“The Universe Next Door” by James Sire provides insight into the various opposing worldviews society faces today. Beginning with the Pre-Modern thoughts that believe in God’s existence, spanning to the Modern view placing matter in the center of reality, and concluding with the Postmodern thoughts which deny the existence of reality. Throughout the semester we have discussed several of these viewings of the world, noting some views appear to be more practical than others. With the use of Sire’s eight fundamental questions I would like to compare and contrast the Pre-Modern thoughts of the Christian Theistic worldview to the Modern thoughts of the Naturalistic worldview.
Beginning with Sire’s first question “what is prime reality-the really …show more content…
As noted in the Bible, Christian Theist are made in the image of God. Meaning we are intelligent, we value morals, we believe in right and wrong, good and bad, we are just, we have feelings and emotions, we are holy, we are righteous, etc. With the understanding we as Christians are made in his image, in hopes to build a relationship with him, gives us a sense of self-worth. Although we are predestined to sin; to be created after a supreme being that is both omnipotent and omniscient, strengthens our belief that we are “very good”. Another important fact notes we are made of both body and soul. Being composed of body and soul enables us to relate to the Trinity. Composed of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; the Trinity exemplified life on earth through Jesus and life after death exemplified with the Holy Spirit. In contrast, Naturalist deny human beings were created by a God but were instead another random creation formed with the use of matter and the cosmos. Not formed or thought to be anything special, human beings are equivocated to a machine. Which means the way in which we function is determined by physical and chemical processes that occur in the body. Because man is a machine, naturalists also deny the presence or existence that man has a soul. Without the presence of the soul man is denied free will. Believing a person’s life is based off genetics and the process of cause and effect as …show more content…
The origin of knowledge is presented to Christians from God. As mentioned earlier, we are made in his image. Therefore God, being “the central intelligence agency of the universe” is all-knowing and responsible for providing us with the knowledge and intellect needed upon our creation (Alin). With this shared intellect God has placed each person on earth for a specific purpose to better the world. Through the use of art, music, science, medicine, etc. God has blessed all of us with a particular talent to share with others. Naturalists believe knowledge is acquired through human reasoning, with the aid of science. Through the use of evolution, naturalist believe the concept of knowledge and thought were programmed into man over time. Using science as their source of credibility, naturalists do not believe in the existence of anything that cannot be proven. Unfortunately, the naturalistic worldview still does not explain when thought or knowledge came into existence or where it stemmed from. Without the assistance of an external being I find it hard for the idea of knowledge to randomly
Beginning with Sire’s first question “what is prime reality-the really …show more content…
As noted in the Bible, Christian Theist are made in the image of God. Meaning we are intelligent, we value morals, we believe in right and wrong, good and bad, we are just, we have feelings and emotions, we are holy, we are righteous, etc. With the understanding we as Christians are made in his image, in hopes to build a relationship with him, gives us a sense of self-worth. Although we are predestined to sin; to be created after a supreme being that is both omnipotent and omniscient, strengthens our belief that we are “very good”. Another important fact notes we are made of both body and soul. Being composed of body and soul enables us to relate to the Trinity. Composed of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; the Trinity exemplified life on earth through Jesus and life after death exemplified with the Holy Spirit. In contrast, Naturalist deny human beings were created by a God but were instead another random creation formed with the use of matter and the cosmos. Not formed or thought to be anything special, human beings are equivocated to a machine. Which means the way in which we function is determined by physical and chemical processes that occur in the body. Because man is a machine, naturalists also deny the presence or existence that man has a soul. Without the presence of the soul man is denied free will. Believing a person’s life is based off genetics and the process of cause and effect as …show more content…
The origin of knowledge is presented to Christians from God. As mentioned earlier, we are made in his image. Therefore God, being “the central intelligence agency of the universe” is all-knowing and responsible for providing us with the knowledge and intellect needed upon our creation (Alin). With this shared intellect God has placed each person on earth for a specific purpose to better the world. Through the use of art, music, science, medicine, etc. God has blessed all of us with a particular talent to share with others. Naturalists believe knowledge is acquired through human reasoning, with the aid of science. Through the use of evolution, naturalist believe the concept of knowledge and thought were programmed into man over time. Using science as their source of credibility, naturalists do not believe in the existence of anything that cannot be proven. Unfortunately, the naturalistic worldview still does not explain when thought or knowledge came into existence or where it stemmed from. Without the assistance of an external being I find it hard for the idea of knowledge to randomly