Living at the Crossroads: An Introduction to Christian Worldview

by Michael W. Goheen, Craig G. Bartholomew

How can Christians live faithfully at the crossroads of the story of Scripture and postmodern culture? In Living at the Crossroads , authors Michael Goheen and Craig Bartholomew explore this question as they provide a general introduction to Christian worldview.

Ideal for both students and lay readers, Living at the Crossroads lays out a brief summary of the biblical story and the most fundamental beliefs of Scripture. The book tells the story of Western culture from the classical period to postmodernity. The authors then provide an analysis of how Christians live in the tension that exists at the intersection of the biblical and cultural stories, exploring the important implications in key areas of life, such as education, scholarship, economics, politics, and church.

Genres: Theology, Christian, Nonfiction, Christianity, Philosophy, Religion, Cultural

222 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2008

About the author

Michael W. Goheen (PhD, University of Utrecht) is professor of missional theology, Newbigin House of Studies, San Francisco, and Jake and Betsy Tuls Professor of Missiology at Calvin Theological Seminary in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He is also minister of preaching at New West Christian Reformed Church in Burnaby, British Columbia, and is the author or coauthor of several books, including The Drama of Scripture, Living at the Crossroads, A Light to the Nations, and a work on Lesslie Newbigin's missionary ecclesiology.

Reviews

[Lizzy Tonkin · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF

This was for my Theology 500 class, I made it to page 51 and knew I had enough for my 300 word critique and despite my type A need to complete every book I ever start, I closed it and put it back in my pile of books. Maybe I would’ve felt more inclined to read this if I didn’t spend 4 years at Liberty lol

Here’s my critique ——

Craig G. Bartholomew and Michael W. Goheen are professors of theology at Redeemer University College and Calvin Theological Seminary, respectively, and have co-authored Living at the Crossroads as an introduction to Christian worldview. Their deepest concern in writing was to “give expression to the gospel of the kingdom and the cultural mission of the church” because they believe “the gospel [has] something to say about all of human life.”

Living at the Crossroads begins with the gospel of the kingdom and the call of the church to make known the good news. Chapter 2 traces the origins of worldview while chapters 3 and 4 address how the concept of worldview may help equip the church for its mission today. Here, biblical worldview is not defined but rather described (e.g. “a trinitarian understanding of God,” “getting right who Jesus is,” “getting the gospel right”). Chapters 5, 6, and 7 describe the dominant worldview of modern Western culture, chapter 8 considers how the church is to live at the crossroads of two conflicting and incompatible worldviews, and chapter 9 offers examples of how this may occur in public life.

This book is comprehensive in establishing the importance of a biblical worldview for missional living. The authors demonstrate a transformationalist theology – they believe “salvation is the restoration of the whole of God’s good creation.” However, despite the whole of the book careening towards a progressive understanding of the redemption of the earth, the authors summarize the biblical story as “creation, fall, redemption” without the fourth act of restoration. The failure to acknowledge restoration as distinct from redemption hinders the clarity and precision of a mature biblical worldview which understands justification (through salvation) as a one time act and sanctification as an ongoing act of redemption for believers and ultimately all of creation.

[Andy Littleton · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent and succinct assessment of our culture and what a missionary encounter with it would look like. A contemporary application of the principles of neo-Calvinistic thought and the teaching of Leslie Newbigin especially. Written and best read as a follow-up to Drama of Scripture.

[Samuel Lemire · Rating 4 out of 5]

In a sense, Christianity has always been at a crossroads. Opposing worldly streams in philosophy, constantly present it with the opportunity to veer off in a variety of directions. G.K. Chesterton points out that the Church “swerved to left and right so exactly as to avoid enormous obstacles” (Chesterton 57). Understanding the precipices that the Church currently sits on is important to Goheen and Bartholomew, so in their book, Living at the Crossroads, they seek to analyse the excesses of the modern Church and determine in which ways it could “swerve” to remedy them. As stated on the back cover of the book, both of the authors are professors of religion, and Goheen is additionally a pastor, making the pair exceptionally qualified to write on this topic. Any modern Westerner should find the themes to be applicable to his or her worldview, and most will be presented with entirely novel worldview ideas. The authors of Living at the Crossroads provide an excellent overview of trends in the Christian philosophical worldview and suggest problems with and solutions to the current state of Christian thought.


Living at the Crossroads opens with the assertion that “As followers of Jesus, our thinking about worldview must begin with the gospel” (pg. 1). This idea of the centrality of the gospel to worldview shapes the rest of the book. The three primary parts each develop on the idea of a gospel centered worldview. The first part goes into some depth defining the Christian, or gospel centered, worldview. The second part considers the philosophical ideas inside and outside the Church that have led to the current state of Christianity, especially which ideas have led away from the gospel. The final part deals with the implications of the modern Christian worldview, particularly how to promote the centrality of the gospel in today’s culture.
Part one begins with the idea that the Bible is a narrative. The authors propose that the Bible has an all-encompassing story that everyone can choose to participate in. They argue that, unlike Homer who simply attempts to aid his readers in temporarily ignoring their realities, the Bible aims to supplant its readers’ realities (pg. 3). The question of what it means for the Bible’s narrative to supplant one's own leads the authors into the idea of a worldview. They define this term based off of Emmanuel Kant’s “weltanschauung,” which is, “an understanding of the meaning of the world and of our place within it” (pg. 11-12). In other words, worldview is how people interact with the world based on how they view it. Naturally, the authors follow up with the question of how the Bible would direct one to view and interact with the world. The book outlines three key aspects of the Christian worldview. These are viewing the world as something God created with meaning, acknowledging the effects and remedy of sin, and accepting God’s role for humans as stewards in the world. The final of these three points receives most of the attention in the latter chapters, as the authors discuss what it practically means to be a Christian.
If the Biblical worldview was the only worldview, then there would be no need for the second and third parts of the book. However, since its founding, the Church has been inundated with other worldviews. Western thought has its roots in the Greek philosophers Plato and Aristotle. The authors point out that Plato’s philosophy considered the spiritual realm to be primary and the physical realm to be an impediment, while Aristotle trusted heavily in temporal things (pg. 74). These Western ideas have become heavily intertwined with Christian thought. The book first relates the influence of Platonic ideas on St. Augustine of Hippo. St. Augustine, while affirming the Christian position that the physical world was created good, shifted the Church in the direction of heavy preference toward the spiritual over the physical (pg. 77). Augustinian ideas largely dominated until 13th century scholar, St. Thomas Aquinas, began to incorporate the resurfacing Aristotellian ideas into Christian thought (pg. 78-79). This opened the door in Christianity to humanist thought and eventually the enlightenment. This shift toward humanist modernity was accelerated by the strong individualism of the Renaissance and the Protestant Reformation (pg. 82-87). Progressive modernism had few Western challengers until philosophers disillusioned by the meaninglessness of the material modernity began to consider postmodernity, the idea no metanarrative exists and that life essentially has no intrinsic meaning (pg. 107-111).
Goheen and Bartholomew conclude their book by analysing how to faithfully live out the Christian worldview without the amalgamation of philosophies that it has taken on. Their method involves engaging the world without being engaged by the world, or influencing the world while being influenced by the gospel (pg. 132-133). The authors suggest ways to practically live in such a way in several areas of life. As an example, they consider options for schooling. Public school gives more opportunity to engage the culture, but Christian or home school gives more opportunity to study the Christian worldview (pg. 165-173). Ultimately, the book leaves its readers with a framework to help decide exactly how best to live out a Christian worldview.

In analysing the arguments that Goheen and Bartholomew use in Living at the Crossroads, it is worth analysing the themes of each part together, as the parts build upon each other heavily. The boldest and most defining argument in the first part is that the Bible provides a guidebook for every aspect of life that every human should follow. This is really two statements. The first is that the Bible presents a metanarrative and second is that it is a metanarrative worth adopting. The authors assert that “[The Biblical] gospel is an announcement about where God is moving the history of the whole world” (pg. 2). The remainder of the first chapter backs up this point. The authors point out that the gospel calls anyone who hears it to believe in it and repent, citing Mark 1:14-15. This process implies adopting a whole new story of the world (pg. 5). The chapter goes on to discuss what could be called a corporate understanding of the gospel as a narrative. That is, a Biblical mission for the Church to follow. Quoted is John 20:21, where Jesus relates to the apostolic founders of the Church, “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” The authors very reasonably take this verse and John 17:18 to mean that the gospel forms an additional narrative for the Church. Considering that the Church is nothing without the gospel, it is nothing to show that the Biblical metanarrative should be the driving force within it. Proving that individuals should also take such a stance, however, is a position that Goheen and Bartholomew take the remaining three chapters in the section to support.
Living at the Crossroads approaches the question of why everyone should adopt a Biblical narrative from the perspective of showing that it is both true and necessary. The authors suggest that sin is a real thing that is an act of treachery against God and that is the root of all human problems (pg. 46). They go on to argue that sin not only destroys individual humans but also societies at large (pg. 48-49). This already closely mirrors the earlier idea of individuals and Churches accepting a gospel centric narrative. From this point, the authors attempt to illustrate how a Christian worldview is a solution to the formerly stated problems. They draw attention to the fact that God could have immediately restored the world from sin, but chose not to, leaving a mission for Christians. That mission is to work toward a world that is restored to the state that God initially intended for it (pg. 52-53). They importantly add that the efficacy of these efforts depends on the grace of God empowering the change (pg. 61-62). This crucial qualification distinguishes the Biblical worldview from a simple societal improvement movement, making it seem much more exclusively necessary. A slight weakness of this section is that it gives very little thought to how a person or Church would go about restoring the world. However, this is excusable as the last part of the book is set aside for the purpose of practical solutions. Otherwise, though, the authors successfully present an enticing picture of the Christian worldview.
The second part of Living at the Crossroads revolves around the influence that progressive modernism has had on the Church and the West as a whole. Goheen and Bartholomew show that modernism has become the driving force in Western culture, through selling people the idea of a material utopia (pg. 92-96). To support their claim they quote Immanuel Kant as saying, “‘The destination of the human species as a whole is toward continued progress. We accomplish it by fixing our eyes on the goal which, though a pure ideal, is of the highest value in practice, for it gives a direction to our efforts, conformable to the intentions of Providence’” (pg. 92). The authors argue that from this school of thought proceeded what they call the “myth of progress.” That is, the idea that through science humanity could create the perfect world. Unfortunately, though, the authors continue, progressivism and technological advancement never brought about the utopia that modernism promised. As a result, disillusioned philosophers turned to the idea that they called postmodernism. The appeal of postmodernism is that it is decidedly non progressive, because it discredits the idea of a metanarrative altogether (pg. 109). Goheen and Bartholomew come to the conclusion in this second part of the book that Christianiy must promote an entirely different worldview than either the modern or postmodern worldviews that permeate today’s culture. They oppose the modern worldview, as it sets man and science in the place of God, a juxtaposition which certainly cannot coexist with Christianity (pg. 98). Their opposition to the postmodern worldview is more complex. In a sense, they admit that it is tempting to accept postmodernism as an ally in a fight against modernism. Nevertheless, they maintain that, “Postmodernism is also unhelpful to Christians in that although it has abandoned much of modernity’s key concepts, it has never abandoned the shaky secular foundations upon which modernity was built” (pg. 114). In other words, both modernism and postmodernism unsuccessfully flail for truth in a Godless world, so it makes no sense that either should guide the Church. The overarching argument in these chapters is that modernism and postmodernism dominate the West but that Christianity but choose a separate philosophical path. Goheen and Bartholomew do an outstanding job of showing their point, complete with a lengthy history of the interaction between Christian and Western philosophies. Their argument would most likely be least effective with those completely blinded by material wealth. However, that is more of a failure on the part of the reader than the authors, as their case was very carefully documented. Their argument is made especially strong by general dissatisfaction, even among the wealthy, with modern life. Nearly every reader will be compelled to at least strongly consider the authors’ point of view.
The focus of the final part of Living at the Crossroads to demonstrate in a practical sense what the authors see as a gospel centered worldview. They state that it implies, “confessing Christ’s rule over the whole of society and culture, taking a stand against all the evil that thwarts that rule” (pg. 127). They go on to explain how they understand the concept of being “in the world but not of it.” The authors explain that the basis of this worldview is being involved in the world with a giving mindset (pg. 145). More specifically, Christians should be influencing the world in a regenerative mannar without allowing the world to have a degenerative influence on them. This involves striking a balance that is difficult and up to many interpretations. Thus, the Goheen and Bartholomew mainly seek to give general guidelines. As an example of their thought process, consider their opinion on scholarship and education, something they spend a good deal of time discussing. They make the fundamental observation that the scholarly world is completely built around a modern humanist worldview (pg. 166). As a result, it is difficult to participate in such a system without becoming a part of it. On the other hand, they acknowledge that methods such as Christian and home schooling can have an insulating effect on Christian witness to the outside world (pg. 167). Ultimately, with this issue and others Living at the Crossroads leaves the reader with Biblical principles to aid them in making their own decision. The authors’ choice to often avoid giving definite guidance could be seen as a weakness with this section. However, it could also be seen as a strength for a more independent reader. An evaluation mostly depends on what the reader wants from the book. Either way, though, what the section does do, it does quite well.
Living at the Crossroads is one of the best books that I have read. It flows nicely and breaks deep thoughts down to a level that is easily digestible. Most importantly, it discusses ideas that are not common in mainstream Christianity or the mainstream culture in general. I find that most Christians are unquestioningly devoted to modernism and especially capitalism, while much of the culture is enamoured with postmodernism. The idea that both philosophies are societally unhealthy is somewhat of a radical idea, but it is something that I believe some people are beginning to intuitively realize. Although I began considering these ideas before reading Goheen and Bartholomew’s book, they deepened my understanding of these concepts. They answer questions that the readers did not know they had, and leave the readers with better questions. Living at the Crossroads is a fantastic work of art that leaves one captivated with the idea of utilizing good worldview to restore the world.

Works Cited:
Chesterton, G.K. Orthodoxy. John Lane Company, 1908.

[Zachary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wrestle with how to summarize this book. It was very well done, and I think Goheen and Bartholomew have a solid grasp on the components of a Christian worldview, as well as what it looks like to begin to play that worldview out biblically in the various areas one has opportunity to impact. My biggest struggle is more that this book doesn't say too much that is new...which is slightly understandable, seeing as it was written around eight years ago (which puts it merely a few years older than the original iPhone). Andy Crouch's Culture Making came out the same year, and yet it still comes across more fresh and insightful, in my humble opinion. And when engaging the issue of worldview, one would be quite remiss if one didn't at least acknowledge James K. A. Smith's Cultural Liturgies trifecta.



The book is solid and has a great wealth of information. The authors delve into the minds of Leslie Newbigin and Abraham Kuyper, which are admirable founts of knowledge, specifically when it comes to worldview and engaging the culture of the world. I think I would most recommend this book if you are getting started reading about worldview, specifically about Christians engaging the (post)modern worldview. They offer an excellent overview as well as some very wise and insightful approaches, including pointing out areas to be cautious and wary of.

[Thaddeus · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great introductory book on Christian worldview, however for those already familiar with the topic, it may not bring much new to the table. This is not to take away from the fact that it is a very well written and thought out book though! It’s discussion of worldview is an important one since “it may function like a pair of glasses through which we see our world; only rarely do we look at the glasses themselves.”[1] According to Goheen and Bartholomew, “worldview expresses a set of beliefs that are foundational and formative for human thinking and life.”[2] Many can assume they see the world objectively and be unaware that we all experience the world through a mediated worldview. Hence, we must stop to intentionally look at the lenses through which we see the world, compare them to Scripture and see if in fact they may need to be modified or removed altogether. This is sometimes a difficult task however, as a person’s worldview can often influence their reading and understanding of Scripture itself, which is why it is also important to read from different authors, thinkers, and even eras in order to try to escape the lenses which we may not be able to perceive.

In terms of what I thought was perhaps lacking in the book, I would have liked to see some more discussion about the impact that various modern aberrant theologies have had on Christendom in our times. Word of Faith and Prosperity Gospel theologies have infected a large portion of the world, especially in developing countries, and play a huge role in the formation of their “Christian” worldview. These are problems which we will have to know how to respond to if we are to engage with the culture of our times effectively. Also connected, it would have been helpful to have a discussion about Charismatic and even Dispensational theology, which have also made quite an impact in our era. Reflecting on what the book covered, it seems like there may be a sort of alternating pattern in the historical development of competing worldviews—from Enlightenment and Romanticism, Modernism and Postmodernism—which makes me wonder what the next shift in worldview may be. Whatever the case, I think these conversations need to happen, and this book is a great read to get people started in thinking through these issues. Definitely worth checking out.

My full review of the book here: https://liberatinglions.wordpress.com...

[Anderson Paz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Os autores propõe abordar o tema da cosmovisão cristã enquanto uma narrativa. Partem do pressuposto de que o evangelho é uma narrativa universal e pública. Contudo, no mundo moderno, há muitas narrativas conflitantes.
A partir disso, os autores apresentam a história do conceito de cosmovisão (baseados em Naugle), as críticas ao conceito de cosmovisão cristã e propõe seu conceito de cosmovisão. No terceiro e quarto capítulo, os autores apresentam as doutrinas de criação, queda e redenção.
O quinto e sexto capítulos tratam do desenvolvimento das crenças do ocidente. Baseados no historiador neocalvinista, Dirk Vollenhoven, os autores apresentam uma breve e panorâmica visão do pensamento e crenças ocidentais: paganismo greco-romano, síntese platônica e aristotélica na idade média, antítese na modernidade ao cristianismo, e, acrescentam os autores, neopaganismo pós-moderno (negação da narrativa cristã).
Nos últimos capítulos, os autores entendem que face às tendências contemporâneas (pós-modernidade, globalização, islamismo...), o cristão deve se engajar culturalmente nos negócios, política, esportes, vida acadêmica, etc.

[Débora CoBat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Essa obra é excelente para um entendimento abrangente do que vem a ser Cosmovisão Cristã. Mas ela vai além de uma obra introdutória. O leitor será levado a mergulhar na enormidade dos desafios impostos à Igreja, por uma história cultural desenrolada na insistente negação do domínio de Deus sobre sua Criação, como um eco da Queda no Éden. A perceber a grandeza do Deus Criador e reconhecer em Jesus Cristo a centralidade do Reino, do Plano da Redenção e Restauração de todas as coisas. A ver que o Reino de Deus é dominante na história e que a Igreja, cheia da Palavra de Deus, do Espírito Santo e refletindo a imagem de Cristo, não pode jamais, sucumbir ao esforço histórico de transformar o Evangelho do Reino em assunto privado dos seus interessados. À Deus toda honra, poder e glória, amém.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent undergraduate introduction to worldview studies. It includes an elaboration of the Biblical worldview and then an analysis of the "Western Story" to contrast with the biblical worldview.

Includes a more detailed worldview analysis of postmodernity, globalization, the new Christendom in the Global South, and resurgent Islam. It also shows how worldview studies can shed light in Christian teaching and research in business, politics, sports, art, scholarship, and education.

This book could be a staple in a Christian university or a great guide for campus ministries in public university settings. Its really the 101 book on Christian faith and university education. By two professors who have taught in the Christian university world for decades.

[Daniel Arter · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book provides a succinct introduction to the ideas of culture and worldview, which culminates in a decent understanding of how Christians ought to live within our current culture.

If I were to change anything, I think the examples given near the end of Christians acting within culture are insufficient—there ought to be more threshed out ideas as showing how Christians ought to be invested in culture is part of the book’s purpose.

Worth reading—especially for those who are looking for an introduction into these ideas.

[geoffrey ellerby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Powerful!

This book is powerful and educational. I highly recommend it for it will outline to you the biblical worldview, contrast it with the worldviews that are dominating western culture and equip you to be a faithful witness of the gospel of the Kingdom of God in the pluralist culture that exists in the world today.

[Grace Hunt · Rating 3 out of 5]

History chapters were super helpful
Allowed me to recognize the lenses through which I have viewed Christianity and to see for the first time some of the bends in the lenses which detract from truth as presented in the Bible
And yet many of the lenses have used the Bible to support their perspective
Allowed me to deconstruct in order to reconstruct towards Jesus

[Stevie Ciske · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very textbook in nature, but a great education on the past worldviews, and how they have shaped our current worldview. But more importantly, it's a very good spotlight on how we can make Jesus the central figure in our lives and build our worldview around Him. It was convicting, educational, and inspiring at the same time.

[John Pannebaker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Despite being significantly shorter then 'Total Truth,' this is a much harder and less engaging read, at least until the last few chapters. The content is great, but the writing style is hard to get past at times. A challenging, rewarding read that just will not be for everyone.

[Emma Hayes · Rating 2 out of 5]

It had good points, but many arguments used circular reasoning. They did not give the “secular world” enough justice but still called out Christianity’s tendency to remove itself from the world and do better, which is good.

[victoria · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.8

[Emily Green · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read for school

[Lynn Haubelt · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good introduction and summary of secular culture starting with Greek Philosophy. Last chapter is applicable as well.

[Christiane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Capítulos 1 a 5: muito bons!

[Ben Adkison · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm in the midst of preparing a set of talks for middle schoolers that will cover the overarching meta-narrative of Scripture. These talks will walk through the Bible's grand story and act as a sort of telescope to more clearly bring to light the world's story from creation to new creation. I'm excited about these talks, and have been reading quite a bit to prepare giving them. A few of the sources I've been using are: God's Big Picture by Vaughan Roberts, The Drama of Scripture by Bartholomew and Goheen, Living at the Crossroads by Bartholomew and Goheen, a set of lectures by Keith Whitfield, and a set of lectures by Jonathan Pennington. All excellent resources.

I just finished reading Living at the Crossroads by Bartholomew and Goheen. It's a book about developing a Christian worldview that is based upon a proper understanding of the Biblical narrative of Scripture. This is the follow-up book to The Drama of Scripture, which Bart and Go wrote previously about the meta-narrative of Scripture. Living at the Crossroads begins by walking through the basics of a Christian worldview and then examines how this worldview is in constant conflict with the various worldviews that are alive and well in the Western World. The Western world is filled with people who are simultaneously operating out of both a modern and a postmodern worldview. Bart and Go do a rather excellent job of explaining these alternate worldviews and the problems that have developed in the West as a result of them. The last few chapters in the book deal with how Christians can obediently live in a world that is operating out of a false worldview and yet faithfully embody the Christian worldview in the midst of that culture. I probably found these last few chapters of the book the most helpful, but the middle of the book which offered explanations of modernity, postmodernity, consumerism, and global free-market capitalism were also extremely helpful.

I appreciate this book because it's thought-provoking and even-handed in its approach. I highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in issues of worldview, meta-narrative, or biblical theology.

[Juan Reyes · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book follows their other book, called "The Drama of Scripture". Here they draw the implications of the biblical story for all of life. They do this using the concept of worldviews.

After examining the concept of "worldviews", the authors then examine what a Christian worldview looks like, drawing on the themes of Creation, Fall, and Restoration. Afterwards, they examine the worldview that resulted from modernity and how it has impacted the culture that we live in. Postmodernism is also examined. Finally, the authors reflect on how Christians can be of influence in the culture, in the midst of contrary worldviews that certainly influence other people's lives. The promote an incarnational model, "being in the world, but not of it", so to speak.

Aside from influencing the culture, the authors also make the call to Christians to simply live out in conformity with the Christian worldview. That everything we do may be done in conformity to God's design. God's purpose for us as image bearers is not done away with simply because we rebelled and became fallen. Christ came to restore us! We are called to reflect our Maker in all spheres of life (e.g., scholarship, the arts, business, relationships). God's sovereignty over all His creation also plays and important part throughout the discussion by the authors.

I really enjoyed reading this book. I highly recommend it, along with their other books!

[Andy Hickman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Goheen, Michael W. and Craig G. Bartholomew, Living at the Crossroads: An Introduction to Christian Worldview. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2009.

"Newbigin believed that the church had deeply compromised its living out of the gospel, allowing the biblical story to be subsumed within the modern scientific story. He spoke of the Western church being an "advanced case of syncretism," having accepted the fusing together of two incompatible viewpoints. When the gospel is merely absorbed into the Western cultural story, it is reduced to the status of of a private religous message about a disembodied , future, otherworldly salvation postponed to an indefinite future. Newbigin believed that the church must recover the gospel on its own terms, as the true and comprehensive story of our world and the decleration of the ultimate goal of cosmic history. Only then, he believed, would the gospel story be liberated for its missionary encounter with Western culture."
 
Living At The Crossroads, p9.

[Faye · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a bit of a challenge to get through as I think that it was originally designed for university level students. It gives a quick overview of the Bible story as one of creation, sin and restoration. Emphasis placed on the goodness of creation and the eventual restoration (when Jesus comes again)of everything here on earth back to how God intended it to be without sin. I particulary liked the analysis of different worldviews/thoughts right back to Greco-Roman times 5th century BC. The book goes through the differnt periods of history and explains how society developed the current worldview that we now live in. How do we live out our biblical worldview in this context is explored. Very informative and surprisingly, eye-opening. Definitely changed my perspective on a few things.

[Ivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every person lives by a worldview; no one is neutral when it comes to this discussion. The authors explain how one’s worldview impacts life: “A worldview not only describes the world for us, but also directs our life in the world. It not only gives us a perspective on how the world is…, but also acts as a guide for how the world ought to be and how we ought to live in the world” (p. 25). Thus, every decision in life is, to one degree or another, rooted in the soil bed of one’s worldview. This book is written at an introductory level and yet it covers a wide range of material. In the end, their purpose is simple: “to get [Christians] … excited about the scope of the gospel and breadth of their callings” (p. xiv). I really enjoyed and benefited from this book.

[Andy Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Worldview means everything. Great book and well thought out. Read it for an assignment for Lifework Leadership Class. The book traces back how the Gospel has been tainted during the Enlightenment period, the Reformation and today. Thought provoking for my personal life when it comes to why I do what I do and how it relates to the Gospel. Worth the read, it is pretty heavy plowing as times but worth it.

[Bo White · Rating 5 out of 5]

I find few books that tie worldview to a larger story, plus the subject of worldview has become ironically individualistic and propositional. I am grateful for this book and will return to it often.

[Andrew Wood · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great foundation for what it means to live a life with the worldview that Christians should have.

[Nick · Rating 5 out of 5]

A complete historical, philosophical and sociological synopsis of our current Christian and secular culture and how it got here. A *must read* for any thoughtful Christian.

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

It challenged my act of compartmentalizing worldviews by its eloquent idea of a meta-narrative, or a "grand story"--the Story that is the Bible.

[Jeremy]

Mentioned in this article.

[Olivia Ridgway]

Only read selected chapters.