Christian

Epistemolo
gy and
Worldview
 Christian Epistemology

• Epistemology is the department of philosophy which

critically examines the criteria and the validity of human
knowledge. The word epistemology is from two Greek
words: episteme- knowledge in the sense of science, and
logia- knowledge in the sense of arranging that which is
known in order. Literally translated, the word epistemology
means the study of knowledge or the knowledge of knowing.
 John Frame, The Doctrine of
the Knowledge of God.

A true epistemology needs to

incorporate the perspectives of the
normative standard for what is
known (rationalism), the situational
object known (empiricism), and the
existential subject who is doing the
knowing (subjectivism).
 Frame explores our relationship with
God as a knowing relationship.
He writes, "We tend to forget how often in
Scripture God performs His mighty acts so
that men will 'know’ [the truth] that He is
Lord.”
 The Bible Went through the
process of Canonization

• Canon. The word canon means “measuring stick.”

Since the fourth century, Christians have used canon
as a term for the authoritative list of books of the
Bible. It is a measuring stick that reflects the standard
for determining the authenticity of books to be read in
church and used in worship as the Word of God.
• David Noel Freedman, ed., The Anchor Bible Dictionary (New York: Doubleday,
1992), s.v. “canon.”
Is it Biblically Accurate?

1. The confirmation of this episteme

(knowledge). If they were confirmed, it is
the truth.
• “I have told you now before it happens, so
that when it does happen you will
believe.” John 14:29.
 Is it Biblically Accurate?

2. The consistency of the Episteme.

“I the Lord do not change” (Malachi 3:6). “Heaven

and earth will pass away, but my words will never
pass away” (Matthew 24:35). “Jesus Christ is the
same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews
13:8).
Is it Biblically Accurate?

• 3. The Unity of the Episteme.

• "Consult God’s instruction (Law) and

the testimony of warning. If anyone
does not speak according to this
word, they have no light of dawn.”
Isaiah 8:20.
Matthew 5: 17-18

• 17 “Do not think that I have come to

abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have
not come to abolish them but to fulfill
them.”
• 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and
earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot,
will pass from the Law until all is
Christian Worldview

• A Christian worldview affirms that God is the

sovereign and Almighty Lord of all existence. Such an
affirmation rejects any form of dualism, that matter
has eternally existed, or that matter must, therefore,
be evil since it is in principle opposed to God, the
Source of all good.
Reference: David Dockery (Sept. 20, 2000) Integrating
Faith and Learning in Higher Education.
The Christian View of God and the
World

• James Orr, in The Christian View of God and the World, maintains that there is a
definite Christian view of things, which has a character, coherence, and unity of its
own, and stands in sharp contrast with counter theories and speculations.[iii] A
Christian worldview has the stamp of reason and reality and can stand the test both
of history and experience. Every chapter in this book is predicated on a Christian
view of things, a view of the world which cannot be infringed upon, or accepted or
rejected piecemeal, but stands or falls in its integrity. Such a wholistic approach
offers a stability of thought, a unity of comprehensive insight which bears not only
on the religious sphere, but on the whole of thought. A Christian worldview is not
built on two types of truth (religious and philosophical or scientific), but on a
universal principle and all-embracing system that shapes religion, natural and social
sciences, law, history, healthcare, the arts, the humanities, and all disciplines of
study with application for all of life.
Building a Christian Worldview

The beginning point for building a Christian worldview is a confession that we

believe in God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, who made the heaven and
earth (The Apostle’s Creed). We recognize that “in Him all things hold together” (Col.
1:15-18), for all true knowledge flows from the One Creator to His one creation.

A worldview must seek to answer questions like:

• Where did we come from?
• Who are we?
• What has gone wrong with the world?
• What solution can be offered to fix it?
General Statements about the Authority of the Bible

• #1. “The Bible is God’s voice speaking to us just as surely as

though we could hear Him with our ears. The word of the living God
is not merely written but spoken. Do we receive the Bible as the
oracle of God? If we realized the importance of this Word, with what
awe would we open it, and with what earnestness would we search
its precepts. The reading and contemplating of the Scriptures would
be regarded as an audience with the Most High” (HP 134).

• Read more at: [Link]

• #2. “He [Christ] pointed to the Scriptures as of
unquestionable authority, and we should do the same. The
Bible is to be presented as the word of the infinite God, as
the end of all controversy and the foundation of all faith”
(COL 39, 40).

• Read more at:

[Link]
• #3. “The Bible, and the Bible alone, is to be our creed, and
sole bond of union; all who bow to this Holy Word will be in
harmony. Our own views and ideas must not control our
efforts. Man is fallible, but God’s Word is infallible” (1 SM
416).

• Read more at:

[Link]
The Bible...

• Is the foundation of our Faith

Part 2: Group Activity
(Cooperative Learning)

• Basic Jigsaw Procedures

Step 1. Prepare the information or material to be learned
a. Divide the information that needs to be presented into roughly equal parts (typically four).
b. Label these #1, #2, #3, #4.
Step 2. Distribute the information
c. In each cooperative group, each individual is assigned one part of the information. (use material
managers to distribute the information)
Basic Jigsaw

Step 3. Individual students work

a. Each student reads his or her information
b. The student decides on the 3 - 5 most important details to learn from this information, and
c. The individual student decides the best way to teach this information to the cooperative group.
Step 4. Students teach
d. Each student has an assigned amount of time to present the information to the cooperative group usually 1 –
2 minutes.
Step 5. Assessment
e. The teacher decides on an appropriate method of assessing the students’ learning. This could be a traditional
quiz or an alternative assessment.
(Reporting)
 Part 3: Three Pieces of Evidence
that tells the Accuracy of the Bible

The Biblical Theology

1.“The Seed”
2. The Covenant.
3. The Glory of God.
The Seed

• I will put enmity Between you and the woman,

And between your seed and her seed; He shall
bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise
him on the heel” (Genesis 3:15).
• This is “protoeuangellion” / first gospel.
Seth

• And Adam had relations with his wife again; and

she gave birth to a son, and named him Seth, for,
she said, “God has appointed me another offspring
[literally, “seed”] in place of Abel; for Cain killed
him” (Genesis 4:25).
• With Seth came new hope, but in only two chapters
away (Genesis 6) mankind is already in a mess.
Noah

• Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on
the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart
was only evil continually. And the LORD was sorry that He had
made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. And
the LORD said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from
the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things
and to birds of the sky; for I am sorry that I have made
them.” But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD
(Genesis 6:1-8).
Abraham

• Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go forth from your

country, And from your relatives And from your
father’s house, to the land which I will show you; And
I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you,
And make your name great; And so you shall be a
blessing; And I will bless those who bless you, And the
one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the
families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:1-
3).
David’s seed

• I Chronicles 22:8-10
• “The word of the Lord came to me saying... Behold a
son (seed) shall be born of thee... He shall build a
house for my name; he shall be my son, and I will be
his father; and I will establish the throne of his
kingdom for ever.”
Old Testament Era

• By the end of the Old Testament

period, the promised “seed” can only
be one person--a very unique
person--who could possibly fulfill all of
the promises.
The seed in the OT

• (1) The coming “seed” was spoken of as a prophet, a priest,

and a king. Moses told the nation Israel that God would raise up a
prophet like him (Deuteronomy 18:17-19). In Genesis 14:17-20,
Melchizedek is introduced, whom the writer to the Hebrews later shows
to be a prototype of the promised “seed,” the Lord Jesus Christ
(see Psalm 110:4 and Hebrews 7:1-28). Repeatedly, the “seed” is
identified as Israel’s “king,” who will sit on the throne of His father,
David (see 2 Samuel 7:12-16; Psalm 2). The “seed” was somehow to
combine the three offices of prophet, priest, and king, something no
earthly man was allowed to do in Old Testament times. 85
• (2) The coming “seed” was described as both human and
divine. The promised seed had to be both God and man. He was to be man
in order to be the “seed” of the woman (Genesis 3:15), of Abraham
(Genesis 15:4; 22:15-18), and of David (2 Samuel 7:12-16). He must also
be divine in order to fulfill the prophecies concerning Him:
• For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government
will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor,
Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6).
• “But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of
Judah, From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings
forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity” (Micah 5:2).
• In order for the “seed” to be both God and man, a very supernatural birth
was required. The prophet Isaiah foretold of this supernatural birth:
• “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be
with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel” (Isaiah
7:14).
• (3)The coming “seed” was to be a triumphant
king and yet also a suffering servant. Jesus was
to be both a “lion” of the tribe of Judah (see Genesis
49:9; Revelation 5:5) and the “lamb” who takes away
the sins of the world (see Isaiah 53:5-7; John
1:29; Revelation 5:6, 8, 12). As the King, He will rule
over all people and triumph over His enemies:
• Behold, My servant will prosper, He will be high and
lifted up, and greatly exalted. Just as many were
astonished at you, My people,97 so His appearance
was marred more than any man, and His form more
than the sons of men. Thus He will sprinkle many
nations, kings will shut their mouths on account of
Him; for what had not been told them they will see,
and what they had not heard they will understand
(Isaiah 52:13-15).
Fulfillment

• There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is

neither slave nor free man, there is neither
male nor female; for you are all one in
Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ,
then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs
according to promise (Galatians 3:28-29).
The Generation of Jesus

• In Matthew 1
• From Abraham to David 14 generations
• From David to Jesus 14 generations.
The Covenant
The Glory of God

• Psalms 8:1, 3-6

“
Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory
in the heavens.
 Verse 3-6

• 3 When I consider your heavens,

the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,
4
what is mankind that you are mindful of them,
human beings that you care for them?[c]5 You have
made them[d] a little lower than the angels[e]
and crowned them[f] with glory and honor.
6
You made them rulers over the works of your hands;
you put everything under their[g] feet:
 Genesis 1: 26-28

• 26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in

our image, in our likeness, so that they may
rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in
the sky, over the livestock and all the wild
animals,[a] and over all the creatures that
move along the ground.”
 Exodus 33

18 aThen 1Moses said, “I pray You, show me Your glory!”

19 And He said, “I Myself will make all My goodness
pass before you, and will proclaim the name of the Lord
before you; and I will be gracious to whom I will be
gracious, and will show compassion on whom I will show
compassion.”
The Glory of God

is His character
 Exodus 33

18 aThen 1Moses said, “I pray You, show me Your glory!”

19 And He said, “I Myself will make all My goodness
pass before you, and will proclaim the name of the Lord
before you; and I will be gracious to whom I will be
gracious, and will show compassion on whom I will show
compassion.”
Habakkuk 2:14

14 “For the earth will be afilled with the

knowledge of the glory of the Lord, As the
waters cover the sea.

• a Ps 22:27; Is 11:9; Zech 14:9

 Matthew 4:8-9

• 8 Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and

showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their
glory;
• 9 and he said to Him, “All these things I will give You, if
You fall down and me.”
Revelation 14:6-7

• And I saw another angel flying in amidheaven, having ban

eternal gospel to preach to cthose who 1live on the earth, and
to devery nation and tribe and tongue and people;
• 7 and he said with a loud voice, “Fear God, and give Him
glory, because the hour of His judgment has come; worship
Him who made the heaven and the earth and sea and springs
of waters.”