edited by Simon Smart
Understanding The Worldviews Around Us
The influence of various worldviews is all around us. It is in the air we breathe. Every time we listen to a song, see a film, view a piece of art, read a newspaper feature article, see an advertisement, listen to the radio, read a novel, watch TV or have a casual conversation with friends we are being exposed to a worldview of some kind. So what are these ways of looking at life?
You have heard of some of them:
- Feminism,
- Postmodernism,
- Relativism,
- Consumerism,
- Liberalism,
- New Age Spiritualism, among others.
In a thoroughly readable style,
A Spectator’s Guide to Worldviews seeks to explain what these terms mean and the extent to which they impact our daily lives. You may be surprised to learn how they can be at odds with our Christian faith and how these theories so easily creep into our everyday conversation and lifestyle choices.
Simon Smart, editor of
A Spectator’s Guide to Worldviews, suggests that as Christians we should try to understand the influence various worldviews have on us. ‘Our increasingly complex society’, says Simon, ‘is one in which we are close to people at work, in our neighborhood, on the bus, in classrooms and possibly the same house who regard our own worldview as nonsense. This makes it all the more important to understand something of the worldviews of others and be conscious of what lies behind the messages we receive.’