Worldviews I

I wish to begin a series about worldviews. This will consist of approximately five parts spread over an undefined amount of time. It will entail the beliefs of the four main worldviews (premodern, modern, postmodern, and existential), as well as contradictions and problems pertaining to them. To get started, you must first understand what a worldview is, what it tries to answer, and how it can be "rated" so to speak. A worldview is kind of like a set of glasses through which one views the world. Whether they will admit it or not, everybody has one, because we all have opinions of the people and events that make up this world. More technically, a worldview is a set of assumptions, held either consciously or unconsciously, that help to make sense of the world in our experiences and that help us to direct the way we live our lives.

Worldviews generally try to answer the following four questions, and the way you answer them is your faith commitment:
1.) What is the origin and nature of the world and the universe we live in?
2.) What is the nature, task, and purpose of human beings?
3.) What are the obstacles that keep people from finding fulfillment?
4.) How is it possible to overcome these hindrances to fulfillment?

There are three keys to evaluating a worldview. The first of these is plausibility. The fundamental beliefs of a worldview need to be rational in order for the worldview to properly function. The second is comprehensiveness. A worldview needs to adequately address all aspects of life, not merely one or two at the expense of others. Whatever a worldview leaves out of its scope will ultimately be its downfall and obviously its biggest critique. Success is the last key to evaluating a worldview. When evaluating a worldview in regards to success, ask this basic question: Does the worldview make life flourish or does it destroy life? The worldview needs to be something that is livable for an individual, because it dictates everything about the world to the holder of the view itself. For instance, a Nazi worldview is not successful -- it destroys life. Likewise with a terrorist worldview. Sometime this week I hope to get into the first worldview to be discussed here (and also my favorite): premodernism. Until then, think about your own worldview and how it stacks up.
~Tribal~