Journal: Bibliotheca Sacra
Volume: BSAC 167:666 (Apr 2010)
Article: Book Reviews
Author: Matthew S. DeMoss

BSac 167:666 (April-June 2010) p. 239

Book Reviews

By The Faculty of Dallas Theological Seminary

Matthew S. DeMoss

Editor

Living at the Crossroads: An Introduction to the Christian Worldview. By Michael W. Goheen and Craig G. Bartholomew. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2008. xvi + 205 pp. $19.99.

Goheen is the Geneva professor of worldview and religious studies at Trinity Western University, Langley, British Columbia, and Bartholomew is the H. Evan Runner professor of philosophy and professor of religion and theology at Redeemer University College, Ancaster, Ontario. In this excellent book they propose an effective way for Christians to live out a Christian worldview in a cultural context with a radically different worldview.

After briefly summarizing the growing body of literature on Christian worldview and the diversity of perspectives, the authors propose this definition of the subject matter: “Worldview is an articulation of the basic beliefs imbedded in a shared grand story that are rooted in a faith commitment and that give shape and direction to the whole of our individual and corporate lives” (p. 23). Central to their approach is the conviction that “worldview should have a narrative—a storied—form, since this is the shape of the Bible itself” (p. xiv, italics theirs). The biblical story is a grand narrative of creation, fall, and redemption. The dominant cultural worldview, however, is a narrative of progress that has shaped Western culture for several centuries. Thus this book has a narrow focus, namely, to help Western Christians who live at the intersection of these two stories.

The authors explain, “As those who have embraced the gospel, we are members of a community that believes the Bible to be the true story of the world. But as participating and living members of the cultural community, we are also part of the other story that has been shaping Western culture for a very long time. We cannot simply opt out of the surrounding culture: our lives are woven into its institutions, customs, language, relationships, and social patterns” (p. 8). In short, the authors argue, a decontextualized Christianity is not possible. Rather, “if we are to live faithfully in the biblical story, we must become critical participants in the cultures that surround us. As participants, our relationship to culture is positive: we are part of it and identify with it seeking (as members, fellow citizens, participants)” to love what is good in it (p. 132). This participation must be critical, since “we will often find ourselves standing in opposition to it, rejecting and challenging the idolatry that twists and distorts its development. There are thus two sides to this faithful engagement: a...