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Lifeviews: Make a Christian Impact on Culture and Society
As a Christian, you are called to be a witness of Christ’s Gospel, to be “the salt of the earth and the light of the world.” How can you make that kind of impact in a society filled with darkness and decay? Dr. R.C. Sproul shows you how in Lifeviews, a layman’s guide to understanding the many non-Christian philosophies and attitudes that affect and influence our contemporary culture. Lifeviews offers thought-stimulating information and insight on confronting today’s moral and social issues with an effective biblical response.
Lifeviews also contrasts how Christianity and its competitors influence various aspects of our culture: economics, science, art, literature, and government. This book can help believers make a credible and effective stand for Christ in our culture.
Lifeviews also contrasts how Christianity and its competitors influence various aspects of our culture: economics, science, art, literature, and government. This book can help believers make a credible and effective stand for Christ in our culture.
216 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1986
4 people are currently reading
116 people want to read
About the author
R.C. Sproul
675 books1,982 followersDr. R.C. Sproul (1939–2017) was founder of Ligonier Ministries, an international Christian discipleship organization located near Orlando, Fla. He was founding pastor of Saint Andrew’s Chapel in Sanford, Fla., first president of Reformation Bible College, and executive editor of Tabletalk magazine.
Ligonier Ministries began in 1971 as the Ligonier Valley Study Center in Ligonier, Pa. In an effort to respond more effectively to the growing demand for Dr. Sproul’s teachings and the ministry’s other educational resources, the general offices were moved to Orlando in 1984, and the ministry was renamed.
Dr. Sproul’s radio program, Renewing Your Mind, is still broadcast daily on hundreds of radio stations around the world and can also be heard online. Dr. Sproul produced hundreds of lecture series and recorded numerous video series on subjects such as the history of philosophy, theology, Bible study, apologetics, and Christian living.
He contributed dozens of articles to national evangelical publications, spoke at conferences, churches, and academic institutions around the world, and wrote more than one hundred books, including The Holiness of God, Chosen by God, and Everyone’s a Theologian. He signed the 1978 Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy and wrote a commentary on that document. He also served as general editor of the Reformation Study Bible, previously known as the New Geneva Study Bible.
Dr. Sproul had a distinguished academic teaching career at various colleges and seminaries, including Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando and Jackson, Miss. He was ordained as a teaching elder in the Presbyterian Church in America.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
December 10, 2017
This book explains and critiques several popular worldviews, or philosophies, from a Biblical perspective. It's written to Christians as "missionaries attempting to understand the way of thinking in our culture." It's more of a primer or overview than an in-depth study. I wish it had more Bible references. Each chapter ends with questions for discussion.
The worldviews featured are existentialism, humanism, pragmatism, positivism, pluralism (and its corollary, relativism), and hedonism.
Importance of Cultural Awareness
Americans have been influenced in the same way that people are influenced when they receive an inoculation to prevent a disease. They are given a small dose of the disease so they become immune to it. Americans have received just enough Christianity to make them immune to it.
Secularism: Ignoring the Eternal
The world is the theater of redemption. This is our Father's world and should not be despised or ignored. Christian must distinguish between secular and sacred, but never separate them. We must not stress the eternal so much that we neglect the now. Christian must be concerned with both temporal and eternal.
Sentimental Humanism
Humanism is fundamentally irrational. It says humanity is a cosmic accident with a meaningless origin and destiny. Yet between origin and destination humanity somehow acquires supreme dignity out of thin air.
Humanism gives no ultimate reason for ascribing value and values.
Pragmatism
Pragmatism assigns a positive value to what works. How do you know if it's working? How do you know which option is better? Answers depend on how you define good.
Utilitarianism faces 2 severe problems: 1) How to define good. To know what is good for the group may be as difficult or more difficult than defining what's good for the individual. 2) Is justice good or not? Does justice matter? Is justice restricted to the greatest number or is it to be sought for all?
It's not enough to say truth is that which works. We must have standards or norms that rise above individual or group preferences. Without norms, tyranny is inevitable. "Tyranny is no less tyranny if it is democratic rather than autocratic."
If you make decisions on the basis of expediency, you compromise more and more until you're merely an echo of everything around you.
Positivism: Seeing is Believing
Law of Verification killed itself. If the only statements that are meaningful are those that are analytical or can be verified empirically, then Law of Verification itself is meaningless.
Hebrews 11:1 ("faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen") doesn't mean to separate faith from reason or empirical evidence. Faith is based upon evidence. It is based upon what is seen, but goes beyond. Biblical record of the existence of God and the truth claims of Jesus appeal repeatedly to empirical evidence. God displays himself in creation. He reveals himself in history. We must trust Christ, who is seen, about matters which are unseen. We have no empirical data available to us from the future. But we believe God's word about the future because he has proven himself in the past, rationally and empirically, to be completely trustworthy.
Pluralism and Relativism: "It's All Relative"
Questions for relativism: Who decides what is important? On what basis are decisions made?
Relativists say, "My argument for having a legal right is that I have a legal right." Ask, "Where do we get these rights? What is the foundation for a right? Natural law? Is it given by our Creator?"
Pluralism says all views are not only equally tolerable under the law, but equally valid. If that's true, then every view is as valid as its contradictory. Truths are not true, values have no value, and life becomes impossible.
Pluralism and relativism can't be true because they eliminate the possibility of truth. If everything is true, nothing is true.
Relativism is ultimately intolerable, so statism fills the vacuum. The good of the state becomes the ultimate point of unity.
Hedonism
Christianity doesn't call us to seek suffering, pursue pain, or flee from what's pleasant. But sometimes the Christian must choose the road that results in pain.
Christian and World Economics
Foundational Christian principles of economics: private property, equity, industry, compassion.
2 of 10 Commandments presuppose private property, and protect it from theft, fraud, deceit: "Thou shalt not steal," and "Thou shalt not covet."
Equity is primary, compassion is secondary. We are called to work for both justice and mercy.
Equity with respect to justice requires that responsible person not be penalized, and slothful person not be rewarded. It's unbiblical to take from the productive and give to the unproductive. This shows neither justice nor compassion for the productive person.
Bible presents a strong work ethic that calls us to industry, production, labor.
God has a special concern for the poor. OT law required corners of fields be left to be gleaned by poor. Poor were not to be discriminated against "at the gates" (in the courts). Poor were not to be exploited or demeaned.
Material welfare requires production, which requires tools, which require surplus capital, which requires profit. Socialism redistributes "excess capital" (investment capital) which removes key ingredient to increasing human well-being.
In a voluntary economic transaction, both parties profit. Mutual profit is motive for all free trade.
Christians must work for a free market regulated by just laws. They must oppose debasing of currency, unjust levels of taxation, and bureaucratic waste.
Christian and Government
In Romans 13, "powers that be" shows that it's irrelevant how a ruler comes to power. We're called to obey those who have actual authority, not merely de facto power.
We may not disobey authorities because we disagree with them or because their mandates inconvenience or even oppress us. We must obey whenever we can unless doing so conflicts with obeying God.
Romans 13 grants power of sword, meaning capital punishment, to state.
Jesus rebuked Zealots who sought to overthrow wicked governments with physical force.
If government is doing the task God has called it to, there's no reason a Christian can't participate. The state is answerable to God, ordained by God, and a legitimate vehicle for God's people to serve Him.
The worldviews featured are existentialism, humanism, pragmatism, positivism, pluralism (and its corollary, relativism), and hedonism.
Importance of Cultural Awareness
Americans have been influenced in the same way that people are influenced when they receive an inoculation to prevent a disease. They are given a small dose of the disease so they become immune to it. Americans have received just enough Christianity to make them immune to it.
Secularism: Ignoring the Eternal
The world is the theater of redemption. This is our Father's world and should not be despised or ignored. Christian must distinguish between secular and sacred, but never separate them. We must not stress the eternal so much that we neglect the now. Christian must be concerned with both temporal and eternal.
Sentimental Humanism
Humanism is fundamentally irrational. It says humanity is a cosmic accident with a meaningless origin and destiny. Yet between origin and destination humanity somehow acquires supreme dignity out of thin air.
Humanism gives no ultimate reason for ascribing value and values.
Pragmatism
Pragmatism assigns a positive value to what works. How do you know if it's working? How do you know which option is better? Answers depend on how you define good.
Utilitarianism faces 2 severe problems: 1) How to define good. To know what is good for the group may be as difficult or more difficult than defining what's good for the individual. 2) Is justice good or not? Does justice matter? Is justice restricted to the greatest number or is it to be sought for all?
It's not enough to say truth is that which works. We must have standards or norms that rise above individual or group preferences. Without norms, tyranny is inevitable. "Tyranny is no less tyranny if it is democratic rather than autocratic."
If you make decisions on the basis of expediency, you compromise more and more until you're merely an echo of everything around you.
Positivism: Seeing is Believing
Law of Verification killed itself. If the only statements that are meaningful are those that are analytical or can be verified empirically, then Law of Verification itself is meaningless.
Hebrews 11:1 ("faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen") doesn't mean to separate faith from reason or empirical evidence. Faith is based upon evidence. It is based upon what is seen, but goes beyond. Biblical record of the existence of God and the truth claims of Jesus appeal repeatedly to empirical evidence. God displays himself in creation. He reveals himself in history. We must trust Christ, who is seen, about matters which are unseen. We have no empirical data available to us from the future. But we believe God's word about the future because he has proven himself in the past, rationally and empirically, to be completely trustworthy.
Pluralism and Relativism: "It's All Relative"
Questions for relativism: Who decides what is important? On what basis are decisions made?
Relativists say, "My argument for having a legal right is that I have a legal right." Ask, "Where do we get these rights? What is the foundation for a right? Natural law? Is it given by our Creator?"
Pluralism says all views are not only equally tolerable under the law, but equally valid. If that's true, then every view is as valid as its contradictory. Truths are not true, values have no value, and life becomes impossible.
Pluralism and relativism can't be true because they eliminate the possibility of truth. If everything is true, nothing is true.
Relativism is ultimately intolerable, so statism fills the vacuum. The good of the state becomes the ultimate point of unity.
Hedonism
Christianity doesn't call us to seek suffering, pursue pain, or flee from what's pleasant. But sometimes the Christian must choose the road that results in pain.
Christian and World Economics
Foundational Christian principles of economics: private property, equity, industry, compassion.
2 of 10 Commandments presuppose private property, and protect it from theft, fraud, deceit: "Thou shalt not steal," and "Thou shalt not covet."
Equity is primary, compassion is secondary. We are called to work for both justice and mercy.
Equity with respect to justice requires that responsible person not be penalized, and slothful person not be rewarded. It's unbiblical to take from the productive and give to the unproductive. This shows neither justice nor compassion for the productive person.
Bible presents a strong work ethic that calls us to industry, production, labor.
God has a special concern for the poor. OT law required corners of fields be left to be gleaned by poor. Poor were not to be discriminated against "at the gates" (in the courts). Poor were not to be exploited or demeaned.
Material welfare requires production, which requires tools, which require surplus capital, which requires profit. Socialism redistributes "excess capital" (investment capital) which removes key ingredient to increasing human well-being.
In a voluntary economic transaction, both parties profit. Mutual profit is motive for all free trade.
Christians must work for a free market regulated by just laws. They must oppose debasing of currency, unjust levels of taxation, and bureaucratic waste.
Christian and Government
In Romans 13, "powers that be" shows that it's irrelevant how a ruler comes to power. We're called to obey those who have actual authority, not merely de facto power.
We may not disobey authorities because we disagree with them or because their mandates inconvenience or even oppress us. We must obey whenever we can unless doing so conflicts with obeying God.
Romans 13 grants power of sword, meaning capital punishment, to state.
Jesus rebuked Zealots who sought to overthrow wicked governments with physical force.
If government is doing the task God has called it to, there's no reason a Christian can't participate. The state is answerable to God, ordained by God, and a legitimate vehicle for God's people to serve Him.
July 3, 2024
A helpful introductory book about the prevalent worldviews of our day.
What disappointed me is that there seemed to be no robust connection between the first part of the book that discusses the contemporary influences of existentialism, pragmatism, relativism and so forth and the second part of the book discussing the need for thinking biblically about science, art, economics, government.
Both parts of the book are good and clear but I think this could live also as two separate books just as well.
A conclusion would have been also helpful maybe.
Even so, I would still gladly recommend the book to anyone unfamiliar with philosophy and its undetected influence on our current culture.
What disappointed me is that there seemed to be no robust connection between the first part of the book that discusses the contemporary influences of existentialism, pragmatism, relativism and so forth and the second part of the book discussing the need for thinking biblically about science, art, economics, government.
Both parts of the book are good and clear but I think this could live also as two separate books just as well.
A conclusion would have been also helpful maybe.
Even so, I would still gladly recommend the book to anyone unfamiliar with philosophy and its undetected influence on our current culture.
November 23, 2023
Must read to understand the difference in a Christian vs non-Christian worldview.
July 21, 2023
Sproul's gift, among Christian theologians/writers/thinkers/philosophers, is his clear thinking and his deftness with language. He makes the complicated simple. He clarifies without being simplistic of carelessly reductionistic or slipshod.
I have read Sproul for decades now and with each rereading, my appreciation for his work grows. He was brilliant, that much is obvious. But what is also obvious is that he loved the truth and fought for it.
This book is yet one more example of his lived-out demonstration of the truthfulness of the Christian worldview. The biblical worldview has nothing to fear from competing worldviews. In fact, it alone makes sense of the data.
I have read Sproul for decades now and with each rereading, my appreciation for his work grows. He was brilliant, that much is obvious. But what is also obvious is that he loved the truth and fought for it.
This book is yet one more example of his lived-out demonstration of the truthfulness of the Christian worldview. The biblical worldview has nothing to fear from competing worldviews. In fact, it alone makes sense of the data.
January 18, 2008
As always, Sproul here is concise, lively, opinionated and learned. He convincing shows that the reigning *Ism* of modern Western culture is secularism. This is not the same as atheism. Less than ten percent of American claim to have strong doubts about the existence of God. But most all of us live our lives as if God did not exist, or was irrelevent. Sproul examines many of the thoughts and movements that contribute to this secular worldview that so dominates American culture. This is worth a careful read for most anyone who cares about the state of the American heart.
May 5, 2016
Reading this book nourished both the intellect and the soul. Dr. Sproul peels back the layers that shroud the world we live in, revealing that all matters are matters of worldview. I found the latter part of the book-an extrapolation of Christian role in society in pertinence of economics, literature, art--particularly captivating. No compromises, but an exhortation nonetheless to making a Christian impact in today's world. In other words, thinking Biblically is the key to being "relevant" in an ever-changing societal landscape.
March 8, 2015
Took a course at Crusades summer program ISOT. wonderful prospective on the world but with a new baby and working...it was a crazy time.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews