Worldview Curriculum:
Note: Due to the current video post-production of "REALITY TRIP" and its accompanying discussion guide, the availability of the "Worldview Inoculation" curriculum as described below has been delayed. However, some materials and resources will be incorporated in the REALITY TRIP curriculum.
"Worldview
Inoculation"
writing/production
team
projected
lessons/format
unique features + video
An
important part of the WorldViewEyes program
is a multimedia
worldview curriculum, tentatively titled "Worldview
Inoculation." This
multimedia lesson series will
have separate "tracks" for
a variety of audiences: high
school youth groups, campus
ministries, Christian schools,
home schools and adults.
The "Worldview Inoculation" curriculum is
based on the idea that Christian
youth (and adults) should not hide
their heads in the cultural
sand as
though they can, or should, be isolated
from non-Christian philosophies
and religions. In the first place,
it just doesn't work, especially
in our media world of easy and instant
access to all kinds of worldview
influences. On the one hand, an "inoculation" is
risky, because it injects
some of the very cells that could
produce a deadly disease. On the
other hand, it's riskier NOT to be inoculated.
It is our belief that Christian youth are simply not being adequately and properly exposed to non-Christian worldviews while they are in the environment of church and home. Youth group games and emotional highs may produce excitement and observable involvement, but they will not prepare young people for what they will inevitably face. As
a result, a high percentage
of church youth are "lost" to
other worldviews when
they are exposed to them after
high school without the "watching eye" of
their youth leaders and parents.
And many Christian
kids who do "stay with the church" are
not adequately prepared to
be effective witnesses with
their Christian worldview.
An inoculation gives a small dose of a potentially dangerous virus so that the immune system will react to withstand greater exposure in the future. It is our hope that this curriculum will give youth (and adults) a "controlled dose" of potentially dangerous worldview "viruses"--to understand their attractions and their problems--so that their spiritual immune system might be sufficiently activated by God's Spirit.
Writing/Production
Team
Dr.
Rich Knopp, the WVE Director,
is leading the curriculum
development team as Executive
Producer while on sabbatical
during the fall of 2004.
A
panel of youth specialists
and educators has been writing
preliminary drafts of this curriculum (from
left to right):
 Tracy
Thomas,
Minister of Youth @ Lincoln
Christian Church, Lincoln,
IL.
Roger Songer,
Campus Minister @ the Christian
Campus House at Eastern
Illinois University, Charleston,
IL.
Greg Taylor,
Director of Admissions @ Lincoln
Christian College; former
youth minister
Rondel
Ramsey, Professor
of Youth
Ministry @ Lincoln Christian
College;
former youth minister at Central
Church of Christ, Streator,
IL
J.
K. Stevens,
Headmaster @ Traders
Point Christian Academy in
Indianapolis, IN
Shane Taylor,
Lead Pastor @ Common
Ground Church, near
Seattle, WA; former
campus minister at the University
of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
(Not pictured: Bob Monts,
assistant professor of Adult Education,
Lincoln
Christian College)
A number of other scholars and ministers
will be consulted during the development process. In the immediate future, the following individuals will especially be involved:
- Youth
Culture/Content Editor -> Todd
Henry, WVE Development Director
- Research/Scripting/Casting -> Adam Johnson, WVE Program/Curriculum
Assistant
- Video
(taping/editing) -> Josh
Hunt, WVE Multimedia Engineer; Tom Sowers, Director of Distance Learning, Lincoln Christian College & Seminary; Scott Sarver, Assistant to Director of Distance Learning, Lincoln Christian College & Seminary
- Graphics -> Chip David, KX-3.com
Projected
"Lessons" and Format
| "What's
a Worldview?" |
"The
Worldview of Existentialism" |
| "How
Do I Identify MY Worldview?" |
"The
Worldview of Postmodernism" |
| "Worldviews
in the Bible" |
"The
Worldview of New Age Pantheism" |
| "Christianity
as a Worldview" |
"Choosing
a Worldview with a Future" |
| "The
Worldview of Islam" |
"Applying
a Christian Worldview
to
My World" |
"The
Worldview of Secular Humanism:
Optimistic Atheists" |
"Living
a Christian Worldview in
My Life" |
"The
Worldview of Nihilism:
Pessimistic Atheists" |
|
- A
Teacher Resource Text and
CD ROM that will "teach
the teachers" and give
specific guidance on how to
teach others about worldviews.
- PowerPoint
files and blackline masters
for overheads.
- An
entertaining and instructional
DVD video (or VHS) with interviews
with top Christian scholars.
- Student
Guide
- Bibliography
of learning resources, including
website links
- Promotional
video for churches, students,
and parents
- Updated
downloadable Internet resources
UNIQUE FEATURES
Several "worldview" curricula
have been published by
others, but the WVE curriculum
will be unique and especially valuable in several ways.
- Style: It
will especially appeal
to a "younger
audience," using an
entertaining and instructional
video and
other multimedia
resources.
Yet it will balance "lighter
moments" with
contributions from
some of the best
Christian scholars in
the world.
- Structure: It will help students think more about their faith and their culture in terms of competing "isms" (e.g.,
Secular Humanism,
Nihilism, Existentialism,
Postmodernism) rather
than academic "disciplines" (e.g. history, economics, politics). A "discipline" approach to worldviews can be very valuable, but we believe that the "ism" emphasis
will be perceived
as more immediately
relevant and understandable
for a younger audience.
- Approach
to "worldview": It
will offer a more
balanced approach
to the notion
of "worldview" by
emphasizing that
it is not simply, or perhaps even primarily, a "mind" thing. Rather, worldview will be explained as the basic makeup of one's mind, emotions, will, and behavior. It will help Christians see that their worldview is directly connected to their entire life of discipleship--loving God will all their heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mark 12:30).
- Relevance: It will make the idea of worldview come alive by using "pop
culture" for many of its illustrations. This will help students recognize how prominent worldviews are in their own media world and how important it is to respond appropriately and effectively as a Christian.
- Content: It
will deal with many
of the most influential "isms" in
our world, but it
will also teach a
lot about the Christian
worldview in the process.
It will provide a
valuable biblical
background for worldview
study, and it will
guide students on
how to recognize other
worldviews and how to evaluate them.
However, it will not simply
condemn these worldviews
as totally false. In fact,
it will prompt students
to understand their insights and attractions.
Yet it will also expose
their problems and limitations.
Several lessons will help
students apply
their Christian worldview to
their school life (e.g.
their approach to study,
science, history, extra-curricular
activities), to their work and
future careers,
and to their ethical
behavior.
The
unique DVD or VHS video will include some entertaining
yet informative skits and
will also use videotaped
material from a number of
leading Christian scholars. WVE
has already videotaped
interviews with the following impressive
list of notable evangelical
scholars, with
more interviews with others
to follow:
- Dr.
James Sire,
author of The Universe
Next Door (InterVarsity
Press) and many other
books.
- Dr.
Nancy Pearcey,
co-author with Charles
Colson of How Now
Shall We Live? (Tyndale,
1999) , and author
of Total Truth:
Liberating Christianity
from Its Cultural Captivity (Crossway
Books, 2004).
- Dr.
David Naugle,
author of Worldview:
The History of a Concept (Eerdmans,
2002).
- Dr.
William Lane Craig,
author of Hard
Questions; Real Answers (Crossway,
2003); co-author of To
Everyone an Answer (InterVarsity,
2004); and many other
works.
- Dr.
Millard Erickson,
author of Introducing
Christian Doctrine ,
2nd ed (Baker, 2001); Truth
or Consequences: The
Promise and Perils
of Postmodernism (InterVarsity,
2002); and many others.
- Dr.
Harold Netland, Encountering
Religious Pluralism:
The Challenge to Christian
Faith and Mission (InterVarsity,
2001).
 Dr.
Francis Beckwith,
co-author with Gregory
Koukl of Relativism:
Feet Firmly Planted
in Mid-Air (Baker,
1998); co-author
with J.P. Moreland
and William Lane
Craig of To Everyone
an Answer: A Case
for the Christian
Worldview (InterVarsity,
2004); and other
works.
Many
of these videotaped interviews
were done with a "green
screen" background,
so a variety of computer
graphics can be added in
post-production.
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