As my husband listens to broadcasts direct from Al Jazeera, I am struck with the importance of the book I am currently reading: Living at the Crossroads by Michael Goheen and Craig Bartholomew. Surely we are living at the Crossroads!
This book does not address the crossroads of history, but the crossroads of Western Culture and the Christian world view. The first chapter asks some interesting questions about our understanding of Gospel, Story, Worldview and the Church's Mission. It requires us to step back and examine our assumptions. I am looking forward to some challenging ideas and opportunities to refine my own thinking on Christian worldview and how we MUST be clear in our teaching today's children who most certainly need a clear, Gospel-centered view of the world God is bringing about!
Challenges from chapter 1:
Do we understand that we live at the crossroads of two stories: the Biblical story and the Western story? Do we know how very different these two stories are? Have you ever considered that the Western story claims to be the true story of the world? Consider how vastly different the Eastern story being played out today is from our story!
Have you ever thought about how radically opposed to the Biblical story the Western story is? How do we live, work, educate, celebrate all that God's story declares while totally immersed in the Western culture of progress, consumerism and humanism?
What does that look like as we teach children to read, write, think and believe?
Thank you, Pat, for this incredible challenge. It is SO important for us to fix our eyes on Christ, as we teach our kids, so they get His perspective, not the Western thought patterns, and traditions that can so easily trickle into our thinking and learning process.
ReplyDeleteIn Christ,
Charmaine