christian worldview Flashcards
God is the only self-existent being.
true
There is no orderliness or regularity to the universe.
false
G. K. Chesterton once remarked that hell is a monument to human freedom.
true
Societies that are open and seemingly tolerant lead to peaceful practices and equality between rich and poor.
false
It is possible to leave behind your religious views when you make moral decisions.
false
Theology was known as the king of the sciences because it was the science of God.
false
Which of the following approaches have civic and cultural leaders used to address the divisiveness of religion?
They tried to outlaw religion
What is the secularization thesis?
As we become more scientifically sophisticated and more able to understand and control our own environment, our need for religion will diminish.
What, according to Keller, is the point of the illustration of the blind men and the elephant
Each religion sees part of spiritual truth, but none can see the whole truth.
What does Keller say is the problem with the blind men and the elephant illustration with reference to religion?
The story is told from the point of view of someone who is able to see the whole elephant, and us is it claim to have superior, comprehensive knowledge of spiritual reality that no religions are able to have.
How does one respond to the claim that “All major religions are equally valid”?
Ironically, the insistence that doctrines do not matter is really a doctrine in itself (Keller, 8). You can’t have the doctrinal views such as a loving God while also saying that you do not believe in doctrine.
What is the relationship between religious belief and culture? Is all religious belief simply culturally conditioned?
Often times in culture you will be encouraged to have certain beliefs and discourages having other beliefs. Not all religious belief is culturally conditioned. According to Keller Peter L Berger says “ The social conditionedness of belief is a fact, but it cannot be used to ague that all truth is completely relative or else the very argument refutes itself”(Keller, 10).
How does Keller respond to the idea that it is arrogant to insist on the validity of your religion, and convert others to it?
“Their view is also an ‘exclusive’ claim about the nature of spiritual reality. If all such views are to be discouraged, this one should be as well. If it is not narrow to hold this view, then there is nothing inherently narrow about holding to traditional religious beliefs” and persuading others to believe them (p. 13).
It is possible to leave behind your religious views when you make moral decisions.
false
According to deism, human reason is autonomous. That is, without relying on any revelation from the outside, human beings can know themselves, the universe, and even God.
true
Deism affirms that God can be known through revelatory acts like the incarnation of Christ.
false
According to Keller, why does an exclusive belief system like Christianity lead to behavior that is so open to and tolerant of others?
Because Christians have within their belief system the strongest possible resource for practicing sacrificial service, generosity, and peacemaking—namely, a man who died for his enemies and prayed for their forgiveness.
What is the argument for keeping religion completely private?
Religious faith must never be brought into discussions of public policy because arguments based on faith do not allow a nonbeliever to reasonably engage.
What is religion?
According to Keller “Religion is a set of beliefs that explain what life is all about who we are, and the most important things that human
According to Keller, how does the moral “pragmatist” attempt to deal with the question of morality in the public square?
The “Pragmatist” says we should leave our deeper worldview behind and find consensus about what works” (Keller, 16).
It is perfectly natural in an evolutionary system that natural selection should depend on the death, destruction, and violence of the strong against the weak.
true
If you can’t see or imagine a good reason why God might allow evil acts to occur, then that means there must not be one.
false
According to Keller, what is the hidden assumption of those who believe that if there are both evil and suffering in the world, then a benevolent and omnipotent God cannot exist?
That since good reasons for the existence of both evil and God are not obvious reasons to me, then there must not be any good reasons.
How might the existence of evil and suffering actually serve as evidence for the existence of a benevolent and omnipotent God?
God’s character is the moral foundation for identifying something as evil.
Explain the “no-see-ums” illustration that Keller uses.
The “no-see-ums” illustration is meant to represent how just because one cannot see any good reason for evil and its existence, does not mean that those reasons do not exist.
Jesus spoke defiantly and confidently of God even as he was beaten and hung on the cross.
false
According to Keller, there have been far more excruciating and horrible deaths suffered by calm and confident martyrs than that of Jesus.
true
When Jesus died on the cross, he experienced a cosmic abandonment by the Father.
true
According to Sire, even Christian theists must admit that many of the naturalists’ ethical insights are valid.
true
What was greater than the physical pain of Jesus on the cross?
the spiritual experience of cosmic abandonment
How does the gospel address the existence of evil and suffering?
In Jesus Christ, God experienced the greatest depths of pain, entering human suffering in order to defeat it on the cross.
In what way was the death of Jesus qualitatively different from any other death?
“The physical pain was nothing compared to the spiritual experience of cosmic abandonment…God became uniquely and fully human in Jesus Christ and therefore knows firsthand despair, rejection, loneliness, poverty, bereavement, torture, and imprisonment. On the cross he went beyond even the worst human suffering and experienced cosmic rejection and pain that exceeds our as infinitely as his knowledge and power exceeds ours” (p. 30).
What does Keller mean when he describes the Christian’s prevail over suffering as being one of restoration rather than consolation?
“not a future that is just a consolation for the life we never had, but a restoration for the life you always wanted” (Keller,32) Keller means that the future we always wanted isn’t what m might be best for us. We long for consultation but restoration is the ultimate plan.
What, according to Keller, is the ultimate defeat of evil and suffering?
Keller quoted C.S. Lewis when he said, “Heaven, once attained, will work backwards and turn even that agony into a glory.” He then goes on to say, “It will not only be ended but so radically vanquished that what has happened will only serve to make our future life and joy infinitely great” (p. 34).
Christians believe that true freedom is the freedom to create your own meaning and purpose.
false
Every human community holds in common some beliefs that necessarily create boundaries, including some and excluding others.
true
It is an act of faith to accept Charles Darwin’s theory of human origins.
true
What are you trying to get power and control over when you claim to have the truth?
people
Which of the following is a part of a better set of tests by which to judge whether a community is open and caring rather than narrow and oppressive?
Which community’s beliefs lead it to demonize and attack those who violate their boundaries?
Which of the following does Sire say every fiber of people’s waking being is calling for?
Dignity
What is the “thought that stops thought”?
According to Keller the thought that stops thought is “By rebelling against everything he has lost his right to rebel against anything” (Keller, 38).
Why, according to Keller, can’t communities always be completely inclusive?
In any community there will always be a certain standard or set of beliefs that you need to have to be a part of. For example if there is a club for pizza lovers that is open to everyone it, by illusion, is a completely inclusive club, however if someone comes in saying pizza is terrible and doesn’t believe they love pizza, they might be asked to leave. In this illustration the pizza lovers club is completely open to anyone unless you don’t share the set of beliefs that pizza is the best. According g to Keller “ Every account of justice and reason is embedded in a set of some particular beliefs about the meaning of human life that is not shared with everyone. The idea of a totally inclusive community is, therefore, an illusion. Every human community holds in common some beliefs that necessarily create boundaries, including some and excluding therefrom its circle” (Keller, 39).
How do people in modern secular culture tend to define freedom?
Keller says that modern secular culture frames freedom as both the ability to “determine our own moral standards,” and “as the absence of confinement and constraint” (p. 46).
Why has Christianity been able to infiltrate so many radically different cultures?
“Keller says, “There is, of course, a core of teaching to which all forms of Christianity are committed. Nevertheless, there is a great deal of freedom in how these absolutes are expressed and take form within a particular culture. For example, the Bible directs Christians to unite in acts of musical praise, but it doesn’t prescribe the meter, rhythm, level of emotional expressiveness, or instrumentation—all this is left to be culturally expressed in a variety of ways” (p. 44).