What are the world views
As noted in the course syllabus, you will be writing a worldview essay in this course. The purpose of this assignment is to help you evaluate and articulate your own worldview. What is a worldview? "Essentially this: A worldview is a set of presuppositions (or assumptions) which we hold (consciously or subconsciously) about the basic makeup of our world" [see James W. Sire, The Universe Next Door, 1976]. These fundamental assumptions provide necessary order to our world. We wonder what "is it that ties everything together, matter and mind, life and death, art and science, faith and learning, and makes this a universe?" [Arthur F. Holmes, Contours of a World View, 1983, p. 3]. A worldview helps us put it all together; it is "the integrative and interpretive framework by which order and disorder are judged, the standard by which reality is managed and pursued. It is the set of hinges on which all our everyday thinking and doing turns" [James Olthuis, "On Worldviews," Christian S!cholar's Review, Vol. 19 (1985), p. 155]. Furthermore, differing worldviews lead to tense situations: "As each great civilization, guided and inspired by a different religion, competes to demonstrate its vision of the best way forward for humankind, it is
ldview essay should not be simply a Christian testimony, though if you are a Christian, you certainly should incorporate your Christianity into your essay. For example, if you are adamantly opposed to abortion, holding that opinion actually depends on some aspect of your worldview (presumably about God, human dignity, or something like that). Your worldview is made up of your most basic assumptions, not just a collection of opinions. Parts of your worldview may seem so obvious that you think you should not state them; go ahead anyway. Other parts may not be so obvious to you. What we are aiming for here is a comprehensive look at your worldview to see if you are aware of it and how much it influences your life and thought patterns. Also, don't be afraid to look at some of the worldviews we have studied thus far to see if there are things there with which you agree; if so, include them. If not, perhaps you will be able to describe your alternative presuppositions. But always yo! ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS ABOUT A WORLDVIEW (USEFUL FOR COMPARING YOUR OWN WORLDVIEW WITH OTHERS): What factors influenced the development of this worldview [such as trends in science or ethics, economic conditions, and so forth]? What do people with this worldview think is important and why? What are the main points that this worldview emphasizes [such as in religion, in values, in politics, and so forth]? QUESTIONS A WORLDVIEW ASKS AND ANSWERS: What are the streng
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 982
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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