First Worldview study recommendations? Thinking Like A Christian?

[profmom]

What do you recommend for a beginning Biblical worldview class for an 8th grader? Maybe Thinking Like a Christian, saving Starting Points for 9th?

[Zee]

I'd recommend Lightbearer's by Summit Ministries. It is perfect for 8th/9th grade. They have a homeschool version that's cheaper than their classroom version. My son and I have learned a lot from it.

[Nissi]

We used this and liked it too. After doing Lightbearers would Starting Points be redundant?

[Scarlet Pimpernel]

We're using Lightbearers with our 8th grader, too.

[Scarlet Pimpernel]

Apologia recommends their newish 4 book program up to age 14, but it's fairly parent intensive, imo. I suppose at that age you could let them read it on their own.

[Lori D.]

What do you recommend for a beginning Biblical worldview class for an 8th grader? Maybe Thinking Like a Christian, saving Starting Points for 9th?

 

I would suggest you would want a resource that covered:

- What is a worldview

- What do Christians believe (Biblical worldview)

- What are other major belief (worldview) systems (both religious (Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Paganism, etc.) and secular (Humanism, Science-ism, etc.)

 

 

The Lightbearers program specifically covers Christian faith and apologetics; compares with other basic religions/worldviews; and focuses on what you believe influences what you do. It uses DVDs with movie clips and video lectures, and the intro to worldview questions book "How to Be Your Own Selfish Pig." It is specifically designed for late middle school ages.

 

Starting Points is more about analyzing the worldview of specific works of Literature, and comparing them with Christian perspective (seen through the Christian apologetics books Mere Christianity, Know What You Believe, Know Why You Believe).

 

Thinking Like a Christian is similar in format to Lightbearers (DVD video teachings). It assumes you already have a basic understanding of what worldview is, and goes into detail comparing Christian worldview with specific worldviews found in Theology, Philosophy, Biology, Psychology, Ethics, Sociology, Law, Politics, Economics, and History. It is specifically designed for high school, college, adult ages.

 

The Truth Project is a DVD series, intended for church small groups, which compares Christian worldviews and other worldviews in a variety of "spheres": history, science, the arts, family, labor, government etc. While our whole family (the boys were young teens at the time) did it as part of our church's weekly Bible study group, you could probably set this up to do with just your family or with a small group of homeschooling families. It brought forth great discussion from all the adults and students watching -- we had children as young as 5th grade watching, and they "got" it.

 

You may also want to look at some of the worldview materials from Brimwood Press (how faith and philosophy -- i.e., worldview -- affect History), the Apologia What We Believe series (focus on basic theology and apologetics), or Worldview Academy materials (Christian apologetics, other worldviews, putting Christian worldview into action through servant leadership, etc -- mostly at a high school level). WVA's 1-week summer camps are fabulous, but are pretty intense, so I recommend waiting until your student is about 15yo before attending; 26 hours of classroom material presented by VERY engaging instructors, plus lots of time to discuss and have fun.

 

For more ideas check out the big lists of ideas in this past thread and in this past thread. Most are at a high school level, (as is Summit Ministry's worldview curriculum "Understanding the Times"), and most are on specific topics, rather than a general overview resource or beginning/intro to worldview.

 

 

BEST of luck in deciding what works best for your family! Warmest regards, Lori D.

Edited March 18, 2012 by Lori D.

[Zee]

I wonder about that, too, but from what I've seen, it doesn't seem to. The books used are completely different and it seems like the angle they are coming from is different. I am interested in doing part of Starting Points, but not the history portion. I'm thinking about doing some of it next year as part of our Bible elective. I'm hoping to look more deeply at it during an upcoming convention. I'd love to know if anyone has more extensively compared them. Lightbearer's focus is worldview in areas like government, philosophy, law, ethics, and sociology, among others. I know part of Starting Points is laying a foundation for a Biblical worldview and applying it to history and literature. At least, that's my impression from what I've seen. I'd like to have the questions to guide us through some of the books like Mere Christianity and Know Why You Believe. I'd probably skip the Narnia series, but am interested in the comparison of worldviews in Frankenstein and The Strange Case of Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde.

[MommyThrice]

I wonder about that, too, but from what I've seen, it doesn't seem to. The books used are completely different and it seems like the angle they are coming from is different. I am interested in doing part of Starting Points, but not the history portion. I'm thinking about doing some of it next year as part of our Bible elective. I'm hoping to look more deeply at it during an upcoming convention. I'd love to know if anyone has more extensively compared them. Lightbearer's focus is worldview in areas like government, philosophy, law, ethics, and sociology, among others. I know part of Starting Points is laying a foundation for a Biblical worldview and applying it to history and literature. At least, that's my impression from what I've seen. I'd like to have the questions to guide us through some of the books like Mere Christianity and Know Why You Believe. I'd probably skip the Narnia series, but am interested in the comparison of worldviews in Frankenstein and The Strange Case of Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde.

 

I think Starting Point laid a wonderful foundation, but I had a few problems with it.

(1) There are NO parent/teacher helps. You have to go through every bit of it with your child in order to discuss it.

(2) The curriculum had the students look up way too many Bible verses. I know that sounds bad, but really, 20 verses that all support the same point was driving us crazy. You could just look ahead and skip some of these to make life easier.

(3) Some of the apologetics books (Know What You Believe and Know Why You Believe) were very outdated. I would like my kids to have more current arguments for their faith. These are arguments I was using in the 70's & 80's.

 

If you are comfortable with skipping some of the redundant assignments, I highly recommend it. I think the Narnia books were a great place to start searching for worldviews in literature. Even if you don't use Starting Points, I would not miss The Deadliest Monster along with Frankenstein and J&H.

[jibaker103]

I would suggest you would want a resource that covered:

- What is a worldview

- What do Christians believe (Biblical worldview)

- What are other major belief (worldview) systems (both religious (Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Paganism, etc.) and secular (Humanism, Science-ism, etc.)

This may sound a little strange or crazy but is there a curriculum out there that provides all the information stated above without influencing the student to one way of thinking or making it seem that there is only one choice? I would like to work with my son so he can determine if he wants a relationship with God and if so what his relationship with God will be without pressure. I want him to be clear on where he stands before going out into the world.

[Zee]

I think Starting Point laid a wonderful foundation, but I had a few problems with it.

(1) There are NO parent/teacher helps. You have to go through every bit of it with your child in order to discuss it.

(2) The curriculum had the students look up way too many Bible verses. I know that sounds bad, but really, 20 verses that all support the same point was driving us crazy. You could just look ahead and skip some of these to make life easier.

(3) Some of the apologetics books (Know What You Believe and Know Why You Believe) were very outdated. I would like my kids to have more current arguments for their faith. These are arguments I was using in the 70's & 80's.

 

If you are comfortable with skipping some of the redundant assignments, I highly recommend it. I think the Narnia books were a great place to start searching for worldviews in literature. Even if you don't use Starting Points, I would not miss The Deadliest Monster along with Frankenstein and J&H.

 

I think if we use it, we'll be picking and choosing as you describe here. I did look at the samples for Starting Points yesterday and I did see some repeat of what Ligthbearer's covers, but again, it seems to come from a different angle, and the method is very different. Lightbearer's has videos, some reading, and discussions, paragraphs to write, quizzes and tests to take, and some mini-projects. Some we skipped as they were aimed at classrooms or groups. I defintely wouldn't do both in full. I'm still glad we chose Lightbearer's as the main course. We have had many great discussions as a result of the curriculum, and they really put it all in context of our current culture. I don't really see Starting Points doing that as effectively, but I could be wrong. One positive to Starting Points is the Bible reference look-ups (although it sounds like a bit too many). Lightbearer's has some references that are written into the curriculum, but there isn't much to look up. We only had a couple of lessons where we had to open our Bible. I would have preferrred a little more "getting into the Word."

 

I went through the Paul Little books when I became a Christian. I will likely go through them with my son, but yes, current apologetic material would be a good addition. If anyone knows some good titles, please list them.

[profmom]

Thanks everyone! Zee, I hadn't heard of Lightbearer's, and I will definitely check it out! This might be just what I am looking for! Lori D., as always, I appreciate your detailed descriptions and comparisons! Thanks for taking the time, and I will look at the other threads you mentioned too!

 

Thanks again to all who responded!

[Lori D.]

This may sound a little strange or crazy but is there a curriculum out there that provides all the information stated above without influencing the student to one way of thinking or making it seem that there is only one choice? I would like to work with my son so he can determine if he wants a relationship with God and if so what his relationship with God will be without pressure. I want him to be clear on where he stands before going out into the world.

 

 

Hmmm... Well, my short answer would be "no", in that *all* books intrinsically contain the beliefs that come from an author's worldview, whether directly stated or not.

 

 

Now for my longer answer ramblings... (LOL)

 

All of the worldview curriculum I've seen has been by Christian authors, who describe a variety of worldviews, and then compare/contrast with the Biblical Christian worldview. So yes, they are coming from a specific starting point, and yes, they are explaining why they believe the Biblical Christian worldview is the Truth. Some of the programs do so with less emotive/persuasive wording (which would feel like less pressure), and some do so with more emotive/persuasive word choices (which would feel like more pressure). Similarly, the secular resources we used or previewed also came from a distinct worldview, also using less, or more, emotive/persuasive wording.

 

Personally, I think it is far more honest and fair when an author states up front what his/her beliefs are, and what his/her intentions are in the book or curriculum. That up-front declaration also makes it much easier to use the book or curriculum in the way that works for me and my family, or to decide to not use the book or curriculum at all. Many of the Christian worldview resources we used or previewed did state their worldview up front -- often with an additional explanation of why, or what their intention for their book was. I found that much of the secular materials we used did not state up-front what their worldview was, BUT, they usually had a forward to the book, which we read and then worked out what the unspoken worldview beliefs of the author were. That was more work for us, but I guess it is good practice for "looking for the lens" through which a work is written. ;)

 

Again, personally, I have occasionally used a worldview resource as written. Occasionally I adapt; mostly, we heavily discuss as we use it. And occasionally I have chosen not to use some materials I felt were too manipulative.

 

 

For a curriculum, you could try using a variety of resources, from a variety of worldviews, and do so keeping some basic worldview questions in mind:

 

- origin (how did I (we, life) come to be?)

- identity (who am I? what am I?)

- meaning (what is my purpose? why am I (here)?)

- morality (how should I live? are there any rules?)

- destiny (what happens when I die?)

 

You mentioned in your post that you would want to cover the 3 things I listed

- what is a worldview

- what is a Biblical worldview (what do Christians believe)

- and what are other worldviews, religious and secular

 

For materials on a Biblical worldview -- what do Christians believe, I would suggest using materials by a Christian to get the full experience. The secular materials I looked over on Christianity (and, really, on any religion) get the names/dates/events/basic facts correct, but really fail to express the spiritual aspect of religious worldviews. I am not faulting that -- it is very much in keeping with a secular worldview -- just trying to express that to get the full understanding of a worldview, it helps to go to a source written by someone in that worldview. You might find looking for "Christian Apologetics" resources helpful in coming up with Christian resources on what Christians believe -- i.e., Christian worldview.

 

I also find worldview comparison charts to helpful. (Here is one comparing Christianity/Islam/various secular worldviews. Here is a one comparing various religions. You can google search for other worldview comparison charts and find other great "thumbnail comparisons". When DSs and I did a comparative religions study way back in middle school, we made our own, comparing different beliefs, and especially, where those beliefs lead (personal choices, actions towards others, eternal destiny, etc.)

 

 

Don't know if this helped at all, but I do wish you and DS the BEST of luck in finding the materials that will best help you explore worldviews! Warmest regards, Lori D.

Edited March 21, 2012 by Lori D.

[jibaker103]

Hmmm... Well, my short answer would be "no", in that *all* books intrinsically contain the beliefs that come from an author's worldview, whether directly stated or not.

 

 

Now for my longer answer ramblings... (LOL)

 

All of the worldview curriculum I've seen has been by Christian authors, who describe a variety of worldviews, and then compare/contrast with the Biblical Christian worldview. So yes, they are coming from a specific starting point, and yes, they are explaining why they believe the Biblical Christian worldview is the Truth. Some of the programs do so with less emotive/persuasive wording (which would feel like less pressure), and some do so with more emotive/persuasive word choices (which would feel like more pressure). Similarly, the secular resources we used or previewed also came from a distinct worldview, also using less, or more, emotive/persuasive wording.

 

Personally, I think it is far more honest and fair when an author states up front what his/her beliefs are, and what his/her intentions are in the book or curriculum. That up-front declaration also makes it much easier to use the book or curriculum in the way that works for me and my family, or to decide to not use the book or curriculum at all. Many of the Christian worldview resources we used or previewed did state their worldview up front -- often with an additional explanation of why, or what their intention for their book was. I found that much of the secular materials we used did not state up-front what their worldview was, BUT, they usually had a forward to the book, which we read and then worked out what the unspoken worldview beliefs of the author were. That was more work for us, but I guess it is good practice for "looking for the lens" through which a work is written. ;)

 

Again, personally, I have occasionally used a worldview resource as written. Occasionally I adapt; mostly, we heavily discuss as we use it. And occasionally I have chosen not to use some materials I felt were too manipulative.

 

 

For a curriculum, you could try using a variety of resources, from a variety of worldviews, and do so keeping some basic worldview questions in mind:

 

- origin (how did I (we, life) come to be?)

- identity (who am I? what am I?)

- meaning (what is my purpose? why am I (here)?)

- morality (how should I live? are there any rules?)

- destiny (what happens when I die?)

 

You mentioned in your post that you would want to cover the 3 things I listed

- what is a worldview

- what is a Biblical worldview (what do Christians believe)

- and what are other worldviews, religious and secular

 

For materials on a Biblical worldview -- what do Christians believe, I would suggest using materials by a Christian to get the full experience. The secular materials I looked over on Christianity (and, really, on any religion) get the names/dates/events/basic facts correct, but really fail to express the spiritual aspect of religious worldviews. I am not faulting that -- it is very much in keeping with a secular worldview -- just trying to express that to get the full understanding of a worldview, it helps to go to a source written by someone in that worldview. You might find looking for "Christian Apologetics" resources helpful in coming up with Christian resources on what Christians believe -- i.e., Christian worldview.

 

I also find worldview comparison charts to helpful. (Here is one comparing Christianity/Islam/various secular worldviews. Here is a one comparing various religions. You can google search for other worldview comparison charts and find other great "thumbnail comparisons". When DSs and I did a comparative religions study way back in middle school, we made our own, comparing different beliefs, and especially, where those beliefs lead (personal choices, actions towards others, eternal destiny, etc.)

 

 

Don't know if this helped at all, but I do wish you and DS the BEST of luck in finding the materials that will best help you explore worldviews! Warmest regards, Lori D.

Thank you Lori, I have a lot to think about and consider! The charts you provided were very helpful. My gut reaction to them is to find something that explains what all of this means so that my ds and I can read together and discuss it. Do you or anyone else have any suggestions?