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Lesson OneWhat Are the Major Worldviews?3 Activities1 Assessment
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Lesson TwoQuestions a Worldview Seeks To Answer - Part I3 Activities1 Assessment
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Lesson ThreeQuestions a Worldview Seeks To Answer - Part II3 Activities1 Assessment
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Lesson FourDistinctives of a Biblical Worldview3 Activities1 Assessment
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Lesson FiveWhich Worldview Will You Choose?3 Activities1 Assessment
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Course Wrap-UpCourse Completion1 Activity1 Assessment
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Discussion Questions
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List a television show, a book, a friend’s opinion, or some other source that illustrates each of the six worldviews listed. Example: Deism—Neil Armstrong, the first man to step on the moon, indicated on a NASA form that he was a deist.
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Deism – me before I knew that God actually runs the world and that everything is his servant
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Monotheism – Blue Bloods – shows Sunday dinner and prayer
Deism – someone who believes that there was a supreme being who created the Earth, but he has total control of his own decisions
Naturalism – The Big Bang Theory – proof for things rather than belief in God
Nihilism – Anything on the news
Existentialism – Life has no meaning
Pantheism – New Age Movement -
Fellowship of Christian Athletes is an organization that represents Monotheism. FCA believes in one God in three forms (God the Father, Jesus Christ, and The Holy Spirit). Our mission is to lead people into a growing relationship with God our creator.
“Preacher” is a comic book series whose fictional premise is that God created the world and then left it to its own devices (Deism).
Atheism is a belief system that heavily incorporates naturalism. The core belief of atheism is that there is no god(s) and therefore, all things can be explained through science and human wisdom.
Post-Modernism is a political theory that is largely based on the presupposition that all “truth” is relative, overlapping almost entirely with Nihilsm in its paradigms of belief structure.
Rick and Morty is a television show that comedically (and surprisingly thoughtfully) tackles the idea of existentialism.
Buddism and many Eastern religions are rooted in pantheism. They believe a higher purpose and the “real plane of existence” can be found in the spirit realm.
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Monotheism -the 10 Commandments with Charlton Heston
Deism-Thomas Jefferson with some of his writings from the declaration of independence.
Nihilism- Nietzsche is most often associated with. All values and beliefs are useless.
Existentialist- Jean-Paul Sartre ; French philosopher, screenwriter, playwright, novelist and literary critic
Pantheism-Baruch Spinoza , Jewish-Dutch philosopher.
Naturalist-Lorenz Ernst Haeckel German zoologist.
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Monotheism: CS Lewis, written many books about Christianity
Deism: Abraham Lincoln
Naturalism: Neil DeGrasse Tyson – famous astrophysicist, doesn’t believe in a creator
Nihilism: My buddy, who doesn’t believe in God or that there’s any meaning to life
Existentialism: Much of America today, stating that you have the right to your own opinions and that there is no objective truth.
Pantheism: My old assistant coach who believes that he is becoming one with nature and talks about New Age stuff
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Of the six worldviews listed, which two are most alike? Which two are the most dissimilar? Explain.
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Monotheism and Deism are most similar as they acknowledge one God and creator of the world. Monotheism and Nihilism seem to be most dissimilar as one believes in God and the other believes in no objective truth.
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Momotheism and Deism both at least acknowledge the Creator, though they may differ on His involmemet with creation.
Nihilism and monotheism may differ the most as the one God has difinitve truth to obey. -
Monotheism and Nihilism are very dissimilar because monotheism is based on God creating everything and being the ultimate authority and nihilism is based on zero authority.
Existentialism and Nihilism appear to be very similar since both are based on each individual creating meaning and significance as both do not believe in a supreme creator.
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Most dissimilar: Pantheism and Naturalism – Pantheists believe that the entire universe is Spirit (non-matter) while Naturalists believe the entire universe is only matter (no spirit).
Most alike: Existentialism and Nihilism – Neither believe in God, purpose, or any objective truth. Morality is (at best) subjective and (at worse) meaningless. The only marginal difference is that an Existentialist might believe they can create their own meaning of life while a Nihilist would not waste their time trying to create meaning at all.
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I would say existentialism and nihilism are the most alike in that they share the premise that objectivity is an illusion. They differ in application of this premise.
The most dissimilar would be monotheism and nihilism. They differ the most sharply in premise and application.
