Naming the Elephant: Worldview As a Concept Reviews

• "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect."

  
  By AIQC6GT4Z18QD on 2004-06-21
  Matthew 5:48 "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.". It seems to me that this book correlates with the teachings of the Christian Scriptures and forces our minds to except the reality of following a being who is God our Father than a theoratical concept. I read this book not because of my interest in Philosophy and/or Worldviews only but because understanding Christ and His Scripture the Bible. This book created more thirst for the Knowledge of Christ; motivated me to read Scriptures more, and encouraged me to knowing and loving Christ personally (ontologically) through Bible Study, Prayer and Communion in Trinity.
  
  

• The Apologetic of Worldview

  
  By A1OX82JPAQLL60 on 2004-11-30
  Philosophy and theology is what is written about here. The two have always been interlinked by cultures.
  
  Here Sire expands on his previous work "The Universe Next Door" where in the modern world of the religions being more universal in scope he presents his additional thinking on the subject.
  
  Certainly this can be beneficial in several senses. First, for the Christian one can gain insight into the consistency of one's own worldview. What I mildly object to is the sense that one's behavior overall speaks of one's worldview. According to Romans 7, then this is impossible consistenly. Second and more importantly, apologetically speaking this is of value is helping Christians speak of worldview in case of discussing with other worldviews.
  
  All this needs tempering with the Biblical truth that no one will be argued into the faith, either philosophically or worldview speaking. The Spirit must teach the truth or no penetration will succeed, no matter how good the worldview is.
  
  He has good biographical sources cited, especially would this reviewer suggest Nancy Pearcy's book "Total Truth."
  
  
  

• You can deny it but we all have a worldview.

  
  By A3IPHLD7B59IJ3 on 2006-03-07
  It doesn't matter who you are, what your background is, or what your religion is. You have a worldview. You may not have specifically thought about it, you may not even realize it but you have one and it effects how you view events and then how you react to those events.
  
  I have realized this for many years and have spoken to many people and I find it most interesting that those who have some of the most dogmatic worldviews refuse to believe that they have any worldviews at all.
  
  Although there are many different worldviews I break them down into two main branches.
  
  1 Ontologically Based Worldviews (Ontology precedes epistemology)
  
  2 Epistemologically Based Worldviews. (Epistemology precedes ontology)
  
  I had thought that I had been a original thinker many times wondering if I should write a book espousing my beliefs and illuminating the world into a new area of thought only to find out that it has already been done. Oh well, at least I can say that I am wholeheartedly endorse this book.
  
  I don't want to have any plot spoilers here but it is well worth the ten bucks for the pure synaptic enjoyment and mental debates you will have. Kudos Mr. Sire for a job well done.
  
  
  

• A Foundational Book

  
  By A34RH1RQBHK1P1 on 2007-07-03
  Sire's concept of worldview is that it is a set of presuppositions that are more or less consistent with each other. These presuppositions are our primary foundational commitments. This means that we have no rational reason for holding these beliefs. If we had a rational reason for these beliefs, the rational reason would be the true primary foundational commitment (unless it had a rational reason). These presuppositions are the reasons (whether rational or not) for all our other beliefs.
  
  Sire believes that a worldview covers seven distinct areas of belief. The first area on his list deals with prime reality which means God, gods, and/or matter. He defines the second area as dealing with the reality (the real world) around (or outside of) us and our relationship to it. Humanity is the third area in Sire's scheme of World View. Sire asks, "What is a human being?" He also uses the concept of death as his fourth area. Every person has some presupposition about what happens to a person at (or after) death. The fifth essential commitment in one's worldview raises the question as to whether it is possible for anything to truly be known. Related to this is the presupposition concerning right and wrong. This area deals with one's ability to know right and wrong and how one determines right and wrong. The meaning (or lack of meaning) of human history is the final component of one's worldview. These seven primary foundational commitments work together to form every other belief and thought that one has.
  
  The one negative this book has is that it seems a bit too western. One would almost get the idea that philosophy and worldview as a concept did not exist outside of the west.
  
  

• Overall good experience!

  
  By AG1I6AU2BTNKY on 2008-02-22
  The entire process was easy. The book came on time as described in post for listing! I was very pleased.
  
  

• The Universe Next Door: A Basic Worldview Catalog
• Worldview: The History of a Concept
• Total Truth: Liberating Christianity from Its Cultural Captivity
• Why Good Arguments Often Fail: Making a More Persuasive Case for Christ
• Shaping a Christian Worldview: The Foundation of Christian Higher Education