Une vision transformatrice (The Transforming Vision): Développer une vision chrétienne du monde

by Brian J. Walsh, J. Richard Middleton, Nicholas Wolterstorff (Foreword)

Brian J. Walsh and J. Richard Middleton offer a vision for transforming economics, politics, technology, and every part of contemporary culture.

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

270 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1984

Reviews

[Elliot Munro · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really felt my intellectual landscape broadening with this book, being given categories and explantions for cultural phenomena that I had previously been unable to articulate. It is a great and very accessible introduction to Christian philosophy which explains and develops the fundamental truth that all people operate within their own worldview. They astutely point out that the modern Christian worldview is riddled with dualism - an incoherent splitting of the worldview, which at its root is idolatry. Finally, they point us toward a Christian philosophical framework which first requires us to give up our own cultural and personal idols, which is always for our great good.

[Shellie Ware · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who am I?
Where am I?
What’s wrong?
What is the remedy?
I was already familiar with the concept of world view and how a Christian world view is developed. This book nicely outlined the topics one must consider and questions one must answer in order to develop a consistent, thoughtful world view in ways I hadn’t considered before. Also a nice review of the development of cultural world views through modernity (as it was written in 1984 - would love to see an update including a critique of the post-modern era).

[Manuel Alfredo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Muy buen libro de cosmovisión cristiana.
Breve pero profundo.

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has been around since 1984. That qualifies it as an early effort in discussing the significance of a so-called Christian World View (sic). Conversion to Christ must happen on several levels and anything short of transformation at the worldview level means that an untenable mixture of the new and the old will remain. Perhaps the authors' chief contributions is to show how one's worldview provides answers to questions of human identity, the nature and purpose of creation, the problem confronting us and the remedy to that problem. These basic questions and their biblical response have, in more recent years, been further developed by scholars such as N.T. Wright. The chapter in this book on how the problem of dualism plagues so much of Christianity is well-done and definitely worth a read.

[Dayo Adewoye · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazing book worth every Naira (or Dollar!). It explains the concept of a worldview, exposes the idolatry of the modern secular worldview, and calls the Christian church to faithfulness by developing articulating a consistent Christian outlook on life. Many other wonderful books have since been written on the subject of worldviews, but this still remains a marvellous introduction. I heartily recommend it.

[Anderson Paz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Esse livro foi publicado em 1984. É uma obra citada recorrentemente nos estudos de cosmovisão cristã.
O livro é dividido em quatro partes.
Na primeira, o que são cosmovisões, os autores explicam que cosmovisões explicam culturas e que existe uma pluralidade de cosmovisões. A cosmovisão é uma narrativa comunitária e tem dimensão religiosa que orienta a vida humana. A cosmovisão deve ser realista, coerente e franca para se provar crível.
Na segunda parte, a cosmovisão bíblica, os autores apresentam a estrutura narrativa cristã criação-queda-redenção. Deus criou o mundo e estabeleceu leis. O homem exerce poder na criação da cultura. Contudo, a criação de cultura deve observar normas de mordomia. Após a queda o ser humano ou tem o espírito regenerado ou não. Entre eles há a antítese ou oposição religiosa. Não há neutralidade. Cristo é redentor, estabeleceu seu reino e renova todas as coisas por sua obra.
Na terceira parte, a cosmovisão moderna, os autores entendem que o dualismo é um problema por separar o santo do profano e restringir aquilo que é da fé a alguma área da vida. Contudo, a cosmovisão cristã promove um engajamento sadio na cultura. O dualismo surge com a adoção do platonismo pelos pais da igreja e depois se consolida em Aquino (natureza e graça). Depois surge o secularismo na Renascença. Já no século XV, o homem se entende autônomo e livre. Vêm as revoluções científicas e o humanismo. O homem passou a adorar a ciência e a si mesmo. Isso criou falsos deuses modernos: cientificismo, tecnicismo e economicismo. O ideal de progresso tem levado a sociedade ao limite ecológico, moral e econômico.
Na parte quatro, a cosmovisão bíblica em ação, os autores entendem ser preciso deixar os deuses modernos e desenvolver uma cosmovisão cristã todo abrangente. É preciso uma ética comunitária cristã. O cristão deve se engajar na área acadêmica e reconhecer que nela não há neutralidade. Os cristãos devem negar o reducionismo e aceitar a pluralidade de modos de experiência da realidade. Cristãos devem formar comunidades para estudo acadêmico.

[Frank Peters · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an outstanding book, which is unfortunately somewhat outdated in context but not in content. It should resonate with those who are from Canada and half a century (or more) old, but I don’t know if it will still resonate with the younger generation. The book is all about a Christian world view. The authors are careful to highlight the many aspects of western civilisation that have unfortunately become falsely associated with Christianity. It is then argued that these extras need to be jettisoned to achieve a truly Christian worldview. I found the book both encouraging and challenging, and would like to give it to every thinking Christian I know, but worry about the 1980s Canadian context.

[Van Robarts]

Good work. Somewhat dated now, but still useful. Stresses the dualism and reductionism of both secular thought and even, some Christian thought. Does a good job of describing the importance of a Christian response that is broadly based to contemporary thought. Pages 180-84 are -- as the old saying goes -- worth the price of the book. They show how reality is multi-dimensional and reality can be approached from a wide vision.

[Amanda Gilmore · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall Amanda read: B-
So I had to read this book for school. I was able to get through the book without getting bored. I think that the book was very well written, and is great for the purpose of education, as well as for helping understand things within the ministry.

[Dr. Jon Pirtle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was blessed to discover this book recently. Though written a couple of decades ago, it is on target. Referenced in James Sire's book, Naming the Elephant, this book, co-authored by Walsh and Middleton, makes the case that only the Christian worldview is coherent. How? It explains the orgin of all things, the fallenness of all created things, the only savior, and how it is to be done within a context of redeemed community. Highly recommended.

[Maddie White · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read for class, nothing groundbreaking, but some good concepts

[M P · Rating 3 out of 5]

Teilweise sehr gut und informativ in der kulturellen Analyse aber auch oft komplett daneben. Trotzdem lesenswert aber nicht als primäre Literatur zu Weltanschauungsfragen.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

For someone working in Christian campus ministry, this is probably one of those books I should have read ten years ago. That said, as I read I realized that these ideas had permeated enough other writers that I already had a decent grasp of where they would go. This book came out a few decades ago (and thus can be gotten very cheap, used on amazon). In it Walsh and Middleton define worldviews, then lay out a biblical worldview and a modern/secular worldview. The final section is a call to action for Christians to overcome a sacred/secular dichotomy and realize that their faith applies to all areas of life.

In essence, God may call pastors and missionaries but God also calls engineers and teachers and everyone else. God cares about all these things and our duty as Christians is to bring our faith to bear in such areas. So for example, a Christian running a business ought to resist the modern view that profit is all that matters, in the end, and should seek to care for employees.

One thing that was fascinating was that one of the examples they used most was care for the environment. Nowadays such a call might be seen as "liberal" by the targeted audience of this book, but the fact is that the Bible is quit clear in our call to care for God's creation. Also, I am pretty sure many in the targeted audience continue to care about the environment as the ultra-politicized evangelicals of the religious right are probably not reading this book.

What was most interesting was their story of the rise of the modern world and secularism. Clearly drawing on Francis Schaeffer, they argue that there was an inherent duality in Greek thought that bled into medieval Christianity (Aquinas). Such thinking divided the world into sacred (priests, church, God-stuff) and nature (farming, daily life). Eventually nature simply pushed out God and we were left with the naturalism and secularism of the modern world. But if you read the likes of Charles Taylor, Thomas Pfau and others (Alasdair McIntyre?) the view is that the medieval world actually functioned quite well by offering two paths of spirituality - a fast-path for some (monks) and a slower path, but still a valid path, for others (farmers). It was the Reforming movements that sought to lift everyone up, to make all the secular world sacred, which ironically led to secularism for by trying to lift it all up, it all came down.

In essence, there are two stories: One sees the roots of secularism in medieval Catholicism while the other sees the roots in Reforming movements. Essentially, Catholics blame Protestants and Protestants blame Catholics. Personally, I think the Taylor/Pfau view has more going for it and I wonder if Walsh/Middleton rewrote this book in light of their works if they'd tell the story differently.

Because really, the story of how we got here does not affect their main thesis. Overall, this is a fantastic book that all Christian pastors and educators should read.

[Joel Wentz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is (rightfully) considered by many to be a foundational book for postmodern Christian thought, especially as an early engagement with the question of 'worldview' (the book was originally published in 1984). Though it's become diluted in modern parlance, Walsh and Middleton helpfully break down the notion of a 'worldview' into 4 fundamental questions, applying it to various populations today to flesh out the concept. This was compelling, and even though I'm reading it after many other authors have clearly embellished the idea, I really appreciated the clarity they bring to the discussion.

The most profound chapters in this book discuss the rise of a 'secular' worldview in the West, the debt such a paradigm owes to Greek philosophy, as well as the 'idols' of our time and the difficult Christian task of living free of them in America. The chapter on dualism was especially helpful.

Overall, this book deserves a prominent place on any current (especially Western) Christian's shelf. At moments it feels dated, but the foundation of the argument is sound and still quite relevant.

[Matthew Hodge · Rating 4 out of 5]

Been a while since I read this one, but it was helpful in working out how my faith touched on different areas of life. This was especially important at the time, because I was wrestling with how my faith touched on my work as well, which was a tricky thing. Perhaps a little bit dry and academic, it is nonetheless a good starting point for studying Christian worldview.

[Janice · Rating 3 out of 5]

Since I do a course on Building a Christian Worldview for 11th grade Omnibus I read this book. The authors come from a Dutch Reformed perspective. Some parts are not easy to read but it is well worth it. Also since it was written there are several newer worldview books that I would also recommend.

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Also written by J. Richard Middleton, professor at Roberts Wesleyan College.

[Rachel N · Rating 3 out of 5]

Assigned by Regent University. A thorough yet basic analysis of the Christian worldview versus secular thought.

[Laurent Dv · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent ! Completely conformed to Van Til's method of apologetics. Good explanations of christian view of culture, anthropology, worldview (as a whole : creation, fall, redemption and restoration), politics and economy. Includes also a precise and a sharp criticism of the modern West's worldview.