John Michael Lane

This post is Part I of the Educating In the Image of God series. When I listed the attributes of God that we inherit by virtue of being created in his image, Purposeful was the first one I listed. We start with this attribute because it is profoundly important to wrap our brains and hearts around this concept so we may explore the remaining attributes with a proper frame of reference. We all know that God acts with purpose, but do we always act like we know it?

“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” –  Romans 8:28 (NKJV)

God has a purpose for everything he does and if we are bearing the image of God, we must do all things (including educating) with purpose. As parents, teachers, and educators, we must know the goal and our purpose in education. Donavon Graham, author of the book Redemptive Teaching, gives the best goal of education I’ve ever read.

The task of true education is to develop knowledge of God and His created reality and to use that knowledge in exercising a creative-redemptive dominion over the world in which we live. Such an outcome can be attained only by loving God and communing with him, resulting in the wholehearted worship of God.

You notice that in this “purpose statement” of education, there is nothing about concepts. There is no list of subjects or standard course competencies that should be taught. The entire purpose of education is to allow us to see God, God’s created reality, and to use that knowledge to serve and glorify Him. Every course should be designed with this purpose in mind – from conception to outline to final exam, always giving priority to the “Who” over the “What”.

Created in the Image of God. That is quite a bold statement. As Christians we know that this statement is true. We teach it in Sunday school, homeschool, and in private schools; however, we don’t teach it in a way that its applicable to our lives. We teach it as an abstract concept that, while true, doesn’t offer any guidance as to who we are, how we should live, teach, parent, or educate.

I’m a teacher at Artios Academies (A homeschool program) where I teach among other things, Worldview. Right now we are talking about this very idea. We are asking ourselves and delving into what it means to be an Image Bearer of God. Surely such an idea has profound implications that should impact every area of life, especially the areas of parenting, education/homeschooling, and our chosen vocation. However, in order to begin to understand the implications of such an idea, we must first begin to understand in what areas are we image bearers of God. While there are many possible areas, I am going to focus on nine areas (or atributes) that we see this idea.

1. God is Purposeful
2. God is Rational
3. God is Creative
4. We are Creators
5. We are Creatures of Morality
6. We exercise Free Will
7. We Exercise Dominion
8. We are Emotional
9. We are Relational

Obviously, this is to much to go through in one blog post. With that in mind, I’ve decided to turn this post into a series of posts. I will try to post about it once a week until we cover all nine areas. I hope this series will be a thought provoking series that will both challenge and encourage all who read it. But before we begin, what are your thoughts?  What do you think about these nine areas? Do you agree or disagree with these attributes? Post your thoughts and comments below.

This is the third in a series of posts entitled Biblical Worldview.

Before we delve into the particulars of what a Biblical Worldview is, let us first examine the reason for a Biblical Worldview. While worldview is certainly a buzz word in today’s culture, few understand the necessity of Christians to have a biblical worldview. The reason we are to have a biblical worldview is simply because Truth matters!

As Christians, we should not be in the position that Pilate was in, asking the question, “What is truth?”. We as Christians are required to be prepared to live a Godly life, to become like Christ, and our worldview is the culmination of all these beliefs. When Pilate asked Christ what he was doing there, Christ answered, “I came to testify to the truth!”. The truth that God exists! That Christ is God and that God deserves to be worshiped and glorified! That man is fallen! That man needs a redeemer, and that God so loved the world that he sent his only begotten son to redeem the world! He came to testify that through Christ, we can understand truth, knowledge, and in a future life, walk in the fullness of God!

As Christians, we must seek to look at the world through the lens of Christ. We are to see the world as God sees it, fallen, depraved, and because of God, a world with a hope. If Christians do not seek to understand and proclaim this truth in all areas of life and creation, the rocks will cry out and do it for us.

Our goal in studying what biblical worldview is seeing and knowing the face of God more clearly while we are here on this earth. A.W. Tozer says “Nothing should so occupy the mind of the Christian than discovering God each day.” It is the goal of every Christian with a biblical worldview to seek to understand and know God as best we can here on this earth.  Consider what the Lord says about those who know and understand God in Jeremiah 9:23-24.

“Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, 24 but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.” Jeremiah 9:23-24

The only thing we have to boast in is that because of Christ, we are able to seek and understand who God is. We are able to see that God is a God who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness, and that he is a God that delights in these things! Knowing more about who God is, and how he views the world, all that matters and it is all that is true!

Consider what Paul says in Philippians 3:4-8.

“though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of  Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ”.

In the mind of the Christian, the only thing that should matter is “knowing Him”. Knowing and glorifying God is why we were created. So, how can we seek to know God? How can we learn to see the world as God sees it. By looking at the world through the lens of scripture and through the eye of God, we can begin to understand who God is. Next week we will begint to delve into the very foundation of a biblical worldview, the Scriptures.

This is the second in a series of posts entitled Biblical Worldview.

Last I wrote an introduction as to what a worldview is. This week, I’m going to write about what forms a worldview. Every worldview, every question, begins with certain assumptions (presuppositions) that we have about the world. When one looks at the world, and asks, “How I can make the world a better place to live?” 0ne must hold to certain presuppositions as a foundation for the question. In order to ask that question he must presuppose the following:

• He presupposes that he exists.
• He presupposes he exists within the world.
• He presupposes is able to comprehend the world in which he exists.
• He presupposes that there is something wrong with the world.
• He presupposes it can become a better place to live.
• He presupposes that because it can be a better place to live, it should be a better place to live.
• He presupposes that he is able to make it a better place to live.
• He presupposes that because he is able to make it a better place to live, he should make it a better place to live.

Just by asking the question, he must hold to, and agree with at least eight different presuppositions. Lets look at another example, Rene Descartes. Rene Descartes is widely to be considered to be the Father of Modern Philosophy in the west and he is probably most well know for his statement “Cogito, ergo sum”, or “I think, therefore I am”. This might be considered the most basic of all presuppositions, but lets look at it a little closer. In order to accept the truth claim, “I think, therefore I am”, Descartes must also accept two other truth claims or presuppositions.

• The first assumption that Descartes must make is the “Law of non-contradiction”. The thought process behind Descartes maxim is, “I cannot doubt that I exist without thinking. If I am thinking, I must exist, because thinking requires a thinker. I cannot both exist and not exist; therefore, I exist. Descartes has to acknowledge that something cannot be both true, and untrue. It is either true, or untrue.
• The second presupposition that Descartes has is the “Law of causality”. In order for Descartes to say, “I think therefore I am” he must presuppose that thought requires a thinker.

A statement as elementary, simple, and foundational as Descartes must already hold to two presuppositions! Our presuppositions are both part of our worldview, and at the same time, they help to shape other parts of our worldview. Every conclusion we come to, and every action we take, comes from our worldview and what we presuppose to be true. This is why it is important for us, as Christians, to seek to see the world as it truly is. We must seek to understand the world through the lens of scripture and hold scripture as our foundation. Next week we will start moving into a Biblical Worldview, but first, what do you think are the most basic presuppositions of your worldview?

With the graduation of another group of Artios Academies seniors; I thought it would be appropriate to repost this blog. Its a post that essentially sums up what we intend to do at Artios Academies. To raise up students with a biblical worldview.

So, I have been reading alot about C.S. Lewis lately for some reason and I have stumbled upon another quote of his that I thought I would share. In light of all the work that I do with Artios Academies, I found this statement to be very true.

“Education without values, as useful as it is, seems rather to make man a more clever devil.”

With man’s fallen nature, all knowledge and education we gain only goes so far as to make us a a more “clever devil”. Values and more importantly, a biblical worldview must be integrated in all knowledge that is taught. Without this firm foundation of a biblical worldview, education cannot equip a man of God for every good work.- 2nd Timothy 3:17.

This is the first post in a series of posts entitled “Biblical Worldview: The Pursuit of Truth”.

Weltanschauung. Its how we interpret what’s wrong with the world. Its how we figure out why we exist, if we exist, and where we came from. Its how we determine whether or not there is something that is wrong with the world. Its how we try to find a solution to the problems that exist in us ethically, morally, naturally, sociologically, economically, and spiritually. Its how we decide whether or not humanity we can solve these problems on its own. It’s how we explain all the trouble and evil in the world. It is what drives our convictions, values, and responses to the truths that we believe in. In short it’s the lens through which we view the world. It’s our worldview.

The term worldview comes from the German word, Weltanschauung, which Webster defines as “A comprehensive conception of the world especially from a specific standpoint.” As Christians we must ask ourselves, which specific standpoint?

While everybody has a worldview, not everybody knows what a worldview is or how to formulate a correct one. A simple way of explaining what a worldview is, is to say that a worldview is how we attempt to make sense of things. Its how we attempt to answer; and the conclusions we come to when asking some of life’s most basic and yet most complex and central questions. Consider the following questions and try to answer them from your worldview:

• What is the world?
• Where does it come from or originate?
• Why does it exist?
• What is humanity?
• Why does humanity exist?
• Is there something wrong with the world?
• Is there something wrong with humanity?
• What’s wrong with the world?
• What is wrong with humanity?
• How does the world get fixed?
• How do we fix humanity?
• What is humanity’s role in fixing the world?
• What is humanity’s role in fixing humanity?
• Should we fix it?
• Do we live for something more than what is in this world, galaxy, or universe?
• Can we even understand knowledge enough to understand, let alone answer, these questions?

How we attempt to answer these questions shapes everything about us, and the answers we come up with or the manner in which we attempt to answer these questions is and shapes our worldview. Our human intuition and curiosity demand that we attempt to answer questions about our lives and the world we live in. We are not comfortable with living in the dark in regards to these questions. Regardless as to where it comes from, as human beings we have a drive, desire, and need to answer these questions. So, how to we begin to answer these questions and formulates our worldview? Before we can even ask these questions we must first acknowledge that by asking these question we hold an assumption. This assumption is called a pre-supposition. We will go further in the next post.

Read Post two, Presuppositions, Here:

There is a growing trend in today’s Christian culture to begin to accept the theory of evolution. They call it Evolutionary Creation or Theistic Evolution and its a theological concept that is both very flawed, and very wrong. Before I begin to go more deeply into this idea of Theistic Evolution, I first want to make the distinction between Old Earth Theology, OET, and Theistic Evolution. While the two are related, and Theistic Evolution is dependent upon also adhering to Old Earth Theology, the arguments that I will write about are regarding Theistic Evolution will not apply to OET.

Theistic Evolution:

Theistic Evolution is the belief that God used the process of evolution to create man and all other forms of life on earth. Its a belief that the predominantly held theory of Evolution is compatible with scripture.

Old Earth Theology: OET

Old Earth Theology does not try to merge scripture with the theory of evolution, but rather, just says that the earth is older than most creationists believe. OET says that in Genesis 1:1, a day is not a day, but an age, thus allowing some to believe the earth can be millions of years old. (The day-age interpretation).

While I personally believe both of these beliefs are incorrect, I think Theistic Evolution contains more flaws in it. While one could still believe in the basic doctrine of salvation and OET, adhering to Theistic evolution and some of the basic doctrines of the Christian faith of becomes much more difficult.

Imagio Dei: Created in the Image of God

If we begin to adhere to an idea of Theistic Evolution, we begin to lose the idea that we are created in the Image of God. While the Christian Evolutionist would rebut this point by saying God used evolution to make us in the image of God, I would have to respond with “Which image?” If God created Man in his image, which version or evolutionary step was Man actually in the image of God? Are we in the image of God at this homo sapien stage? If not, do we still have a couple more evolutionary steps to go? If that is the case, is God using evolution to make us more and more like God? If so, what happens to the doctrine of sanctification?

Doctrine of Sanctification:

Is the Doctrine of Sanctification destroyed through the belief in Evolution? I would answer absolutely. First, consider what sanctification is.

“Sanctification is, first, a position of honour to which God has appointed His people. Second, it is a state of purity, which Christ has purchased for them. Third, it is an inducement given to them by the Holy Spirit. Fourth, it is a course of devoted conduct in keeping therewith. Fifth, it is a standard of moral perfection, at which they are ever to aim” A.W. Pink

Sanctification is at its heart, a state of purity. If the theory of evolution is indeed true, then given enough time, Man would evolve into this state of purity, and if that is the case, than the only thing preventing man from being sanctified, or for that matter justified, would be God not allowing enough time. This idea puts God as a barrier to salvation rather than the way to salvation.

Doctrine of Original Sin:

The doctrine of Original Sin is paramount to the Christian faith. The reason God had to send his son, Christ, to die was for our sins. Without this doctrine, Christ’s death is no longer a loving act of salvation but an act of divine child abuse. According to scripture, Man became fallen after a choice of man. As soon as that choice was made, man fell, and knew that he had fallen.

“For it was not fit that His creature should blush at the work of his Creator; but by a just punishment the disobedience of the members was the retribution to the disobedience of the first man, for which disobedience they blushed when they covered with fig-leaves those shameful parts which previously were not shameful.” –St. Augustine of Hippo.

The reason why man should be shamed is because of his fallen state and image, and Man fell by an action of his own. If we begin to believe in the theory of Evolution and that in some extent, God either created man fallen, or, the image of God is the first living organism to have evolved.

Doctrine of Justification:

By looking at the two previous doctrines that conflict with the idea of Theistic Evolution, one can easily see that the Doctrine of Justification immediately follows. If the doctrine of original sin doesn’t exist, than there is not reason for man to be justified, and if knowing that man can evolve into purity, than there is also no reason for their to be a doctrine of Justification. This is the most foundational doctrine of the Christian Faith. Without this doctrine, there is no Gospel. To believe in Theistic Evolution is to deny the need of Christ and the power of the Cross.

This fundamental difference cannot be overcome or reconciled. One cannot rationally adhere to the theory of evolution and the essential doctrines of the Christian faith I mentioned above.

Now, I now that my arguments above are not perfect and I welcome your thoughts. As stated in the About This Blog page, part of the reason I blog is to allow me to organize the thoughts and arguments I have and gather feedback.

“There is really an analogy, or consent, between the beauty of the skies, trees, fields, flowers, etc. and spiritual excellencies. . . . When we behold the light and brightness of the sun, the golden edges of an evening cloud, or the beau- teous bow, we behold the adumbrations of [Christ’s] glory and goodness. . . . There are also many things wherein we may behold his awful majesty: . . . . in comets, in thunder, in the towering thunder clouds, in ragged rocks and the brows of mountains.” -Jonathan Edwards

This quote says everything there is to say about why I love the outdoors. Whenever I’m hiking, or just driving through the mountains I feel closer to God. The analogy that Edwards writes about explains why. We are able to see and behold his “awful majesty” in the mountains. In creation we see God. Romans 1 talks about how man can clearly see God and his invisible attributes through creation.

“because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.” -Romans 1:19-20

When you read verses like Romans 1:19, or “The Heavens declare the Glory of God, and the Skies proclaim the work of his hands”- Psalm 19, one can see the importance of the outdoors and trying to appreciate God’s creation. When you understand creation through lens of scripture, hiking is no loger recreational, its a form of theology. God gives us pictures and images that we can relate to. These images help us to understand and see the bigger picture. The image of marriage helps us to understand how Christ loves the church. A curtain being torn in two allows us to see how we were separated from God before Christ’s sacrifice. The splendor and sheer magnificence of God’s creation shows his passion for his Glory, and thats why I love the outdoors.

G.K. Chesterton was a prolific writer, philosopher, and apologist. He understood the Christian faith and its most basic principle, Truth. Truth exists and Chesterton sought to show that the pursuit of truth is important!

“What we suffer from today is humility in the wrong place. Modesty has moved from the organ of ambition. Modesty has settled upon the organ of conviction; where it was never meant to be. A man was meant to be doubtful about himself, but undoubting about the truth; this has been exactly reversed…That peril is that the human intellect is free to destroy itself. Just as one generation could prevent the very existence of the next generation, by all entering a monastery or jumping into the sea, so one set of thinkers can in some degree prevent further thinking by teaching the next generation that there is no validity in any human thought. It is idle to talk always of the alternative of reason and faith. Reason is itself a matter of faith. It is an act of faith to assert that our thoughts have any relation to reality at all. If you are merely a sceptic, you must sooner or later ask yourself the question, “Why should ANYTHING go right; even observation and deduction? Why should not good logic be as misleading as bad logic? They are both movements in the brain of a bewildered ape?” The young sceptic says, “I have a right to think for myself.” But the old sceptic, the complete sceptic, says, “I have no right to think for myself. I have no right to think at all. There is a thought that stops thought. That is the only thought that ought to be stopped.”

So, after reading this, what are your thoughts?

“There is nothing but rottenness in us; nothing but sin and death. Then let the living God, the well-spring of life, the everlasting glory, and the infinite power, come; and not only approach to us and our miseries, our wretchedness, our frailty, and to this bottomless pit of all iniquity that is in men; let not only the majesty of God come near this, but be joined to it, and made one with it, in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ!” – John Calvin

I love Reformed theology. I love the Doctrines of Grace written about by John Calvin, Jonathan Edwards, and any other theologian named John. What is interesting to me is that those who seem to be of a reformed mindset also seem to be guilty of probably the most deadly of sins, arrogance.

Reformed theology has at its most basic foundation, a low view of man and a high view of God. The Doctrine of Total Depravity is central not only to Calvinism and Reformed theology, but to the Gospel. We who are reformed claim to understand this the most; however, we neglect to fight the pride and arrogance that builds within us. We seek comfort in our intellectual knowledge of Reformed theology, but in seeking this comfort, we begin to become comfortable with the pride and arrogance that can develop. Speaking of a popular reformed pastor, The New York Times said, “New Calvinism underscores a curious fact: the doctrine of total human depravity has always had a funny way of emboldening, rather than humbling, its adherents.”

I love Jonathan Edwards. He was a brilliant theologian, a powerful preacher, and a man with a heart from God. He is one of the most prolific and brilliant reformed writers and in his Resolutions he writes:

“Resolved: if I take delight in it as a gratification of pride, or vanity, or on any such account, immediately to throw it by.”

Those of us who are reformed might do well to make the same resolution. We should not only acknowledge the truth Calvin wrote about above with our intellects, but also with our hearts. The calvinist would do well to remember the words of Isaac Watts when pride begins to creep up,

“Let me be dressed fine as I will, Flies, worms, and flowers, exceed me still”

What are your thoughts on reformed theology? Do you see a pattern of arrogance at times? How do you cope with it?