Cedars, April 27, 2006

Thursday, April 27, 2006 C EDARS | 11 Worldview: Some Positives and Negatives Last issue’s installment of the Worldview series dealt with the history of worldview and what the concept has meant to other people who have used the term. This fi- nal installment will deal with some positives and negatives of worldview thinking. Hopefully this article will help us see some ways in which the theory can be a genuine help to us as Christians, and also some warning signals we should watch out for. Thinking in terms of worldview gives us several important tools in our Christian life. We have a vocabulary we can use to describe what our daily life and relationship to Christ ought to be, something that takes hold of all parts of our life and thought. If all things tru- ly go back to our worldview, then any way we can change it in order to conform more closely to the image of Christ is a wonder- ful thing. These thoughts and vocabulary are wonderful tools for Christians to use both to help mold their faith, and to explain their views to others. Another wonderful strength of thinking in terms of worldview is in being able to ask people non-threatening questions about their beliefs and being able to convey your own thoughts and beliefs on the same topics. However, closely tied to some of these strengths is a pattern that can be a major weakness of the concept. The weakness that I’m talking about is being too reductionistic in our thoughts and interactions with other people. If we begin to think of people and their thoughts completely in terms of their worldview, then perhaps we’ve taken it a bit too far. An example from literature: if I’m read- ing Camus’ The Stranger , and leave my thoughts about the novel simply at the point of Camus having an atheistic existential worldview, then I’ve done both the novel and the writer a grave disservice. I think that this may be one pole of world- view thinking, the other pole being complete subjectivism. Subjectivism based on world- view thinking would look something like this: Since we all have different worldviews affected by our environment and our own in- dividual decisions, we have no basis at all to say someone’s view is wrong or not. Veering too far towards the reductionist pole can also be extremely harmful. An example: In the 1930s a group of peo- ple came to power in Germany, and used the concept of worldview in a very reduction- istic way. During their time in power they used the concept of worldview and the “con- flict” between different people’s worldviews for propaganda. In part this propaganda was used to silence dissenters and commit human rights atrocities. The political party was the German National Socialists (The NAZIS) and, to our own shame as Christians, many in the German church went along with the group- think of the time, which is why people like German theologian Dietrich Bon- höffer ended up creating an underground seminary! I’m not trying to say that we’re Nazis, or even that thinking in terms of worldview will lead to anything like Na- zism. Far from it. Worldview can be an in- credibly useful tool, especially when used critically, with wisdom and with humility. I also believe that although we have been redeemed by the work of Christ, and have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us, that we are still fallen beings, capable of making big mistakes, even with the best of intentions. Because of this we need to carefully exam- ine ourselves and our ideas, and always act with the attitude of Christ towards others. VIEWPOINTS · Steve Fladda · Contributing Writer Everything I Need to Know, I Learned from Newsies Every day for the last week, I have watched at least 45minutes of Newsies . That’s right. I admit it. No shame. (Well, a little bit. A little bit of shame.) Appar- ently, while every other adoles- cent was carrying the banner, I was the only one watching Annie —I’d never seen Newsies until this Easter. Since then, I’ve been more than making up for lost time with Christian Bale. In Newsies , the underdogs challenge “the man” and win, all the while looking cool while singing and dancing in the street—a classic plot line meticulously crafted to create a ca- tharsis irresistible to anyone with a soul. Per- haps this is because everyone, on some level or another, can relate to that struggle—the battle between one’s seemingly impossible ideals and the overpowering corporate mindset that al- lows no room for dreamers. For all of us leav- ing Cedarville, as we head into the real world, this battle hits close to home. (Christian Bale’s pouty lips and red bandana included.) With numbered days left before the real world hits, Jack Kelley’s sug- gestion that, “if the life don’t seem to suit ya, how ’bout a change of scene?” suddenlymakes perfect sense. It’s our chance to break free, and God only knows when our next chance will be, right? If you’re like me, you’re rest- less to find that change of scene—more so, I imagine, since seniors have been here twice as long as I have. We’ve all got our Santa Fe’s like Jack Kelley. My Santa Fe is downtown Philadelphia. In August, freshly turned 20 years old, I’m going there to get a job and apartment on my own. I’ll be living in a big city by myself, an increas- ingly ideal situation for me, but (I hesitate to admit) a terrifying one as well. One person in a big city, struggling to make ends meet, to get noticed, to fulfill dreams I’m still proofreading. We’re headed into this huge world that is full of heartless, ruthless Pulitzers and Hursts. Of course, it always works out for the kids in the movie because it’s a movie . (I mean, when Bill Pullman’s character watches the kids singing in the street, he isn’t thinking “Hey, how did all those kids have time to choreograph a dance number between selling papes?”) On the simplest level, this is why the film works, and why an entire generation of early twenties still remember the words; they inspire, they challenge, they make us feel that, heck yes, we can be “the king of NewYork,” too, if we want. So, why not? Why not be the king of New York or Santa Fe or Philadelphia or even Ce- darville? There is a harsh clash in this world between the dreaming Jack Kelleys and hope- ful graduates, and the ambitious Pulitzers and corporateAmerica. With inspiration and chal- lenge, the underdogs win. (And if you’re the New England Patriots, you keep on winning. But let’s not mix the metaphors.) Of course, the one thing missing from Newsies is the fire behind the courageous victory: God—the pos- sibility behind the im- possible. And here lies the ultimate battle: the bat- tle between our Chris- tian ideals (or—brace yourselves—world- view, as it were) and a dying world. The best part of this battle is that we are only the under- dogs on earth. We are promised a victory, and what a beautiful one it will be. With faith and determination, our idealistic goals are possible. I watched The Pas- sion of the Christ re- cently and all I felt was victory. Every movie has its protagonist, and this movie’s was Christ, the ultimate true story that makes you root for a team that you are literally on. At the end of the movie, when Satan is screaming in the pits of hell, I can’t help but smile. What a respon- sibility. And what a responsibility that Christ has already taken the brunt of. He’s opened the gates, and all we have to do is seize the day. Because soon enough, the world will know. · Heather Wenzel · Contributing Writer Moving Toward Revival According to Charles Finney, an evangelist of the Sec- ond Great Awakening, “Revival is a renewed conviction of sin and repentance, followed by an intense desire to live in obedience to God. It is giving up one’s will to God in deep humility.” Although Finney’s formula for revival may sound simple it is often difficult to put into practice. A. W. Tozer, a Christian and Missionary Alliance pastor and novelist, felt that “the average Christian is so cold and con- tented with his wretched condition that there is no vacuum of desire into which the Spirit can rush in satisfying full- ness.” Christians have a stigma to battle; we are often classi- fied as stuffy, legalistic, uptight “fundamentalists” without warmth, passion, or vibrance. If we have any desire to have an impact on our world, we will have to extend ourselves beyond our comfort zone to tangibly demonstrate God’s love, compassion, joy, and convictions based on biblical Truth! Cedarville University has been known for academic ex- cellence, high moral standards, and Bible teaching. God has blessed us with incredible professors who love the Lord and encourage us spiritually. However, simply learn- ing about the Lord is not enough. We can follow the rules perfectly and mimic all the Christian verbiage, but unless God gets a hold of our hearts and quickens our convictions, we will be ineffective as spiritual leaders for this desperate generation. Those of us who have studied at state universities before coming to Cedarville have a different perspective than most CU students’. A few years ago, a movie was released in which an innocent young boy claimed to see dead people. “They don’t know they’re dead,” he said. Walking through the halls on campus at a secular institution was like wan- dering through a morgue. It stirs you inside! When you realize that so many people are spiritually dead and going to hell, your responses change dramatically. The sense of urgency you feel to express God’s love is overwhelming! It comes to a point where you no longer care what people think of you or how they treat you as long as they come to understand the Truth and have an opportunity to accept it. As believers we should be openly expressive about what we know to be true. In times of worship we should be will- ing to praise God with total abandon. Anyone who has ever been in love can tell you how a passionate relationship wakes you up inside; it is as if you were not alive until you met that special person. This is only a fraction of the ex- citement we ought to feel about Jesus Christ! We all know people who get so passionate about the Su- per Bowl or other sports events that they jump up and down and yell at the top of their lungs when their team receives a point; there are others who behave much the same way for hours at a rock concert. However, many of these same people show little or no emotion in worshipping God and can’t bring themselves to make a bold statement of faith. This does not make sense! There is nothing private or re- served about our faith. God’s people should be the most vocal about who we are and what we believe. It is only pride and fear that restrains us from boldly “coming out of the closet!” Are you living in a state of complacency or are you pas- sionate and convicted about God’s Truth and salvation? Are you willing to be absolutely sold out for Jesus, not wor- ried about what anyone else thinks? He wasn’t concerned about what people thought when He hung on that cross out of love for you! As you face your week of final exams and look toward the summer, make God the central focus of your life. Cultivate a deep love relationship with Jesus and don’t be afraid to tell others what He has done for you. II Timothy 1:7-8 says, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power , love, and self-discipline. So you must never be ashamed to tell others about our Lord.” · Brittany Jackson · Contributing Writer “ ...unless God gets a hold of our hearts and quickens our convictions, we will be ineffective as spiritual leaders for this desperate generation. “ If all things truly go back to our worldview, then any way we can change it in order to conformmore closely to the image of Christ is a wonderful thing.