Sire gives the primary answers to this question as matter and God. He states that, if one chooses God to be the answer, then he should answer further questions: is the basic character of God impersonal or personal, indifferent or good, limited or omnipotent, knowing or ignorant? (Sire, 2009). According to him, the most imperative thing about people is what comes into their minds when they think about God.
2. What is the nature of external reality, that is, the world around us?
Sire’s response:
Sire points out that the answers people give can tell whether they see the world as autonomous or created, as a spirit or matter, as orderly or chaotic; or whether people emphasize their personal, subjective relationship to the world or its objectivity apart from them (Sire, 2009). For instance, if people believe in the description of God from the Bible, then they are most likely to see the world around them as made of matter, created, objective, and orderly.
3. What is a human being?
Sire’s response:
According to sir, human beings can be viewed as a naked ape, a highly sophisticated machine, a person made in God’s image, or a sleeping god.
4. What happens to a person after death?
Sire’s response
Sire argues that after death, there is reincarnation, personal extinction, or transformation. He also states that the person departures to a shadowy existence on the “other side” (Sire, 2015).
5. Why is it possible to know anything at all?
Sire’s response:
According to Sire, although many people disagree regarding the source of knowledge, they believe that it is possible to have knowledge. Most people wonder where their ability to know anything comes from, but Sire’s answer is that people are made in the image of God or that rationality and consciousness created under the survival contingencies in a long evolution process.
6. How do we know what is right and wrong?
Sire’s response:
Sire argues that people are made in God’s image, which has a good character. He also states that human choice alone determines right and wrong, or simply the notions created under a force towards physical or cultural survival
7. What is the meaning of human history?
Sire’s response:
According to Sire, once people get some view of what human being is, or what is the most really real, then they will start to understand the meaning of human history. Sire gives some questions to help people understand human history: Are we going somewhere? Is the human race’s story meaningless? Or Do human beings wander around in circles? (Sire, 2015). Sire says that these imperative questions in an individual’s worldview. Sire says that one can give the answers to the above questions as to realize the God’s purpose, to make the earth be a paradise, and to prepare people for a life with holy and loving God.
8. What personal, life-orienting core commitments are consistent with each worldview?
Sire’s response:
According to Sire, a person’s most important commitments are tied to heart matters, more so love and desire. For instance, what people love, what they want, or what they are aiming to be. Such commitments may differ widely within any given worldview. For instance, a Christian might say to be devoted to loving or knowing God, to fulfill His will, to enjoy and love Him forever, or to first seek His kingdom. Each will result in a different distinct perspective of the Christian worldview.
God is the prime reality and all other realities come from him. God created the universe and He is perfect in his character and being. God is incomparably glorious, unchangeable and powerful. Besides, God wants to be known and the holy scriptures make us know him. God is above all of us and everything that He created in the universe (James, 2014).
God created the universe and everything in it. He just spoke and everything came into existence. According to Tripp (2017, God created the earth with structure and order. Besides, there is orderliness in his creation because He created everything with clarity. The universe is not programmed, meaning that it was created in an open system; therefore, human’s choices are essential and have a lasting impact for worse or better.
Human beings were created in the likeliness of God and hence demonstrate the glory of the character of God. Consequently, human beings have natural dignity, the reason why it is illegal to abuse, murder, or abort. Human beings fell into sin through Adam and Eve, our original parents (Tripp, 2017), but Jesus Christ died on the cross to cleanse human fraternity from sin and give us eternal life.
4. After death, all human souls continue to live forever. The judgment of the souls will be done based on the sins committed during their life on earth. Besides, Jesus pays for the sins of who trust Him, while those who trust themselves pay for their own sins. As demonstrated by James (2014), those who follow Christ go to heaven, while those who reject Him go to hell. It is also worth to note that those who don’t believe in Christ will not be forced into heaven.
5. It is imperative for people to know both God and the world in which they live in. It is due to the common grace of God that people have such kind of knowledge. Besides, people can continuously learn things regarding God. God is knowledgeable and that is why people look upon Him for knowledge. There is two ways in which God revealed himself to his people: special and general revelation. In addition, God makes himself known to his people through His son Jesus Christ and His Holy word.
6. We know right and wrong through an objective moral law that exists based on God’s nature. God has communicated to us through the Bible and it is through His holy scripture where He reveals His moral nature. Besides, He reveals Himself to His people through a common moral conscience which He has provided to all humankind.
7. Human history shows the existence and authority of God’s work. Human history is the fulfillment and the unfolding works and plan of God. Humans are sinful as well as dignified and the only hope for life after death is God. God is greater than us all and we usually experience his power, grace, truth, and love.
8. People view the world differently. Some believe in the supreme God and others do not. It is therefore imperative to embrace each other’s beliefs regarding the worldview.
References
James S. (2014). 8 Questions Every Worldview Must Answer. Retrieved February 14, 2014, from https://www.christianity.com/theology/other-religions-beliefs/8-questions-every-worldview-must-answer.html
Sire, J. W. (2009). The universe next door: A basic worldview catalog. InterVarsity Press.
Sire, J. W. (2015). Naming the elephant: Worldview as a concept. InterVarsity Press.
Tripp D. (2017). Four Major Worldviews. Retrieved from https://www.gci.org/series/truth2
