Building A Biblical Worldview For DMM

Building A Biblical Worldview For DMM #

Gary Short #

It is vital that Christians have a commitment to biblical Christianity and that they know how to distinguish between biblical truth and cultural perversions of the truth.  This is why I have produced this outline on “Building A Biblical World View.”  I want to urge Christian parents and grandparents to read this material, (the most of which is Scripture) I believe it will help you have a solid answer for your children and grand children concerning all the ungodly things that they are being fed in school, on television and from the things they observe in the culture around them.  The enemies of God are working, not necessarily to eliminate the church, but for certain to render it powerless and without influence in the culture.

Everyone has a worldview. Our worldview is primarily derived from: our upbringing—family environment, values and issues; whether our parents brought us to a biblical church or not, our education—the influence of teachers plus curriculum, the culture we live in; major life events; the books we read; the media and movies we view; the games we play and the influence of friends. For some people their worldview is developed through thoughtful and deliberate consideration.   All of us also gain it, to a degree, from informal environmental influences, for many this is the exclusive way their world view is formed and often they do not have the ability to articulate or defend it.  You could say our world view is our answer to life’s basic questions; who am I? Why am I here? Why is the world like it is?  It is our presuppositions about reality.  Everyone lives by faith; world view determines where we place our faith.

What is reality, is one of the big questions to be answered in a world view.  Reality is what is true regardless of a person’s worldview.   A proposed reality must be either right or wrong it cannot be true and false at the same time. This means that only one worldview can correctly represent reality. There is no such thing as “no absolutes”; everyone has things that they believe is an absolute, even if that belief is that there are no absolutes.   Everyone accepts some things by faith; we all have presuppositions and accept many things to be true without absolute proof. This is just as true of naturalism as other world views.

Charles Colson and Nancy Pearcey define a world view as; how you think about the world and answer the important questions of life: Where did we come from, and who are we?  What has gone wrong with the world? What can we do to fix it? Where are we going?[i]

Richard Mouw says that a worldview is a way of answering four basic questions: Where are we? Who are we? What’s wrong? And what’s the remedy?[ii]

Thinkers give us a list of questions that they say must be answered to form a worldview.

1.  What is real how do you distinguish what is true from what is false?
2. How does the world function and how it is structured.
3. Who is man, how did we get here, what is our purpose?
4. What happens after death?
5. What is the nature of knowledge, where does knowledge come from, how do we know.
6. How do we distinguish right from wrong how do we establish values or morals?
7. What is the meaning in human history and how does it impact our future?

Pantheism—Hinduism; Taoism; Buddhism; it is sometimes repackaged in western cultures as New Age Consciousness.  Pantheism holds that only the spiritual dimension exists, the universe is divine, the earth is sacred.  All else is illusion, maya. Spiritual reality, Brahman, is eternal, impersonal, and unknowable.[iii] “God” as a “personal” being does not actually exist. Rather, Brahman does not “think” or “know” anything, “sin” does not offend it, and it cannot be said to “love” or “hate”. Brahman is absolutely simple, and has no attributes (such as goodness, truthfulness or emotions) or parts or “distinctions” (such as Father or Son), and is thus called “the One”.[iv] According to Pantheists, it is possible to say that everything is a part of God, or that God is in everything and everyone. Man is one with ultimate reality. Thus man is spiritual, eternal, and impersonal. Man’s belief that he is an individual is illusion. Truth is an experience of unity with “the oneness” of the universe. Truth is beyond all rational description. Rational thought as it is understood in the West cannot show us reality. Because ultimate reality is impersonal, many pantheistic thinkers believe that there is no real distinction between good and evil. Instead, “unenlightened” behavior is that which fails to understand essential unity.[v]Pantheists oppose any world view that believes the world was created for the benefit of human beings; to them this specism (like racism or tribalism but between humans and other creatures); perhaps worse than racism in its capacity for undermining the very existence of our species as a part of the community of living things.[vi] Pantheists claim that their roots go back to the philosophers of ancient India, and the animism of many native cultures.[vii]

Theism— Judaism; Christianity; and to a degree Islam;. An infinite, personal God exists. He created a finite, material world. Reality is both material and spiritual. The universe as we know it had a beginning and will have an end. Humankind is the unique creation of God. People were created “in the image of God,” which means that we are personal, eternal, spiritual, and biological. Truth about God is known through revelation. Truth about the material world is gained via revelation and the five senses in conjunction with rational thought. Moral values are the objective expression of an absolute moral being.[viii]Islam may be monotheistic but many people who are cultural Muslims are practical animists which would put them in the Spiritism/polytheism category.  Another distinction about Islam is it is the only modern major religion that advocates propagating itself through violence.

Polytheism— Spiritism; Animism; Paganism —According to Polytheists the world is populated by spirit beings who govern what goes on. Polytheists are extremely superstitious and attribute things that others would see as coincidental to spirits.  Gods and demons are the real reason behind “natural” events. Pagans focus on what causes harmful or frightening and unexplainable events and how to deter or deflect them away through appeasing or manipulating the spirits/gods.[ix]Wicca is a group people in the Western cultures who have revived ancient animist/polytheist worldviews in relatively recent times. Neo-pagan is another term for modern polytheists.  The term animist, in contrast, is usually used to refer to tribal people who hold Animist worldviews inherited from generation to generation since times long forgotten.[x]  Material things are real, but they have spirits associated with them and, therefore, can be interpreted spiritually. Man is a creation of the gods like the rest of the creatures on earth. Often, tribes or races or even families have a special relationship with some gods or spirits who protect them and can punish them. Truth about the natural world is discovered through the shaman/priest/witch-doctor figure who has visions telling him what the gods and demons are doing and how they feel. Moral values take the form of taboos, which are things that irritate or anger various spirits. These taboos are different from the idea of “good and evil” because it is just as important to avoid irritating evil spirits as it is good ones.[xi]

Polytheism is an attempt to deal with natural phenomena and or unexplainable events that release destructive energy that seems to not be understandable. It could be the birth of twins, mysterious death, an outbreak of cholera, lightening, floods, earthquakes, or any number other things.[xii]  Polytheistic worship often involves Totemism, that is, the use of magical power through an animal spirit guide to gain control over daily life’s issues.  A totem can be the symbol of a tribe, clan, family or individual. Native American tradition provides that each individual is connected with nine different spirit animals that will accompany each person through life, acting as guides.  They believe different animal guides come in and out of their lives depending on the direction that we are headed and the tasks that need to be completed along our journey. Though people may identify with different animal guides throughout their lifetimes, it is this one totem animal that acts as the main guardian spirit.[xiii]

Animists around the world believe in power animals and that they can be an important element in their rituals which are performed to ask help of, or to manipulate the spirits. They believe that many different things carry a distinct amount of wisdom and power; animals play an essential role in animistic life, and are considered to be a major element in spiritual and emotional success.[xiv]

To avoid the risk of divine retribution for the taking of life for food, because according to this worldview animal life is just as valuable as human life, they make an offering to share the fruits of the hunt with the gods through sacrifice.  Sacrifice is the gift or offering to the god in exchange for which man could ask a favor. The way pagans communicate with the gods is through Ritual.  This is the invocation of the gods through magical prayers and chants. If properly invoked the god could be compelled against his or her will. Prayers, chants, oaths, curses (black magic) are all used to communicate with the spirits/gods/ancestors.  Divination –the belief that the spirits, gods, ancestors send signs predicting the future and that these signs could be interpreted by certain people with special skills.[xv]

A Biblical World-View is based on the teachings of the Bible.  A person who holds a biblical world view obviously accepts the Bible as the Word of God.   The Bible is the lens through which we explain the spiritual, social, cultural, physical and mental world.  It is our foundation to understand the world around us.  If our world view is based on the truth we will see and interpret the events, attitudes and philosophies we encounter around us correctly, otherwise we will be deceived.  A biblical world view is a reasonable and rational faith in the principles of the Bible as the truth.

Here are some essential points of a biblical World View:

1. God exists; there is only one true God.

Deuteronomy 10:17 For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality nor takes a bribe.  NKJV

Jeremiah 10:10 But the Lord is the true God; He is the living God and the everlasting King. At His wrath the earth will tremble, And the nations will not be able to endure His indignation. NKJV

John 17:3 And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. NKJV

Hebrews 11:6  But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. NKJV

2. God is sovereign, all powerful, all knowing and without limits.

Genesis 17:1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless. NKJV

Isaiah 52:10 The Lord has made bare His holy arm In the eyes of all the nations; And all the ends of the earth shall see The salvation of our God. NKJV

This does not mean that God is the cause of all things: If it happened it must be the will of God is fatalistic not biblical.James 1:13-15, 13 When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14 but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. NIV Proverbs 19:3 A man’s own folly ruins his life, yet his heart rages against the Lord.  NIV

Job 34:10, 12, 10 “So listen to me, you men of understanding.Far be it from God to do evil, from the Almighty to do wrong. … 12 It is unthinkable that God would do wrong,that the Almighty would pervert justice. NIV

3. God created the universe from nothing, with purpose and meaning.

Genesis 1:1-2 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. NKJV

Colossians 1:16-17 16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. 17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. NKJV

4. God is love and he has poured his love out to mankind and we can only love because of His love.

Deuteronomy 7:8 But it was because the Lord loved you and kept the oath he swore to your forefathers that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. NIV

Psalm 36:7 How priceless is your unfailing love! Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of your wings. NIV

Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

5. Mankind is created by God, in the image of God, it takes both male and female to reflect God’s image.

Genesis 1:26-27  26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.  NKJV

6. Humans are the unique apex of creation and have been given dominion over the rest of creation; this gives humanity a dignity above the rest of creation.

Genesis 1:28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” NKJV

Genesis 2:15-16 15 Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to tend and keep it. NKJV

7. God is knowable; the transcendent God provided the Bible His inspired written revelation to human kind.

Jeremiah 9:24 But let him who glories glory in this, That he understands and knows Me, That I am the Lord, exercising loving kindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. or in these I delight,” says the Lord. NKJV

Jeremiah 24:7 Then I will give them a heart to know Me, that I am the Lord; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God, for they shall return to Me with their whole heart.  NKJV

John 17:3 And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. NKJV

8. Jesus Christ is God’s living revelation of Himself to human kind.

John 1:1-2, 4-5  1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. … 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. NKJV

Colossians 1:19 For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell.  NKJV

1 Corinthians 3:11 For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. NKJV

9. All truth comes from the God of the Bible, and His truth is absolute.

Deuteronomy 32:4 He is the Rock, His work is perfect; For all His ways are justice, A God of truth and without injustice; Righteous and upright is He. NKJV

Psalm 119:151 You are near, O Lord, And all Your commandments are truth. NKJV

Psalm 119:160 The entirety of Your word is truth, And every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever. NKJV

John 8:32  And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. NKJV

John 14:6  Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. NKJV

10. Transformed believers in Jesus Christ are to live their lives and to apply the truth of God’s Word through being led in a personal way by the Holy Spirit, always in conformity to the New Covenant.

Rom 5:5 And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. NIV

Rom 8:9 You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. NIV

Gal 5:16-18, 16 So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. 17 For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.

11. God granted mankind freewill, man then rebelled against God and rejected His Lordship. As a result of rebellion man became broken and sinful.

Deuteronomy 30:19 I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; NKJV

Joshua 24:15 And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” NKJV

12. Sin is the reason why there is evil and suffering in the world.

Romans 5:12 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned — NKJV

Romans 5:18-19 18 Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. 19 For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.

James 1:15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.

13. Sin destroys and when not repented from,by turning to Christ, leads to judgment in hell.

Psalm 9:17 The wicked shall be turned into hell, And all the nations that forget God. NKJV

John 3:18-20 18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.  19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.  20 For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. NKJV

Romans 6:20-23  For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21 What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. 22 But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. NKJV

14. The rebellion of Man against God even caused creation to be corrupted.

Romans 8:20-23 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; 21 because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now.  NKJV

15. Mankind has a spiritual enemy, the devil and his demons, which are doomed to destruction and wants to drag us to judgment with him.

Ephesians 6:11-12 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. NKJV

James 4:7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. NKJV

1 Peter 5:8-9  8 Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. 9 Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your Christian brothers and sisters all over the world are going through the same kind of suffering you are.  NLT

Revelation  20:10  Then the devil, who had deceived them, was thrown into the fiery lake of burning sulfur, joining the beast and the false prophet. There they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. NLT

16. God is not the author of evil, sometimes bad things happen that cannot be blamed on God or even any specific person but are due to living in a sin corrupted world.

Ecclesiastes 9:11-12 11 I returned and saw under the sun that — The race is not to the swift, Nor the battle to the strong, Nor bread to the wise, Nor riches to men of understanding, Nor favor to men of skill; But time and chance happen to them all. 12 For man also does not know his time: Like fish taken in a cruel net, Like birds caught in a snare, So the sons of men are snared in an evil time, When it falls suddenly upon them. NKJV

Luke 13:1-5 There were present at that season some who told Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2 And Jesus answered and said to them, “Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things?  3 I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.  4 Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem?  5 I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.” NKJV

James 1:13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone.  NKJV

17. Even though humanity has rebelled against Him, God is a Father who has not abandoned His creation.

Numbers 14:18 The Lord is longsuffering and abundant in mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression; … NKJV

1 Chronicles 29:10 Therefore David blessed the Lord before all the assembly; and David said: “Blessed are You, Lord God of Israel, our Father, forever and ever. NKJV

Isaiah 63:16 …You, O Lord, are our Father; Our Redeemer from Everlasting is Your name. NKJV

Romans 1:7 To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. NKJV

Romans 2:4 Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? NKJV

2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. NKJV

18. God has made a way of restoration, Jesus Christ is the only hope of salvation, those who surrender to him have an eternal reward in heaven.

Luke 19:10 for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” NKJV

John 3:14-17…even so must the Son of Man be lifted up,  15 that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.  16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.  17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. NKJV

John 5:24 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. NKJV

Acts 4:12 Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” NKJV

Ephesians 2:4-9  4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. NKJV

19. Redeemed humankind is not perfect but has changed sides and has made a commitment to follow Gods Word and are in a process of transformation.

Rom 12:2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will.  NIV

Col 3:9-10 …you have taken off your old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. NIV

20. God has given redeemed mankind the mission to take the gospel of Jesus Christ to the whole world.

Genesis 12:3 …in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” NKJV

Psalm 22:27-28 27 All the ends of the world Shall remember and turn to the Lord, And all the families of the nations Shall worship before You.  28 For the kingdom is the Lord’s, And He rules over the nations. NKJV

Matthew 28:18-20 18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.  19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. NKJV

21. The Gospel is to go forth in truth and power accompanied by signs and wonders.

John 8:32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” NKJV

Daniel 4:3 How great are His signs, And how mighty His wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,And His dominion is from generation to generation. NKJV

Mark 16:20 And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen. NKJV

Acts 1:8  But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” NKJV

Acts 4:30 by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus.” NKJV

22. God has not called individuals to give up their wealth but He has called us to be generous givers and to minister to the poor.

Leviticus 19:10 And you shall not glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather every grape of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger: I am the Lord your God. NKJV

Leviticus 25:35  ‘If one of your brethren becomes poor, and falls into poverty among you, then you shall help him, like a stranger or a sojourner, that he may live with you. NKJV

Deuteronomy 15:7  “If there is among you a poor man of your brethren, within any of the gates in your land which the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart nor shut your hand from your poor brother, NKJV

Psalm 72:4 He will bring justice to the poor of the people; He will save the children of the needy, And will break in pieces the oppressor.  NKJV

Acts  20:35 I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’  NKJV

Galatians 2:10  They desired only that we should remember the poor, the very thing which I also was eager to do. NKJV

James 2:5 Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? NKJV

23. God has given moral absolutes as a code of conduct based on love and respect, which also makes Christianity a wholehearted pursuit after God.

Exodus 20:3-5, 7-8, 18,  3 “You shall have no other gods before Me.  4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image —5 you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God,… 7 “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, …  8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 12 “Honor your father and your mother, … 13 “You shall not murder.  14 “You shall not commit adultery.  15 “You shall not steal.  16 “You shall not bear false witness…. 17 “You shall not covet … anything that is your neighbor’s.” NKJV  Read Deuteronomy 5:6-22, 6:1-9

Matthew 22:37-40  37 Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’   38 This is the first and great commandment.  39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’   40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” NKJV  Read Matthew 7:12

Other Christian values that come from the heart of God: mercy, long suffering, forgiveness, generosity, loyalty, faithfulness, diligence, hard work, perseverance, faith.

Galatians 5:22-23, 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. NKJV

2 Peter 1:5-8, 5 But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, 6 to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, 7 to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. 8 For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.  NKJV

2 Chronicles 19:9 And he commanded them, saying, “Thus you shall act in the fear of the Lord, faithfully and with a loyal heart: NKJV

Isaiah 32:8  But a generous man devises generous things, And by generosity he shall stand. NKJV

2 Timothy 3:10 But you have carefully followed my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, love, perseverance,  NKJV

Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. NKJV

24. We are only given one life to live and after death we must give an accounting to God for how we used the life He gave us.

Romans 14:10-13 …For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.   11 For it is written: “As I live, says the Lord, Every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall confess to God.”  12 So then each of us shall give account of himself to God.  NKJV Read John 12:48

Hebrews 9:27-28 27 And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, NKJV

25. God’s primary way of dealing with humans is blessing, it is a promise in a covenant that began with Abram and continues till now.

Genesis 12:1-3 Now the Lord had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you. 2 I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” NKJV

Genesis 26:24 And the Lord appeared to him the same night and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham; do not fear, for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your descendants for My servant Abraham’s sake.” NKJV

Numbers  6:23-27, 23 “Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, ‘This is the way you shall bless the children of Israel. Say to them:  24 “The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 The Lord make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; 26 The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.”‘  27 “So they shall put My name on the children of Israel, and I will bless them.” NKJV

Psalm 5:12 For You, O Lord, will bless the righteous; With favor You will surround him as with a shield. NKJV

Psalm 115:12-15, 12 The Lord has been mindful of us; He will bless us; He will bless the house of Israel; He will bless the house of Aaron. 13 He will bless those who fear the Lord, Both small and great.  14 May the Lord give you increase more and more, You and your children.  15 May you be blessed by the Lord, Who made heaven and earth. NKJV

Hebrews 6:13-14, 13 For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, 14 saying, “Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you.”  NKJV

26. Believing parents are not to leave their children to make their own moral choices but are commissioned to train their children in the faith and pass it on from generation to generation.

Deuteronomy 4:9 Only take heed to yourself, and diligently keep yourself, lest you forget the things your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. And teach them to your children and your grandchildren, NKJV

Deuteronomy 6:6-7 6 “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. NKJV

Ac 2:39  For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.” NKJV

A persons world view will impact their politics, their humor, their moral values, their spiritual convictions, what they do for recreation and entertainment, whether they steal on the job or not, their view of art, how they respond to bad news and a myriad of other things.  A person’s world view affects every area of life.  A consistent world view will make a person’s choices consistent; a world view that misses the truth will make a person’s choices erratic.    Worldviews affect everyday decisions and actions for individuals, organizations and societies? A person’s world view will set the course of their life.  It determines how you will respond to the difficulties of life as well as to its opportunities.  As a Christian it is important to ask yourself, have I absorbed the non Christian worldviews that are being pushed in the culture around me, what really is my world view and how did I come by it—is it biblical?

[i]Charles Colson and Nancy Pearcey  “How Now Shall we Live?” (Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois, 1999).

[ii] Richard J. Mouw, “And Grace Will Lead Us Home: The Old-Time Religion for a New Millennium,” speech given at The Chautauqua Institution, Chautauqua, New York, July 1999.

[iii] Dennis McCallum

[iv] R. Totten, MDiv. The Worldview of Eastern Pantheism © 2000

[v] Dennis McCallum

[vi] The Universal Pantheist Society

[vii] The Universal Pantheist Society.

[viii] Dennis McCallum

[ix] ics.purdue.edu/~rauhn/ancrelig.htm

[x]dKosopedia-Animism

[xi] Dennis McCallum

[xii] ics.purdue.edu/~rauhn/ancrelig.htm

[xiii]legendsofamerica.com/NA–Totems

[xiv] Ibid

[xv] ics.purdue.edu/~rauhn/ancrelig.htm