Over the centuries, humankind have found themselves at a crossroad in trying to understand and explain the mysteries of the existence of God, and how He influence human life and nature as we have come to know it. Christianity, as a religion, has mainly chosen to follow the instructions outlined in the Bible by God and as such have held a different worldview. In light of this, therefore, this paper will attempt to explain the essential elements of the Christian worldview and the implications that this has on my worldview. Additionally, the paper will introduce the four components that describe the Christian worldview. Notably, this will be attained by explaining the aspects such as God, humanity, Jesus, and restoration.
God
What is God like?
Curran, (2011), states that God created the world and human beings with the ability to reason so that they can reflect on what God has made and thus be able to do according to His will. As such, this shows the sovereignty of God as the supreme ruler above all the creations. He further acknowledges that God always intends for the well-being of all His creation. Thus He points to God as an ordering power which sustains and preserves His creation, and ta the same time, the creating power of opportunities (Curran, 2011). In the Bible, Jesus identified God as a Spirit, when he said that “God is a spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth,” John 4:24, (Good news Bible, 2000) .
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What are God’s Characteristics?
From the description of what God is like, there are a few characteristics which are apparent and which humans identify God with. To begin with, God is identified as a holy being full of wisdom by Curran, a factor which sets Him aside from human beings who are considered to be sinful and finite. Another pronounced character of God is love, as he is supposed to be all loving and commands people to love other people. As a matter of fact, in the Bible, among the commandments that God has issued out to the people, the greatest of them is love. In addition to this, Yong, (2006), reveals God as being perfect and self-existence, thus he does not rely on any person for anything.
What is His creation?
The creation of God can be drawn primarily from the Bible, in Genesis chapter 1 which outlines the order in which everything was created. According to the Bible, God first created the heaven and the earth and separated the light from darkness, which formed the day and night. He also created all the animals both on dry land and in the seas, as well as all plantations. Humankind was created last, according to His image and likeness, and given the power to procreate and have dominion over everything as outlined in the Bible.
Humanity
What is Human Nature?
Pope, (2004), notes that the human nature can be understood in the context of body-soul unity. The nature of human is what sets us apart from other beings as we are given the ability to reason by God. Curran, states that human beings are created by God and equipped with reason so that they can do the will of God.
What is Human Purpose?
The purpose of human beings is doing God’s will. The Bible, Genesis 2, (Good news Bible, 2000), human beings are obligated to take care of the creation of God, including the plants and animals. Thus in general, the primary existence of human beings is to carry out God’s mandates.
What is the root cause of Human Problem?
According to the Bible, human beings have been corrupted by Satan, when Eve ate the forbidden fruit and sinned against God (Good news Bible, 2000) . Thus sin is the primary cause of problems which humans face. It caused humans to rebel against the wishes of God making them begin experiences problems.
Jesus
What is the true identity of Jesus?
According to the trinity of God, as believed by Christians, there is God the father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Jesus is the God the son as noted in the Bible in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He sent His son Jesus,” (Good news Bible, 2000). In light of this, therefore, Jesus though born of a woman, was the son of God and was sent on earth with the mission of saving human beings from their sinful nature.
What did Jesus Do?
Notably, is credited to have performed miracles among people which included raising people from death, healing the sick and restoring sight to the blind among others (Wickman, 2010) . He also preached to people about the kingdom of God urging them to repent of their sinful ways and do what right. Nonetheless, his main assignment was to turn the hearts of men to God by dying n the cross for their sins, that through Him they may have eternal life.
Why is the Identify of Jesus and His work Significant for the Christian worldview?
Jesus is at the center of the Christian worldview thus making His work and identity very significant in Christian (Wickman, 2010) . Many who believe this worldview believe that Jesus’ life set an example of how one is to serve in this life. Moreover, His death and resurrection paved the way for humankind to believe that they will one day be resurrected.
Restoration
What is the Solution to Human Problems According to the Christian Worldview?
According to the Christian worldview, accepting Jesus into one’s heart and following His word is the only solution to the problems humans experience (Yong, 2006) . In the Bible, this message is provided forth for every individual. It came as a shock to a majority of the Jews religious leaders as they had been accustomed to Mosaic rules.
What Role do Grace and Faith play in Christian Salvation?
Essentially, the role of grace and faith in Christian salvation is enabling Christians to be forgiven by God between they put their faith in God. Those people are considered to be sinners must confess their sins and declare their need for Christ to receive salvation (Wickman, 2010). This is because salvation is granted through grace only and not based on one’s deeds.
How do Christians think the Transformation of Self and Society Happens?
For societies to be transformed, the grace of God plays a significant role. Through God’s grace, these people are saved from their sin (Yong, 2006) . Consequently, spirituality develops in them which influences their moral characters and changes their ways. With the changes, this enables them to contribute more positively to the lives of others as they feel that they now have more to offer.
Analysis
What are the benefits and strengths of the Christian belief?
The Christian beliefs are beneficial to individuals as they are aimed at ensuring the person’s well-being is taken into consideration. For instance, the commandments of God ensure that people can avert all negative behaviours and develop a proper relationship with other (Wickman, 2010). The Christian beliefs also provide hope to individuals which enable them to tackle the everyday challenges knowing that God rewards hardworking people. As such, they enable an individual to be productive, obedient and able to live in harmony with others.
What is troublesome or confusing about Christianity?
What is more confusing and troublesome about Christian is the fact through God is all forgiving and has unconditional love for all; still there is a gap between principles which Christians aspire to maintain and the standards which are set such as those of Jesus (Curran, 2011) .. Additionally, the Bible can be confusing and difficult to understand. This is because it has many interpretations as it was written by different people during historical times.
How does Christianity influence a person’s thinking and behavior ?
Christianity influences people’s thinking and behaviours in that it enables them to see personal as well as world events in a different dimension, that is with the light of hope (Curran, 2011) .. This helps the Christians to reach out to the people and help those in need. Christianity is marked with hope thus this influences their behaviours by motivating them to serve other people.
Reflection
If you are a Christian, how do you specifically live out the beliefs of the Christian Worldview?
As a Christian, I always ensure that I live a prayerful life so that my sins can be forgiven by Jesus. I also ensure that I am kind to other people and help those who are in need without discrimination. Moreover, I pass the good news of the Kingdom of God to others when I get the opportunity. This ensures that am able to live as per the beliefs of Christians (Curran, 2011) .
Conclusion
This paper has attempted to explain the essential elements of the Christian worldview and the implications that this had on my worldview. God’s intention is for people to have life and not fall into sin. Thus he sent Jesus to die for all our sins and bring restoration. The Christian worldview is shaped by the relationship one has with GOD and the understanding of his plan for restoration through Jesus.
References
Curran, C. E. (2011). How does Christian ethics use its unique and distinctive Christian aspects?. Journal of the Society of Christian Ethics, 31(2), 23-36.
Good news Bible . (2000) New York.
Pope, S. J. (2004). The philosophy of nature of St Thomas Aquinas: nature, the universe, man. Zygon, 39(3), 718-719.
Wickman, L. (2010). Living at the crossroads: an introduction to Christian worldview: Religious Studies Review, 36(3), 212-213.
Yong, A. (2006). The hidden face of God: how science reveals the ultimate truth. Nova Religion, 10(2), 133-134.
