Shaping a Christian Worldview presents a collection of essays that address the key issues facing the future of Christian higher education. With contributions from key players in the field, this book addresses the critical issues for Christian institutions of various traditions as the new century begins to leave its indelible mark on education.

The goal of many evangelical educators is to facilitate biblical thinking and the worldview transformation of their students. Yet, aside from upholding a set of moral behaviors or maintaining positions on issues perceived to be "Christian," the goals and aspirations of most evangelical young people differ little from their unbelieving peers. As George Barna has noted, "We have a generation coming up that . . . isn't looking at Christianity to answer spiritual concerns . . . We either change or we lose them." Worldview as Worship contends that the approach taken by most evangelical educators to the issue of worldview transformation has neglected to address two fundamental components of worldviews. First, that our initial worldviews are not philosophical systems but rather faith dispositions and that worldview transformation cannot simply present the biblical worldview as a more rational or logical system, but must address issues of the heart as well as the mind. Second, unlike philosophies that are individual, worldviews are communal and are learned and transformed within the context of community practice. Appealing to Paul's teaching in Romans 12:1-2, Worldview as Worship approaches the "renewing of your mind" as the result of the believer's presentation of themselves as a "holy sacrifice . . . which is your spiritual service of worship." The book advocates an approach to worldview transformation that focuses on believers as apprentices rather than simply as students--an approach that holds true to the biblical model of discipleship. As a result, worldview transformation works best when the application of faith to the issues of learning and life are modeled by the faith community and where students are given the opportunity to put faith into practice.

"In Worldviews and Christian Education, editors W.A. Shipton, E. Coetzee, and R. Takeuchi have brought together works by experts in cross-cultural religious education. The authors and editors have a wealth of personal experience in presenting the gospel to individuals with various worldviews that differ greatly from those held by Christians who take the Bible as authoritative. They focus on the beliefs and issues associated with witnessing to seekers for truth coming from backgrounds as diverse and animism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Hinduism, Islam, Marxism, Taoism, and postmodernism." -- Back Cover

Why do worldviews matter? What characterizes a Christian worldview? Part of being a thoughtful Christian means being able to understand and express the Christian worldview as well as developing an awareness of the variety of worldviews. Well organized, clearly written, and featuring aids for learning, this is the essential text for either the classroom or for self-study.

The Integration of Faith and Learning: A Worldview Approach'provides students with the philosophical context and practical tools necessary for making the connections between Christian knowledge and the knowledge they will acquire during their undergraduate and graduate years in higher education. This book focuses on helping students understand how worldviews influence the interpretation of data and even what is judged to be knowledge itself. The worldviews of philosophical naturalism, postmodernism, and Christianity are compared and analyzed. Throughout the book, emphasis is placed on helping students develop the practical skills needed to evaluate knowledge claims and to integrate all knowledge into a unified whole through the touchstone of Christian truth.

"Why do we have to learn this?" For as long as there have been students, teachers have been answering this question, but we haven't always answered it very well--for our students or for ourselves. We sometimes forget that everything we teach, whether "sacred" or "secular," has value because it is part of God's truth, and integrating that truth across the curriculum is what makes an education Christian. This book from a father-and-daughter team of seasoned Christian educators offers a comprehensive, biblically based presentation of integration. Its goal is to help readers view all aspects of the curriculum within the framework of God's story as told from Genesis to Revelation. By organizing subject areas under five broad categories--nature, people, communication, beauty, and ultimate issues--the authors demonstrate that each subject area flows from the biblical story. Each chapter concludes with a summary of the truths presented, a set of teacher tips, and a list of additional resources.