Rethinking Worldview

Awe-struck with Their Savior

I'd just spent a couple of hours in a particularly discouraging meeting, and when I checked my e-mail afterward a bit of providential encouragement was waiting. My friend Diana Moore, whose husband Pete was a mentor of mine back in Houston, finished Rethinking Worldview and reported that not only had she enjoy it, but she'd made use of it in her counseling work, too. She granted permission for me to share this quote:

"As a Biblical Counselor, I spend much time working with discouraged people. In the past two weeks, I have read your last chapter to most of my adult clients. Without exception, their hearts have been lifted by being exposed to the scene in heaven that caused them to once again be awe-struck with their Savior. You put the information together so beautifully. The connection to 'on earth as it is in heaven' has literally given hope to many over these weeks." -- Diana J. Moore, Biblical Counselor

It's always a pleasure to hear from readers, but I take particular joy in having given back to someone who did so much to help form my own perspective. Thanks, Diana! God has once again used you to say the right thing at the right time.

The scene in heaven Diana refers to is found in Revelation 4 and 5, which I write about in the book's final pages. If it's permissible to have a "favorite" passage in the Bible, this would be mine. It's where the new song, my favorite song, is sung:

“Worthy are you to take the scroll

and to open its seals,

for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God

from every tribe and language and people and nation,

and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,

and they shall reign on the earth.”

It's hard be anything but awestruck with such music in the air.

Readers Blog About Rethinking Worldview

Whenever I come across a reader of Rethinking Worldview who blogs about the experience, I try to post a link. Here are a couple of recent mentions.

Adoption-Through-Propitiation has a long post full of quotes from the book and some commentary. (I enjoy reading this sort of post, because I get to compare a reader's favorite passages to my own.)

At Thoughts from a Christian Worldview, Phillip Woeckener quotes a passage from the book, cites a parable, and poses a question.

At Not a Tidy Religion, Dave -- who's been reading Rethinking Worldview for his Philosophy class -- has some great things to say about the value of narratives.

Ed Roden, who blogs at Ministry in the Marketplace, calls Rethinking Worldview a "gem."

Equip to Disciple Reviews Rethinking Worldview

The First Quarter 2008 issue of Equip to Disciple, the quarterly publication of the Presbyterian Church in America's CEP (Christian Education and Publications), includes a review of Rethinking Worldview. It's on page 21 of the print journal (available in PDF) and also online. The conclusion:

There are 12 chapters providing good material for group study. The book will not only help you fine tune your worldview and how it impacts the transformation of your thinking but it will also provide good teaching on communicating your worldview to those around you. If there is any truth in the idea that the medium is the message, we must work doubly hard to develop our worldview, which will impact the way we think, which in turn will impact knowing what God would have us do. You will appreciate this book.

World Magazine's Graduate Recommendations

In the May 3 issue of World Magazine, Marvin Olasky includes Rethinking Worldview in a list of recommended books for graduates, echoing his endorsement of the book when it came out:

A good graduation gift for the smaller pool of college survivors heading to seminary or graduate school is J. Mark Bertrand's (Re)Thinking Worldview: Learning to Think, Live, and Speak in This World (Crossway, 2007). Bertrand's four worldview pillars, his explanation of how to move from consumer to critic to contributor, his discussion of personal unity and diversity within the Trinity, and much besides, make this book worth having and giving.

Here's a link to the full article (log-in required).

Mars Hill Audio Journal, Volume 90

Volume 90 of the Mars Hill Audio Journal is out now, and it leads with the interview I did with host Ken Myers about the state of the worldview discourse. This edition is packed with an additional 75 minutes or so of discussion on the National Endowment for the Arts study on contemporary reading habits (or lack thereof), so it's well worth hearing. Here's a taste of what's on offer:

Guests on the current issue (Volume 90) include: J. Mark Bertrand on how the language of "worldviews" can mean something richer than it often does; Michael P. Schutt on how the day-to-day practice of Christian lawyers can reflect a Christian view of the nature of law; Michael Ward on how C. S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia were shaped by medieval cosmological beliefs about the seven planets; Dana Gioia on the disturbing trends in the reading (non)habits of Americans; Makoto Fujimura on reading, painting, and attending to the world; Gregory Edward Reynolds on lessons about reading from the study of media ecology; Catherine Prescott, on why portrait painters often depict their subjects with books in their hands; and Eugene Peterson on the place of reading in the spiritual lives of Christians.

If you don't subscribe to Mars Hill Audio Journal, you should. It's essential listening, and I'm honored after many years of subscribing to find myself on the other end of the microphone -- and in such august company.

To Talk Without Shame

An Amazon reviewer named EDHreader created a list of books for "Humble Apologetics" which included Rethinking Worldview. Here's why:

"Refreshingly clear in its approach to worldview, this book exemplifies the sort of thinking needed to live in this present world without being conformed to it, and to talk without shame in the marketplace of ideas."

I'm grateful that my book has been included in such a worthy list. Thanks, EDHreader!

Unacknowledged Legislators?

Percy Bysshe Shelley dubbed poets the "unacknowledged legislators of the world," a testament to the power of stories to shape culture. In Rethinking Worldview, I pick up this note during the course of a discussion about the ways in which worldviews function as stories. Today, fellow writer Mike Duran, inspired by some passages of mine, takes a look at the question of artistic influence on the larger culture.

Storytellers: Culture's 'Unacknowledged Legislators'

Follow the link to have a look!

Jollyblogger Reviews Rethinking Worldview

David Wayne has posted a very kind review of Rethinking Worldview at Jollyblogger. Here's his conclusion:

"If you've read the others, you can still profit from this book as he covers valuable new ground and packages some of the familiar in new ways. He is very well read, pulling illustrations from daily life, to movies, to great literature and beyond. I'm frankly amazed at how such a young man (well, he looks young to me) has such a breadth of reading. This book can be profitably read by college students and up. Atlhough it would be a reach for some high schoolers I still wouldn't hesitate to give it to smarter, older high schoolers as an introduction to some higher level reading."

For the record, I'm thirty-seven going on seventy. Thanks for taking the time to read and review the book, David!

Testing Worldviews: A Reader Question

In the comments to my last post, a reader named Darrell posted an interesting question. I answer on the thread, but thought it was worth repeating as a post for those who might miss it.

Q. "...in the book are you supporting the modern notion of a 'correspondence' theory of truth or are you noting something more similar to a post-modern take on such theories which is basically that such theories are only helpful to a point and can otherwise be somewhat unhelpful?"

A. Darrell, the section in question is about a page and a half long (pp. 33-34), and I don't really engage in a philosophical discussion. Rather, I approach the rival (and complementary) theories as tools. Instead of championing one over another, I take it for granted that we use all three -- trusting things that seem to correspond to external reality, trusting things that fit with what we already know, trusting things that solve problems other assumptions don't -- and we don't use any of them exclusively or absolutely. (And we use them cumulatively, too, not in an either/or fashion.) It might help if I quote the conclusion of the passage:

"These three tools are good as far as they go, but they are not necessarily conclusive. Sometimes a lie seems more coherent and consistent than the truth, so when we ask whether worldviews correspond to reality, whether they cohere and produce results, we have to admit that we're the ones asking -- i.e., subjective people and, according to Christian doctrine, fallen too. This is all part of the struggle that is worldview. We are constantly wrestling with ideas while we question our own ability to judge, always acting decisively only to look back with doubts after the fact." (p. 33)

Now I suspect there are people who would classify that as the "postmodern" approach, but to me it's more like common sense. The "modern/postmodern" dichotomy is really only useful as an entry-point -- or as a bit of polemic sleight-of-hand by which I can dismiss things by labeling them modernist to some audiences or postmodernist to others. In reality, the specifics of the argument are more important than the broad label.

I hope this helps -- and if it raises any additional questions, feel free to ask!

The Portable Seminary reviews Rethinking Worldview

Back in February, Paul Luedtke, a doctoral student at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School reviewed Rethinking Worldview for The Portable Seminary. He writes: "...Re-thinking Worldview remains an important book and deserves a serious read because Bertrand’s approach is fresh, informed, and anchored in a global context." I particularly appreciate this observation:

"This book is of particular interest to those trying to understand, and engage the culture that surrounds them. In view of the current 'culture wars', where Evangelicals often see culture as something to either battle against or be isolated from, the author shows how correctly understanding a Biblical worldview and 'asking worldview questions' can be 'a way to open up the culture to deeper scrutiny. It ought to provide a fuller, richer experience of the world around us.'"

He does take me to task for not demonstrating why correspondence, coherence and productivity are good tests for the validity of a worldview, and he found the alliteration (worldview, wisdom, witness) forced. My response? You may have a point.

I should take this opportunity to point out what a great resource The Portable Seminary is. If you want to take your theological education further, it's an excellent starting point.