Worldview is important

Last week, my daughter and I were discussing eschatology.  We don't often do that.  It came up because one of her graduate seminars is called "Evangelical Literature and American Culture," and she was required to read Left Behind.  That, apparently, was not nearly as painful as reading Wild at Heart.  I hated to tell her that she reminded me of myself when I read Wild at Heart.  

Eschatology came up because dispensationalism is discussed in the course.  My daughter had a lot of questions about it.  Our church is solidly dispensational and she sat under that teaching as a teen.  She has questions.  She is uncertain.  I told her that I have a lot of questions, too.  Someone today could sit down with me and make a case for premillennial dispensationalism and tomorrow a covenantal amillennialist could come and undo the other guy's work.  I just haven't studied it enough to feel certain.  I told her I am certain that Jesus is coming again and I am certain that my destination when all that comes to pass is in the presence of Christ.  Other than that, I don't mind not knowing everything.

This is in total contradiction to how is taught, at a secular university where most of the profs are female femininist scholars.  In the mind of the secular humanist, man determines what is true.  Man can understand the world.  He is independent from God.  Of course that means that she should be able to figure it out.  Study hard enough, and you'll understand.  That is not the Christian mind.  The Christian mind knows it is dependent on God for understanding.  The Christian knows his mind is blinded by sin, that it will suppress the truth.  We know we are limited as human beings.  I explained to her that she is saturated in a worldview that goes against her own faith.  Of course, she sees that, but when one must think the other way in order to write essays, and have doctoral theses accepted, one might forget.  And before we go telling young people that they should attend only Christian liberal arts schools, let's remember that even they are prone to humanistic thinking.

Our worldview determines how we think; it affects more than how we think about Scripture.  It affects how we regard money, government, health, life, death; everything.  I think it needs to be taught, and it needs to be taught sooner than at the university age level.  I think it should be taught to teenagers.  Here in Canada, at least, we have a very multi cultural population.  My kids have confronted more Hindus, Muslims, and Buddists before they graduated high school than I have in 47 years.  They need to understand these things.  They need to start with their own worldview and the truth of Scripture.  Those things have helped an old dinosaur like me; surely it will be greatly used by the young, eager, fresh minds out there.

Comments

[Aimee Byrd]

Good thoughts. I grew up a dispensationalist, and am now worshiping as a covenant theologian. Kim Riddlebarger wrote a good intro book for studying Amillennialism--by that title, I think. I look forward to more of these conversations with my own kids as they get older :)

[Kim Shay]

Thanks for the comment, Aimee. I have Riddelbarger's book on my shelf, but have not made it there yet. Those conversations are definitely good. It is a way of relating to them as the adults they are.

[Sharon]

MacArthur in his book "The Gospel According to the Apostles" defines "dispensationalism" as: a system of biblical interpretation that sees a distinction between God's program for Israel and His dealings with the church. His definition of "premillennialism states: the belief that Christ will come again, THEN inaugurate a thousand-year reign on earth. Together you get premillenialism dispensationalism. His book is an excellent follow-up to "The Gospel According to Jesus" and I highly recommend both. Thanks.