A central motivation for the writing of Michael Goheen and Craig Bartholomew’s latest book Living at the Crossroads: An Introduction to Christian Worldview (Baker Academic) is that a faithful Christian worldview must derive from Scripture. They argue, “If our worldview should, by our neglect, lose its roots in Scripture, it becomes vulnerable to being taken over by some story other than that of the biblical drama.”Goheen and Bartholomew’s first book, The Drama of Scripture: Finding Our Place in the Biblical Story (Baker Academic, 2004), provided an overview of the biblical story, explaining its major themes and applying them to all areas of life. Living at the Crossroads is its natural sequel, focusing on the story of Western culture and explaining where the two stories meet and conflict.
After a helpful introduction that defines the term worldview, explains how worldviews work and articulates the centrality of Jesus within a Christian worldview, the authors offer an overview of the story of Western civilization and its worldview. “Since every human culture since Eden has been shaped at least in part by a vision of life that is incompatible with the Christian faith, it is important that we understand well our own Western cultural setting and the beliefs that have shaped it.” Whereas the hero of the Christian story is Jesus, the hero of the western story is humanity: “Man becomes the measure of all things.” After the historical overview, the authors focus on the shape of contemporary culture with a helpful discussion of postmodernism, consumerism, globalization and the resurgence of Islam.
Even though there are many books written on developing a Christian worldview, this one should not be overlooked. How we live out that truth is always difficult and we need books like this one to help us be more faithful in our callings.
Visit the authors' website to learn more about this book and find many helpful resources.
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