Can You Identify the Worldview?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXBS4K4oSsE

Year 2, Class 4 : Entertainment and the Culture, Part 1

For Class 4, we focused on the impact of entertainment on culture.   Last week, we heard from Bill Jack in "Counterfeit Reality" that  movies are the most powerful teaching tool in our culture. Today, we watched a lecture titled "Entertainment and the Christian, part 1"  by John Stonestreet from the Summit Lecture Series.  He talked about how movies, as well as TV shows and music, are overwhelming, culture-shaping forces, that not only change WHAT  we think, but HOW we think and believe and know.

A visually beautiful and emotionally appealing story  - but this revisionist retelling of a historical event is more about the pantheistic, environmentalist, New Age message than about history.


Our culture worships celebrities, and is addicted to amusement and entertainment. He pointed out how we used to have news shows and entertainment shows on TV, but now we demand that our news shows BE entertainment shows! So we are continually bombarded with stories, songs, narratives, documentaries - ALL of which express someone's worldview - with little time to reflect on or evaluate the message within the media.

Stonestreet challenges students to neither withdraw from nor blend into the culture, but to engage it, as the apostle Paul did when he visited Athens.
Acts 17:16-17  "While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols. So he reasoned in the synogogue with both Jews and God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there."

Practical Wisdom in Pixar films

The Wisdom of Pixar: An Animated Look at Virtue  by Robert Velarde

SYNOPSIS

"Films by Pixar Animation Studios are not only entertaining, but also filled with practical wisdom that reflects classical Christian virtues. While not overtly Christian, Pixar consistently draws from the well of natural law and human experience in order to communicate timeless truths, offering depth that appeals to adults and fascinates children. Part of the task of being a well-rounded Christian apologist and thinker involves relevant and astute cultural engagement with contemporary trends that can serve as touch-points in communicating truth. To this end, Pixar films offer a multitude of opportunities to dialog with those who may have little or no interest in philosophy or theology, but are interested in discussing popular films."

Movieology: Worldview in Family Movies

What is a Biblical Worldview?

A biblical worldview is based on the infallible Word of God. When you believe the Bible is entirely true, then you allow it to be the foundation of everything you say and do. That means, for instance, you take seriously the mandate in Romans 13 to honor the governing authorities by researching the candidates and issues, making voting a priority.

Do you have a biblical worldview? Answer the following questions, based on claims found in the Bible and which George Barna used in his survey:

• Do absolute moral truths exist?
• Is absolute truth defined by the Bible?
• Did Jesus Christ live a sinless life?
• Is God the all-powerful and all-knowing Creator of the universe, and does He still rule it today?
• Is salvation a gift from God that cannot be earned?
• Is Satan real?
• Does a Christian have a responsibility to share his or her faith in Christ with other people?
• Is the Bible accurate in all of its teachings?

Did you answer yes to these? Only 9 percent of "born- again" believers did. But what's more important than your yes to these questions is whether your life shows it. Granted, we are all sinners and fall short, but most of our gut reactions will reflect what we deep-down, honest-to-goodness believe to be real and true.

taken from  "What's a Christian Worldview?" series,  Focus on the Family

Year 2, Class 3: Pop Quiz / Moral Relativism / Counterfeit Reality

Class 3 started with a Pop Quiz!!  Ooooooooooo,   No worries -  no grades for this. Just checking for comprehension of some key concepts.

1. What is the definition of worldview?
A worldview is a framework , or set of "lenses", through which we view reality and make sense of life and the world. It is our set of assumptions about what is right and wrong, good and evil, true and false, valuable, and not valuable. 

2.  If there is no truth, then there are no ____________ to the questions that matter.
answers  

3.  There are two kinds of truth:
 _____________  =  reflects opinion, preference, personal taste ( ice cream)
Subjective truth
______________ = based in reality and not based on what anyone believes, thinks, or agrees upon (insulin)
Objective truth

4. This type of philosophy is concerned with the doing the greatest good for the greatest number. ( think of Chuck Colson's grandson)
a. Utilitarianism
b. Naturalism
c. Creationism
d. Fundamentalism
a. Utilitarianism

5.The root of the word apologetics is the Greek word "apologia".  What does apologia mean?
a defense or justification [ for one's opinions or conduct ]

6. What is the difference between worldview and apologetics?
worldview is WHAT you believe,  apologetics is WHY you believe it

7. The foundation of the Biblical Christian worldview is that our purpose in life is to _____________ and ____________ God, and to _____________ his kingdom.
 love, serve, advance

    
We watched Session 3  of  "Explore Truth" from Impact 360 Institute.  - "How Moral Relativism Hurts Everyone"
Moral Relativism is the belief that moral or ethical truths are not absolute or universal, applying to all people at all times, but instead are "relative" to your culture, society, history, or personal circumstances. "That may be true for you, but not for me."

And we watched YouTube videos of Bill Jack's talk on "Counterfeit Reality".
Part 1:  https://youtu.be/rAVzHW3Aayo
Part 2:  https://youtu.be/tXc8PJjZQQk
Part 3:  https://youtu.be/kjzGAdF_A0w 
Part 4:  https://youtu.be/AK2VC0-E2ls












 

A Proper Understanding of Objective Truth

Year 2: Class 2 What is Truth?

We watched Session 2 of "Explore Truth" from Impact 360 Institute, as well as a Power Point slideshow I created from this article titled "Apologetics: An Important Spiritual Discipline for our Times" by Dr. Alex McFarland.    While "worldview" refers to the WHAT a person believes to be true, right, and good,  "apologetics" is about WHY we believe what we believe.  Studying apologetics alongside worldview demonstrates that Christianity is credible, reasonable, and relevant!

The other video we watched today was "Cold Case Christianity".  J.Warner Wallace is a homicide detective who specializes in solving "cold cases" - unsolved homicides - and has appeared on TV shows such as NBC Dateline.  After being an atheist for the first 35 years of his life, he converted to Christianity after applying the same techniques and principles he uses in his police work to investigating the truth claims of Christianity.





AND  Fresh baked chocolate chip cookies today. :-)

Year 2: Class 1 What is Worldview?

We watched Session 1 of "Explore Truth", and also a couple of other videos, to introduce the class to worldview.  I made fill-in-the-blank sheets to go with each video -  helps the students to concentrate as they watch and listen for the answers.
Oh, and freshly baked chocolate chip banana bread.  My students are the recipients of my love of baking.


What is Worldview?  (The Truth Project)



Worldview 101: Why it Matters  (Colson Center)





Answering 4 Questions (Colson Center)




What's Your Worldview? QUIZ  (Impact 360 Institute)

Year 2 Worldview and Apologetics

2016-2017   Worldview and Apologetics Class

I am again facilitating a video-based class for Jason and 4 other high schoolers, meeting in my living room for 2 hours every Monday afternoon.
The first video series we are going through is  Impact 360 Institute's "Explore Truth".

Doing the Right Thing Trailer

The final video series we watched last year was "Doing the Right Thing: A Crisis of Ethics," from the Colson Center for Christian Worldview. The discussion was aimed at a slightly older audience, but I found the teens in my class did fine with it with it when I added some supplementary material from YouTube.  We had some really good discussions.

The Truth Project Trailer

Although this was created for adults, older teens can definitely go through it. The format is lecture, with interviews and video clips interspersed. We used the supplementary discussion questions from The Truth Project website, and I created fill-in-the-blank sheets for the students to use as they watched the lessons, which are about 45 minutes long.

For the Life of the World Trailer

We really enjoyed this quirky, hipster, thought-provoking study from Acton Institute.

My Year 1 Resources

I facilitated a Christian worldview class once a week during the 2015-2016 school year for 7 homeschooled teens, including my son.  We met on Monday afternoons for 1 1/2 to 2 hours,  depending on the material we were using that week.

The class centered around watching videos and then directed discussion.  No homework. No written work, except some note taking during class.

The 3 main video series we watched were :

For the Life of the World: Letters to the Exiles  

 The Truth Project

Doing the Right Thing: A Six-Part Exploration of Ethics 

I have had all my kids do worldview material before graduating, whether it was reading books like  Don't Check Your Brains at the Door and The Ever-loving Truth,  a week at Worldview Academy, or a local class or weekend seminar.  The Truth Project came out when my younger daughter was in high school, so my husband and I went through the training seminar in order to purchase it and lead my daughter and a groups of her friends through the material. With my youngest, I am leading a small group of teens in a worldview and apologetics study his last 2 years of high school. 

So important to help them discover why they believe what they believe, and to be able to defend that position and present it as the Good News that it is!