Worldview: The History of a Concept

In this book David Naugle presents the assumption that conceiving of Christianity as a "worldview" has been one of the most significant events in the church history in the last 150 years and how the contemporary use of worldview is a totalizing approach to faith and life. Naugle first locates the origin of worldview in the writings of Immanuel Kant and surveys the rapid proliferation of its purpose throughout the English-speaking world. Naugle then provides the first study ever undertaken of the insights of major Western philosophers on the subject of worldview and offers an original examination of the role this concept has played in the natural and social sciences. Finally, Naugle gives the concept biblical and theological grounding, exploring the unique ways that worldview has been used in the Evangelical, Orthodox, and Catholic traditions. This is an outstanding book not just the subject of worldview, but specially when it clarifies Christianity as a worldview. The author suggests that a worldview is best understood as a semiotic phenomenon, especially as a system of narrative signs that establishes a powerful framework within which people think (reason), interpret (hermeneutic) and know (epistemology. The strong point of the book is that it provides summaries of an additional contribution to evangelical reflection on worldview and offer a biography of Christian books on the topic. If I have to lay a weakness in the book will be on leaving a question to Naugle of how we can influence or straightening the Christian worldview in order that it will be more effective in conveying the relevance of Christ. As for my personal life and ministry, I will carry this question which I raised as the main target of my evangelist work. I do not know how it can be performed, but I think that the educational system is an open door for us to try.

This book is foundational to the subject of worldview analysis. It is less popularly written than most other books on this subject, yet it is still very well written (often remarkably so as in the chapter on spiritual warfare). It also does a very good job in answering criticism from Christians on the subject of worldview. Chapters 9 and 11 are worth the price of the book alone. Extreme high recommendation. Read along with Sire's Universe Next Door, and Pearcey's Finding Truth, and you will have a strong grounding in this subject that is so able to increase understanding of ourselves and the world around us.

Ok I have to admit some bias here. Dr. Naugle was the most influential person in my collegiate life. That being said, the book stands alone in the manner in which it articulates how the idea of worldview has advanced our understanding of Christianity. It belongs on the shelf of everyone wishing to think critically about Christianity and how it affects the whole of life.

This is the best presentation of worldviews I have encountered in my reading so far. One of my reservations is that ihe does not engage Habermas' thorough critique of postmodernism as presented in The Philosophical Discourse of Modernity. Moreover, he does not seem to apply the same thorough analysis to the Christian faith as he does to other worldviews. It, too, is a worldview of human construction needing de-reification.

'Worldview' is a term that gets thrown around quite a bit and in many different contexts. Naugle's book provides a well-organized exploration of the term: its beginnings and evolution, as well as debate surrounding the term, in many different disciplines. It's easy to read and has lots of references for those who want to explore the topic in more detail. It's well organized so if you are looking for a philosophical or anthropological perspective, you can focus on those chapters without having read the rest of the book. The book may be confusing for those who are not as familiar with history or with key figures in the various disciplines. What is amazing is all the varieties and different interpretations of the term within any given discipline. A must-read for anyone who wants to understand people and where we are coming from.

For the past 6 months, I have been catching up on reading about worldviews. (Shows you far behind the times I am). I have read all the major worldview books by Christian writers. They all provide their interpretation of what constitutes the Christian worldview perspective. Naugle does that but puts his book into a broader historical and philosophical context. He also acknowledges all the current Christian books on worldviews except Pearcey's "Total Truth" which was published after this book.There is one area that all the Christian writers ignore or give scant attention in writing about worldviews. This is the economic and business organizational arena. These Christian writers discuss education, science and the political worldview and their impact on society. Some business writers have stated the business community determines the value structure of society more than the churches, political, scientific and educational communities. The scandals in government and economic can be viewed as worldview issues. I recognize that most business executives would probably not realize how important it is to articulate their worldview. IT is probably the single foundational issue that helps the give the business a sense of value, vision and mission.Overall David Naugle's is very readable and worth the effort.

Very good item