Think Like Jesus:
Make the Right Decision Every Time
Part 1: Perspectives on the State of Worldviews
Chapter 3: Bridging Faith and Life Style
Keys: Desire / BRIDGE / Blueprint
Page 45 points out that most believers agree there is a need to develop a biblical worldview. That’s the DESIRE. Barna states what is missing this way: “You lack something that connects a desire to honor God with a process of decision making based on God’s principles. You need a bridge. That’s the BRIDGE. The pieces of the bridge are: “inspiration, intent, intelligence, and information.” What’s missing is the BLUEPRINT. He puts it this way, “But at the end of the day, you realized that having all of the required pieces to construct a solid, useful bridge—the foundation stone, the elements of the superstructure, the ties that bind those elements together—aren’t worth a nickel without a blueprint. Without it all you have is a heap of parts, each having some limited value in its own right, but not reflecting its true value until the unit is put in context—that is when it is used for its ultimate purpose.”
Do you agree or disagree with Barna’s suggestion that we are missing the “blueprint” to build the bridge from our desire to have a biblical worldview with our actual living it out in daily life? Why?
THE BUILDING BLOCKS
The building blocks of a biblical lifestyle include a “foundation,” a “superstructure,” and the “ties that fortify the superstructure.”
The Foundation of the Bible
The foundation is simple: It is the Word of God. (Pg. 46)
Were it not for the existence of that document, we would be left in the same sorry situation as all other worldviews: arguing with other adherents of the same persuasion about the content of our perspectives. It would be a case of following the one who argues the loudest, or the clearest, or most pleasingly, or most persuasively, or most comprehensively, or—well, there would be no way of telling who is the best proponent to follow because there would be no unerring and indisputable standard of truth and clarity. (Pps. 46-47)
Does Barna’s contention that the Bible as the Word of God is the only foundation upon which a biblical worldview can exist make sense? Why or why not?
If the bible is the Word of God, then why is there so much argument among Christians about what it means and what is true?
The Superstructure: Critical Questions
“…a foundation gains value when it is used as the base of something practical. In our desire to bridge intent and performance, we need a superstructure to overlay our solid foundation.” (Pg. 47)
“In the case of learning to think like Jesus, the superstructure is the body of principles elucidated in Scripture. In our construction analogy, if the foundation is the Bible, the superstructure is the handful of critical questions that allow us to make sense of the voluminous information in God’s Word. Those questions allow us to organize the Bible’s information to make sense—in other words, to construct a plausible, coherent, and consistent worldview.” (Pg. 47)
How do you respond to Barna’s analogy of the “critical questions” being the superstructure to organize all the Bible’s information into a plausible, coherent and consistent worldview? Does it make sense or not? Why?
The Connectors: Core Answers
There is no bridge, of course, if all you have is a foundation and the posts that form the superstructure, something must tie these elements together. The connectors in this case are the principles, stories, commands, and insights provided in the Bible in answer to our core questions. (Pg. 47)
Do you see these three components: a credible source document; some encompassing and probing questions, and satisfying answers to those questions drawn directly from the source document as the “BLUEPRINT” for developing a biblical worldview? Why or why not?
SEVEN LIFE-CHANGING QUESTIONS
There are literally hundreds of questions we could ask that would help us develop a useful and biblical worldview—or that might create the same kind of ambiguity and confusion that most of us now possess regarding the grand themes of the Bible. It only takes a few pointed questions—seven related but discrete queries—to facilitate a practical and sufficiently comprehensive understanding of God’s truths and principles. (Pg. 48)
Barna has selected 7 questions. That is the biblical number of perfection or completion. As we review them, let’s consider whether they do offer us a “practical and sufficiently comprehensive understanding of God’s truths and principles.
Barna accurately points out that we must consider three “crucial parties” in whatever perspective we develop: God, Satan and humankind. Then he tells us that the ultimate objective of the questions is to provide us with a clear, comprehensive and unified understanding of all reality that will enable us to live like genuine Christians, as originally envisioned by God. “These questions should take us from the beginning of eternity to its end and touch on everything of significance in between those time-space bookends.” (Pps. 48-49)
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Does God Exist? This is the basic question, because if God doesn’t exist then as Barna puts it “…the whole equation changes in terms of truth, morals, values, purpose, behavior and the afterlife.” (Pg. 49)
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What is the Character and Nature of God? Barna points out that once we have established that God exists “….then the issue of His nature and character becomes significant, because everything under the authority of that deity must somehow correspond to who He is. In that scenario, His nature and purposes take on ultimate significance for us.” (Pg. 49)
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How and Why was the World Created? Creation views delineate the Christian worldview from that of alternative perspectives. Your worldview should touch on aspects such as how the universe was created, the power and creativity of God, the purpose of the universe in His grand, eternal plan, and His ongoing role in what was created. (Pg. 50)
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What is the Nature and Purpose of Humanity? A central facet of creation, of course, is the existence of humanity. Identifying the innate qualities and self-image of humankind, as well as the meaning and purpose of human life, is a vital dimension of a worldview. How we arrive at our personal attributes and sense of significance is as important as the nature of those elements. (Pg. 50)
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What Happens After We Die on Earth? Christianity alone contends that God wants an eternal relationship with all people, but that there are rules that govern the possibility. Unlike other worldviews that assert that because life has no eternal meaning then neither does death, Christianity sees life on earth as a precursor to a different future—but a future that matters.
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What Spiritual Authorities Exist? Do other spiritual beings exist in addition to God? If so, what is their nature? What authority do they possess?
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What is Truth? Fundamental insights required to complete our life lens include whether or not right and wrong exist; if so, whether they are absolute or relative in nature; and on what basis such decisions are made.
A MENTAL TRICK
Pages 51-53 are devoted to developing "acrostics" to help us remember the seven key questions.
THE ANSWERS
The next seven chapters will offer the answers to the seven basic questions developed in this chapter!
Another Acrostic from Dr. Chris Marshall
Existence of God Does God Exist?
Nature and Character of God What is God like?
Creation How and Why was the universe created?
Humanity What is the nature and purpose of humanity?
After Life What happens after we die on earth?
Nature and Existence of Spiritual Authority What spiritual authorities exist?
Truth—What is it? What is truth?
FOR NEXT WEEK: Read Chapter 4, pages 57-71 in Think Like Jesus