The following is the notes by Dr. Robert Kurka from his class on the Christian worldview and that of other world religions at the 2008 International Apologetics Conference. 
 

2008 International Apologetics Conference                                Dr. Robert C. Kurka                                                                                                     

Chicago, IL                                                                    Prof., Theology and Church in Culture

June 6-8, 2008                                                               Lincoln Christian Seminary

                   "A Different Name or a Different God? How Worldview

                            Apologetics Helps Us Answer the Question"

 [T]he great world faiths embody different perceptions and conceptions of, and correspondingly   different responses to, the Real [the religious ultimate] from the major variant ways of being human.

                                                                                           –John Hick, Interpretation of Religion, 240

[T]he variety of the different world philosophies is a very useful and beautiful thing. For certain people, the idea of god as creator and of everything depending on his will is beneficial and soothing, and so for that person such doctrine is worthwhile. For someone else, the idea that there is no creator, that ultimately one is oneself the creator-in that everything depends upon oneself-is more appropriate…for such persons, this idea is better and for the other type of person, the other idea is more suitable.

                                                                                         –Dalai Lama, "The Bodhgaya Interviews," 167-68

While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols. So he reasoned (dialegeto) in the synagogue with both Jews and God-fearing Greeks as well as those in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there. A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to debate with him. Some of them asked, "What is this babbler trying to say?" Others remarked, "He seems to be advocating foreign gods." They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.

                                                                                  –Acts 17:16-18 [TNIV]

 Introduction: For a great many people in our culture, the sentiments expressed in the first two citations, above, ring true: There are many roads to God and/or spirituality, and the diverse religious traditions are actually no more than alternative interpretations of this spiritual quest. This view is called, "Religious Pluralism."

•·         While this may hold a certain attraction to Westerners, the situation described in Acts 17 is actually more descriptive of religious reality around the globe…where different religious claims are clearly perceived to be distinct, if not mutually exclusive truth claims.

•·         A pluralistic reading of religions is not really drawn from analyzing the religions, themselves, but from social science perspectives that are Western and secular.

•·         Furthermore, pluralism unfairly brushes over the distinctives of religions in an attempt to find commonalities (also, often derived from Western cultural values).

•·         Epistemologically, it is a self-refuting position in that it posits an absolute truth in order to deny that any one religion has possession of such…why should we believe the pluralist’s perspective?

•·         Clearly, Paul’s audience in Athens, perceived that his proclamation of Jesus and the resurrection were very different ideas from their own—and these were people who came from a long tradition of beliefs in god(s) and immortality. The Athenians (Stoic and Epicurean philosophers) believed that the Apostle was not only calling "God" by a different name (Jesus), but essentially speaking about a different God! This perception is further  strengthened in the ensuing "Areopagus Address," in which Paul lays out a worldview contrast that unmistakably stakes out the unique claims of Christianity in a world-both his and ours-that is inhabited by hundreds (thousands) of religious competitors.

"Areopagus Address": A Worldview Model for Demonstrating the Unique Nature of the Christian God (Faith)-Acts 16: 22-31

•I.                   (Preliminary observation) Worldview Questions that reveal a "Different God" -vv18-20

•·         "foreign gods"-Jesus and the resurrection

•·         "new teaching"/ "strange ideas" -to deists and panentheists

•·         Important lesson: the centrality of Jesus Christ and his resurrection to our proclamation of the Gospel (do not let these become marginalized!)

•II.                Worldview Story (diachronic) that reveal a "Different View of Reality"-vv24-31

•·         Paul provides a unique understanding of the universal human narrative of creation-fall-redemption (i.e., how did we/anything get here? What went wrong? How will it be fixed?)-a five-part biblical plotline: 1) God-vv.24-25; 2) creation[fall]-vv.25,26; 3)God’s sovereignty over human history-vv.26-30; 4)incarnation and resurrection of Jesus [and hence, the origin of Christianity]-vv.30,31; and 5)Christ’s judgment over the world at the eschaton-v.31.

•·         This is a story that encompasses all people (not simply one nation or tribe) and moreover, the entire cosmos (this inclusiveness is seen in Paul’s respect of his audience and their spiritual seeking-although their search is undoubtedly leading to confusion and idolatry-vv. 16, 23)

•·        

A story that climaxes in the person/work of Jesus Christ…but begins in the story of creation (the necessity of the Old Testament) in our presentation of the Gospel

•·         A story that makes intelligible the "unintelligible" (to the

•·         Greeks)-JESUS and the resurrection

•·         A story that can be known only through special revelation (not

unaided human reason)

•·          or "common sense" human wisdom)-v.23

•III.             Worldview "Doctrines" (synchronic) that reveal a "Different Religion"

•·         distinctive doctrine of God-pre-existent, transcendent, immanent, triune

•·         distinctive doctrine of creation-good but fallen but redeemable

•·         distinctive doctrine of humanity-all are imago dei

•·         distinctive doctrine of human problem-"sin"

•·         distinctive doctrine of salvation–God’s Grace in Christ

•·         distinctive doctrine of knowledge-God’s revelation in world/

Word (general and special revelation)

•·         distinctive doctrine of ethics-transcendent/revealed in God

•·         distinctive doctrine of history — linear, God’s providence

•·         distinctive doctrine of death-resurrection of the body

IV. Worldview "Products" (Cultural History) that reveal a "Different Society"

•·         Other worldviews (Greek): idolatry, intellectual erosion, societal fragmentation

•·         Biblical (Christian) worldview: community, sanctity of human

life, sexual morality, freedom and dignity of women and children,

                  charity and compassion, hospitals and healthcare, education, labor and economic  freedom, science, liberty and justice for all, abolition of slavery, great art, architecture, music, and literature, tolerance of diverse views (cf. Qu’ran, Surah 2:145-46; 5:78-86). These "cultural transformations" are undeniably attributable to the worldview of Christianity (although, it must be admitted, that human sin "corrupts" these redemptive measures. (See A. Schmidt, How Christianity Changed the World, Zondervan, 2004).

•·         R. Stark has ably demonstrated that Christianity’s ability to "conquer" the Roman Empire lay in its unique ability to offer a faith "that delivered potent antitdotes to life’s miseries here and now!" (Cities of God, 30).

•·         He also notes that contemporary Chinese academics have recently come to recognize that the Western culture that they so desperately want to emulate comes from Christianity. Stark cites a Chinese scholar:

The Christian moral foundation of social and cultural life was what made possible the emergence of capitalism and then the successful transition to democratic politics. We don’t have any doubt about this. (The Victory of Reason, 235)

•V.                (Postscript) Worldview Response that reveal a "Different Life Commitment"

•·         The message of the Christian (biblical) God does not lend itself to neutrality on the part of the hearer—-v.32…many will not want to "follow Jesus"

•·         …those who do, however, will "change the world"-v.33 (Dionysius and Damaris)…and millions of others!

Conclusion: Is "Jesus Christ" just another name for the same God? Paul’s "Areopagus Address" and its model of worldview examination clearly demonstrate that this is not the case. While some Christians may fear that the distinctiveness of the Christian God, Story, Doctrine, and Products may harm our ability to communicate with other world religions, the Acts 17 account presents missionary activity at its "best."

   Veteran missiologist, David Hesselgrave has proposed that there are five, indispensable "guidelines" that ought to govern our evangelistic efforts-all remarkably illustrated in the Areopagus narrative:

•1)      disposition and attitude of the missionary: genuine interest in the religion, ideas, institutions and sentiments of the people-this is the true "point of contact" -cf. v.22

•2)      "self-exposure" as the common ground for communication-we are all "sinners" in need of God’s word and grace-cf. vv.23,27-28

•3)      an emphasis upon the dissimilarities between the Christian faith and other religions (especially Jesus)-in order to facilitate understanding-cf. vv18,24-31

•4)      "storying the gospel"-scriptural storyline from Genesis to Revelation-cf. vv.24-31

•5)      genuine dialogue with other religions that demands that the missionary know and understand his competitors -cf. Paul’s use of Stoic vocabulary, poets, and his theological insight into idolatry (i.e., a search for spiritual truth, albeit in vain).

Admittedly, converts may come a bit more slowly when we apply the worldview approach (cf. v.32), but 2,000 years of history eloquently testifies that when disciples come, they GO and transform the world!

Biblical Christianity and Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism

Points of Comparison and Contrast