christian worldview Flashcards
1
Q
God is the only self-existent being.
A
true
2
Q
There is no orderliness or regularity to the universe.
A
false
3
Q
G. K. Chesterton once remarked that hell is a monument to human freedom.
A
true
4
Q
Societies that are open and seemingly tolerant lead to peaceful practices and equality between rich and poor.
A
false
5
Q
It is possible to leave behind your religious views when you make moral decisions.
A
false
6
Q
Theology was known as the king of the sciences because it was the science of God.
A
false
7
Q
Which of the following approaches have civic and cultural leaders used to address the divisiveness of religion?
A
They tried to outlaw religion
8
Q
What is the secularization thesis?
A
As we become more scientifically sophisticated and more able to understand and control our own environment, our need for religion will diminish.
9
Q
What, according to Keller, is the point of the illustration of the blind men and the elephant
A
Each religion sees part of spiritual truth, but none can see the whole truth.
10
Q
What does Keller say is the problem with the blind men and the elephant illustration with reference to religion?
A
The story is told from the point of view of someone who is able to see the whole elephant, and us is it claim to have superior, comprehensive knowledge of spiritual reality that no religions are able to have.
11
Q
How does one respond to the claim that “All major religions are equally valid”?
A
Ironically, the insistence that doctrines do not matter is really a doctrine in itself (Keller, 8). You can’t have the doctrinal views such as a loving God while also saying that you do not believe in doctrine.
12
Q
What is the relationship between religious belief and culture? Is all religious belief simply culturally conditioned?
A
Often times in culture you will be encouraged to have certain beliefs and discourages having other beliefs. Not all religious belief is culturally conditioned. According to Keller Peter L Berger says “ The social conditionedness of belief is a fact, but it cannot be used to ague that all truth is completely relative or else the very argument refutes itself”(Keller, 10).
13
Q
How does Keller respond to the idea that it is arrogant to insist on the validity of your religion, and convert others to it?
A
“Their view is also an ‘exclusive’ claim about the nature of spiritual reality. If all such views are to be discouraged, this one should be as well. If it is not narrow to hold this view, then there is nothing inherently narrow about holding to traditional religious beliefs” and persuading others to believe them (p. 13).
14
Q
It is possible to leave behind your religious views when you make moral decisions.
A
false
15
Q
According to deism, human reason is autonomous. That is, without relying on any revelation from the outside, human beings can know themselves, the universe, and even God.
A
true
16
Q
Deism affirms that God can be known through revelatory acts like the incarnation of Christ.
A
false
17
Q
According to Keller, why does an exclusive belief system like Christianity lead to behavior that is so open to and tolerant of others?
A
Because Christians have within their belief system the strongest possible resource for practicing sacrificial service, generosity, and peacemaking—namely, a man who died for his enemies and prayed for their forgiveness.
18
Q
What is the argument for keeping religion completely private?
A
Religious faith must never be brought into discussions of public policy because arguments based on faith do not allow a nonbeliever to reasonably engage.
19
Q
What is religion?
A
According to Keller “Religion is a set of beliefs that explain what life is all about who we are, and the most important things that human
20
Q
According to Keller, how does the moral “pragmatist” attempt to deal with the question of morality in the public square?
A
The “Pragmatist” says we should leave our deeper worldview behind and find consensus about what works” (Keller, 16).
21
Q
It is perfectly natural in an evolutionary system that natural selection should depend on the death, destruction, and violence of the strong against the weak.
A
true
22
Q
If you can’t see or imagine a good reason why God might allow evil acts to occur, then that means there must not be one.
A
false
23
Q
According to Keller, what is the hidden assumption of those who believe that if there are both evil and suffering in the world, then a benevolent and omnipotent God cannot exist?
A
That since good reasons for the existence of both evil and God are not obvious reasons to me, then there must not be any good reasons.
24
Q
How might the existence of evil and suffering actually serve as evidence for the existence of a benevolent and omnipotent God?
A
God’s character is the moral foundation for identifying something as evil.
25
Explain the "no-see-ums" illustration that Keller uses.
The “no-see-ums” illustration is meant to represent how just because one cannot see any good reason for evil and its existence, does not mean that those reasons do not exist.
26
Jesus spoke defiantly and confidently of God even as he was beaten and hung on the cross.
false
27
According to Keller, there have been far more excruciating and horrible deaths suffered by calm and confident martyrs than that of Jesus.
true
28
When Jesus died on the cross, he experienced a cosmic abandonment by the Father.
true
29
According to Sire, even Christian theists must admit that many of the naturalists' ethical insights are valid.
true
30
What was greater than the physical pain of Jesus on the cross?
the spiritual experience of cosmic abandonment
31
How does the gospel address the existence of evil and suffering?
In Jesus Christ, God experienced the greatest depths of pain, entering human suffering in order to defeat it on the cross.
32
In what way was the death of Jesus qualitatively different from any other death?
“The physical pain was nothing compared to the spiritual experience of cosmic abandonment…God became uniquely and fully human in Jesus Christ and therefore knows firsthand despair, rejection, loneliness, poverty, bereavement, torture, and imprisonment. On the cross he went beyond even the worst human suffering and experienced cosmic rejection and pain that exceeds our as infinitely as his knowledge and power exceeds ours” (p. 30).
33
What does Keller mean when he describes the Christian's prevail over suffering as being one of restoration rather than consolation?
"not a future that is just a consolation for the life we never had, but a restoration for the life you always wanted" (Keller,32) Keller means that the future we always wanted isn't what m might be best for us. We long for consultation but restoration is the ultimate plan.
34
What, according to Keller, is the ultimate defeat of evil and suffering?
Keller quoted C.S. Lewis when he said, “Heaven, once attained, will work backwards and turn even that agony into a glory.” He then goes on to say, “It will not only be ended but so radically vanquished that what has happened will only serve to make our future life and joy infinitely great” (p. 34).
35
Christians believe that true freedom is the freedom to create your own meaning and purpose.
false
36
Every human community holds in common some beliefs that necessarily create boundaries, including some and excluding others.
true
37
It is an act of faith to accept Charles Darwin's theory of human origins.
true
38
What are you trying to get power and control over when you claim to have the truth?
people
39
Which of the following is a part of a better set of tests by which to judge whether a community is open and caring rather than narrow and oppressive?
Which community's beliefs lead it to demonize and attack those who violate their boundaries?
40
Which of the following does Sire say every fiber of people's waking being is calling for?
Dignity
41
What is the "thought that stops thought"?
According to Keller the thought that stops thought is "By rebelling against everything he has lost his right to rebel against anything" (Keller, 38).
42
Why, according to Keller, can't communities always be completely inclusive?
In any community there will always be a certain standard or set of beliefs that you need to have to be a part of. For example if there is a club for pizza lovers that is open to everyone it, by illusion, is a completely inclusive club, however if someone comes in saying pizza is terrible and doesn't believe they love pizza, they might be asked to leave. In this illustration the pizza lovers club is completely open to anyone unless you don't share the set of beliefs that pizza is the best. According g to Keller " Every account of justice and reason is embedded in a set of some particular beliefs about the meaning of human life that is not shared with everyone. The idea of a totally inclusive community is, therefore, an illusion. Every human community holds in common some beliefs that necessarily create boundaries, including some and excluding therefrom its circle" (Keller, 39).
43
How do people in modern secular culture tend to define freedom?
Keller says that modern secular culture frames freedom as both the ability to “determine our own moral standards,” and “as the absence of confinement and constraint” (p. 46).
44
Why has Christianity been able to infiltrate so many radically different cultures?
“Keller says, “There is, of course, a core of teaching to which all forms of Christianity are committed. Nevertheless, there is a great deal of freedom in how these absolutes are expressed and take form within a particular culture. For example, the Bible directs Christians to unite in acts of musical praise, but it doesn’t prescribe the meter, rhythm, level of emotional expressiveness, or instrumentation—all this is left to be culturally expressed in a variety of ways” (p. 44).
45
In what circumstance do disciplines and constraints liberate or contribute to our freedom, rather than detract from it?
"Disciplines and constraints, then, liberate us only when they fit with the reality of our nature and capacities. A fish, because it absorbs oxygen from water rather than air, is only free if it is restricted and limited to water. If we put it out on the grass, it's freedom to move and even live is not enhanced, but destroyed. The fish dies if we do not honor the reality of its nature"(Keller, 47).
46
What is true freedom, according to Keller?
Keller says, “Freedom, then, is not the absence of limitations and constraints but it is finding the right ones, those that fit our nature and liberate us” (p. 49).
47
Why has Christianity grown so explosively in places like Africa and China?
Those places “began to see in Christ the final solution to their own historic longings and aspirations as Africans…Christianity answered this historical challenge by a reorientation of the worldview…People sensed in their hearts that Jesus did not mock their respect for the sacred nor their clamor for an invincible Savior, and so they beat their sacred drums for him until the stars skipped and danced in the skies. After that dance, the stars weren’t little anymore. Christianity helped Africans to become renewed Africans, not re-made Europeans. Sane argues that secularism with its anti-supernaturalism and individualism is much more destructive of local cultures and “African-ness” than Christianity” (p. 41-42).
48
Christianity has been more adaptive of diverse cultures than not only secularism, but also many other worldviews.
true
49
One of the principles of love is that you should never have to change who you are in order to love and be loved by somebody else.
false
50
What is the problem with the view that religion leads to division and destruction?
Keller states, "The Communist Russian, Chinese, and Cambodian regimes of the twentieth century rejected all organized religion and belief in God... these societies were all rational and secular, yet each produced massive violence against its own people without the influence of religion... We can only conclude that there is some violent impulse so deeply rooted in the human heart that it expresses itself regardless of what the beliefs of a particular society might be... Ultimately, then, the fact of violence and warfare in a society is no necessary refutation of the prevailing beliefs of that society" (pp. 56-57).
51
What is the problem with the approach to understanding Christianity as a spectrum of people ranging from nominal to fanatical?
According to Keller "The problem with this approach is that it assumes that Christian faith is a basically a form of moral improvement"(Keller,58).
when you believe that Christianity is on a scale it will always be like moral improvement not like the perfection that it already is.
52
What was meant by the term "voluntary econocide"?
"when the abolitionists finally had British society poised to abolish slavery in their empire, planters in the colonies foretold that emancipation would cost investors enormous sums and the price of commodities would skyrocket catastrophically... The act of emancipation passed in 1833, and the costs were so high to the British people that one historian called the British abolition of slavery 'voluntary econocide"(Keller, 65).
53
Good character is largely attributable to a loving, safe, and stable family and social environment.
true
54
Jesus critiques the self-righteous because their insensitivity to the issues of social justice is the opposite of that which concerns true faith.
true
55
Slavery existed in some form in virtually every human culture over the centuries, not just in Western Christian cultures in the sixteenth century.
true
56
What is a nominal Christian?
Someone who over practices what they profess.
57
What is one consequence of the confidence in our ability to control the physical environment around us that came from modernity?
"The spirit of modernity then gave us the responsibility to determine right and wrong. Our new confidence that we can control the physical environment has spilled over so we now think that we can reshape the metaphysical tea;m as well"(Keller, 74).
58
)
What is the best way to explain God's wrath to a secular person, according to Keller?
"Start your response by pointing out that all loving persons are sometimes filled with wrath, not just despite of but because of their love. If you love a person and you see someone ruining them- even they themselves- you get angry"(Keller, 75).
59
What is considered the most fundamental belief in American culture?
"Moral truth is relative to individual consciousness"(Keller, 72). Meaning that culture doesn't mind when people think their truth is the truth, but when God is considered the judgmental God that creates a problem in today's society
60
In what way did modernity seek to reverse the ancient's understanding of reality and wisdom?
"Ultimate reality was seen not so much as a supernatural order but as the natural world , and that was malleable. Instead of trying to shape our desires to fit reality, we now seek to control and shape reality to fit our desires"(Keller, 73).
61
Who is Miroslav Volf and what experience led him to his conclusion about violence in society?
Miroslav Volf is a Yale theologian. He is also a Croatian and the experience that led him to his conclusion is the violence that he has seen in the Balkan. Keller 76
62
Which of the following did the ancients think helped one pursue wisdom?
discretion
63
Which of the following does Miroslav Volf argue is the thing that "secretly nourishes violence"?
lack of belief in a God of vengence
64
Many people believe that the Christian concept of a God who sends people to hell will lead to which of the following outcomes?
exclusion and violence
65
What two attributes do modern people have trouble putting together when they think of the God of the Bible?
justice and love
66
How does Keller succinctly define hell?
Keller says " Hell then is the trajectory of a soul living a self absorbed, self centered life, going on and on forever" (Keller, 79).
67
In what way are addictive substances analogous to hell, according to Keller?
According to Keller " Pornography addiction first there is disintegration , because as time goes on you need more and more of the addictive substance to get that same kick... In eternity this disintegration goes on forever "(Keller, 80-81).
68
What does one say to a person who says they believe in a God of love who would never damn someone to hell?
“This concern misunderstands what the Bible teaches about the nature of salvation and damnation” (p 82). A person who believes in a God of love that would never damn someone to hell must know that "all that are in Hell choose it. Without that self-choice it wouldn’t be Hell. No soul that seriously and constantly desires joy will ever miss it.”
69
No one would ever ask to leave hell in order to go to heaven.
true
70
The first major exponent of postmodernism was Friedrich Nietzsche.
true
71
The greatest good is an individual's freedom to maximize pleasure.
false
72
Which of the following is a common image of hell in the Bible
fire
73
What does C. S. Lewis say hell is the greatest monument to?
human freedom
74
What are the different ways that science and religion may be related to each other? (
integration dialogue conflict independence
75
When scientists say that miracles are not possible, that is a _____________1_______________, not a _____________2__________.
11.67/11.67 Points
scientific finding
philosophical presupposition
76
According to Keller, scientific mistrust of the Bible began with the Enlightenment belief that miracles cannot be reconciled to a modern, rational view of the world.
true
77
The purpose of biblical miracles is to lead someone to believe in Christian faith.
false
78
According to Keller, each clue of God, standing alone, is proof that God exists.
true
79
Innate desires are simply biological urges, corresponding to nothing.
false
80
The motivational structure of Islam is built around avoiding the eternal consequences of any potential sin rather than keeping the rules in gratitude to Allah.
true
81
Muslims believe in a spiritual resurrection just like Christians.
true
82
What does "the regularity of nature" mean?
"All scientific inductive reasoning is based upon the assumption of regularity of nature, that water will boil tomorrow under the identical conditions of today... without inductive reasoning we couldn't learn from our experiences"(Keller, 136). c
83
"All scientific inductive reasoning is based upon the assumption of regularity of nature, that water will boil tomorrow under the identical conditions of today... without inductive reasoning we couldn't learn from our experiences"(Keller, 136). c
Keller states, "This has been called the 'Fine-Tuning Argument' or the 'Anthropic Principle,' namely that the universe was prepared for human beings" (p. 134-135).
84
How do evolutionary biologists explain our capacity to believe God?
"Evolutionists say that if God makes sense to us, it is not because he is really there, its only because that belief helped us survive and so we are hardwired by it"(Keller, 142).
85
What do some secular people believe about the nature of love?
it is biochemical
86
What do evolutionary biologists all agree on?
That our capacity to believe in God is hardwired into our physiology.
87
That our capacity to believe in God is hardwired into our physiology.
the regularity of nature
88
Argument
People have dignity and rights because they are human beings made
89
Assertion
People should not violate the rights of someone else
90
Identify the author of this quote: "Moral"... is an orientation toward understandings about what is right and wrong, just and unjust, that not established by our own actual desires or preferences but instead are believed to exist apart from them, providing standard by which our desires and preferences can themselves be judged.
The author of this quote is Sociologist Christian Smith
91
Explain in your owns words the difference between moral feelings and moral obligation as Keller compares and contrasts each on page 152.
Moral feelings is our conscience or the feelings that God hardwired into every average human being. Moral obligation is the belief that things shouldn't be done regardless of how someone feels about them. The main difference between them in moral feelings is driven by feelings and moral obligation is driven by belief that feelings shouldn't matter.
92
Can evolutionary theory account for or make sense of moral obligation? Why or why not? See pages 153-154.
Keller argues that "Evolution...cannot account for the origin of our moral feelings, let alone for the fact that we all believe there are external moral standards by which moral feelings are evaluated" (p. 154). This is because, according to evolutionary theory, "hostility to all people outside ones group should be...considered moral and right behavior," if not more so, than any kind of altruism toward them since the fundamental principle is that the strong eat the weak.
93
According to Michael J. Perry's work in Toward a Theory of Human Rights, which position provides the best basis or ground for human rights, religious or secular? Why? See Keller on page 158.
Keller says, "Perry concludes that...it is clear 'there is a religious ground for the morality of human rights...Perry lays out Nietzsche's well-known insistence that, if God is dead, any and all morality of love and human rights is baseless" (p. 158).
94
Are human rights created? Why or why not
Keller states, "If human rights are created by majorities, of what use are they? Their value lies in that they can be used to insist that majorities honor the dignity of minorities and individuals despite their conception of their 'greater good.' Rights cannot be created—they must be discovered, or they are of no value" (p. 157).
95
How does Michael J. Perry define the morality of human rights?
Every human has a dignity down inside of them and that every human should live their life according to the knowledge that they have their own dignity.
96
If there is no God, then can an action be "moral" or "immoral"? Why or why not? See page 159.
Keller states in his book, "If there is no God, then there is no way to say any one action is "moral" and another "immoral" but only "I like this." (p. 159).
97
Why is it necessary to have a supernatural standard to evaluate nature?
It is necessary because according to Keller " We can't know that nature is broken in some way unless there is some supernatural standard of normalcy apart from nature by which we can judge from right and wrong. That means there would have to be a God"(159). If we didn't have a supernatural standard there would be no way for us to know that there is a difference between nature and humans.
98
What factors explain the violence and disorder we see? Explain in your own words
The violence and disorder we see are because “the world is fallen, broken, and needs to be redeemed" (p. 162).
99
If there is no God, then all moral statements/valuations are what?
all of the above
100
Identify the author of this quote: “The masses blink and say: ‘We are all equal—Man is but man, before God we are all equal.’ Before God! But now this God has died.”
Friedrich Nietzsche
101
If God exists, then... (
all of the above
102
Why type of professor is Michael J. Perry?
law
103
Human rights are not created by us but are found by us.
true
104
If you believe human rights are a reality, then it makes much more sense that God exists than that he does not.
true
105
If God does not exist, then all moral choices are meaningless and all of life is meaningless too.
true
106
What is Christianity?
Keller states in his book, " For our purpose, I'll define Christianity as the body of believers who assent to these great ecumenical creeds. They believe that the triune God created the world, that humanity has fallen into sin and evil, that God has returned to rescue us in Jesus Christ, that in his death and resurrection Jesus accomplished our salvation for us so we can be received by grace, that he established the church, his people, as the vehicle through which he continues his mission of rescue, reconciliation, and salvation, and that at the end of time Jesus will return to renew the heavens and the earth, removing all evil, injustice, sin and death from the world" (p. 121).
107
Christians do not view Jesus as one more teacher or prophet, but as what?
Christians view Jesus as “Savior of the world” (p. 121).
108
Belief in the __________ creates a profoundly different view of the world from that of polytheists, non-Trinitarian monotheists, and atheists,
trinity
109
What position uses the “verification principle,” namely, that no one should believe a proposition unless it can be proved rationally by logic or empirically by sense experience?
strong rationalism
110
What position assumes that there are some arguments that many or even most rational people will find convincing, even though there is no argument that will be persuasive to everyone regardless of viewpoint?
critical rationalism
111
Underlying all doubts about Christianity are alternate beliefs, unprovable assumptions about the nature of things.
true
112
Christianity is the faith that is most spread across the cultures and regions of the world.
true
