Conversations in 20th Century Literature

A Framework for Cataloging Worldview

In his book The Universe Next Door, James Sire (1997) describes worldview as “a set of presuppositions (or
assumptions) which we hold (consciously or subconsciously) about the basic makeup of our world.” J. P.
Moreland (2001) gives the following definition for worldview: “A worldview is a set of beliefs a person accepts
about reality, knowledge, and value, along with the various support relations among those beliefs, the person’s
experiences and the person himself.”

A Framework for Cataloging Worldview

The seven questions that form a framework for cataloging worldviews, are found in James Sire’s book The
Universe Next Door (1997). These questions include the three issues considered in philosophy: metaphysics
(ultimate reality, existence, and being), epistemology (knowing), and axiology (values).

1. What is really real? What is prime reality? (Metaphysics)

a. Possible answers: (a) God, (b) matter, (c) energy, (d) some impersonal force
b. Biblical view: God is.… He exists. Psalm 90:2 says, “From everlasting to everlasting, thou art
God,” and Genesis 1:1 reads, “In the beginning God.” What kind of God is He?
2. What is the nature of external reality, the world around us?
a. Possible answers: It is (a) real, (b) designed, (c) created, (d) orderly, (e) sustained, (f) an illusion,
(g) here by chance, (h) chaotic
b. Biblical view? (What would you say?)
3. What or who is a human being?
a. Possible answers: A human is a (a) machine, (b) sleeping god, (c) naked ape, (d) person made in
the image of God
b. Biblical view? (What would you say?)
4. Is there life after death? What happens to a person at death?
a. Possible answers: (a) extinction, (b) transformation, (c) some higher state
b. Biblical view? (What would you say?)
5. How do we know? Why is it possible to know at all? (Epistemology)
a. Possible answers: (a) Humans are made in the image of God. (b) Evolution is responsible for our
ability to think. (c) Thinking is a survival tactic. (d) We can’t really know anything for sure.
b. Biblical view? (What would you say?)
6. What is the basis for morality? How do we know what is right and wrong? (Axiology)
a. Possible answers: (a) It is determined by the culture. (b) It is determined by human individual
choice alone. (c) God’s character is good, right, and just; He is the standard.
b. Biblical view? (What would you say?)
7. What is the meaning of human history?
a. Possible answers: (a) What goes around comes around. (b) It is to make a paradise (utopia) on
Earth. (c) It is to realize the purpose of gods or God.
b. Biblical view? (What would you say?)

Works cited: The Universe Next Door, by James W. Sire

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