the occurrence of miraculous events? How does that reconcile with rational thought?
For more research, you may want to use apologetics websites such as http://creation.com/ and those recommended by CARM.org: https://carm.org/recommended-websites.
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