Le’Anne Monto

1. Worldview is the overall perspective from which one sees and interprets the world; or a collection of beliefs about life and the universe held by an individual or a group. (Dictionary) According to the text within the book Consider, there are many different ways to define the term “worldview”. It is a word that encompasses a great deal of meaning, emotions, and potential consequences. (p. 50) 2. * The question of origins have two main questions that the book Consider discusses, to include “How did life begin?” and “How did mankind come into existence? It is believed that matter may have always of existed if had been given enough time, though the Naturalists view the world as how we see it in today’s society. Modern science is known to have answers in which the questions of whether God does exist or not has been rejected within a question. According to Naturalism, man is a machine, a product of deterministic conditioning. (p. 56) In other words, a person has no control over the coming and going of their own being; when the ‘machine’ as Naturalists states will be running or break down. In a Pantheists world, they believe that God and the world are the same? Although there isn’t complete consensus with followers of Pantheistic worldview, generally god is not personal but impersonal. (p. 56) In the Pantheists view, they are saying that that god is not a ‘personal’ being; he is considered impersonal, though they are not denying his existence as atheists do. Within Theism view, they believe that everything is possible because of god and that is discussed in Genesis 1:2 which states that god had created heavens and earth which began the world as we know it. With 2 Peter 1:21 it is stating that god is the reason for all that has happened, that he was the “first cause”. In Consider (p. 56) it states that David, the Psalmist, declared that god is his creator. Most religions don’t believe that only god helped to create the entire universe. * The second question was the question of Identity, and the main questions in regards to identity are “does it mean to be hum?” and “”Are humans more important than animals?” Naturalists do not accept supernatural events, so according to their beliefs, mankind is produced of ‘evolutionary forces’. (p. 57) It is also believed that everything is given truth by seeing it, to be observed and experimented with. Naturalism also sets up a paradigm for understanding mankind’s relationship to animals. (p. 57) They believe that animals and humans should have the same value, and humans should not be more ‘superior’ due to the fact they were created from a similar ancestor. Within Pantheism, their beliefs involve reincarnation; believing that one’s life is based upon one’s good or bad actions in this life. (p. 58) They believe in karma as such in the modern world today that “what goes around, comes around”. With Theism, they believe that god created mankind in order to take care of the animals. In Psalm 8:5, god had created the animals below humans, and man was “a little lower than the angels”; meaning that god had intended for us to be animal caretakers. With Genesis 2:15, it states that we are to be animal caretakers, and that it was god’s purpose for the animals to live upon us as our ‘pets’. * The third question was the question of meaning and purpose, and it asks questions such as “Why does mankind exist?” and “Why do I exist?” In the naturalistic view, there isn’t a ‘real’ view on these questions; that mankind does not actually have significance due to the fact it is equivalent to a machine. (p. 60) Pantheism, a man’s purpose is to end the cycle of reincarnation so that the soul can achieve the stae of Nirvana. (p.60) In the religion Hinduism, life is viewed as an illusion that does not really exist, almost like a dream and everything around us does not actually exist (p. 60) Buddhism is about making a man suffer in order to learn to live without the wants that they are desiring. Theists are entirely about knowing god and following him and his words. Jews believe that following god and his words is our main purpose in life. Deuteronomy 11:13 discussing walking with the lord, and giving everything you have, ‘all of your heart and soul’ while serving him. As with Leviticus 19:18 discussing love your neighbors, which means love everyone around you; whether they are the same or different, do not judge. Love someone for who they are the way that you would love yourself, because that’s how you would want to be treated. Though, Christians are all about the relationship and standing with god, we want to follow in his direction. * The fourth question is the question of morality or ethics? It seeks to know “What is meant by right and wrong?” and “How should I live?” is about deciding how to live your life in an honorable way, deciding what is right or what is wrong? Naturalistic reject ‘absolute truth’. (p. 61) Emotivist believe there is no right or wrong the way we as humans think of it? In the Pantheism religion believes that we should act how god is morally and ethically, and that will guide us in our behaviors and our personality in which we treat other beings. Theists believe that ethics are based upon the nature and character of God, and that right and wrong are not relative to man’s perspective; but based upon Gods Holy standard. (p. 62) Though we can act as how we chose to do so, it depends on our beliefs and our faith and continued following of god. In Genesis 3, we see an example of the meaning; Adam knowingly acted against Gods will; for which as a human he knew was wrong, however did the act regardless; we are “morally neutral with capacity to do good or evil.” According to the Christian faith, we have sinned as we are brought into this world; though according to Ephesians 2:8-10, we can change our sins by following the Lord Jesus Christ and following true salvation. (p. 62) If we follow god and continue to worship him, our behaviors and our attitudes will be greatly affected in a good or evil way; we shall follow the lord in order to keep up with the positive moral behaviors. * The final question is the question of destiny, they ask questions such as “Is there life after death?” and “What will happen to me when I die?” or “Will I have to answer for my choices I made and how I lived my life? “and the questions you should ask before any decisions you make, In the Naturalist standpoint in religion, they do not worry about the question is there life after death since in their religion, death is final. There are some naturalists, such as the Determinists and Nihilists ask the question “Why am I alive?” and cannot face the reality, and prefer life without them; leaving them to becoming negatives in the world around them. Pantheists are always asking this question, because they want to end the cycle of ‘reincarnation’; they believe if they make correct choices, that it will affect their future. Theists believe you must have faith and feel they are already the “chosen ones of God” and have already been saved. As with Christians, we believe in heaven and hell. We believe that with right or wrong choices, you are good or evil; good or evil will direct you in the eternal fate you will continue on to. In Revelation 21:1-7 it states that your eternal life rests in either heaven or hell; it depends on your life in the path you will follow. With John 15:1-6 it is stating that if you are not a follower of Christ, you shall not be arrive in heaven. Your own being will depend on the life that you’ve lived, and the choices you’ve made; you must accept Christ into your life to be saved to make it into the ultimate destination; heaven.
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* A biblical worldview should influence the way you think about, treat, and speak to others on a daily basis, because god has set Holy standards for us for which we are to live by. Expectations of how we should morally act, we should treat others with the same respect that we would appreciate if in the others shoes; these standards have been set in order to guide us in a morally correct direction. I treat others in a good manner, because we were all born into this world the same way; and no one is more superior to others in god’s eyes. I believe that we should appreciate every living being, for we are all created uniquely and we should appreciate the beauty of the world around us. * I am heavily influenced by the bible on how I treat or interact with the environment and non-human creations by the words within Genesis 2:15; we are to be animals caretakers. We should treat everything on this earth with respect; it was brought into this world with such care, that we shouldn’t take advantage of it. It is miraculous that we were all created from the same ancestry; we need to consider our ancestors who created us all when we treat animals or non-human creations. Everything we’ve been given, all that we are, are beautiful gifts from god and we should cherish and be thankful for all blessings around us, and appreciate the simple things in life, to include other beings, and our surroundings.