Finding Our Story

Welcome to fall! How nice it is to put summer heat behind us and to enjoy cooler temperatures and brilliant colors! As this new season begins, we are back with a new edition of the Worldview Church eReport. In this segment of our eReport, we have several features that we hope you enjoy. Our faithful contributor T. M. Moore continues his reflections on wisdom in his Issachareans column. This time he offers some helpful thoughts about how God’s wisdom can be found in creation, if and only if we apply several disciplines to discover what God has deposited for our delight in this very good world he has made. What T. M. has written here reminds me of things I constantly urge upon my students in their quest for a well-rounded liberal arts education.

T. M. also provides a helpful review of Alister McGrath’s newest book on the eclipse of atheism worldwide—The Twilight of Atheism: The Rise and Fall of Disbelief in the Modern World (New York: Doubleday, 2004). McGrath shows how interest in faith is growing, especially in third world settings, and how atheism is losing steam in the presence of a virtually universal interest in spirituality. Pastors and church leaders need to be aware of these important trends and to capitalize on the openness to spiritual things that this book documents so clearly.

In this edition of the eReport, I also continue my study of a Christian worldview as we take a look at what Jesus and Paul have to say about the fallen human condition and its effects on the universe. Here we slip from our last study on the spread and escalation of sin in Genesis 4-11 to the New Testament, to get as complete a picture as possible on humanity’s desperate, fallen condition. This study highlights our need for a Savior who deals with our sin problem and its comprehensive effects.

I also include the first part to a talk that I gave on September 20, 2004, to a group of about 250 church leaders in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on the importance of incorporating a Christian worldview in the ministry of the local church. It is titled, “How the Church Lost Her Story and What She Can Do To Get It Back.” In this talk, I mention how para-church ministries are pretty efficient these days in worldview thinking and implementation, but local churches themselves have a long way to go in this area. I hope you find it challenging and helpful.

Every blessing in Christ,
David Naugle

David Naugle is professor of Philosophy at Dallas Baptist University where he has served for 14 years. In addition to teaching and working with students, he maintains an active schedule of writing and speaking.