see the file.(information of Leadership Personal Reflection)
For any of us to be fully conscious
intellectually we should not only be able
to detect the worldviews of others
but be aware of our own—
why it is ours and why in light of so many options
we think it is true.
Other Books by James W. Sire
How to Read Slowly
Scripture Twisting
Beginning with God
Discipleship of the Mind
Chris Chrisman Goes to College
Why Should Anyone Believe Anything at All?
Jesus the Reason (Bible study guide)
Habits of the Mind
Václav Havel
Naming the Elephant
Why Good Arguments Often Fail
Learning to Pray Through the Psalms
A Little Primer on Humble Apologetics
Praying the Psalms of Jesus
Deepest Differences with Carl Peraino
A Basic Worldview Catalog
F I F T H E D I T I O N
J A M E S W . S I R E
THE
UNIVERSE
NEXT DOOR
InterVarsity Press, USA
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Website: www.ivpbooks.com
Email: [email protected]
Fifth edition ©2009 by James W. Sire. First edition ©1976 by Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship of the United
States of America. Second edition ©1988 by James W. Sire. Third edition ©1997 by James W. Sire. Fourth edition
©2004 by James W. Sire.
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movement connecting Christian Unions in universities and colleges throughout Great Britain, and a member
movement of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students. Website: www.uccf.org.uk.
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy
WEBCINTRO 07/02/2015 3:33:52 Page 12
WEBFFIRS 07/02/2015 3:57:52 Page i
Discover Your
True North
Expanded and Updated Edition
Bill George
WEBFFIRS 07/02/2015 3:57:52 Page ii
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PSALM 8
A psalm of David.
Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory above the heavens.
From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise
because of your enemies, to silence the foe and avenger.
When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and
the stars which you have set in place,
what are mere mortals that you are mindful of them,
human beings that you care for them?
You have made them a little lower than the heavenly beings,
and crowned them with glory and honour.
You made them rulers over the works of your hands;
you put everything under their feet: all flocks and herds, and
the animals of the wild, the birds in the sky, and the fish in the sea,
all that swim the paths of the seas.
Lord, our Lord,
How majestic is your name in all the earth!
Genesis 2:7: “The Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils, and the man became a living being (
nepes
in the Hebrew language).”
Nepes means to breath, life, a living creature, soul, mind, person.
“Man is not merely a physical being…however; he has a ruah (spirit) and heart. He was made in God’s image, and is the object of God’s love… nepes can stand for the entire person.” Key Word Bible Dictionary
Heart is also a central concept about human beings in the Bible.
It is seen as the centre of things.
“It was essentially the whole man, with all his attributes, physical, intellectual and psychological…the heart was conceived of as the governing centre for all of these…’heart’ comes the nearest of the NT terms to mean ‘person’.” New Bible Dictionary
PSYCHOLOGY: A Person is a Whole Being—
BIO-PSYCHO-SOCIAL-SPIRITUAL.
PSALM 8
A psalm of David.
Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory above the heavens.
From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise
because of your enemies, to silence the foe and
avenger.
When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and
the stars
which you have set in place,
what are mere mortals that you are mindful of them,
human beings that you care for them?
You have made them a little lower th
an the heavenly beings,
and crowned them with glory and honour.
You
A Christian Worldview
A Little History
&
Beliefs of the Christian faith
Copyright by Carol C. Molcar
God is the Creator
of Nature and of all that is good.
He revealed Himself through His Creation.
The Bible
God revealed Himself through the written Scriptures which recorded His interactions with people. The writings were people writing guided by the Holy Spirit.
The Bible records information that God wants us to know.
The Scriptures (Bible) are authoritative for how we are to live.
History: Creation
Both Jews and Christians believe that the Old Testament are Scriptures that reveal truth.
They believe that God created the world—the natural world, animals, human beings.
“God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.” Genesis 1:31
Human Beings were made in God’s Image
People were created to be in fellowship (relationship) with God, other people, and the creation.
God made people with a choice because love is not coercion but freedom.
The Brokenness of the World
Therefore, when the first people had a choice, they chose to be free from God’s authority and rule and be autonomous or independent from Him.
Because God is the author of Life, to separate from Him causes death.
Death came about in the world, not just for people but for animals as well.
God is the Saviour
Redemption
But God did not leave things there.
He created a way back to be in fellowship with Him.
God wants us to know Him
Therefore, He has made Himself known through His Creation:
“Since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made.” Romans 1:20.
God is the central reality in a Christian Worldview.
As Sire states, a Biblical understanding of God is that He is:
Infinite (beyond measure)
Personal, One God in Three Persons (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit)
Transcendent (beyond us & the world; imminent & transcendent)
All Knowing
God is good (Righteous and Loving).
God Revealed Himself to a Group of People
God chose to reveal Himself, His moral character and love, through a group of people—the Hebrew people.
He loves all people and wanted all the peoples of the world to know Him and be in right relationship with Him.
God Revealed Himself through His Son, Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ (Christ means “Anointed One” in Greek) was sent into the world. He was born through a Virgin birth
He was fully
A Healthy Personality
From American Psychologist
Gordon Allport (1897-1967)
Six Characteristics
1. Extension of the sense of self.
This includes concern for the welfare of others and growth in skills interests. There is a wider participation in life.
2. Warm relating of self to others.
Capacity to love and give to others, respect for others.
3. Emotional Security (self-acceptance).
Minimum of internal conflict.
4. Realistic perceptions and skills.
A growing ability to deal with reality.
5. Self-objectification: insight and humour.
Can laugh at oneself.
6. *** A Unifying Philosophy of Life
This gives a sense of purpose and direction to life.
A Healthy Personality: Allport
1. Extension of the sense of self.
2. Warm relating of self to others.
3. Emotional Security (self-acceptance).
4. Realistic perceptions and skills.
5. Self-objectification: insight and humour.
6. *** A Unifying Philosophy of Life
Questions to Discuss:
In YOUR Life:
1)How are you doing on these six things?
Which characteristics do you excel in?
PERSONALITY AND LEADERSHIP
2) How do you think that these Healthy Personality Traits Relate to a being a Good Leader?
AREAS FOR GROWTH
3. Are there any areas that you would like to grow in or develop to become a more effective leader?
4) What is an important event (or a person) in your life that has helped to shape the person that you are today?
Journey away from Christianity
in the Western world
Deism
A transcendent God is the first cause of the Universe; then He left it to run on its own
(a Clockwork Universe).
The Cosmos is determined; it is a cause and effect Universe, a closed system with no miracle possible.
Human beings are part of this determined system.
Naturalism
The material world is all that exists.
In this view, God does not exist.
The cosmos exists as a uniformity of cause and effect in a closed system.
Human beings are complex machines.
Death is the extinction of the person.
History has no overarching purpose.
Nihilism
A denial of any meaning or value in life.
A negation of knowledge, ethics, beauty, values.
Atheistic Existentialism
A Reaction to Nihilism
The cosmos is composed solely of matter.
The world is absurd but people create meaning and value in the absurdity.
People make themselves who they are by their choices.
Theistic Existentialism
People find themselves in an alien world.
The personal is valuable.
God exists but Knowledge is subjective.
People later got into:
Eastern Pantheistic Monism
New Age Spirituality
Postmodernism
Leadership is about ideas and actions. Put simply, it is about implementing new ideas into creative
actions to achieve desired results. Doing so, however, is far from simple. We know leadership re-
quires considerable skills and abilities. It requires knowledge and insight—about one’s organization
or entity, its people, goals, strengths and market niche. Yet, something more is needed. Leadership
also requires a kind of awareness beyond the immediate, an awareness of the larger pictures—of
paradigms that direct us, beliefs that sustain us, values that guide us and principles that motivate us,
our worldviews.
This article will, first, briefly examine how the concept of worldviews is used in leadership study
and the contexts in which it arises. Second, it will critically look at worldviews, recognizing that they
are not always coherent and that our belief systems are often fragmented and incomplete. Third, it
will argue for the relevance of the concept worldview in leadership study as a way to explore vari-
ous visions of life and ways of life that may be helpful in overcoming the challenges we face today.
Fourth, it will examine how national and global issues impact worldview construction, especially
among the millennial generation. Our conclusions set some directions for leadership action in light
of worldview issues.
W O R L D V I E W S A N D
L E A D E R S H I P : T H I N K I N G
A N D A C T I N G T H E B I G G E R
P I C T U R E S
JOHN VALK, STEPHAN BELDING, ALICIA CRUMPTON,
NATHAN HARTER, AND JONATHAN REAMS
54
JOURNAL OF LEADERSHIP STUDIES, Volume 5, Number 2, 2011
©2011 University of Phoenix
View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com • DOI:10.1002/jls.20218
JOURNAL OF LEADERSHIP STUDIES • Volume 5 • Number 2 • DOI:10.1002/jls 55
as well as the effect of dispelling earlier assumptions of
an overriding homogeneous and uniform worldview
embraced by all.
At this point the concept of worldview is often used
interchangeably with terms such as mental models, par-
adigms, organizing devices, contexts, and operating systems
(Beck & Cowan, 1996; Klenke, 2008). A worldview is
seen as serving a particular function, encompassing
deeply held beliefs about reality that shape and influ-
ence how individuals think and act. Worldviews deter-
mine priorities and reinforce one’s view of reality and
of what is true and right (Barrett, 2006; Ciulla, 2000;
Hames, 2007). Yet, where it has focused specifically on
worldviews, leadership study has confined it largely to
religious and spiritual worldviews as applied to indi-
viduals and groups or organizations (Hicks, 2003;
Lindsey, 2007). It has left numerous secular world-
views largely unexamined.
The concept of worldview doe
Being a Person
What Does It Mean
From a Christian Perspective?
Copyright by CC Molcar, Ph.D.
Sire’s Description
Human beings are made in God’s image, being like God and reflecting him.
“So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.” Genesis 1:27
We are personal because God is personal. To some degree, we are self-determining. We can make choices.
Furthermore, we have personality,
self-transcendence, social capacity, and
creativity.
Human beings also have dignity which has been derived from God.
Anthony A. Hoekema
Created in God’s Image
Human beings are Created Persons.
Created means we are creatures made by and dependent on God, our Creator.
Persons because we possess self-determination (freedom).
Therefore, there is a mystery that we are both dependent and free.
Although still in God’s image,
that image has been marred by the Fall.
Because the first humans chose to be autonomous or independent from God, they and their descendents have been negatively impacted by the Fall spiritually, physically, morally, intellectually, and relationally.
The Way of Healing
Jesus Christ, God’s Son, through His substitutionary death on the Cross, has provided forgiveness for people who accept Jesus as Saviour and Lord
AND
the possibility for substantial healing now and total healing in the future in all of these areas that have been affected by the Fall.
Jesus is the Perfect Image of God.
*“He (Christ) is the image of the invisible God,
the firstborn over all creation.” Colossians 1:15
*Jesus said, “He who has seen me has seen the Father.” John 14:9
*“…the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” 2Corinthians 4:4
*“The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being…” Heb. 1:3
From Christianity: The true humanism
by J.I. Packer and Thomas Howard
“Jesus has been worshiped by Christians as the
Lord, the Savior, the Holy One of God, the Word
of God, the Son of God, Immanuel (God with
us), and indeed as God himself.
This same Jesus is also the Son of Man (his
favorite designation for himself), which means,
along with some other things, that he is the
figure in whom we see all the potentialities and
aspirations of our humanity in all of their
freedom and full development.
Morally and spiritually, intellectually and
expe
Some Principles Underlying
the Christian Faith and Science
Copyright by CC Molcar, Ph.D.
Historically, the relationship between science and religion has varied in the
Western world
Physicist and theologian, Ian
Barbour has studied this relationship and says we can relate science and religion in four ways:
Conflict (Galileo, Earth Creationism, etc.)
Independence (no overlap between religion and science).
Dialogue (Science raises questions that it can’t answer – questions that religions usually address).
Integration (There is enough overlap between science and religion’s quest for truth that a genuine search for truth in one can illuminate the other.)
“The Warfare Hypothesis”
The Warfare Hypothesis is the idea that Science and Religion have always been at war with each other throughout history.
“no serious historians of science or the science-religion issue today maintain the warfare hypothesis…
The pre-modern retroactively called scientists themselves believed that theology and religious texts were relevant to their work and visa versa.”
Professor Lawrence M. Principe, Ph.D.
Johns Hopkins University.
There are some Biblical principles that underlie the relationship between
Christian Faith and Science.
God is the Creator
The God of the Bible, who is the only True God in three persons (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), is the Creator of the material universe.
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Genesis 1:1
God’s creation was created good and the Creator loved His creation.
Human beings’ rebellion against God and His love and laws has affected (hurt) the Creation.
“The creation was subjected to frustration…its bondage to decay” Romans 8:20
The Bible and Science
The Bible gives us answers to why we’re here, what God expects of us, how to know Him and have eternal life.
The Bible does not attempt to be a science book but is true when it speaks about God’s creation.
Questions that Faith Asks Science
Is Science the only way to reliably know something?
Has Science Proven that the Universe has no purpose?
What does the Human Desire for Meaning Tell us about Existence?
Hasn’t Science and Religion always been at War?
Hasn’t Science Disproved the Book of Genesis?
Doesn’t Science Show that the Universe Did Not Need a Creator?
From: When God and Science Meet.
“Faith in God is not based on the gaps that science hasn’t yet filled in but based on observations of meaning and value and order that actually underlie science itself.”
The Biblical basis for
LDRS 490: Worldview Lecture
Copyright: Carol C. Molcar
Worldviews
He has also set eternity in the hearts of men. Ecclesiastes 3:11
Introduction
Foundational to our understanding of Personhood is our basic worldview.
Our view of human beings and what it means to be a person is part of our worldview.
Philosopher John Locke (1632-1704) wrote, “In truth the ideas and images in men’s minds are the invisible powers that constantly govern them.”
Psychologist Gordon Allport in 1937 wrote,
“As soon as an individual’s philosophy of life is known, his personal activities which taken by themselves are meaningless, become understood.”
Philosophy professor Arthur Holmes has written:
The quest for a unifying world view that will help us see life whole and find meaning in each part is as old as humankind…
The perennial quest for a world view goes further: It is also a quest for a life that is good rather than bad, for purpose in life rather than emptiness, for something that promises hope rather than despair.
World views differ in this regard…the credibility of a world view may be seen to depend on the capacity of its unifying perspective to effectively unify all aspects of life and thought in a meaning-giving way.
Worldviews
*Sire: From Intro: “For any of us to be fully conscious intellectually we should not only be able to detect the worldviews of others but be aware of our own—why it is ours and why in light of so many options we think it is true.”
A Little History of the Concept
Prussian philosopher, Immanuel Kant, coined the term Weltranschauung in his work Critique of Judgment published in 1790.
One of the first to explore the concept of world view (Weltanschauung) was the German philosopher Wilhelm Dilthey (1833-1911).
To Dilthey, a thinker’s Weltanschauung was his comprehensive answer to the question “What is the meaning of life?”
According to Dilthey every Weltanschauung was composed of factual beliefs, value judgments, and a set of ultimate goals.
Dilthey related these three constituents to thought, feeling, and will.
Theologians in the Calvinist tradition, James Orr in Scotland and Abraham Kuyper in Holland, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and a bit later Herman Dooyeweerd in Holland (among others) applied the term to the Christian faith.
In the 1970’s and later many Christian evangelical thinkers began to make use of the concept of worldview. Among them are Arthur Holmes, James Olthuis, B
PERSONALITY: OVERVIEW
2
Personality Theories
Psychoanalytic
Behavioural
Cognitive Social Leaning
Humanistic
Trait
Sigmund Freud: Psychoanalytic
ID
EGO
SUPER EGO
4
Structure of the Personality
ID
Pleasure Principle
EGO
Reality Principle
SUPEREGO
Moral branch
3 goals
Inhibit Id
force the ego to act on constraint
push towards perfection
Id
Superego
Ego
Conscious mind
Unconscious
mind
4
5
ID
6
EGO
7
SUPEREGO
8
Defense Mechanisms
Repression
Rationalization
Displacement
Sublimation
Projection
Reaction Formation
Intellectualization
pp. 580-581
9
Freud’s Psychosexual Stages
Stage Focus
Oral Pleasure centers on the mouth–
(0-18 months) sucking, biting, chewing
Anal Pleasure focuses on bowel and bladder
(18-36 months) elimination; coping with demands for control
Phallic Pleasure zone is the genitals; coping with
(3-6 years) incestuous sexual feelings
Latency Dormant sexual feelings
(6 to puberty)
Genital Maturation of sexual interests
(puberty on)
Table 15.1, p. 578
NEO-FREUDIAN AND PSYCHDYNAMIC THEORISTS
The neo-Freudians were a group of physicians who originally formed an inner circle of Freud’s followers. They accepted Freud’s basic ideas but placed more emphasis on the conscious mind and questioned that sex and aggression were the primary motivations in personality development.
CARL JUNG
Interested in the importance of SPIRITUALITY
in Human Life.
12
Alfred Adler’s
Individual Psychology
Objection to Freud
Key Concepts
Strivings for superiority
Feelings of Inferiority
Compensation
Overcompensation
Inferiority Complex
Superiority Complex
Creative self
Social Interest
Adler came up with the idea of the inferiority complex, in which children strive to conquer feeli
Leadership personal reflection first appeared on Intellectpaper.
